i altel Beh ONS E :MINIMALIST LIGHTING Professional Techniques for Location Photography KIRKTUCK AuteRst MEDIA, INC. # BUFFALO, NY"yoo st dome yp jo ass 0 a ys pe | 9 300 HOG Pe OAL pea suo pe sunundes sacar 21 Ho pos Yo SU POUND Mong 39. 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Breaking Old Habits 1 BRIEF HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING Ely Techniques the Eatly 20th Century The Lae 20th Cencury The Digital Age Why Does Minimalist Lighting Work So Well Changing Phovographie Ses are Accelerating the Move to Minimalist Lighting 2. EMBRACING THE PORTABLE APPROACH ‘Almost Everythi [Neo 19 Know About Light Direction You acd and Soft |. PUTTING TOGETHER THE RIGHT STUFF “The Right Equipment to Shoot Just About Anything 4 to 0 12 2 12 2 13 4 18 8 20 20 26 26 CONTENTS The Heroes: The Lights How to Choose the Right System Whoa! Tigger “Turn on the Radio Untctheret Control he Optica sion “Tethered tothe Camera of Your Choice Mis and Match Hauling Around the Photon Generators From Caravan to Carry-On Getting Your Lights to Stay Where You Need Them Hold Sul Right Going Beyond The Light Stand Heany-Duty Clamp Champ “The Ulimate Portable Light Stand? “Two Final Vital Accessories Gace’ Tape Color Coreetion is (4 THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM TS THE ROAD Mosiving the “The Bounce All strung Our Sooth a Sik Singing in the Rain? “The Hard Fact About Softboxes Gil Atachments Te Simplest Use of Minimal Lighting “The Nest Step Separation Anxiety Double Your Plewure Te Third Dimension Photons 2s 33 4 38 ¥ at a 43 45 46 48 49 55 57 58 59 oo 62 63 63 4Lighting in Planes 68 Designing the Light is Your Mais Job Everything Ee is Just Human Ioreracton 67 Take it Ouse! 6 Practical Applications 73 Lighting a Group in a Confrence Room 3 Shoking in Rugged or Messy Conditions... ..73 High Magnification Images 5 Energy Sources: Bates and Beyond 7% Allie Raters 76 Rechargeable Batre 7 External Power Plans 78 CChestng: Blending the Minimal: Approach with Higher Power 83 The Moat Vausble Non-Light T for Creing Favles Photographs 8 Using Nikon $B-600s and 80s inthe Remote Mode 8s 5, MINIMALIST LIGHTING CASE STUDIES as (Case Study 1: Kevin Reins, CEO of Del Ine. 8 (Case Sudy 2: Par ala, AMD Employee 0 (Case Sony 3: Valerie Kane, AMD Employee 92 Case Sty 4: De lisbeth Moorshes, Radiologist 93 (Case Sod 5: Ribs and Sl; Tribe Magarine 94 Case Sey 6: As Trattoria 7 ‘ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kirk Tuck attended the Univerity of Texas where scteping a position 18 «special lecturer teaching ph Soo, he was lred into the world of advertising photography and Case Seay 7: Jessica Ortiz Pere, Owner of Austin Deep 101 Case Sy 8 Roger Brown, Abbot Spine 102 Case Study 9: Swim Meet 108, Cae Sly LO: Missy Ruthven, Tatlete 106 (Case Sualy 1: Dave Brown, Vice President of Del, In 108, ase Sudy 12; Pal Frotan for Accelerate Magazine M Case Sudy 13; Project Breakthrough uy Case Soy 1H: Superheroes for Percope M6 6 THE WRAP-UP 120 Indes 16 {abbled in elestrcl engineering and English iterate befor ography inthe Univensy of Texas Clege of Fine Ars, served for seven years a the creative dietor fe aco televsion, and pene campaigns. nthe 1980s, he de ‘ied to hecomeafeelance photographer, case he hs njayed ever since. Kirk's lens incu IBM, Tivol Sy ‘ems, Dll Computer, Motorola, AMD, Freescale Sem conductor, Elemagazne, Pripate Clnbr magazine, Time ‘Warner, Pharmac, PPD, ISR, The Arts Council of Tes, Southwest Water Company, Advent Tours and my Advertsing agencies. He resides in Aus, TX‘youn sy usegs ou, ade Tonauos op ps sO voqe a0} de © Sangy oy woquane ow Tee ek pea poe ae Sexo Jo suo Jo uy HD ND { s1qqo4 endo ou 34 Jo 303 Sydonog 40> Yom a eH PUES Sugano pu esa ona 8ay © mon enw ons 13 wes. oy sudestonogd ye pur wo a pau Seas 400g sy, "eoID 4p wo YseY # BuREHS IHL unig a 03 sony rayon soqdesdona you Funsnd ue put oot sotogd ew ay anon Supp sro put stow Buta ae sou pu span wep Spy 3a Sury yg Sou pu ang oP JOKE Dye IE 214} Suyoo un aw poypweae 9 xp por “sroqdestosoyd Suippan pue sisydesBonogd yeni se somuring Hequans a Suny “ayseadour pur imovod og ase you ts 48H Jo 3886 ASH NIG {Spusa denon juopsyoadgane 0 euopyoad da oye ary oy souenEne pu spusySurw 2s f AWAINd rs So Hp 2} e Tudo» 2p uw Yya 02 9jg¢ 29 je ue 2FOHD SUE 39 suues >. posnduey jounox pug ,uon nox S156 eg wag oF a4 3,u038 no sueouT EL IH WER! E ‘gu pegs ony peu ogden on $Buuo> a nog no Sf 09 4B HE AH tuo sdssuos 3440 90 301 #98 08 edo Ys ue Bango yo auoupds9 942 20 ups nog pos sy gdesionoyd Se yp pues ‘os wonesousd pun 01 9ps0 i 9X yeu #62 UORDAUOD Ke. 99 xs a nog Hues uy possi a nas oy 14249 Soo sp 41 .IpNoud eH OU ANN pr Agde Soro 01 9H PHD SR LHRH so 33008 233 pyno> | ae E924 UO SAaW4 0 pu punore pa 19 | ouudi Hung anoge suogou pansouesad Jo pu i or se ojous Hg Spy Tupooys pue Bungy Uy anuouadso Jo sea8 sues Ausaa YAH fUossIaK! Su eyo ey 899 Kr | HonNEM ap HoH SBorpo we Y009 3H OF NO 31HINTRODUCTION A ipod portent creat ce wh chson thatthe quality light isone of the single ‘most important “scree” of great photography. Great landscapes depen on he combination oF unig pons ‘of view ani interesting natural ight. Commpeling por depend on lighting that eves the human face in a ‘ug wa: Produc photography is made alluring when Jaginaive lighting is sed sklfily In many instances, photogs nee toad ight toa phtogeaph no make ‘it pleasing, The methods photogsaprs we toad light tan image have evolve over the years and hit evolu: tion has accelerated over the pas fen years. When I started my career as a profesional stato pho tograper, we needed wo use Hights For every single shot ‘we ereted. Our days in the studio revolved around de signing ligheing thar emlated, and hapelly improved ‘pon, the ight found inthe rea word, We asc lage collections of speci light, Hight modi as «esos, and yards and yards of varios fibrics meant ro lose igh ays. AS my eater progeesse and change swe started doing more and more photoaraphs fm lation around the town an across the counte: Ie was oly natural pack allof the hea duty accesses we wedi the studio out to thee locations, Aker twenty some years, my back was aching an! To Jonge looked forward wo taking the show on the ro Photography had become more about packing and por Ing anes about designing beau he. Several yea ago, I halen melt do more with Jess in my profesional photography. [ooked hack over yeas of shooting and ele! that hate bate of lo cation ighting was the logis of dragging hundeds of pounds of equipment fem ay stuio ro my car an from myc to various fics, manufctring plans, and other ‘venues in oder ro make well-t photographs foe my tints. Widh al the advances in digital cameras, battery powered flash units (now small and computerized), and lighoweighe asestories, I became convinced that pio toxraphers could do many ofthe asigaments we'd done inthe pase without having t0 employ heasy lighting equipment orginally designed ro be used in studios a Go MINIMALIST? Wat each pound of equipment I've jettisoned, I've fan that {arrive on locations with more energy and & tor ably to focus on retve problem sling Whe T go home at the end ofthe day, V's noe wor out fro dragging around a cr filled with hundeeds of pounds heavy equipment, Aad while 'n shooting I'm ble to do ‘many ofthe adjustments ro my ights fom the camera sition using wires control. Tha helps overcome the atnude of "good enough” that seeps into our ee sive work when we're phil re, With each pound of equipment I've jettisoned, I've found that [arrive on locations with more energy and a better ability to focus on creative problem solving. THE Basic EQUIPMENT This new paradigm of lighting calls for replacing bulky, lithe wall tdi igh withthe kind of portable ‘ectonic Hash equipment made 10 tin the bot shoe of ‘most profesional digital cameras. Instead of using these ashes on topo cameras, we can better leverage the 3 ‘anges of tei buil-in electronics and witeles cotwolbilty by