ARCHIVED ARTICLES
Read more“I think that its a society that has totally lost its bearings on the terms of what its values are, and so its put all its value into celebrity. There is such a lack of spiritual self confidence perhaps that the achievers seem to have to be the kind of holy cows that people worship.”
— Editor, Vanity Fair, ca 1993
Annie Leibovitz Documentary
"I think that its a society that has totally lost its bearings on the terms of what its values are, and so its put all its value into celebrity. There is such a lack of spiritual self confidence perhaps that the achievers seem to have to be the kind of holy cows that...
Read more“The great thing about the job was that in the evenings when we weren’t doing these ads, we photographed Anjelica Huston and Julie Driscoll. Polly Mellon, the fashion editor was there – it must have been for Vogue. Julie Driscoll was a pop singer with Brian Auger and Trinity. Musically they were a very hot band at the time. At the end of the shoot, Dick (Avedon) gave her a kiss and she, being very, very English, said in her slightly Cockney accent, “Oh, I bet they’ll be awful,” which is a totally English way to say “Thank you.” He just froze. He sort of straightened, and said, “When I take pictures, they’re good.””
— Neil Selkirk on Richard Avedon
Neil Selkirk with Elizabeth Avedon
"The great thing about the job was that in the evenings when we weren’t doing these ads, we photographed Anjelica Huston and Julie Driscoll. Polly Mellon, the fashion editor was there - it must have been for Vogue. Julie Driscoll was a pop singer with Brian Auger and...
Two Articles on Printing at Nearly the Same Time
Awesome coincidence? Or a convergence of some unknown force? I do not know, but it is interesting nonetheless. Last week Petapixel ran an article I had written titled "Prints. Remember Prints?" (Article Here) Almost immediately afterwards they ran Lynne Cartia's...
Moodboard: Edgy Portraits
Here are a few portraits that caught my eye last week. I hope you enjoy the picks. Ryan McGehee delivered this exceptional portrait. Brave crop, lighting that engages and mystifies and an absolutely charming face. Kine Meijer showed this unique portrait and knocked me...
Marilyn Monroe by Nahum Baron
I just love this image. I don't really know why. Photograph by Ted (Nahum) Baron. --- My friend and mentor, Selina Maitreya is sharing a lot of great stuff on video. There is an upcoming course, but you can grab a lot of great info from these videos. Check them out...
Join Selina Maitreya in a Free Video Course to Help Move You Forward.
I have known Selina for many years. I have all of her books, and have trained with her. I consider her a mentor, coach and friend. Selina has joined us here on Lighting Essentials many times, and each time is a delightful experience for me. Selina was perhaps the...
Read more“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”
–Peter Lindbergh
Never play it safe
"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." --Peter Lindbergh
The Proof Is In The Pudding… Make Sure You Have a Killer Recipe
“The proof is in the pudding.” Always wondered about that term, so I looked it up. According to the Urban Dictionary; “The original phrase is "The proof of the pudding is in the eating!" Which means you have to eat the pudding to know what's inside of it. The modern...
Ten Beliefs That Suck the Life out of Photographers
What if I told you it was not the industry, the bad economy, where you live, what camera you shoot with, how many lights you have or how small your Facebook following is that is holding you back. None of those are truly capable of stopping you, they are only...
How Can A Single Photograph Tell a Story?
Recently Stefan Sagmeister posted a video in which he excoriates designers for using the word “story” in their descriptions of what they do. Whether you agree or disagree, it is a compelling video. Personally, I am not 100% on board with his statements. There are some...
P52 Member Alicia Bonterre wins Two ADDY’s… WOW
CONGRATULATIONS, ALICA!!! Alicia Bonterre started with P52 about two years ago. She wanted to up her game, create images outside of her comfort zone, and become better at commercial photography. She just won two ADDY's - A GOLD and a SILVER ... so, we can safely agree...
From the Portrait Workshop: Inspired by Dan Winters
Imitate. Assimilate. Innovate. -- Clark Terry, jazz trumpet legend. It is still the best way to learn art. And it drives the style of teaching I do. I don't want anyone to copy anyone else, but rather to be inspired by the work of others. In the portrait class, we...
8 Week Workshop: Portraits Inspired by Herb Ritts.
The goal is not to copy, but be inspired by... Learning about a photographer like the remarkable Herb Ritts helps us to evaluate our own work, see it with new eyes and blend what we learn into our own mix. The photographers who study the past forge new paths into the...
