On Assignment: Cheap Portable Studio, Pt. 1

UPDATE: You can see the result on Laurie Reuben's site, here.

Still riffing on Monday's post about studio-vs.-location, here's another reason I am not a big fan of studios. You can replicate them pretty much anywhere, and for almost nothing.

So let's switch things up and start with the BTS pic this time, to show you the "studio" used to photograph consultant Laurie Reuben last week.

It's a minimalist, two-speedlight setup that yields an elegant, painterly light—without the expensive studio part.

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Q&A: Will You Help Us Get a Studio for Our Photo Program?

An unnamed student at the Digital Photography program at Ravensbourne (UK) asks, via Twitter:

"Our photography degree course has no studio! (Will you) help us tell the management we need one?

No, anonymous student at Ravensbourne, I will not. Firstly, I think your petition signatures should be from students in the program. But more important, I probably would not equip you with a studio even if I were your dean.

For several reasons... Read more »

On Assignment: Hiding Your Key with Fill

I made this photo this past summer, and in revisiting it just learned two pretty important lessons: one a dumb luck success, one a total failure.

Maybe take a moment to guess which is which before opening my psychological medicine cabinet to peek inside… Read more »

How to: Gelling Large Light Sources

Do you shoot with soft boxes, beauty dishes and/or umbrellas?

If you shoot exclusively with small lights, you can just tape a couple of square inches of gel to your flash head, as with my permanently mounted warming gel seen above. No matter what the mod, the light is gelled before it gets there.

But if you sometimes shoot with big lights, things can get a little more complicated. Here are some ideas to help you gel the big mods as efficiently as possible. Read more »

Gregory Heisler Will Now BTS For You My Most Favorite Photo He Has Ever Shot

To understand the impact this photo had on me when it first came out, you kinda have to get into the head of a Baltimore Sun photographer during the run-up to the 2004 Summer Olympics.

For one thing, this is the only photo which has ever made me shout the F-word in a supermarket checkout line. So yeah, I have been waiting a long time for this BTS.

Oh, and if that weren't enough, there are two more Gregory Heisler vids inside, too... Read more »

On Assignment: Shiny Black Toys

A little ways back, LumoPro approached me about doing photos of their product line. That's a lot of gear, and the whole project was more than I would have time to take on.

But I do enjoy shooting this kinda stuff. So we compromised in that I would shoot some of their more popular items now and the photos could be used as a template for anyone who might be shooting the other items later.

Here's the thing. Shooting shiny black objects is one of those cases where your incident meter may be very accurate, but in practice it's no help at all. Because properly exposed, a black object is, well, black… Read more »

Five Reasons to Go to Dubai for Gulf Photo Plus 2013

March quickly approaches, and GPP has announced their instructors and courses.

I happen to think this is the best photo week of its kind on the planet. If you are anywhere near that part of the world, GPP is a no-brainer. But even if you are far away, it's worth the trip.

Here's why. Read more »