moving them off the cameras and into lighting siuations that were once the exchive preserve ‘oF ponderous power packs an lish heals, “Most ofthe lcation obs han ches days are done vith a seal it of lights that include four Nikon shoe ‘mount ash uni, am infrared at controlera few small sean anl lamps, ad nwo o elite light mies Everything I need forthe peal location portrait ore ‘tril photo shoo, including my cameras and lenses, packs down into one wheeled ese, On 4 more comple job, | may aio throw an extra camer hag on op of the wheeled ese wit vome extra gadgets and rol of ape A WORSTCASE SCENARIO WITH THE “OLD ScHooL” APPROACH A few of my clients questioned my approach wnt they sa how mich more quickly ou projets went—and that we ail delivered the same level of quay we ad in the pas, Some of my fellow photographers sill shake their head wen I talk abot minimizing ox lighting loads, ‘They have methodologies that they belive work wll for dem, aig equipment theyve already bought and ansorited, For years, 1 share their vwpoin and kep complete in ‘eatoy of very expensive European fash ys tems an their ally privy ase. The turing point forme eame when Lear a story from a very funtated flow profesional photographer who had ust reumed from a jb thar had tured into a liter. Pike to share chat tory with you so that youl tundrstnd why Lam more than happy with what Isl “te minimalist proach,” el she ntrepa photographer inthis story Bob.” Pm leaving out Bob’s Ist name Because, in realy, he ould be ane of any numberof respected photographers ‘who have Been working stein the commercial pho- tography sector For the lst ten to item years. Les Follow oue traditionally equipped photographer on an ‘out-of nm jot that tke place in 2003, Bob and his asians are ying from Austin to Phocis n Phos, they wil ent a lrge SUV and head tw their signment in Scotsdale, AZ. Hob was heed by ‘who working onan annua re adesignerin Austin, port Her desine is prety igh, but all of the po raps wil be portent in interior locations, an she's seen alot of stl in Bob's porolio tha she lies, Bob's nission willbe to goto a huge, high-tech manufacturing fiicy and phorogeaph six or more key executives, The brit calls for “environmental pores” that show ine ‘ting parts of he fc in the background. Each exes ute should be photographed in diferent location thin the iit. The budget an the denne wigs one day shoot Ta complete his job, Hob is bringing large carry-on case of igta amerts an lens, A iether equipment ‘must be checked, Bob “old schoo!” in that he wes the stuioelectoni strobe fash nits (packs and heads) he bought ten years ago wen mest of his work was shot hin studio with Hasselblad medium format cameras, lb iv perfstionist and he relly rusts the heay studio lights he uses They are an expensive European band and they've never let him down, Bol figures hl ned four as heads 9 cover every posi. He packs wo strobe packs (the Mash gener tors) because, ike a boy scour, he is “always prepared” The turning point for me came when T heard a story ‘rom a frustrated professional photographer who had Just returned from a job that had turned into a disaster. for problems. Bach pack will pawer up to three ash heads, Another ean to bring the extra strobe packs be able t position some lights farther away from the ‘amr poston shan other, The cable inking the Hash heads to the sttabe bos need to be fy short ro mit powerless. IF ob wats to putalight 20, 30, 50 feet say om the othe igh, it wil nee its own strobe ack Tb ls relies that, Forsome strange reason (probs ably governed by Murphy's Law), electrical ovtets are tually situated frthes from the best loking lations, ‘With this ind, he packs several handed feet of heavy duty extension cords, They fi in a eugged, wellworn had ese along with al he eradonal secesis such as reflectors, coancctor, syne cons and lots ofthe white afer’ ape, hich Bob's asiants wll se to tape ex tension cords and cables 2 the Boor at thee Heatons star peopl dow’ ip over them and get hue mo0uCION7Botan his sistant also pack i heat ight stan and the masive toe bought itera yeas 90 to ho his arg and median format cameras sabe dur ing long exposures. nal, Bob and his cee spend hala day testing and packing ve ragged hard cases oF quip rent. The tworight caus tp the ales at seventy pounds ‘ach. The tripod and stand case weighs i just shy of igh fve pounds. The accessory case, wth 200 fet of Iheavy-dury extension cars, is ight a ainery pounds “The ant sd cane Fr the softbones and umbels that Bot igh need in’ heey, but is bulky. With all this gear Bo relies he wil luo have 1 inchide, and check, is heavy-duty transport cat ‘All the gea fits comfortably in Bl’ old Chery Sub whan, He wishes he cou tide in his old gas guzzler fara new, more economist ar, but todays shoot re ‘minds him of just how much gar he needs to ery and ‘how important the large ergo space ofthe Chew so tis business ‘With the shee amount of gear e's packed and the tighe scheduling the assignment calls Foe, Bolo decides ‘tha he will ned tw asians insu of one, The dice ‘of them meet a Hab’ stat 8:004M to lol he gear ‘ino the Soburhan, Is already a toasty August morning {in Austin, and as nights ow temperature af 8 degrees ths Holand histwoasstantsfstng a bc sweaty a they ‘aul the lst bos into theca, They ar alin good spi Jitsas they head to the Austin-Bergstrom Apo With the sheer amount of gear he's packed and the tight scheduling the assignment calls for, Bob decides that he will need two assistants instead of one. The faded siver Suburban arsves curbside right at {600.0 This gives Bob and his ere the eecommended ‘vo hour cushion betre thie 80040 ight The bein to off oad thee equipment in font of the skyeay” sta tion for their ehosen atin. Everything is nice and Fen une the fs case of gear his the eure sae “Soe, si,” says the muscular sycap, “tis one's over the weigh limic. We ave to cage you the now ner \seght charge. Is $125.00 per overweight bg” Bolts the universal gambic that worked owl fen ‘yeas agp, He calmly pulls $21.0 il om his wa MoMALs TING checks in wi Jet Te inference: “Here bigtip to look the ether way ann ignore the weight of the bags.” The syeap sakes his head, “All the bags are reweighed when they get pat ‘on the belie They're going eo get you one Way or the other” Four of the five checked bags are overweight, which dts $500.00 to Bob's transportation bil Kewl ako ade ‘$500.0 tothe return eri. He gulp but Figures he can i hack to his cent and explain this cost overun. He ows the overall budget is ot Tab and his crew heal on to check-in. He’ go hig roller as of cameras, and each asian asa smal bag witha eh, bot what else can he age of cones and thir persona tems. Bob feild he would be limited to ane carry-on and packed his ewea change of thes, woothbeush, et, in one of he lighting cs, [Upon arial a the Phocnix Skyport, Holy hs the a- sistant ait for their ates to come roiling of the bas ge elim carasels while he goos to retrieve the Ford Explorer SUV he hs reserved The secon ig ich its "here ae thre caaventions in town and al the SUVs ae one—even the one Bob cael reserved wk ina ance. Bob ow needs 10 reat te Fill sized (re a: ay”) aso all fhe ear Thank goons his fist assistant is over twenty-five and his & good driving record! Aer more than an ours delay al the goat lead ino the s9o easand the photo crew ito mest up wth Parking around the high-tech feciiey ‘they 'l be shooting in stig al seca tighter Hobs eam ends up on the tp aot ‘ofthe parking garage, acted a bund yards fom the Ft entrance, By the time they've Ihe ems contaet in Scots unloaded she eas, navigated the elevators, nego the ADA [Americans with Disbiities Ast) ramps, and the lis security representatives the ae an hour anda half lat foe thie fist shot. Now the fan bens, 1 Theft executive onthe day's schedule sould wait anal will need t be rescheduled Bob andi on ite cm ‘ac, Greg, scout out the Bint location, and the crew gts co work dsgorging the