Monday Recap: Business Meeting Shoot

It was a productive weekend of shooting, highlighted by Saturday's Business People stock shoot. Smiling business people are a bit of a cliche' in the stock photography business, but that's because they tend to sell fairly well.

For the shoot I arranged for six models to stage a mock "business meeting" in the studio. I brought in a conference table, chairs, flip-chart, and various other office-type items. The goal was to create a real looking office environment while being able to easily adjust the lighting.



I first shot the meeting against a white seamless paper backdrop. I then re-positioned it on to the other side of the studio against the painted walls. The versatility of my small studio space really pays off.

I ended the day with nearly 300 images to be culled through for candidates to add to my stock portfolio.

As always, this type of photography is a team effort and I could not do it without the help of so many. Thanks to Michelle, Alicia, Julie, Ron, Glen and Dale for modeling and to Harley and Diane for assisting.

Anatomy of an Engagement Shoot

Specializing in stock photography, I don't do a lot of portrait work. But when I do shoot it, I quite enjoy it.

Last week I did an engagement session with a couple whose wedding I am shooting this spring. After three rain snow-outs, the weather finally cooperated with us last Friday. The couple wanted a distressed-urban setting for their photos, so we headed downtown.

The above image is a somewhat unconventional pose for an engagement photo, but it is one of my favorites from the shoot. In addition to the natural afternoon light, the scene was enhanced with the use of two handheld tungsten lights. A diffused light was aimed at the young womans head/shoulders with a stronger light providing hair highlight from the back.

The image the couple ultimately selected for their announcement is a more conventional engagement shot. While being taken in the same area as the other image, this one has a warmer/softer feel to it.

The lighting was provided by the cloud diffused sunlight being reflected into the faces from below.

While reviewing the images with the clients after the shoot, I heard the words a photographer loves to hear: "We love them. We'll just have to buy them all!"

It Takes Its Toll

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/80 second, f/4, ISO 250

Austere

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/10, ISO 100

Snowy Samantha

It just wouldn't seem like a Monday without a blog post highlighting one of my photo shoots from the previous weekend.

Today's image is of a young Australian girl who is living in Utah for a couple of years. Since winter play is a new experience for her, the plan for the shoot was to capture some outdoor sledding images. Before heading out to the sledding hill we spent some time in studio. With her mom and little brother throwing synthetic snowflakes, our impromptu blizzard created a nice winter scene for the portrait.

And as an added bonus - the studio was MUCH warmer!

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/9, ISO 100

Portrait of an Artist

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/9, ISO 100

Reflector Lighting in Mid-Day Sun

Pro photographer and instructor Kenneth Linge had another of his Photographing People clinics this past Saturday in Salt Lake City. I was privileged enough to be invited again to help out and photograph during the class. Kenneth is a master at using mid-day sunshine with a reflector to create stunning portraits.

I took the above photo of Lindsey in direct overhead sunshine in the parking lot of the hotel the seminar was held at. The lighting was provided by a single silver reflector positioned by Kenneth. The combination of the warm light on the face with the cool background bokeh created a pleasant portrait.

Here is an overview of the scene as captured by my favorite videographer Jeremy Hall.



It is always rewarding to be able to capture a nice portrait such as this in an environment that many photographers would consider inhospitable to portrait work.

On a somewhat related side note, I processed this image in under 5 minutes using Kenneth's Photoshop Actions. I will be providing more information on these actions in the near future.

On the web:

Kenneth Linge
Jeremy Hall

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/800 second, f/4, ISO 100

Holly

The rapt attention a photographer can elicit from a subject with a single piece of cheese is somewhat amazing. Though, I find this method works best with participants of the four-legged variety.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

Dream a Little Today

I selected this image for today's post in hopes of making an ever-so-subtle reference to the holiday in the US today honoring the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

- U2

Update: When I refreshed the blog after making the post, I was surprised to see the resemblance between today's image and the post I made on Saturday. I hadn't noticed that until now.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/10, ISO 100

Don

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

Working Within a Color Family

It's a snowy Saturday morning here in Utah and my 9:00 am photo shoot just got postponed, so I thought I would spend a few minutes and break down a wintery image for today's post.

