Leica M4-P: A Year In Review
Lighting Is As Easy As 1, 2 and 3.
In this tutorial, I will give you 3 different lighting set ups. Each using 1, 2 and 3 lights combined. You will see how easy and versatile one light can affect an image but also see how having 3 lights can create a dramatic tone.
1. The single light source.
This is pretty straight forward. Don't think for one moment in your photography career that you need the most expensive, top of the line equipment. The image above was created using only one speedlight flash and a reflector. The silver reflector below the subject's face looks like you're using a completely separate light. This is great for portraits of women.
2. The Fashion Duo
If you ever find yourself shooting fashion, just remember to keep it simple. In this set up, I use my Wescott Rapid Box as my key light along with a small softbox as a fill light. The softbox fill light also doubles as my background light. If you "feather" the fill light enough, you can have it hit both your subject and background evenly. I had another fill light coming from a silver reflector to the right of the camera. This just balanced my image a bit more and brought out some more detail in the dress.
3. Oh Baby, a Triple!
Nothing beats a good dramatic shot, especially when it's for an athlete or fitness instructor. The hot new look of the season has to be the blue-tone rim lights. To get this look, I put a full CTO on my keylight. I left the two speedlights in the back bare-bulbed. I then set my camera to the Tungsten white balance. Since my camera is reading my keylight as a tungsten light source my rim lights turn blue. Using gels are a fantastic way of getting the look you want. I will cover that in a different blog post.
Conclusion
That's it. Three lights. Nothing crazy. Nothing expensive. Now you really have no excuse when someone asks you to shoot in the studio!
Staying Inspired
As a photographer, it is our job to make the client happy. Our responsibility is to make our images work for them. Sometimes, however, we start to lose interest in our work. We begin to develop a creative block. It can be scary, but there are many tips to follow to stay inspired.
Get outside. Stay curious.
Literally. Go outside. The main reason you’re losing interest is probably because you aren’t exploring new places or environments. Go for a walk at your local park, or go for a city street adventure. Walk around and look for photo opportunities. You never know what you’ll see and who knows, maybe it’s your next best image. In addition to going outside, it is also very important to stay curious. Learn something new by reading a book or watching a documentary. Even simply watching tutorials on YouTube, you might learn some new tricks. By staying curious, you allow your mind to open up to new techniques and ideas.
Turn your cell phone off when you’re walking around. This will less likely distract you as you explore your new surroundings.
Buy new gear.
Okay, I’m not saying to go out and spend all your hard earned cash on a brand new $6000 1Dx Mark II. But, if that helps you get inspired, by all means go ahead. I’m simply saying to go buy something you think would help you improve your quality of work and aesthetic. Whether it’s new lighting equipment or a new lens, just make sure it’s something that will get you excited to work with it and learn from it.
I recommend investing in VSCO filter packs for Lightroom. These are fantastic film emulations for your post processing process. Not only are they fun and look like real film, your clients will be amazed at the quality.
Take a camera everywhere you go.
No, your cell phone does not count. Albeit it may have a great camera, it’s still a device that will distract you from your main goal. Instead of taking that great picture, you find yourself on Twitter looking at what Kanye West has been rambling on about. Purchasing a classic film SLR is a great way to get creative and undistracted. Film cameras force you to slow down and take your time when photographing a subject. You only have 36 exposures, so you have to make it last and count. The process is exciting and refreshing. If you’re used to shooting digital, this is a great way to get inspired. Film and processing is somewhat cheap as well. Going to a local camera store is your best bet for a great price for developing and scanning.
Recently, I purchased a Fujifilm Instax Mini 25 camera. This is an instant camera that takes credit card sized film. It’s a fantastic piece of gear that will definitely get you shooting. Because it’s instant, you can scan them in and upload to Instagram easily and well- instantly! If you’re on a shoot with a client, they’ll love the vintage look.
Start a personal project.
Personal projects are probably the best way to get you inspired and shooting more. A few years ago, I started a 365 project. Basically for a whole year, I would conceptualize, capture, edit, and post one image a day. It sounds intimidating- that’s because it is. However, it’s very rewarding in the end. As each day went along, I was constantly looking for new photographic opportunities. It taught me discipline while working to reach my goal. At the time, I was uploading to DevientArt. It was pretty annoying having to upload to a site like that. I remember sometimes, the site would be down and I would miss my deadline. Now with the development of Instagram, it’s easier than ever to upload your work.
I believe there are apps on iPhone and Android that help make the 365 process even easier. They can send you reminders to go out and get a picture and help with organizing and posting to social media sites. More information for an iPhone app here.
Here are a few examples of some of the images I came up with.
Conclusion.
There are so many other tips and tricks to staying inspired. Just remember whenever you feel like you're losing interest in your photography career, take a step back, breathe and rediscover why you're doing this. We all know that in the end, it's the final image and a happy client that counts.