THESE PDF COPIES ARE FREE COURTESY LIGHTING ESSENTIALS AND THE TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHERS FEATURED INSIDE.
First Be A Photographer
I follow a very nice group of people on a forum on Facebook. They are all trying to start their businesses with varying degrees of luck and success. One of the things that is emerging is that many of them are simply not ready to be professionals and in business. And...
One Layout: Many Versions
Man these Project 52 PROS are really dialing it in. And that is making it more fun than a guy should have. The assignment was to shoot to this layout (furnished in PSD layers) and make sure it worked. I wanted them to put the images into the layout and show us what...
Project 52 Pros: Assignment Four
The assignment was called "The Tear Sheet" and it involved the students working through creating a "fauxtolio" to help them focus their energy on making images that they LOVED to make. The "fauxtolio" helps guide the sensibilities of the photographer as he or she...
Men. At Work.
I recently completed an assignment for an advertising agency here in Phoenix. The Lavidge agency has been around quite a while and it was a lot of fun to shoot this industrial gig with them. The client was United Rentals - a major player in the tool rental niche....
Photographs of Strangers by P52 PRO Group
This was the first assignment completed by the Project 52 PRO's. Photographing strangers can be a very delicate and scary idea for a lot of people. The fear of rejection or having the subject be angry stops most from ever attempting photographing people they do not...
Meet Jan Klier: NY Fashion Photographer
I met Jan about five years ago when he flew to Phoenix to take one of my one day workshops. We met again in Seattle when I was doing the workshops nationally. I knew he had a strong work ethic, and a powerful desire to be a photographer, and encouraged him to make it...
The “Truck Shot”: Simple Moves for a Better Shot
I asked the folks who get my newsletter how they think I shot it. Many folks tried to figure it out, but most had something about a front light... and that was a no go. I used four lights (2x2) and Photoshop to get the look I wanted. Working it a bit in Photoshop also...
“The ICONIC Image” – a Discussion with Photographer Gary Crabbe
Gary Crabbe is a full time landscape and environmental shooter living in Central California. Recently, one of his blogposts caught my attention as it is something I am wondering about as well. I just came back from Zion and Bryce Canyons and while there found myself...
Meet David Giral: Montreal Photographer
David Giral is a photographer in Montreal, Canada. I met him a few years ago at a workshop near Toronto, and we have stayed in touch. He is a talented young man, for sure, but he is also tenaciously working on his business. From leave-behinds, to websites, to email...
Meet Hector Cruz: Emerging Pro
Hector "Big Boy Drums" Cruz... I met him a few years ago on on of the Flickr forums we were both hanging out on. His sense of humor and humility was something that was refreshing. He wanted to be a photographer, and was bound and determined to learn how. We bantered...
Rui Bandeira’s “Endangered Jobs” Project
I saw this work today by one of the Project 52 photographers. It began as one of our assignments: Photograph a Stranger. Rui jumped in and not only photographed some strangers... he is developing it into a very cool project. I will let Rui describe it in his own...
Clarion Call 2013: “Open to Creativity’
This will be a truly fascinating day. Plan now to make it a must listen. Selina is a great friend, and a consummate teacher/mentor. Her work researching creativity and its many manifestations will give you insights into the process you may never have touched. I am...
Thirty Three Tired and Dated Photographic Expressions: Un-Edited
Riffing on a post by Ash Ambirge today, I asked the intrepid members of my Lighting Essentials Flickr group to come up with a list of photographic cliche's and terms that they were also tired of. I did not edit them, nor did I censor any of them... 33 different pet...
Aputure Trigmaster Plus II Triggers
Wow... Have you ever gotten a product that made so much sense to you that you think it was made to order? That is how I feel about these Trigmaster Plus II's from Aputure. Wireless Triggers for flash is now one of the most important tools we have seen emerge in the...
Learn To Use A Light Meter
Do you have a hand-held light meter that is just sitting around gathering dust? Have you ever wondered how it would be beneficial to you? I have created a new, free class at UDEMY to help you understand the uses and reasons for using a light meter. There is over 2...
New Webinar: ” Up Your Game – One Assignment at a Time”
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR ALL WHO HAVE REGISTERED: You will be receiving an email newsletter from me on Tuesday, January 22. It will come from me through Mail Chimp. If you do not receive the email on Tuesday (check your Spam folder), let me know IMMEDIATELY. The newsletter...
Photography, I Hardly Knew You…
"...you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you, don't you, don't you..." Well, yeah. You see the problem with that grand lyric was that obviously the song WAS about 'him'. That mysterious beguiling playboy that Carly Simon sang about. I must admit I...
2013: Books Without Photos… Oh My!
I love books. My wife and I have enough for a small library I am sure. Every room of our home has books in it. And a good quantity of them as well. We read avariciously. Marian prefers fiction, while I spend a lot of time with non-fiction and poetry. It gives us a...
2013: Essay One: Distractions
2013. Seems like only yesterday we were all freaked out about the Y2K fraud. And we have made it 12 years into what was called the new millennium, to find that it is pretty much like the old millennium... with a few tweaks. This is New Years Day. A time for many of us...
Meet Matt Dutile: A Passion for the Image
Matt started his photography career here in Phoenix about 4 years ago. Actually, four years ago today as I understand it. His work is focused on travel and lifestyle, and he is working for several clients that have sent him to some pretty cool locations. You can visit...
Post Processing: A Small Harbor in Maine
There are times when I am shooting when I am in complete control of the situation. Well, at least as much control as the world lets me think I am capable of. And there are times when I am not taking a photograph, but in fact taking a capture to allow me to make a...
Pogoplug: Now This is Useful AND Cool
I just set up my Pogoplug. I plugged it in, turned it on, set it up and went to work Took about 2 minutes. Tops. Wait... you may not know what a Pogoplug is. Now this thing is cool. Think of it as a network drive / personal cloud sort of thing. With a very cool set of...
Shooting Shiny Stuff at P52
Sometimes photographers have to shoot shiny stuff. Lighting works very differently on things that are shiny compared to how light works on more diffused subject matter. The shinier the object, the more it will be reflecting the light sources - both main and secondary....
OT Sunday: Eliot Carter, American Composer
Eliot Carter was my favorite contemporary composer. It was his first and second string quartets that opened my mind to the possibilities of linear melody/rhythm and the transformative nature of time. I discovered his music in my second year of music school and have...
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