One thing that I have been working on improving in my photography is my use of color themes within a photo. When capturing this image (from a recent wintertime stock series), I concentrated on keeping the color tone similar in each element of the shot. With Michelle's strikingly dark eyes (yeah, I'm a bit biased) and wanting to create a warm result to go with the hot cup of chocolate, working with brown tones was a natural choice.

My first thought when putting together the composition was to use a dark brown cup for the cocoa. After a bit of thought I opted for white to have the cup provide a subtle similarity to the brown/white of her eyes. Secondly, Michelle's jacket was too dark in the original, so I had her wrap in a tan fleece that I happened to have in studio to give separation between her hair and jacket on the left.

One improvement that I wish I would have done is to move the cup a short distance to the right. I find the clipping of the cup's handle on the left a bit disconcerting.

As you can tell by the large catchlights in the eyes, the lighting setup was very simple. I used a 24x36" softbox positioned vertically to the left of camera. I purposely wanted to create the dark shadow area on the right, so the light was placed at a fairly sharp angle with no fill (light or reflector) on the opposite side. The 600ws light was turned to a minimum power setting to allow me to shoot at f/5 creating a narrow depth of field. To further narrow the depth of field, I shot with the lens at its most telephoto setting of 105mm (I stood on a stepladder to get enough distance).

Well, that's enough rambling for today. I'm now off to brave the Greatest Snow on Earth.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/5, ISO 100

(Junior) Executive Lighting

One of the many photography blogs I follow is that of Colorado photographer David Tejada. David specializes in annual report photography and has a blog that details many of his assignments. The great part about the blog is that he frequently posts video overviews of his shoots.

One of his recent videos was a time-lapse presentation of an assignment doing corporate headshots. In the video, he places a large softbox directly to the right side aiming across the front of of the subject and then fills the opposite side with a reflector. Here is the video:



I really liked the result of the simple lighting setup and though I used a similar setup in my previous photographic life, I hadn't done so in many years - until recently.

Today's image of a young man in business attire is from a recent stock session in which I used this lighting arrangement. I opted for a complete black background to make the Junior Executive stand out in his white shirt and power tie. One other shoot that I used a variation of this lighting on was another stock shoot of a young man in a graduation cap and gown.

As you can see, this lighting setup is extremely simple and very effective. It definitely works well in both my stock and portrait work.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/80 second, f/10, ISO 100

Amrik at ISO 1600

Today's image is an example of putting image stabilization and high ISO to use when photographing in a dark environment. I made this casual portrait of a restaurant owner in the extremely dim lobby of his Indian restaurant in Provo.

This was shot hand held with a relatively long shutter speed of 1/10 second. Typically, shooting at this speed without a tripod would result in an image too blurred to use. This is where advances in lens technology helped out. My everyday walk-around lens (Canon 24-105 f/4L IS) has image-stabilization built in. While this won't help with moving subjects, it will dramatically assist in reducing camera shake. Using this feature combined with a high ISO (1600) and me bracing myself against a wall, I was able to capture a very usable portrait of Amrik.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/10 second, f/4, ISO 1600

Welcome to December

As 20th century crooner Andy Williams once said, "It's the most wonderful time of the year".

If you don't tend to believe Bryan's story about our recent trip to the North Pole to photograph Santa, then let me offer up a different (slightly less sensational) version of the how the photos came to be.

This gentleman is a semi-retired CPA who truly enjoys his resemblance to Jolly Ol' Saint Nick. So much so, in fact, that he refuses to take payment for portraying the Christmas icon. He does it out of the love of bringing joy to children (his words). When we (Michelle and I) approached him about doing some modeling for us, he readily accepted. In exchange for a few 8x10's, he spent some time with us in front of the camera letting me shoot him for my stock portfolio (here is a link to the full set from the shoot).

