Category Archives: Photoshop

What I learned About Light From Hobby and McNally- by Lynn Clark

This is our first post from photographer Lynn Clark who will be a regular contributor to the blog. Thanks, Lynn!

What I learned About Light From Hobby and McNally

Since I took my first photojournalism class in college, I’ve been shooting with available light. I rarely turned on the flash on my early point-and-shoot digital cameras because I hated the harsh shadows and quality of light. If I wanted your portrait, I moved you to a window or to open shade. Not enough light? No photo.

I’ve recently dipped my toe into lights–small flashes with remote triggers, stumbling along as I learned how to use them on the fly. My favorite resource: the venerable strobist.com blog, authored by David Hobby. Hobby is the god of small flash photography. Following his tutorials and doing his assignments, I’ve gotten the hang of the technical aspects of using my flashes.

And yet something has eluded me. I can expose a photo just fine, but the effect is, well, kind of blah. Flat. Boring. I want to learn how to bend the light, make it dramatic.

That’s why I ponied up $99 and attended Adorama’s Flash Bus Tour on March 22, which featured Hobby in his khaki shorts and legendary shooter and author Joe McNally. I haven’t yet applied what I learned–my brain hurts too much. But I can’t wait to try.

I learned that the reason why my images look one-dimensional is because I’ve been using light like I’m a 4-year-old drawing with crayons. Pros use light like a sculptor.

1. Light is like salt. You add it to taste.

Hobby layers on light in four stages. That way, he says, when something looks horrible he knows exactly what to fix. He shoots in manual mode because that’s what he prefers. (I prefer it too, I’m finding.)

* Assess for ambient. Expose for the background, then light your subject.

* Add a fill light for “legibility” of the details–often two stops down from the key light.

* Add the key light, modifying it with everything from a small softbox to a silk Japanese lantern–speedlight dangling inside by an eyebolt and hung with fishing wire.

* Add accent light: a splash across the background to separate it from the subject, a pop along an architectural or sartorial detail to add dimension. Sometimes add a kicker, flashing light to open up eye sockets.

via Photogs4Photogs.

Why Does Custom Photography Cost More? The digital revolution has brought amazing flexibility and ability to control various factors during the image taking and making process. Photographers, the hobbyist, the professional, the amateur all benefit from this ability to manipulate pixels. However, with flexibility comes a price. Digital camera equipment is still considerably more expensive when you factor in it’s lifespan, the need for additional resources for processing those images, the time it takes to get a usable image and the effort that goes into creating a work of photographic art. We all know that you can go to the local Walgreen’s and pay a $1.99 for a print – as a client you may wonder why you may pay upwards of $50, $70, $90 for a custom photography print. Photographers hear this statement every once in awhile: “How in the world can you charge $60 for an 8×10 if it costs me less than $2 to print at a store?” The truth of the matter is the answer to this question is multifaceted. Much of the cost of a photographic print produced by a professional photographer has a lot to do with the time, equipment costs, artistic vision and reputation of the photographer not to mention expertise. Approaching it from a time standpoint, let’s imagine that you have hired a photographer who has work that you love. This photographer is traveling an hour to your destination to photograph your session. Here is an example of a time break down:

via Custom Photography Cost Article – Dengrove Studios.