gea frm the css. gnoring the acctionaly wel lesigned and well-impemend ambi ent lighting, shy move quickly and set up thir usual”‘ervironmental porta lighting configuration, This con sits of ne ash hein large oto sett the left of he subject's mark, 180 Highs in mbt laminating, the meres architecture in the background 30 fet be hind the subject, and one more igh directly behind the subject to act asa kicker Hight and give the impression of sued dimension The toa sie lapsed wth Setup and test shoes i one how Nov they mai forthe awed, impatient vie president of manutcturing. Alicea bit of ila em, the ihe set propesy and Bob is images are good. Bob isin ye with the vice preset, bik» good rapport an the porzaits te looking great. “Then Greg the company contact sles one to Bb and ash ‘that shiny logo in the background?” Hob gives ite inate ter, dy 0 shoot. The “Do you think we could move over 10 fet an get and {hey star the process of lghtin the vic president loks at his watch and announes that he cane wait any longer then he walks oly is cient al dhe ere fel a bie elated they begin packing up ad geting ead 10 move thir west Iocan, ob reminds the asstants tot the mscing lights inthe lash hess cool before moving ther. Thy sec about pulling up ehe raped extension cond ram the floor In alfan hour dhey'te packed and rads to move. ‘Greg, the company marketing guy, answunces tha they saya wel Break for lunes, all dhe VPs are sede fe things other han photography during the hich hou "The asians are happy wit this plan as sei st mel was gel and ofc inthe Austin port abe staring to pet nervous, His origina chet a ‘pated getting six location portrits done during the day, Now is noon and they have complied just ene "The next portraits scheduled foe 1-300m, They would ave w ry tau the person they mise inthe morning to the end of the afternoon schedule, i penile, Rather ‘han brea fr hich, Bob decks to goa the next o> ation atthe fli: Once there, hel send one of he sant othe cafeteria to ge lune for everyone The crew ols the four whoo car, ile high ‘vor ur hundred pounds of lighting gear on dwn the long halla tothe next lesion and oes through the sme proces in—unpacking, ascmbling, alist ing, taping down extension cos and straggling to over vel all of the exiting ight with their hear: aaty strobes Te bottom line? Bob and crew cede toad a extra day on fcation co get the six shots his client deeded. Bob came home exhausted, frustrated, and over budge. The bottom line? Bob and crew needed to add an extra day on location to get the six shots his client needed. Bob came home exhausted, frustrated, and over budget. Far fom being an ioated incident, shoot ke this happen to photagraphers al the time, in my own bus nes, we often hid to go into overtime, kesping people (9 locations uni 8:00 9:00 0 fb a "as wink” with our tational equipment, There were ays su res thar ‘woul are sting up equipment in one area ony nd thar he closes avaiable wal socket was 50 feet away and vey be acess ff across hallway able ed down the progres of one procs, We for any accidents, we had to spend in taping te 6s tension conls to the Hour so that noone would rp ower them. Atleast once on cary every anal report project the client would insist on shooting in location that was only accesible by stats o ders, which meant pling allot our equipment off our hesny-duty cats) ad pore ing up andl back. When working with sco clectronie fase neatly every ight demanded its own power pack anal attendant wall sosket. And, remember, every setup hao be reset tid prc with Polar et il, Gols ow aw EouIPMENT DIET smaller and more portable lighting kit without compe sing te technical quality my’ciemts had come es pest. The missing pisce ofthe puzzle, the change that mae ning my ighting lod posible, was thera + believe that I could avite to 3 much ‘eal improvement in digital camer technology. Clor bal nee became simpler, and the lea performance at high [SO stings ede the need or higher powered hs ‘Now sara tothe small petable Hight ist and hink of the ponderous studio tases of yestenay a8 specialty cqipment! I consider sc Hging init, and Po committed 19 doing moe with es.Wh tlk shout minis, metering oa ae 2oxh-century design movement that ced fr reducing “kments in att work or interior design to the bare min rum, fa the art world se mean reding aval mes ‘On any assignment that doesn't call for massive infu- sions of light, you'll be happy you decided to minimize your load—and you may be a lot more productive. sage to ts elemental core. Our practice ito pare down tothe este the lighting equipment necesary 10 make great photographs on location. T've changed my stle, ener ime, to what Il a minimalist ighting syle Fite eri reasons 1. The new digital camera an wicks contol lable portable Hashes have rally changed ue rosion, ling us work more quickly and vith mach mare eretivefsedom, The reduction ‘orheavy, bully equipment lets us sive our enerey fo ur rel work making mages. The lighting se afforded hy sing just what we an pack nome ese (plat a hag oF Eighrweight stands and modifies) makes teaser to leverage the existing light on 3 lost and Den it vith ‘ur sini ight fra more natural nd uid style thar matches the look wee al interested ia renting Most importantly, our clint are pushing us 0 change, Whether sin the fel ofadversisng or ‘weddings and portraits, lens don sem to rnin paying our creative Kes—but al of he xtra cons of unncesaiy large protons bow thee budgets. This pushes them into using tore and more stock photography (or to cura ‘vera in the case of weddings). Advertsing sod corporate ints nce phoogephers who ‘offer 3 new level of lesbian crestivity,with 1 compromises on quality Minimal lighting ian the answer Fr every shoot, of ‘out; there af sil plenty of phonography assignments thar cal for lots of ight and waditional production els rigs. In those situations, it makes sense to use igast strobe pack and all ofthe baggage that goes wit them, Tryout an experienced professional and you have good preproduction meetings with your cleats, you'll know "necessary toring ‘wn yo cin gon igh and when the “big guns.” Bur on any assignment that Aloe’ cll fF massive fusions of Hight nl be happy you dese to miniize your Joat—and you maybe alo more productive you have the luni fighting and po _rsping jus for yourself, you'l be happler ‘eaeling unburdened WHo BENEFITS FROM MINIMALIST LIGHTING? The advantages of aeling light are obvious for prof sional photographers who wark on multiple locations pil foe those who travel eequenty om apne. But lighsing well with smal, ss expensive gear ao ops the doors to many younger, aspiring. photographers. ing more with es ves the playing eld by les the nancial ee for a whole ew generation, Fort terested amateur photographers, ii another way eo achieve better ess in cher photography without break ing the bank. you ar an eiteial phaxoprapher doing envieo tal pores in lets offre locations, this ap proach is made for you, With a few well selected igh tn a hand of color correction filters youl have the feedom to create portraits that integrate exiting ight ith your added ight toa degree conenonal si igh Fromanoter point a ew sing phoragraers ae very incre in geting a3 from wing sh dey on he camers a ae lok ing to use new, light ecgues o make nage the wl agate them rom the pack, They ae aati these tetigucs ees rs ae Becoming ores sarcoma ong once of shooting everything with alae ih oy eat phonograph wil ao do wel with many ‘he minimal igingtecigus, cpa sean ‘os The he abet fer mor vritions, with kes Sin inetd, han ever bere1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING ‘ear TecHwraues “The it photographers inthe mide ofthe 1800s ined aerials that were so inseastve to ight that ony long exponusin direst sunlight were bright cnough to make anvimage. Ae material became more rensive, phoogrs hers began experimenting with novel ways of produc ing enough light 0 make exposures without ehe help of