Of all the people I have photographed this year, he was one of the most enjoyable.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/10, ISO 100

Impromptu Portrait: A Man and His Skull

During the Provo Photowalking event earlier this month, the group came across this cigarette smoking donkey skull mounted on the front of a Jeep. While we were checking it out by alternating between photographing it and laughing about it, the jeep's owner emerged from the tavern it was parked in front of (yes, there are taverns in Provo). After getting over the initial shock of seeing 10+ photographers around his vehicle, he posed for a portrait.

To light this shot, I had my friend Dale hold a Pocketwizard triggered 430EX to the left of camera. I then quickly balanced the strobe's power to about 2/3 f/stop above the ambient light. This gave the subjects face (and the skull) a bit of pop to separate them from the background.

The next photowalk event will be a December visit to the Christmas lights at Temple Square. Details will be posted here as well as the Flickr group.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/30 second, f/5.6, ISO 200

Of Children and Pets

Today's image of a beautiful young woman and her dog is from an outdoor photoshoot I did yesterday afternoon of three siblings and their pet. While the children were excellent subjects, the extremely excited golden retriever added a bit of a challenge. He was so interested in everything going on it was difficult to get him to stay in the frame - let alone look at the camera.

With Michelle's assistance, I used a single silver reflector to light the scene combined with the afternoon sun as a hairlight. In addition to nicely lighting the subject's blonde hair, the sunshine created a great rimlight giving separation between the dog's face and the background.

This shot is one of my favorites from the set. I enjoy the informal feeling created by the retriever looking away from the scene combined with the young lady's wonderful smile.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/4.5, ISO 100

Chilly Model

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/200 second, f/8, ISO 200

My Favorite Model

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

The Most Secret Place on Earth

Note from Rich: Today's post is written by my good friend and fellow blogger Bryan Catherman. Bryan is a very talented writer and a fun guy to hang out with. Be sure to check out his blog, The Hopeless Writer, at www.bryancatherman.com.

Into the Most Secret Place On Earth
by Bryan Catherman

I’ve witnessed many spectacular things—NORAD, secret detainee holding camps, and other highly classified places—but nothing compares to where I went, and what I saw last month with my good friend, Rich Legg.

About six months ago, Rich Legg was contacted about doing a photo shoot. That in itself was nothing out of the ordinary given the popularity of his website and the broad range of his work. However, the subject matter and the stipulations were nothing he’d ever dealt with before. He was allowed to select one assistant, and after considering my background, he selected me over many of his talented photographer friends.

From there, we completed the necessary paperwork, provided blood samples, and underwent a detailed background check. Rich’s immunization record wasn’t as up to date as mine, so Rich also received a Polio vaccination, as well as the six-shot series for Anthrax. Then we waited. We were on the short list, being reviewed for the job.

Rich didn’t let himself get too excited. He’d been through this before when he was being considered to photograph Suri Cruise. “Don’t get your hopes up,” he’d say, “that way you won’t feel let down when we don’t get it. Trust me; I learned my lesson when I didn’t get the Cruise gig.”

But I couldn’t stop thinking about Ralph Plaisted. Plaisted was the last American to visit the most secret place on earth with his unauthorized entry on April 19, 1968; a day that changed is life.

On October 7th, we were selected for the job and on October 19th, we arrived at the private jet terminal of the Salt Lake City International Airport. Before us was a small, overpowered jet painted stark white. The windows were limo tinted and the aircraft was free of any other markings. No tail number, no warning or caution markers near the engines, nothing.

A brutish man with a stock face took our gear. He informed us that from this point, we were allowed no photography equipment, no recording devices, no GPS tracking systems, no paper, and no writing instruments. He confiscated our cell phones and for some reason, he took the electric keyfob from my key ring. “You’ll be given back your camera at the photo shoot,” he said to Rich. Something in his voice intimated me. I’ve looked into the faces of some evil men, terrorists and killers, but this man—a man who couldn’t possibly stand taller than five feet—scared the hell out of me.