A Few Words on that “Unphotoshopped Cindy Crawford Photo” Crap
A few days ago, this was making big news online... wow. Imagine Cindy Crawford having the guts to go public in a photograph that was un-retouched in Photoshop. Yeah... wow. Big F'n Deal. Of course she did that for two decades and more. You know that, right? Of this I...
New Camera Announcements from Canon
Some amazing new cameras from Canon. I don't get involved in new gear releases, but this stuff is starting to get exciting now. Canon D5 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS 50.6MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor Dual DIGIC 6 Image Processors 3.2" 1,040K-Dot ClearView II LCD Monitor Full HD...
Going North – Taking a Photo Trek
Every year I host a meet-up of Project 52 members. Part workshop, part social, full on fun. There is no fee for this, we share all expenses, so it is a very comfortable and relaxing time with the tribe. This year we will also be doing a road trip to the north country....
A Simple Photo of a Red Balloon
The recent assignment in Project 52 was to shoot a single red balloon and make it the focal point. The students made some amazing images. And shooting a red balloon is not the easiest thing to do. Give it a try - all you need is a camera and a red balloon. Here...
Portraits Inspired by Peter Lindbergh
This week we looked at the work of Peter Lindbergh. These are the images that the students in the 8 Week Portrait Class did after studying Lindbergh. The workshop is designed for inspiration, not copying. "Imitate. Assimilate. Innovate." - Clark Terry, jazz trumpet...
New Photography Books
New Photography books on Amazon.
“What Do You Charge For? EBook
Last summer I wrote four articles based on the five scariest words a beginning photographer can hear... "What do you charge for..." It ended up being nearly 20 pages, and it can definitely help you work through some of the myriad questions that haunt us when we don't...
Peta Pixel Article on “Professional Photography”
PetaPixel printed my article on changing the brand for photographers. I titled it "What If Clients Don't Need Professional Photography" as a way of saying that the picture centric medium has changed to brand centric. Photographers must engage with the clients at a...
Inspired by Sarah Moon: 8 Week Portrait Class Student Work
This week we studied the work of Sarah Moon for inspiration. The students looked at Ms Moon's work, analyzed it, found what they liked and used it for inspiration. The goal is not to copy the masters, it is to understand them and let that understanding inspire the...
“Protectionism” is NOT The Way of Professional Photographers
The "Protectionist" Attitude Among Photographers Well, not all photographers, but a considerable few. Enough that they can make a lot of noise and bluster. I don't suffer that attitude well, never have. The whining about how there are too many photographers and how we...
Lighting Essentials Place Among Photography Blogs
Very excited to see that Lighting Essentials is the number 16 highest rated photography blog, overall. There is a whole lot of information on the page about designations for certain criteria that LE can certainly improve on. But heck... I am very happy to be up there...
Portraits Inspired by Yousef Karsh
This past week we looked at the work of Yousef Karsh. The students in the 8 Week Portrait Workshop are learning a ton and putting it to practical use. Here are their images from last weeks assignment. [gallery link="file" columns="6"...
Creating a Photo Portfolio That Represents Your Work
“What makes a photograph “Portfolio Worthy” I want to talk about what makes an image worthy of your portfolio today, and have you think about your work in possibly a different sort of way. What is your portfolio, anyway? It is the repository of the work you have made,...
6 New Books I Have Ordered
From Amazon: "W magazine is renowned for its avant-garde fashion stories, those elaborate confections of magic and mystery that have inspired and captivated readers for more than two decades. This volume gathers 10 of the most remarkable stories, each in its entirety,...
A Simple Tool for Shooting To Layout
Shooting for the web has created some interesting configured imagery. From very wide and narrow images for banners to tall and skinny images for side bars, shooting to layout is as important as ever. Here is a simple video for making a viewing tool that can help you...
Portraits Inspired by Victor Skrebneski
In the 8 week portrait class we looked at the work of famed Chicago photographer Victor Skrebneski. The students were asked to make a photograph inspired by what they saw in Skrebneski's work. Not to copy it, but to be inspired by it. Here are the remarkable expamples...
Distraction, Discontent and Distruption (Part One)
Distractions, Discontent, and Disruption The three “D’s” of the new daily discomforts. Wait, is that a fourth? We are constantly being distracted from our work, made to feel discontent at every turn and facing disruption in our business like never before....
