Add a splash II

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A repost of an article from exactly three years ago, because someone asked “Michael, what do you mean, you would have added more flashes”. Sometimes, you do this for cool colour. Here’s that previous article:

Further to Thursday’s post, I thought I would brighten your day with some more colour.

You see, sometimes you need to shoot things that are a bit, well, drab. Like this wall – the screen is great but the wall is a bit dull:

Wall with screen

So then, as you also saw two days ago,  I shot it again, this time with two speedlites:

Wall with screen with gels

How was this rainbow effect achieved?

  • Two 430EX flashes were fired using TTL, by means of a 580EX on my 1D MkIII.
  • They were aimed at the wall, one above the other, aimed in the same direction (good idea from my assistant!).
  • They were fitted with Honl speedstraps and with a Honl gel each: red for the bottom flash, green for the top one. No other modifiers: other than the gels, they were bare.
  • The ratio between red and green was set on the back of the 580EX until I was happy.

That was simple, and I think you will agree it’s a better shot.

 

A seasonal portrait

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I shot a young couple’s season portrait last night. So here, the explanation of my thinking.

This couple usually shoots a fall picture, but this time, their photographer wasn’t available and they left it a little late. So they hired me, and we did a Christmas-themed picture, since I happened to have been told Oakville has a large Xmas tree.

But there was little night – a night shoot. So this meant I combined a very slow exposure with a couple of flashes. You can see them here left and right in this pullback shot (you do know you always take a pullback shot, right, so you can see later what you did?):

One on the left with an umbrella; on on the right behind the couple, fitted with a grid. Both flashes on manual, fired using pocketwizards. 1/8 power (key) and 1/4 power (fill). The resulting picture:

And one more, my favourite from this shoot:

I would have added more lights perhaps given time, but this was a fairly quick shoot, plus it was freezing – literally freezing, around minus 5C.  Try holding light stands at -5C. Not fun.

So I used a slow shutter: 1/4 sec at f/8 at 800 ISO. Why such a small aperture? Because I wanted depth of field. So that means a slow shutter and high-ish ISO in order to correctly expose for the tree. Then I add flash.

Note that I also tided up the ground in post, removing oil stains etc from the concrete.

 

 

Let there be…

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…you have heard me say it many times: photographers who know light are real photographers. Or put differently: all artistic photographers understand light.

Here’s my basement studio:

And traditional light like in that setup (key light, fill light, hair light, perhaps background light) gives me traditional portraits. Nothing wrong with those, as this portrait of Lana from last night shows:

Good, standard light, good for many purposes. But now let’s get creative. Instead of a key light with a big softbox, let’s use a speedlight with a grid, and no other modifier. Yes, an unmodified flash for a key light:

Very different, no? Dramatic rembrandt lighting. And not bad at all, contrary to popular belief: yes, you can use a simple unmodified flash. As long as it is not where your camera is.

In fact, many women like hard light, and it can be quite beautiful.  Here, the same setup with another speedlight added for the background, with a yellow gel. Loop lighting:

(TIP: It is important that you have a dark background before you add colour. You cannot add colour to white. It’s not paint!)

So your assignment, should you choose to accept it: go shoot a portrait where the main light is off camera and is direct, without softening. Grids and snoots and gobos are OK, but no umbrellas, softboxes, or bouncing.

 

Be An Apple.

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Would-be pro photographers, I have some very important advice for you: Do not compete on price. Stay away from bargain-hunters. Just do NOT do it!

I am saying that this is important advice for several reasons:

  • If you compete on price, there will always be someone cheaper than you. It’s a race to the bottom.
  • Price hunters take an inordinate amount of your time and are disloyal: the moment someone else is cheaper, there they go.
  • Your value proposition is wrong – competing on price says “I am not worth much”. You should be selling a premium product! After all, everyone can take snaps by clicking an iPhone, You can do better. You know the rule of thirds. You have good glass. You know how to do post. You know flash (*). And you need to make that very clear. Low pricing does not achieve that: rather, it achieves the opposite.
  • You will drive away the best customers – those who want a premium product. These are the customers you really want, and they do not go to Sears for photos.
  • You will go bankrupt. Do the math: say you do a portrait shoot. What are you going to spend both in terms of immediate cost (your travel cost, your camera, your batteries, your parking fees) and time (preparing, getting there, shooting, driving back, unpacking, downloading, post work, sending to client, discussing with client, invoicing, follow up)? When you do a little spreadsheet that contains all this, yes, it’s a lot more than you think. Take your bill; subtract immediate cost; then divide the remainder of the money over the hours spent and you will see that you work for minimum wage or less. You cannot build a business that way.

Aha, I hear you say, “but Michael, others in my market are cheaper, so everyone goes to them!”

Oh? I can buy an Acer PC laptop for $300, or I can buy the Macbook I am typing this on for $2,000. I did the latter, and so do many others. Guess who makes more money, Apple or Acer? I bet that in your market too, Apple sells laptops. There are no markets where everyone only buys Acers. In a market where there’s a McDonalds (i.e. everywhere), there are still expensive restaurants. Always keep that in mind. You are a bistro, not a McDonalds.