the sun, Esl techniques could be quit dramatic, One of these methods called for igniting a quanti of highly Alnnmable materials while holding the camer shutter pen daring along expose. Thi ash poveder wasp ically a magnesium compound shat was buscally explode ‘om a litle plato. The fist burning ofthe — ‘magnesium put out avery high level flight, aswell at alt ofsmoke, Any miseaeuation of ‘he amount of powder equited cou start 3 fier proce third-degree burs. Because ofthe thick smoke and nasty siebome resbe prentuced by the fash poner, the photographer soak count on geting uly one shot before his subjects Hin ‘The Barly 20th Century. Photo plates nd Sins got faster and photographers turned to che kinds of movie lights ha Blmamskers in Hollywood depend on, Those lights were quite age and heavy and they generated 3 teemendous amount oF hea, hut they were 3938 in provement oer the use of explosives! Stuco photoes piers used his Kind of ihting (sale down for thi ces) sight up anti the 1950s, hn he fst hey ity ‘ernie ashes were brought to market The plight of location photographers wa bit rik ler Manuicearers began, inthe 1920s, to pf Hs bulls. These prided a burst of bright ight chat ws short enough in duration to reasonably feeze action wile proving enough drs light ro adequately lam nate asl oon, With the slow fs ofthe Hines Aas were alimontalways used drcty, which re ered harh nd unnatural ighting effec, Ao, Mash bulb was goo for ne shot only and then need co be replace. renter eading about an architectural pho rograper shooting fora major magazine who once it an ‘mie factory with dozens of fash, Al of hen had te he wired together in oner tbe triggered. The pho tographer and his assistants apent the better part of 4 ight hanging Mauls up inthe raters and wi them together. The photographer shor one test shor and Location photography with lights was a challenging profession that pushed its practitioners to experiment and innovate in order to create good photos. ‘went back tthe suo to develop the film (these were re olaroid day). The next evening, they came back 1 the cor replaced all of de bibs an done a tional exposite based on thei pretous test rests, Ob ‘the margin for errr was im, Asyoutcan see, primitive iting was costly an ie consuming. Aditinaly, without the morn coven jens of ash meters, Polaroid instant proofing fins ot the ivane-review stare of dgitl cameras st ih ing was realy done by tial and ctrr, Location phot. ‘apy wth ight was challenging profession tht pushed is prstiioners to experiment and innovate in onder to reste good photos The Late 20th Century. As recently 3s eny-fve years ago, ont hobbyists owned 35x SLR ca an, fe lenses, and maybe an automatic Ras, whichspent most oF sin the camera's hot shoe, Working rosea photographers gencaly worked with kes ‘wo dierent ypes of cameras and usualy all ce of he ‘major im formats: 3mm, men forma ol mand 4n5.inch sheet fin, Professionals wore sill rouinely ‘working with slow (25, 64, or 100 ISO) fins because they provide high degree of sharpnes ith er le gaia (noise). The fas were balaned for one specie light source (or colo temperature) and comtectng clor shifts in pospeoducton wae bray expensive and ine ‘While profesionals were quick 1a adapt Pari ia tune fil to test exposures, the lack of song ouput from portable ight and primitive battery technology) remained rel asie—even with the relatively powerfiland etal portable electronic ash ‘spent chat began ob inode in the 1905 ‘Asa osu, prosonals ill rough along, ‘heir buy studio clestronic lshes on lo sin (lang wth a8 army oF Shenps to transport them). ‘These suo strobes ensured the repeatabilyand coms tent color quay tha was mt in demand. They a0 enabled the photographer to work asa perturesin onder to keep everything in focus This is a emportant onsideraton when sing a large-format camera ‘When I started working inthe studio in the 19705, swe wsed Norman PD2000 fash generators each of these monsters weighed about 38 pounds! ‘The Mash heads which offen weighed hetween 10 and 15 pounds) were connected 10 the packs wich heasy cables. AS re sul, going on loction with wo power packs and four fash heads meant hauling around over a hunded pono inelading the heavy-duty ihe stands, un reli extension coeds and other acesoies. Often, out omplete lighting kit would tp the scales at thre ha red pounds! And any time we needed to shoot ou door, away from AC power, we ako needed to bring along gasoline powered generator and lots of heaty duty extension cont, ‘One consequence ofl this weigh and bulk was the need t hire asians fr etry outing and vo ee and ‘osure then, You ean aso imagine how time-consuming Seas to change lations with ll his equipment. Ad sionally, the strobe systems oF mente yeas azo Aid have the fine-tuning capabiies that modern sy tems do. you needed less power, you cou al dows most ofthe big units wo aun 400 watt seconds afer thar, you Ia to ad additions Mash heads and point them away fom the shooting area to bleed of poser ‘or you copied the im industry and used metal sreens in ran of your lights ro cut down on the ouput THE DIGITAL AGE Around thecurn ofthe 2a century, everthing changed (Capos, Non, and other manutictters of digital SLR comers leveraged the bileia computer power of thet few camerss to contol an equally new generation of snare las. ‘One consequence ofall this weight and bulk was the need to hire assistants for every outing—and to feed and insure them, Using the Nikon Hash system as an example, you ean now wielaly contol up to three groups of ff eamera Mases from your shooting positon. You can use the Aashesin he TTL (through the lens) metering mode, the [AA (automatic apertare) mode, oF the mana mele ‘You can rie or lower the sh level ofeach group sepa ral for complete contro ftatos. You ca tun groups ‘fT and on rom the camera position, and you can do al this wile shooting with your camera in ts automatic rods. There yas much lighting contol as you cou 8 fori almost any shooting location. Aacher technology thats becoming affordable and widely avalible is wiees radio tanemiters. Instead of ‘Wiring Hashes ro your eamera, you ean attach a low-cost witless receiver to each of our Hashes (as many 28 you ks) an trgg all he Hashes via a wireless tansier siting in your coments ha shoe. This works with just abot any fash designed to fii the ho shoe. These are ‘st used ina manual movde—and isa rel pls ithe Aish allows you to reduce ts ower in measured a peatable steps should mention that you don’ nce the att Hass from big mame manuficturer in order to we the sin malt iting plilosophy. Any rsent-model Ash chat allows you to canro the amount of power it pas out(HANGING PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLES ARE ACCELERATING THE MOVE TO MINIMALIST LIGHTING No ane knows which camels, the chicken or the ex the previling styles of photography —new fl rechna Ickgrounds, and lighting that complements the amo A number of well-known photograph 1.2 ens (a shadow, ald sparkle oa subjc’s ye, oF separate the Plece of sik close tothe model, With the camera wie ower, None but the Witha Nikon or Canon fa, it's as simple as pushing aisCae Poe eee aT Jp snqunu ge 334). ow sno oH Eat oe Stove ates2. EMBRACING THE PORTABLE APPROACH Moe 0 tee oo trite ur denon dy r,t a tr of emo nthe’ the oe tha ns Cen Sobran atl edn ek Toya Til a egumen y mda po brea poke Fhe och eyo ed eh iappterevaboranspan Stipe dc pea vata ohr however neice and you become sf og You my buy new arash at ou bing sg ‘ey Banke oft eben te pene boxand the er eae he sas moe a he ey sey wha ea ante Shandong che pecenced Uh cacael ete be cag ele ae tiga gag va en onal and fess physical stein. Now imagine thar this whole new lighting hit is a one ie eller ease with sour caters and lenses, Thi is your chance to reframe ene yout work going forward or professionals this sor of evolution really ma ter oF HE ad death fr their businesses, Sys change and imaging work is mot