THESE PDF COPIES ARE FREE COURTESY LIGHTING ESSENTIALS AND THE TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHERS FEATURED INSIDE.
Grant Lovett: Fashion and Music Photographer in Nashville – an Interview
Working in Nashville means music, fashion, celebrities and more. And Grant Lovett is in the middle of it. A soft-spoken shooter with a deep portfolio, Grant keeps the bills paid with shoots of musicians and fashion models. We have an interview with him that you will...
40 Portraits from the Forum
We are back with another post from the Forum. 40 portraits and a few extras. 40 wonderful portraits with some interesting lighting, concepts and presentation. I am in Omaha today for the second day of the workshop. Looks like we may have a weather challenge. But,...
Adding Texture to a Portrait for Added Drama
We haven't done a lot of Photoshop tutorials on LE, but I plan on doing more. The amount of requests I have been getting tell me that there is a lot of interest. And we will be responding. This tutorial shows you a simple way to add a texture to an image. As with...
Interview with Kirk Tuck, Austin Photographer and Writer
This post we get a glimpse into the working world of a commercial photographer. Sometimes referred to as a generalist, a commercial photographer must be able to handle a lot of different idioms when working in a smaller market. Portraits, fashion, still life, food,...
Strobe and Ambient: Finding the Mix for Portraiture
I get asked a lot about how my methodology works. What am I thinking about when setting the light? How do I know what the settings should be. For this post I have pulled some shots from last years workshop tour. I will explain the exposure planning as we go along....
Creating a Dramatic Dance Shot with a Speedlight and the Sun
I thought I would break down another shot I did that involved pre-visualization, overcoming a challenge and using small lights for a big light look. The shot was for a dance Calendar for Briana. In the calendar images she presents 12 different types and styles of...
Creating an Ad From Layout: Shooting for Print
This post looks at creating an ad from a very simple layout. The client, Dimensional Software in Palo Alto, CA, needed to have an ad produced in nearly no time. An opening in a magazine came up last minute and a fax was sent to me with a sketch of the ad that we had...
Interview with Steve Korn, Seattle Photographer
This weekend's interview is with Steve Korn, a photographer and musician living in Seattle. I think you will find his work and his words interesting. Being a creative person in music and photography can bring a different perspective to things. Steve presents his work...
Thinking about Portraits: 6 Studies in Beauty
This post is about portrait lighting and some of the things I think about when shooting a portrait... whether in the studio or on location. The shot above was done in Mexico at the Workshop in April. Christine had been walking with me and when she turned to talk to me...
WordPress Themes for Photographers from Lighting Essentials
They are finally here. We have been so busy lately, but it is time to announce that the WordPress Themes for photographers are ready for purchase and installation. We are really pretty proud of these WP Themes. They are built with the incredible power of WordPress,...
Claire Curran Corbett: Dallas Beauty and Fashion Photographer
Hey everyone. It has been a terrifically busy couple of weeks. We are finalizing the book, getting the new DVD into editing form and shooting new work for clients all over the southwest. I will be sharing those images as they come out of embargo. Today we get a chance...
Eduardo Frances: San Salvador Beauty Photographer
Well a few changes are in order, more about them later. This post is a wonderful interview with my buddy Eduardo Frances. Eduardo specializes in people and glamour work in San Salvador, El Salvador. Take a look at his interview, then drop over to one of his sites and...
Mexico Workshop, April 2009
Mexico was an absolute blast this year. We had about 14 models who were there for the "Girls of Rocky Point" calendar shoot. Weather was amazing, and the resort made us feel right at home. I had a chance to shoot a couple of shots with the guys and decided to share a...
Small Strobes with Dramatic Results: Nashville Workshop Images
I have had some great workshops over the past few weeks. This weekend it is Mexico, then some recharge time. Shooting a lot of workshop images and images for the book in Mexico as we are working on the workshop itself. I have Megan, Jerry and Evan going down for some...
April 14: 24 Photos from the Lighting-Essentials Flickr Forum
I am so proud of the Lighting Essentials Flickr Forum. There are some truly amazing photographs here. Thanks to all that participate. Now if we could get the discussions going a bit... oh well. Remember to visit the photographer's Flickr page by clicking on each...
Using Ambient Light and Strobe for a Natural Looking Still Life
This is a cover shot that we did for the fragrance company. We wanted a larger space and a more natural looking scene for the cover so we sought out a warm environment. Our AD found a beautiful home that fit the bill. I knew the item that I would be shooting was...
Keeping It Organized When There are a Lot of Shots
Recently I had the pleasure of working with Coni of Glacier Design and her client, Alicia on a big catalog project. It was to be a couple of dozen shots. Most are what I would call a "drop and pop," or simple product shot. Well, of course nothing is as simple as one...
Enough Modifiers to Keep It Interesting… Real Interesting
I use my speedlights frequently when on location, but truth be told I would rather have a more robust selection of tools to modify the light. I will admit to sucking pretty bad at the DYI approach. I will simply not go into a shoot with grubby or 'home-made' equipment...
Spend a Day Shooting Portraits
Sorry for the long absence. A stolen laptop put me back a lot farther than expected. Add to that the traveling and being without internet, well, reliable internet anyway, in some of the locations. Whew... Hey, enough whining. We will make it up to you really quick...
Amazing and Astounding… and Cool Too! Twenty Seven Images From the Pool
We are so blessed with talent over at the Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool. This weeks selection is wonderful and exciting, cool and hot - all at the same time. This group has 27 very nice images to inspire you and lift your spirits. Before we go down the pool to see...
Mexico Spring Workshop is Enrolling Now
I don't use this site to overly promote the workshops, but this Mexico workshop is rather special. We have people from all over the country coming to these Rocky Point Workshops. Location: Las Palmas Resort in Rocky Point, Mexico Flying in to Phoenix International?...
Tech Sheet: Using a Tilt-Shift Lens
Tilt-shift lenses provide the small camera shooter with the functionality of a view camera. At least some of the functionality of a view camera. The front half anyway. The ability of the camera to change the relationship between lens placement and film or sensor...
Using a Location to Full Advantage
This is a post from the old site, and I thought I would redo it for the new one. There are many things you can do when you find a great location. When Bri and I stumbled upon this one, I thought it would be fun to work out several different ideas. We used flash,...
Images from the LE Flickr Pool, 26 Amazing Shots
Some amazing work gets shown on the Lighting Essentials Flickr Group, and we like to take a few minutes and share some of our favorites. There are many that I am sure should be on this list that didn't make it, and our apologies. I need to do this more often. Just...
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