The secret is that people really want the Apple laptop or the expensive steak au poivre. Once your client really wants what you are selling, they will pay what you want them to pay.

So – make sure that:

  1. You do the math. If you are selling below cost, you will go bankrupt. Or you are subsidizing a hobby. Not good.
  2. You dare to ask for premium prices. Asking for real money takes confidence, courage, even. It is a natural impulse to say “oh, I don’t want to insult people by asking too much”. But resist that urge: You are worth the price. You don’t do iPhone snaps. You know your stuff. Your hours are worth something. You offer value.
  3. You profile yourself well. You should exude quality, from A to Z. Apple takes enormous care when designing the boxes. The web site. The cables. The boxes for the cables. Yes, even the damn boxes for the cables are a work of art! It’s not just “Apple makes better laptops”. For all I know, Lenovo also makes great laptops. But Apple gives you a great, quality experience from the start to the box. And you should do the same – your entire business, every touch point with the client should be a great experience. Be a pro! No gmail email addresses. No cheap printing. No husband answering the phone with “oh yeah, right, well my wife’s not in right now, she’s gone to the doctor for her checkup, one of those woman things”. (**)

My location sitting fee is $335. That is what I charge to turn up and take pictures for an hour. The photos are extra. I am pretty sure there are people who do this for less, but I do not care; in fact, I shall increase it soon. I want to be Apple, not Acer.

Michael

(*) Oh, you do not know flash yet? Come to me, I will teach you. www.cameratraining.ca
(**) This has actually happened; I was told this by a student.

Record!

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I am often asked “what should I go shoot”, and my response is “what you love”.

But there is another reason: History. One reason you use your camera is to record things, and I advise that you do just that. Recording things like the seasons. This was the view outside my front door three months ago:

And this is that same view five minutes ago:

(I want to go hibernate for six months. Or better, get a green card and move to Arizona. Today. Anyone, help!)

Another example of the effect different weather can have on a picture:

But this is also history: this building at Jamieson and Queen St in Toronto burnt down since I took those pictures a few years ago.

Here’s a project plan for you: take a photo of something meaningful to you with reproducible settings (same tripod position, same lens, etc), and repeat monthly for a year. This can be an outside scene, or your living room, it doesn’t matter.

Every picture you take documents history, a moment that will never repeat. So when you wonder “what should I go shoot”, go shoot “today”.  It’ll never be here again. And today is tomorrow’s “those were the days”.

 

Shampooey Goodness

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Here, from yesterday’s class at Sheridan College, is talented student Darryl. First with just one light. Then with a second light. Then with that second light brighter. Then with a hair light added. And finally, with a background light also. Four flashes. Can you see how important it is to light a portrait just right, just the way you want it? Light makes all the difference.

Now we’re talking. And that took the following:

  1. Camera with 24-70 lens.
  2. Four flashes.
  3. Five pocketwizards (one for the camera, one for each flash).
  4. Five cables between PW and flash (from Flashzebra.com).
  5. Three light stands.
  6. Two umbrella brackets and one ball head.
  7. Two umbrellas (main=shoot through; fill=reflective).
  8. A Honl photo snoot for the hair light.
  9. A flash meter.
  10. A Honl photo egg yolk yellow gel fopr the background light (this coloour complements his blue sweater).
  11. A few minutes.

And that’s all – not complicated once you know how. And that’s what I teach, and as a photographer, you should know how to do a portrait like this in a few minutes.

 

Light notes

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Yesterday’s flash seminar at Vistek reminds me to warn you about one of TTL’s drawbacks.

Usually, metering is “evaluative” (Nikon calls it “Matrix metering”). Good. Even good for tough chiaroscuro lighting like in these pictures from the course (one flash, off camera):

But that metering method, while generally very good for tough shots like those, has one possible drawback. Namely this: one small reflection will lead to the entire photo being underexposed, since the metering system tries to avoid overexposing that reflected area. And with evaluative/matrix metering (“smart” metering), even a tiny area can cause that problem. As in this image:

Ouch. Yeah, that got me. So then I remove the reflective object and all is well:

This happens, and you need to be aware and ready. So why not go to centre-weighted flash metering? Yes, that is an option, but then pics like these will be averaged out, which is also not what you want!

And all that is why light and metering and the other technical aspects of photography are not about to go away. A billion iPhones notwithstanding: you need to learn this stuff to be able to do any creative photography.

 

Making Things Easy

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Making Things Easy: I now also accept BitCoin (BTC). You can now pay me for photography, books and services via:

  • Credit card via PayPal or via Square (phone or in person)
  • Interac e-transfer
  • PayPal
  • BitCoin

See www.michaelwillems.ca/Payments.html.

I try to make things easy for customers – and with the festive season coming up, what better time to have portraits made (www.michaelwillems.ca), buy wall art (www.michaelsmuse.com) or learn to use your camera (www.cameratraining.ca) – gift certificates available?

Now on to more blogging. Meanwhile, here’s Iceland just before landing, Friday: little ice.