salable when it miro whats ing in our eutares Fee equipment you own pls you back from trying new styles of lighting oF nee ooks,* your asignment will decline Shoring new and sierent work eves you something interesting to share with your forte are director of elie. Reusing your lighving lead may give you just the pers you ace to ck your carer back ina high ger. Fram the nonprofesionals point of view you've probably ays thought chat the “hig strobes” were the pce of entry int a sere world of grou lighting, ‘You may have shoughe, “Ienly had $10,000.00 10 spend un sto strobes, I'd be abe to do the kinds of photogaphs I seein magazines and in ads.” Tey yeas go, dere cally was strong ‘se photographers. The best work real aid demand ex ancl ier entry or pensive gear—and the knowledge to use i well. Now the only thing that remains to separate amateurs fom prosis the knowledge of how to leverage the fight coming. oF your Hashes) with solid concepts abour lighting, light placement and ight mates. Tats dhe essential idea behind simpli, Imagine abandoning all the preconceived lighting schemes you've been using and creating a new language of lighting with precise contrat and less physical strain. ‘The minimal lighting philosophy ean be same pin tem point st: 2. Never use a big ight whem asl light can work just swell 2. Find the Highest up sue i des the fb. 83. Never use a cord ora cable when 3 rao slave or wireless feature can do the same jb, ot you an, but make BRACING THE PORTABLE APPROACH 17,4. All your igh should it one small ase. Your ‘ae should be small enougt oft inthe ever head compartment of your favorit itn 5, Don’t ight the volume of pas, light the vs be plans. 6. Your equipment shou inthe unk of the soallest renal ca 7-Itshoulde’ take mote me to pack an unpack sour garth it does to atl do the assignment Aways tke extra fes You never now when Inspiration wil demand, “one more ight!” 9. Lean to play aicly with de existing igh. And her's the most important philosophy technique / sabe for any photographer: 10. Get the Hash off he top of your camer! Good Tighe almost never comes frm the top ofthe camera, Ircomes from anges, fom bein the subject, of over the top ofthe subject, but rely csi come om sight over your lens, For the do-ie yourself and anyone intrested in ving money; there san eleventh item that cou be ade 0 the aoe st a. ever spend money on acesories you can easly ‘make yours soey of eamers, manufrs put shoes right 0a top ofthe camera because most cay camerss were simple rangeinders, and if you wanted to se what your composition looked like, you needed to attach 2 small optical finder to squint through. The logical place to pat the Finder was as close to the Lens as possible enc the “accessory” sho. t became a “hoe” shoe in {he 19605 to accommodate the Fine generation of sll Portable fashes and fostered decades of a, unatrsctive Photography millions of pale who cared nor about Betting enough light on a scene than gtting the right light on the scene. Throughout this book yo'l be en couraged to get your ights off he top of your camera, The only thing tha belongs ina hot se hese dy ithe transmictercomponene of your radio dash gg. ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU NEED 10 KNOW ABOUT LIGHT Whatever you choose to ight with, is important 1 dls he asc. Light has the following properties Airetion, ies, sons or hardness iie or pec tur, and color temperature (warmer or cooker /reer ‘or bluer). Tha’ it. When you lear to recogize and vai hese fur guaes flight you wl have gun 0 master photogzaphic lighting. A constant exer of op horographers st he aare of ight in everyday sts ‘Sons and to gure out away to duplicate (and ine prone spon) te ling OF ha light Direction. The dominant ight in most mata snes comes om a specie direction. Think ofthe downward Aiteton of sunigh a noon o the te-afiemo0n 50 angling up a ew degrees from the horizon, proving sramati side ight. Most photographic lighting tends to culate what we seein nature, We use lrg, sft wrap. sxound ight t emulate the soft, ight of an over cast dy. We ue snl ight abit frthor aay fom our 2 ill cad tthe oppose se, vo emtte soft sunlight. Diretion of ight sn important lighting design consideration because it plays co our bun em ‘ional responses to fren naturally ecuting ight fers. For examples bight sunny day makes mo poole fel happier ard more confident, while dark, at, vee cast days make us fel quieter and more reerved, We subject, wi Direction of Light ‘A get way to lea hw the diction fight alone ‘he Look of hot so tke 2 sll emp, id bl sb and move the gh an 480 dese ae ‘rome ara io your sujet tothe aries. sere the deton ofthe shove and he igh. Now se he ight at 45 degre above your sb. ego teugh he ane 190 pea Fil, asthe | Ugh it issih tlw the ain abet and moe though the sane 180 dpe at wie ef being your sujet Yau Sind an amiga of ts om (soe snp xcso 39 Ste "yo 249 et seapy rersdut ae ny, uni asec onde pe wa 01 as are nooo UL PAG a a wo Hm epee 2p osu, 0 .suue 4B Jo ya 94, saestonoud snpoxd (0 sos a way aie One 338 sae aS 4 snpau snopes 242 jo asnieu uado ‘paipe.yor ip a S80 ‘0 SueNpR pu Soop on NE Wy sR spe ago 2470 SaEND Yo 4 tv snd wo sade pe okay yO IO ssouyos 20 soupy au dood ay ox Sem BaNoNIEG sou 9 9 A 8 IsNO sT Ss eu pug 04 se OOK on A NO GE “iN osngyp 8 1 pags au sad Burpunnane aon us peuds es sup 28s yos sy maa se 01 poms ame sui ag “ys BAAR 10 suosrapar NBA om HE HOON As 39 POD EL aay passa 38 Hoe sess aod wr 8 mui, $B Yos pu uy seoods, Sey se 1 paias ay sus ayes auou! Sg snyend asp o> soo wcr ono 440 sansa ayer ‘ud 9840-240 «88H oR, aN SasoAdo 4p pr py, uns ou Ses fy Jo agen ap Uisomngp ayy ons 24dond yy algae #18 sop jus se pe sono poy uaa doulaayp sous ay oIghs M0 wo Bes 18H 2 fo Sen 93 Fugysnvor -singdsfonoyd on wesodn sou 924 30S 5, -YOS PUL LEE, 19 mud a asus p4ofsndo9 St) Yslwo>e 01 fn ao te 3.04 1 A ROORPPE xp eur eg SH UE YL 0 WO 29M, 8 IIH 24 pe we HO BHM PH WED HO A so Rages ayp en ayn wo SU Sonpoy ny no sito spguan# UA OP UE BOR seas ep pe ny uonsog one 2 2onpar oF pa uy snopes 8 0g Sapp eras S059 “9H MOG 30} ,tHOAOR, SDDS NHN BHT ‘nu Sowa aa os sap pe Jo ues yp mp so 04 pu oyesfonougd 34) nO DL saxesfonogd jo sql x Prue SNOPES 341 IEG br uoeanojr 298 08 agp 99 1 Bads> Mood set ovoyd sna ey aouoqpne UE ey “snopeys Buns Lian {ea yop jo a 208 es ou aus a ee fy Huan u rap astsind ue a4 940140 8s py deen 396 ue 9 unum yp ey psp 91 pak no ts um Jo ouDtzds> aye Han tuo spuadp jdestonogd 00H 9g Ramis Qt 20 oped ee wen no su despa pods ENS nos ass a 1g Jo Ainuenb ynoe poow nx aSHO4 Lo BH ne BNO 0 SNE HG FI ILShower Curtain Light | ‘Ageat tool fo learning about the nature of hard and soft crossbar and pu att abot two fet ay rom one baw mach the ght sped out and ow much safer te effets on you mode Fal, mave yur ight af back lose tthe eta apostle, an take anther pot reduce the ratio and reduce the intensity (the difference becween ight ant dark) softer the ight becomes. 