I quickly realized that the terrifying little man that took our stuff was also our flight attendant. He served us a plate of cookie snacks. I had coffee and Rich had milk, and then the man disappeared. We never saw the pilots and the area of the plane where we were seated had no windows. As I listened to the engines roar, I started to wonder what I had let Rich get me into.



When the door of the jet opened, the cold blast instantly snapped at my face. It must have been 50 degrees below zero.

Then two young girls boarded the plane. Or I thought they were young girls; my mind was hazy at this point. They each carried a parka, a hat, and sun goggles. “You’ll need this stuff if you’re de-boarding the aircraft,” one of them said to me.

Stepping off the jet, I looked to the right and left. In all directions was nothing but snow and ice like a great white ocean. Looking behind me, I could barely see the plane except for the tinted windows.

Moments later, a toboggan being pulled by two caribou arrived. “Welcome to the North Pole,” said its driver, a three and a half foot cheerful man. He explained that we’d have to wear blindfolds until we entered the compound and we agreed.

As the sled came to a stop, I could hear signing and laughing. The sounds were confirmed when the man removed our blindfolds. Neither Rich or I could form words, but the reflection in our eyes said it all.

Before us was the biggest, brightest factory I’ve ever seen. Little people moved about like bees in a hive. Large gears turned and steam spewed from tall pipes. Conveyer belts moved toy after toy past us. The factory that surrounded us was alive.

“Come this way,” said the driver. “He wants the photos taken in his private residence.”

“This is amazing,” said Rich.

“Oh, this, right,” said the man. “I guess working here day in and day out you tend to forget. We don’t get many guests up here. Come on. This way, please.”

I had no idea how to address the big man, but when he firmly shook my hand, he said, “Hi, I’m Santa Clause, but some people call me Kris Kringle or St. Nicholas. What ever you’re comfortable with is fine by me.” He nodded. “This is my wife, Mrs. Clause.” His voice was like warm syrup and his smile like a child’s innocent giggle.

Handcrafted furniture filled his living room as the wood-burning stove packed the space with warmth. On a desk in the corner were little flags—the flags of the entire world. A large King James Bible rested on his coffee table. One end of the couch was near a small end table, and on the table were a candle lamp, some knitting needles, yarn, and a Beverly Lewis book with a red bookmark. I think it was The Brethren, but I couldn’t be sure. Three books sat on the other end table: Blue Like Jazz, The Kite Runner, and a title written in French.

Rich and Santa chatted about the photo shoot for a moment and then Rich instructed me to unpack the gear. (The equipment arrived unnoticed while I was meeting Santa and his wife.) We didn’t know what the photos were for and nobody ever told us, but for the next twenty minutes, Rich snapped photo after photo. I held a big disk and reflected light. At one point I held two flash mechanisms and pointed them as Rich showed me. Snap, flash, snap. I think Rich must have captured 400 photos.

Then, as we were packing up, Mrs. Clause served us sweet sugar cookies and hot chocolate. Santa retreated into his study and emerged with two wrapped gifts and a copy of Letters From the Front Lines. “Bryan,” he said to me, “war is the devil’s play and I’m sorry you had to visit his playground. Please thank every veteran you know, for me.” Then he handed me the book. “If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind signing it for me?”

“Brave Rifles, Santa. Brave Rifles!”

And as fast as we had arrived, we were escorted out. I don’t remember the flight home, other than the time I spent staring at the small Christmas gift Santa gave me. The box was wrapped in gold paper and a small hand-tied bow stuck up from the top. “Don’t open this until Christmas Morn’,” he said. At one point, I looked to Rich, who was staring at his gift, larger than the one Santa gave to me.

“Rich,” I asked, “how will anybody believe we were really there?”

His reply: “Don’t worry, I’ve got the photos to prove it.”

Christmas Already?

