Today is one of those days that I wanted to take a step back to some basics again. This time I want to talk about the three primary properties of light, and since what we are doing as photographers is recording light, it is important to know how these properties play into getting a good image. While I had studied this before, attending a recent seminar from Ed Pierce made me realize that many reader may never have seen these concepts before.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to progress in your art you should really consider taking a workshop once in a while. Since I haven’t been able to attend one in a while I was thrilled that Ed Piece’s Captivated by the Light workshop was coming to my town. Be sure and check it out if it is coming to your area. Ed is a master of light and technique. He shows you have to light a subject properly for the most flattering angles.

The seminar itself is almost 4 hours long and the price includes a DVD with another four hours of training on it. At $49.00 this is one of the best deals around. Based on some of the things we learned there, watch for some upcoming tutorials on lighting and angles to help flatter your subjects.

Seminar information: Captivated by the Light workshop

The home studio has been making amazing progress lately and we did some major work on it today to get it ready for it’s first test shoot. The final width comes in at twelve feet and the shooting area is fifteen feet from the main shooting wall. The back wall was painted with gloss white for high key background that will mostly be used during product shots. For other types of shots a background support is in place with a ten foot wide white seamless paper roll on it.

Was it as simple as cleaning out the garage and painting the walls? Absolutely not, continue reading to see what else we did to put some finishing touches on the studio.

Read the rest of this entry »

The transformation of the garage is nearing completion and the L7 Studio is coming together nicely. Unfortunately its not going to be as nice as this shot of 8443 Warner, but hay, someday right? So where are we and what have we had to do so far? Besides tons of trash, lots of craiglist sales, and multiple car loads of stuff to Goodwill, there is only one pile of trash left. Continue reading to find out what it has cost to get to were we are at now.

Read the rest of this entry »

Long time readers will note that I have been using a room in the house as my photo studio, alas I feel I have outgrown my humble beginnings, but what to do? My wife won’t let me kick any of the kids out of their bedrooms and she won’t let me take over the larger living room. This left two options, 1) Rent a space somewhere, 2) Build a new studio in the garage. Given budgetary contraints, I opted for number 2, and the Project L7 Studio has begun. Today we look at the plan do build my ultimate home studio. Read on for more details.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the first of our Mythbusting series we are going to look at a common myth that you should always use the lowest ISO number possible to get the best results This is based on the knowledge that the higher the ISO number you use, the more noise (digital artifacts) will be created in your image While this is certainly true, what we are going to examine in this article is wether or not you should always shoot in the lowest ISO number your camera can handle in order to get the best images Will this myth be confirmed or busted? Continue reading to find out

Read the rest of this entry »

Along with dissecting different photo shoots like we have done in the past, we are now beginning a new “Lighting Basics” series that will start with a single light source and work up through multiple lights and advanced lighting techniques. Today we will start with a single flash and show how to make the most of an on-camera flash, an off-camera light, and how reflectors can make it appear as if you have more light sources.

Read the rest of this entry »

I do a lot of product work and getting the lighting right is always a challenge because different types of objects will reflect light differently. A very dark object may need a lot more light on it to pull out the detail where a shiny object may cause you all kinds of grief with reflections. Often, getting things just right is just a matter of trial and error, but starting with a decent setup can save you tons of work later. Today we will dissect a recent product shoot and see why I decided to use flash heads.

Read the rest of this entry »

An photographic umbrella (known as a brolly in some places) is exactly what it sounds like, just like the umbrella you would use in the rain except these are designed to bounce, reflect, or soften a light source. There are two basic types of umbrellas, bounce and shoot thru. A bounce umbrella is one that you aim the light into and bounce back towards the subject and a shoot thru umbrella is where the light is aimed at the subject through the umbrella making the umbrella act like a large softbox.

In this tutorial we will take a look at the different types and show how the light will act differently with the different types.

Read the rest of this entry »

What is a snoot? Simply put, a snoot is a tubular structure that is used to limit the throw of a light source to create a narrow beam of light. While commercial snoots are actually pretty affordable, from $14 to about $20, so why would we want to make our own? Because we know what we want and because for $20 we can make a dozen or more experimental ones and end up with a handful that we could use in different situations. So guys. go break into the wife’s scrapbooking supplies and get ready to make your own customized flash snoot.

Read the rest of this entry »