2. he hacer the light ther the ght source i rom the subject, The hurdestlghe you can find would be a very smal that we can contro, that might bea spotight fom 100 fect away. The soft light would be the most diffi High aval. In practical ers femght bea completely ‘overcast sky 4 the lght source, Inthe real of ighting can controle woud be a ian shec fran cent white materi placed as close 0 he subject a pow ween bouncing one or more smal lh unite off age white wal or white cling versus pointing a bare fash at across the room, However, nothing & ‘ver simple inthe rel word, The ight efecto of an opporite wall educes the contrast of the light and makes it appear soft ‘Well tate ways to we all the properties of igh cffectivly in chapers 4 and 5, but fint let's igure out what kind of gear you nee and what kind of aecesriy wil come in handy when you ae ot on location,3. PUTTING TOGETHER THE RIGHT STUFFhave the budget, you may sn mare se ful to you a you Begin to explore more complex and de sanding lighting situations 1. Bilin standard PC connector (a univers pg tage battery pac for faster Dash reeling and all-day power reserve ‘3. The ability to tu das the power in precise Ys sop increments all the way down to Yi power These three features can ake slong and techn more esl i the oo following features, bur be sware that chese extra capabilities are usualy only ara able when used in conjunction with pei camera fiom 1. Wises off camera Mish control (The Nikon camera and fash combination willlow you to rol up to thre ferent groups of fshes, setting lsh levels ane uring groups on and of from the camera, Canon's ystems ae similar) 2, FP ash cpabiy. (The ability to be ws, auto maialy or manually with high shutter speeds inscad ofthe normal, nite ash synconiza c This makes balancing the fase with daylight easier and gives you more lighing options on bight dy.) Other Features ic” moves are ks important youl he ead to star searching or your fash ns. In the following seston thers moe detail about vious 10 tise every aalable unit.’ a Nikon shooter so Ym models but t's really bey! the scope ofthis bo fies of Canon and some Meee unis ae nary ent The bottom line is thts to get the most out of Provable loation lights, youl want wo selec Mash om the family of fishes sometimes called “cobra hea” {The HEROES: THE LIGHTS side round! 1972, numberof companies compete ih oe new tures to iflercniae thir prot, One company2 4nus wor 3h we901 MUNA 4 saqu waseasngs Sovsey yeas pur saa UP Jo aun tuna ap Tuanpe aH aN OPEDMP 4 uaa abi span sey Hemp wy SEY UO sss arts su09 pr 259 ud oj aos ope sow uuosey Fou ALLL sH008 Spay yoo! Bay sR KE -supoo que, kumoeinueus paodds ira 3) pou toe> jo soi pny pur dn p> syd oF uopEdap 1 ip Saya Ansa Sina pa seni 304s ox suo. apc ue sanejNeUE OLED Ped antag panegioy au 88 gL 999484 Poxpune spe yeu sey 9pUEApUT SUOMNIOS BE L122 paapanul srunejnuew sof fe UoOs “synsas quaysisuoa pue asizaid aiow! Joy oxq403 ‘onjes samad Buvsoney ‘GuroroUi ysey LL S2:0u6t fa6se) ‘Aydosouyd Suny6n asnewyusw axp sseupocd yueUL yun pss “uy 2p Say py Ye Jo VOReAED 9p ps>UON PoE ‘sori aumsodio nou au oF pIMIFMAEL PRE vay sa go as umn runqus yp pe unos ys 2p sp0g sa2u pjoown eIHeD 24 aM} ‘aaa UP ‘Foner poq o> wow aya HORDE yo ¥ Send 4g se pa¥uryp snd “stoMeDyauo> oypo pu ‘rose Hane yp a RP 20 8 J0 se eae a7 uo say ig paNpU 29 pos yu es UE omeacune a2 ng Ys 4 2 polooD sone 40 He 2440 oy 99 80 Jonna fasows Ha99 SE PL suse nape uo sus se “USL SDA tnt Sq 20099 0) a ays pose pag cue> YO so 249 ADU SM KAA NHI wo 3889 SogR 90S 0K AH HoRNOADE NOK LL, sos ny Heno9 ape soppan pune pasbasy ay oe 0239 ssn "sun se Ses Hox ae sono pu “une "app “yeu ays oy aesEda 3403 os 9AM Y SENNA MER aI on SADE AS {ine mo auBnoug soumaeueas ye sao 95 0°68 puone o aya nan ak 2 24836 N94 IEE ABT $8 OHA HLL 3 BH ax jad ary 29 yep pou © aye PINON, sot 2242 Jo pub SuoRUTy aruONe poem of Se f294 uP MOS gp EDK LH AEUH aN on sepsis aay eae ey os pu) st pe ost sue 941 ume 57) aI SHE FHOEN 2 ‘pou ag se (gong nEIp asad) yostUe> cones juondo Spoqca yp i soso eOANE IEE sons a4) uly $2 2) 204020 Soup fue pn 9 09S HD Ms 8 90 0 HS yon} ge ay ne Tua 9.9 8 wes ‘afoot gos au pn at "uI8N 9] OHAREPL oy son 903 oa HN ow Ry ay) sooo Buss eda, 9 2 Sg aN0 and 38> 0 49 B24 289 09 IE GUD AS PHDY YS Sao © poppe seis ve ss9UTUD 24] "WKH RIES sods pue gz 941 J SHNIE} 94 5H IE OI IE op SUL ABT 2 aE 2 HE ‘ods 0) yoo] pe wo sed PypOHS Na “sua 240 ep 941 99 Hog sa Ing VOR ry eb 9 spuNOR #2 JBUSLA HLL ‘aye psn 2 Ho AE A i Seu Sueur pu ape as30 some 30 oops ses ea 34 350 YomH0 Jo 80 GH 20d fy sian 208 gap siubeunbos wnuU ip saz se un 2 png DF UO He os “sys soy use 869 24 SE SII, BNO * ot nop 2d wy Yo 308 pom yy 0 uno 3 OO FP HO 1} POW AA HAE AE snoop soni nen aera yp 0 peonsg:foines sued gyrate Hees nas ap sey eis yo pads vay xp pou yur ysey 24 wo Se stsuDs 4p UF paypene (pry ros paiepap foo, © wo pay! 39 p> 3 IgBAONAH se 200g 40 s8 x OHH ea MD to! pos ar Bunonvon gq nan0 8 3 ponds pos a pae ui you pasa py 4 uy 8435 pmo sey 24 Jo 2004 94) Ho ESL ‘unas answonne yi poqvow sup HN, Jo woresous8 sa eyo 4 SP ERT FHA DUE,“ esg Zunes. wong oN FOF NOT ER Satu ua pi sedan ano Suny en Fp tu jo 10 and ous ge pute 9 BOOK. onss0, Ste SHRINE 1 PUTIN YEN uN, 9 Dp sea SUL “ERT TANIA ap Aypangnopan sea SSE ono 2} 3095 04 spo yo EEE a as se sued sup 79pr>] Joye a4 BED9q KppIMb pue ULV, -2d pur suns jo unneugquuan 4p puny yso9‘ikon sis, previous to the current SB-600 and SB-800 mit, that are very dele for rina igher who ent Nikon digital The SB-24 was introduced in conjunction with the F& fora lcaion lighting Kt Teas fm camer inthe ea tia wonder ash ni ving capi tha com be et manly and power ratio contro that dons the power in ill tops from line Nikon ast 10 Yi Like al wop-othe socket that allows the Mash to be easly wired 0 a tig ering device or dtetly synced ta jus abou any pate ont ofthe unit allowing a direct connection fo high stage battery pucks. The SB-24 i bit bulkir than cut reat models bu a rest ‘ikon ftlowed sue iyo can find one cheap. 1 the SH-24 with the SB-28, which add wired ‘wef and several sal enhancements nich s more a age capabilites, The replacement for the SB-25 was the 88:26, These two Hashes look very much ake, but the S126 was he fist ash ui to work in conjunction with the "AD" fash metering ofthe Nikon F5 camera bod The AD fash meter sed distance information to ineune fash exponutes. The SB-26 ao bonsted sy elegant sdtion, «bulein optical ve cal. Now 58-266 could be witeley triggered (bt aot wiley controled). The I-26 wa very wel rceveda fe of them seem to surfice onthe used markt. It has are tion for being “indestructible Niko + ascurte with svi fi bodies. widespread intodiction of digital SLR cameras around he rura of de century. Phorogapers quick found thi he fahes thar ad worked so well in TTL moses with ameras. Apparently, the sce of lm was relatively uniform an its eflctance ws consent enough to siply realy good expoure ae racy. Such was nr Ue ease with digital. The sensors in he cameras hal a eflectance tha vane depending on the gle a which ight suck, The at-alasing filters ws over the digital sensors also had efetion ses The net Fash ey phy’ Achille ofessonals switche back to ol tec me relying on the automation provided the Has unit's Font mounted senso, others went back The Nikon SB-2SDX wat Niko ighting dle, and wii twas better, iil had its The $B-28DX was the Aas tows vile pre-Bases in conjunction with TT problem fist of the NikonNikon called tis adaption DTT. Ash SD is a gest fash, same power. Its power management (ako known asthe gal with ts batteries, OF cour, the SI: 28DX can be connection with high powered battery packs. In the year oF 40, ghey used examples of this Nas have tot eal ind introduced a now svitch to lock the Hash onto the h pe ofthe cascea. Ofer mocls ued a ound; Pate bared knob that hal tendency to get tuck, While not much more accurate with digital camtrss than the SB. 2RDX, the 2 Nikon, lighting in 2 minimalist system bu rately avaiable a the bargai prices ofthe previous model. model from Ni ies sytem from Nikon, The SB-800 keeps the metal hot occof the SBSODX, works groups of fase in a wireless network. The SB-800"s high purehae price kept rom being recommended as me and would also ike fo break the rules end we her fash ight on topo her Nikon digital eamera—in the hoe The Nikon SH-600 ie a strppo- doses that has PC aymc socket, however rex Fo its ho Nikon fish ted who ike to work with the FTL witless lash contro tem ike the SB-600 just the sme. I fers the same controllability at bigbrother, but « bat 20 percent longer. One aiional TET. wera rac svesving lightly less power output and a g be Nikon, There are two crrent models and tree recent dscorinued mod tls that fi al of our hase parameters andl embody the sie kind of constane improvement show by Nikon hits are the SSOEX and the lagchind the Nikon fs mision of PCswaste 4 MZ.3 his ash compatible with many ie An interchangeable shoe module mae thse units