Even though this shot doesn't scream CHRISTMAS, that is a Christmas tree in the background.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4.5, ISO 100

Biker Dave

GOAL

Capture a stern looking biker with moody lighting to create a "bad dude" feel to the final image.

Camera equipment: Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens

Lighting equipment: Two Canon Speedlites (a 430EX and a 580EX), hot-shoe extension, two Lightsphere modifiers, one lightstand

For the shoot, I placed the 430EX in slave mode on the lightstand above and to the camera right. I then hand held the 580EX (using the hot-shoe extension) to the lower left of the camera. I set the hand held flash at -1 f/stop to allow the overhead unit to be the main light. By holding the second (fill) light in my hand, I was able to quickly make adjustments on the fly as needed.

Final thoughts: I am pleased with the images. The whole shoot took less than 15 minutes, which is a good thing since it was right at 100 degrees out and Dave was cooking in his leathers.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 100

"You're So Vain...."

Today's capture is a quick-n-dirty test shot of myself I did in the studio with two of my new lights. These lights are more powerful than my other lights and offer MUCH more adjustment.

For this shot I have a 24x36 softbox right of the camera for the main light and a 40" umbrella behind as fill. The hairlight (which missed it's target a bit) is a snooted monolight in the back left. This is my standard portrait setup. I usually start with this arrangement and then deviate from there depending on the look I want.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/10, ISO 100

Mr. Science

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Krystal

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/80 second, f/5, ISO 100

Vegan Power

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 400

Oh, the people you'll meet

One of the fun things about photographing in a major urban area is the people you have a tendency to meet.

I ran into this unique young lady while shooting a bridal session in downtown Salt Lake City over the weekend. After watching the bride being photographed for a bit, she wanted her turn in front of the camera.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/200 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Sepia Tone Photography

Most people know what a Sepia Tone photograph looks like. But do they know that the term originated with the use of pigment from a fish cephalopod?

Sepia tone is a type of monochrome photographic image in which the picture appears in shades of brown as opposed to greyscale as in a black-and-white image. It was originally produced by adding a pigment made from the Sepia cuttlefish to the positive print of a photograph taken with any number of negative processes. The chemical process involved converts any remaining metallic silver to a sulphide which is much more resistant to breakdown over time. (Source: Wikipedia)

Now you have some useless photographic knowledge to impress your friends with.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/200 second, f/5, ISO 100

Enjoy the Ride

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/320 second, f/4, ISO 200

Backlit with Sun

Here's a quick tip for creating a dramatic portrait: Use the sun as your backlight.

I made this capture of Dean in downtown Salt Lake City by placing the setting sun at his back and then providing subtle fill light with a reflector. It can be a bit tricky to line up your camera and subject to avoid lens flare, but when done correctly it can provide nice results. On this shot, I particularly like the glowing outline around his body.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/1600 second, f/4.5, ISO 200

Framed

I shot this portrait of Jenna for a request I received from a graphic designer. For lighting, I used a simple three monolight setup in my studio:

- Softbox main-light to right of camera
- Umbrella fill-light above and behind camera
- Single light on backdrop

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/10, ISO 100

Erin

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

Guest Contributor: ElisaRae.com

Today is one of the rare occasions when the featured image is not one I took.

While reviewing photos from my recent Alaska trip, I came across a series of dog shots that didn't look familiar. That's when I remembered that my 12 year old daughter Elisabeth had borrowed my camera while we were visiting my sister in the town of Healy. It was great to see the different perspective that she took while chasing the many dogs around the yard with a 5D in hand.

Of all the shots she took (read: LOTS!), this shot of Dog (pronounced dee-oh-gee) is my favorite. I love the low vantage point with the narrow depth of field. The tennis ball provides a great finishing touch. Elisabeth has a great natural eye and I look forward to seeing how her photography evolves in the future.

For more examples of her work, visit her frequently rarely updated blog at elisarae.com.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/500 second, f/4, ISO 400