This post is the first in what I hope to be a series of “behind the scenes” blog entries. My intent is to demystify what happens when you are on a photo shoot with me. Also, I hope you get a feel for what a professional photographer (not just me) can accomplish vs. having a friend or family member take some snapshots of you with their little digital point-and-shoot camera. Not that that is bad, but the difference in results is often very drastic. Believe me, I have been “that guy” in the past. The one that took photos for a special event without knowing what I was doing and the results were terrible.
First of all, I am a big fan of “on location” shooting. The location could be anywhere, your house, yard, a church, temple, or anywhere outdoors or indoors. Besides your wonderful faces, lighting is the most important thing in a photograph. Although the golden hours just after sunrise and just before sunset are essential for good landscape photography, I don’t feel that way about portraits. I carry around my own lights, and they go everywhere with me. I carry lights (strobes), stands, umbrellas, and other light modifiers and the great thing is that they are wireless and battery powered. I am not restricted by electrical outlets, extension cords, generators, or wires of any kind. That gives me a lot of creative freedom to shoot just about anywhere, any time of the day and still get great lighting.
The shot above is an excellent example of how I work. The natural light was very flat and boring, but because I use lights on location, the shot was lit with beautiful soft light. And here is the result:
And the picture below was taken with the lighting setup you see in the first image above.
So, you can pretty much guarantee that I will be using my lights on every shoot.
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