have dropped since the introduction of the Meta 54 MZ 4, This a is current al ised in do How To CHOOSE THE RIGHT SYSTEM per wil likely need to handle most projects, three fash units, If ane fh il be used a «muster oF tigger ah fom the hot shoe, you may want to acd one you're ona limited budget the Vinita 285 HVS 0 ou wane 2 ook a market. Al any ofthe used Nikon Hashes discus above ore-TTL wirelessly controlled Mass, you'll ced to get ne mast fs andro orc suite remote ashes ca ec ees egy tht mb pour gpa ee For Nikon ownes, that kd mean purchasing one SB your syle of shooting really requires radio lives, they il work wel with eter sytem, Ifyou know fom the start that you'l be using -TTL indo and vaio slaves ‘outdoors, you night wane to purchase all SB-800s, asthe tnil-in PC syn ternal will prove valuable when yo ‘Whatever direction you decide og, be side buy of the same model ash unit Many photography assignments are done under seswon rarer to which fis aached. The uth mecamera cords to trigger the fash, Each method has good fash triggers is right around $500.00, Each aldiionl and bo points reccver suns jst abot $250.00, For the photographer advantages and, ofcourse, few dsadvanages. The best up. What's a strugaing photographic ars tod dio slaves, ike the very advanced ones called Pocket Well you could look fr less expensive rand of aio mee distances of up 10400 fet! The receivers only trg- ave become avalble inthe United States, One ger the lights when they recive a edo signal Rom the uibuted by RPS Comporatin, but avery snr system is wen working branded and sold by Specdotron, This species of radi ound oer pho slaves is that of almost infinite scalability. With a big enough expendtce on receiver units, one could easly cost, basic et of Pocket Wizards, the gold sand 0 “ftor came un ye 24p Uo Joss 98 po) sama oN a cu 04 yp TUNE nn oN SOX bp spice ph oe Sh ty SL soa anos 1 ano SSH BABE UH 113480 PIED pod esas oo Sod fina Se oe ugh and ays yy wy sey ay uy py ro jou 99 3 upIMON Fano, pasa, sonny ane endo 20 ofa pases oo Ay apg 0 8 vn rg aos sn pa and es HOU OA rs por a pong 828 ago SDM 2X9 ot i pulp uo Ys Suonpaud soy aogrindas spi sey Au, spat, ape a py 08 pe stn gg pds ot ate es 2a Susypous Buys Jou 1 nay malta joa9> Soa gn (ou Sua aq Sunt al one ave cota ones eR, “OOO FHGan ears oe 1s sy sans ayo See 2919 jeooseo 29,8 9 0 0 HED 42 Sn} YA sojpg SoA oNpes aja “WOISMIT TALS 3H ns souuos9 9 aH OF wo SEL oy suruoas 2009 tno ud ssoopin 250 0 spo OM E> typos ey AaeayyP anoKN SHY SHOU! ANP ‘Supe un se uy oes us © a9 OH OF pe sop PIS PODD 0 RET SPA 1) 4 yessou 5.90 9 yp st GO 320 2 youag poppe ay “ny a4) 29 aun sR 24 91 sovoyd pot sp4p uf suosuDUT 224 yon} snag van poe sare uy 0 eH WORD -.v0p pu App axou 03 aney ayn soya syed ose apo 1.1 Ponneue ur pm ag 0 Ge St SHOR 2200 JO 204 © ON Oy neo, by qu sed dans a onset SPA LL deny anew ay arya ayn ng on 2 rue dh ag ose oop Asus p30 sn a Jay apne aoe Hoag usr stows 24 fBuED pu use sss ay jo aoe yp 2 SHPO soo sau paso IEE YO UE PU LOAN, {no won se tos onsen par ds ay ox doo a ous AN 5 BH. Jamo fe a 9 we Ky pow eooeu oy IEtnt they blew out thei iret breakers because of a resent ight flickers. IFyoure on location when you en oa use your ashes manually and et powe a im instead of using TTL automation, you probably don’t eae, The bottom ines that they workin many it ine. They won’. That's why they make radio sv! Co ‘ly right higher rigger them, Hou have constructed tion degrade te effect you'e after? Wil he frontal ash eae thee u've Work hard to erate? Wil it 1 shadows? If you Work i i a suutio all day long, TETHERED 10 THE CAMERA OF YOUR CHOICE Refae everything le, there was the hardwire, a doubl strand of copper that phyily connected a Mash to the caers In the phot raphy world it is wie o IHash ace only he mone short dance off camer fi sx ao waren 2 aty falling ofTa bic AULING AROUND THE PHOTON GENERATORS: Je takea break fom thinking about fe, sae, sided roling‘amera gear with enough space leftover for for ashes anda handful of radio saves. Being able ro coll case along, wth an extendable handle, takes most ofthe phys Jl burden off the phouographer and lets you ave on locaton relaxed and ready for aeion, ‘The collin eas ate available from tradional bag manufacuters such as Lowepeo, Trac, Lighevate and others, The current hoe rolling bags are fom anew compaay called Think Tank Photo. They make a smart-foking roller bag called Alport Secu wich is aatly into a domestic dine’ ovemead ack and comes with lacks for both main zippers 2s well as tury built-in cable that fused to lock the nite hag to any convenient immovable object. It night nor stop a dedicated thief with time on his hands, but when cabled the plumbing in your hotel oom, i might serve to discourage crimes of opportnity ThinkTank ao makes venion called the Aiport In terational Rol Is cim ro fame is a set of measure ments hit allow i to fit inthe overhead compartments or under the seats of international carrier, Whether you go with the Alport Security fom Think Lowepr’s Pro Roller, or the Tamrac Rolin Strong which ro work, Ad aly, al of thems have lage tral pockets capable of holding sl lighe stands an side saps to secute tripods and other accessors, TFyou have good camera store close by, is 3 good idea to drive on over thal oF your gear and se which case realy its the stu you use, Breryone's idea ofthe eal ease ie ditfrent, and i's har co tl from sata photographs how everything Gs Ws the consensus of most experienced photographers thar one way or another youl end up with rling ese The only question i wll ou get one before or ae yo GETTING YOUR LIGHTS TO STAY WHERE YOU NEED THEN Getting small ashes posiioned propery reminds one of the television show; MacGyver, where the hero could make us about anything out of common housek ob- jects, On one show he would use lawnmower, a few umbrella and hollow core door ro make an alan um, ightbulbs, su popsicle stcks to defase a nuclear bomb. (Okay, these hile on another show he used chewing are exaggerations but you get the point.) Photographers arc roel lke Mactiyer when they begin to master the av of fgging thee igh. There's something about che abiliy to pur aight just about anywhere shar makes you fo a bi ike a superhero. Teall sats wih ight sand The light tan isa per ‘tly ational choice fo holding ight. Tha's what is Alesigned to do, But st ight stands are designe to be sed wit dois that have ui. mounting rack «ts that ir neatly on the taps ofthe stands, Your Hash tis are design oft on the tops of cameas a litle You need stand bie of customization is called or adapters with acestory shoes on top of them, Abowe and fon the next page are two photo examples of sand adapters from various manuficrres. You'l notice tha the best ones serve two paps: (1) they have an aessuccesflly mounted small Ashes to bare wal with thing but an aljter and some hand ‘Various adapters are availble from Alzo, aso Pronste, and others, The ones you want havea shoe raount on the top. That's the woe ream ta buy the stand adapter Make sure yours Hold Still Right Theret Now: that you hem, Dave Hoy, amicus minimalist photearapier and case thatthe utimate ight stand for those comico reducing ther lighting load, isthe famous Manfrotto inextends upto a impressive 75 inches in deference to the black finish of most cameras and pho luggage, they are avaiable ina black finish as Want 1 consider the regular metal nish ait won't ab o the same degree the black finish wil, e's Another fvorite is the Pic 4707 Featherte tight ‘weighs only I pound, 13 ounces. Ie is rfid For alsturdy, no for omenient travel. Some Hight stand ip the scales at 14 pounds, probably more than all Your Tights and camera equipment combined! You may need taller stands for some shots, bat the Manon secve you wll 90 percent ofthe rime. Since the 3 legs fold dow in thei unique way it’s easy to anchor the stand for safty or wind resitance by puting heavy ob jects on the legs when they are pale