While I usually post about other photographers, cool gadgets or muse about my travels, here’s a little snippet highlighting my real work. Probably due to my background in news photography, I’ve developed a minimalist attitude towards equipment and lighting (at least for the moment). I’ve assisted many o’ photographers, carried my fair share of light boxes, etc etc, and I just don’t like excessive equipment. It’s always bulky, heavy, expensive and a pain in the ass to set up and maintain. Then there’s all the room for error when putting on a giant production. Call me lazy, but I really tend work much better leaving a little something up to the element of surprise. When natural light changes, critical thinking and problem solving ensues. For me, that usually results in a better picture. While complete control over your lighting is comfortable and safe, I think of myself as more of an artiste, and art for me never comes from a comfortable or safe place.
Last December, I collaborated with designer Greg’ry Revenj in a photo shoot for the launch of his new website and blue jean campaign. Here, the sun wasn’t really an option for a light source so I improvised, sans light kit. Here’s how I did it:
Lighting: Flash (key light), umbrella, gels, small fluorescent lights (fill lights)
Greg’ry was looking for a really gritty scene and was inspired by the look of the Saw movies, so I got a green gel for my flash and hung up small fluorescents to use as fill light. Yes, I could have turned the images green in post production, but I prefer not to rest on Photoshop for everything. When most of the work is done in-camera it saves time on the editing end and tends to look more natural. I even ended up not using my umbrella to bring in harsher shadows and highlights for this gritty scene.
We were both happy with the results.