othe ‘A Weighty Subject sho wight them donno hy Sor od ae Senet of danage pope Poti males ean lst as wh connecting Rok tat ae mde a Be fl wit ater ded in glace ofan Youn Going Reyond the Light Stand, Ligh stand areal ood and well but one of the fun things about euly able light isthe range of pions you have for ununas ona 3 BHL390L OLN eye pa any par pee oo ie ‘fu y pom oyp ut ooupe pue ayy {aa 295 NOG ssl poop a snounbygnseoun jo au wy ase sma snow 0 9 6 304 PAS. 199 HO ONE ey aan 9] e Surpoiday aqeu ade Sods dos {44 2484 3004 Jo sawn 24p ases9HF OH ps0 puns 240 on patunow yey OK souNR J s9qNENE ros as pa ou ey pave pe 5 de Ee spasm zn Spec pap age esa #3 ony en Kaen a ‘won uy pe anop Bue wey wag 50 pd ‘as 0 os asain ep pa 3 en RT vey ea sn ange deus Sugano PO ‘anogy 39 yoo7 2x9 3gnop Sty 02 4 82 re Sas ranod aio 195 Ha ued oH BHO OHH PONE HO (eae fies bene hed Sale Sl Gea sou 30 RD WK PEN HSN 0 soe oq aosanne up PG A suo a de ty 9 3 SE BS gs Asif bel v pooper nai See cb >uues 4 8.0) na sy 9 249 HO pas SoM Du vs 4p ew 8 Buono 29 Spey 2tvo pe Huoe Sums oe ae su xO sy >so Hump anoge sn pue suey “s}pys4o0q ‘eH Suy9 0 spa ay SHOP 2 soyse Bude 20) 19 soda uo po pms Hunan on dey x pes hn Seat pins planes span esa pues pi jo pens due das gan 4p an fo nos Sue uous HO aoeyy “Fe rooClamp and was invented by the lighting guys inthe mov industry for hanging xt fom tse kinds of celings. These lamps canbe leavers when you need to puta light right over your subjc (fr eet), ight be hind your subjer (or 3 hae ight), orto pu splash of light om the back wall and you ea’ wea ight stand be Heavy-Duty Clamp Champ Set comps ll Super Clamp redefines the term “hesny duty Properh ‘des articulated arms and other gadgets, This system they need ro shoot straight down ona scene or asl ie heatable for mounting any number of things, This «combo, mounted 10 the top of convertion dar, be Super Clamp/Magic Arm combinations the weight and but acd o you location bi table Light Stand? While mos the equipment ehoices and techniques inthis ook emkeeps them fr "WO FINAL VIAL ACCESSORIES The last two things you nee 10 ald vo your Kt ae vit fo that makes minimalist actin lighting work tke agi, and they are fanaticly cheap. You noel al of Gaffers Tape. Gaffer's tape is wed fr just abou hing ro wall, The eavone you want ral gers (Color Corsetion Filters. Theo is ings and serew onto your camera lens, they are fi svalable in large, fesible shoots that can be cutPas Pie as Gray "as nin ap ey i ih ig a ae yo ef and placed ver any sort of ight source. You can order sample book fom company alld Ronco, They've been ment of proving the movie industry with a huge as ‘sor filters For many decades. They'll send you 3 sample ‘book with hundred fier ters, You'l st ikely just ned dee ve for dren colored ites, but once ot tart sing them you won’ dam of going on les tion without thm, You'l finda ist of iter suppliers inthe Resource se tion in the back of this book. Here's what you" want in ‘order to maser any mixed lighting sation ‘ull CTO. This isan orange-coloved iter that con ‘vert slight color temperatures to match the tempera ture of rangscn movie lights. I's alo close enough to {et your ashes into the same color range as bright, ‘howschol lights. This sone you'l ue on interior lo tions every day and on exterior lations for special Half CTO. This gives you half the conection ofthe fall Tanai very soil in geting color temperatures closer to each othce while sil providing some color Plu Green. This a green fer tars apprxiately 50 points grecn on the mired scale, I's sed hen You ‘ensountera scene tal iluminated by Noreen hight atures and yas nee 0 ge ele to the clo they are ming. You'l place tis iter over your ash and st vir camera to one of ts horesent white balance set tings. This gives you am apioximate correction for many interior lesions rows Fito. Vou might want vo pt together mia fof warming and cooling tes fo various effects. Some photographers cary a vag of fill, one-half, an ove ‘quarter CTOs at well several strenghs and variations ‘of ps grees to se in ine ting sors, ‘Whatever yu decide to buy, you'll want to use sharp if iso oct hon into rectangles that ar gh larger than the fat 8 your Hashes I a good ea to hae enough of each er ype to coverall of your Hashes ‘ecate you'll want al the cols to satch when every tigi pressed ito service ‘Once you've got your ters youl nee to realy look 2 the light in eich location and figure out what Havor the dominant ight source i. In an ace oF manultur ing situation you'll most offen encounter Aaoresent Tights. tna siaation like hs you'l want ro ape on your ps cen filer, the mera ro your fucrscen et. ce and start shooting ting, or make acistom white bal Be sure to avoid shooting with windows showing oe youl have to del with a magenta contamination. la 3 tlery or home youl ustlly encounter tngsten tac Tighing or regu incandscene lighbulbs, I thse are(nce you've tered your lights to match the min ht source in your scene youl be able ta use slwer shster speeds ro ntrauce more salable il igh for Te’simportant to get your head around the whole con ‘cept of color remperatae. This is another one ofthese ake ito break ie” sues indo spect color temperature, Tis ranges fon the decp red (ofa bring log to the very bu ight of the sun high alitades, For most situations you'l encounter in day-o {ay photography the ight wil range from the ool blue Tht ofan overcast day to the very warm glow of candle Fight ata wedding or some other interior location Ii a mined lighting station evo or more diferent have the same capabilites. For any exposure the phot taper must choose one white balance, A code wont rv the art on every wall, and severe fuorescent lights” in bookcases, under shelves, and in elting fatures. Ihe photographer chootes to balance for the Auoeaceats the ight through the windows wl show as 2 purpliah-magent ight white the erick ights wil beaine cnt st pt tw aw ae be foe ne ‘sar orange yellow the photographer chooses o bal: ance forthe tungsten tack lights, the uorescents ill show a deep ik greenish brow whe dhe igh fran the windows wil show as a deep be Correct forthe lylight seaming through the windows and the tack lights wil show as orange while the Borescenswil gle ind green ‘What you're doing wth your filers con sertng your Hashes to match (relatively) the dina igh source of the scene, IF your scene cman 0 diferent ight sources that compete, ul have 1 find a way t0 convert ‘the second existing light source to match te fist one ‘oF youl have to climinate the secondary light source aie “Te fare in industry as hee ding thi Fryer. Iiaine shooting 2 scene in giant sewseoom for a novic about a reporter: You mht have five ten chou sand square fect of open ofse space filed wih Nore: nt eiling ighting. The entire office might be ringed with big windows, The dzector a photograph (he per so responsible or designing the lighting for vic) has to make a decison: Wilh ler evry window with args sheets of plas green go, thereby converting he dastight coming though the windows to ate the interior light Source? Or, will he choose ro wrap every one ofthe Hs ‘orescent tues with 430 magenta gel in order cert the interior lights to match the davlighe Balance? The hud film director would immediately say, The hel ‘vith the daslight, wel change the serpy shoot a nigh Ialance our camera tothe forescents, and save thou sands of dlls! t's virtually impossible to replicate the look of an office ofthat size with lights on stands. The light falloff across the room would be insurmountable. The ony option they would not considers ving ‘oversea ofthe other iting sources and light the scene fn scratch with movi ight. 1's vial impos sible to replicate the look of an office ofthat size with Tights on stands. The igh flo scoss Use room would be insurmountable In eflet, divetors of photography tre conirined to using the same techniques (om grander sale) nibs lcaion lighters! urn ToceTER THe KT STU 53