Lessons

Lesson Info

How to Get It Right in Camera

So this is called how to get it right in camera on dh we went back and forth and I thought yes really gonna leave that title because I'm going to show you some studio setups that I do in my little time that especially I live in new york I don't have a lot space on dh I want people who are who have small spaces to be able to do these things and see that it's not that difficult so I wanted to go through kind of my little checklist off what I do on set but I wanted a boring keynote I'm just gonna go through them on dh show you guys what I'm going to do all right so just going toe kind of go straight for it really sue is that these big introductions and mike so how iran shoots first thing logistics is everyone going to be there on time everyone comes together at the right moment the make up artist this late I don't have a chute right so that's the first thing so that's step one one logistics write that down second second most important part you can't issue if someone hasn't turned up right...

that's if the model is subject isn't their second most important part for me is hair you cannot retouch hair unless you're a genius I've never figured it out has more important than makeup wind on set you know so we're going we have a a little laughter board somewhere someone's going to run in yes thank you. When'd that's the job of the makeup off the hair person on set that I make him do it in some of the head guys like what? How that's my job and then I have to teach them how to do hair then comes makeup so let's actually get cassidy are you ready? Let's have you come in the lovely cassidy if if you're watching this morning she was on earlier and I'm going to make you just hang out on the set awkwardly for about half an hour we like babylon have a seat but in the break I took her to the makeup artists and I said I want to do more the portrait in a fashion thing we did this sweet soft thing with sue this morning I said, what are your own clothes that for me as a portrait photographer is more the story of who she is. So what did we say? Hair up a little bit little bit rat honesty I always kind of go back to that, but I still want something so I can blow around a little bit to create little bit movement, right? So I don't tend to look at the make up as much as their hair if I really get stuck and this is from a portrait photographer viewpoint if I really get stuck aiken photo shop the makeup the hair it's bad can't do anything about that then I look at wardrobe so as a portrait photographer I'm looking for you know I'll usually go to the client's house or ask them to bring suitcases and suitcases of stuff on the other thing you mustn't forget is if it's warm they'll bring all shorts and t shirt but voters are everlasting so ask them to go outside of season as well if they're coming in for a portrait session in the summer, maybe they need to dig out a winter coat because you can cover up a lot with a coat you can do so many things scarves, accessories those are the things I'm always thinking about next crew so I a photo rep five years ago so said don't ever ever shoot without an assistant again so I've been shooting with a lot of assistance and you know you when you shoot a lot setting up a tripod sitting up reflectors it's all very boring but you can get your crew to do and there's nothing wrong with outsourcing some of these things you know the huge photographers they have people set everything up but they still come in and they still put their stamp on those shots so the other thing maybe this is kind of going back to a little bit of a super inspirational thing find people that you like working with at some port and, you know, and I think in the fashion world, we all get into this trap of o, but this horrible person that to make up artist is really talented, you know, if they're horrible to the subject, if they're horrible to you, your shoots going to suffer, there are good people who are talented, who do their work well, who are excited about what you do the best advice I got his work with people who admire what you do that's really important on dh the atmosphere on set changes so much when you have people on set that really want to be there that work with you on dh I tell my guys, I'm not afraid if you have an idea that you think something will work better, tell me, you know, I'm not gonna I think we all get like, do you guys get bogged down in one thing? And you just wish afterwards that someone had pulled you out of that? Someone had said, you know, why don't you try this or that? Hair doesn't look right? Or, you know, all these things and that's, I don't want to be on set and tell my crew like, this is the only thing you're going to do, I want them to feel free. To be like kind of creative live runs everything you know everyone has can take their own initiative it's not this oh if you say one wrong thing you're gonna get fired that's silly silly environment to create then lighting so this is where I am kind of I've been I've gotten known but become known for lighting today I'm using ellen crime relax this is the one fifty model I think it's one hundred fifty centimeters and this I'm using I'm going to shoot in nineteen minutes if I stopped banging on film I'm I'm going to shoot cassie and then I'm going to pick someone from the audience on dh shoot a male very quickly and show how the different lighting makes a difference there so this thing is quite big I'm going to show you inside one is it on a look it rolls so this is diffused twice diffusers whenever there's one special thing about you take this off their ego can someone just hold that thank you on the inside this is what I've always I mentioned before this light is mounted into modifier it's not coming in from the back that means it's already going in bouncing against this white before it even gets here in the modifier it's already gotten softer ok I'm always looking for that if I you can often get it with the smaller modifiers but this if you can get it this is why I after long search found the ellen from roadblocks that's what I ended up with and I'm going to put this and this is the it's called the baffle battles mean why it's called that on dh it goes back in like this and I'm always looking for ways to make all of this softer so you saw the little ring in there, the white ring and while I talk actually, john, would you put this back together? All right? So I'm going to show you in practical terms how I'm going to do that in the second, so just bear with me the other thing I do that's different from other people, I've had a love child having me, cassie just not about what I want the person to do and I get if one thing that you can you can outsource everything, you can have someone set up your lights, you can have someone to everything, the one thing you can't outsource is your interaction with the subject. So the big photographers like worked for they're sitting in the makeup area while the models or the subject is having the make up time they get they engage, they get an idea of who the person is, but they also get an idea of how good the person is at performing and that's something you have to if you're shooting portrait so you have to get an idea business ceo you get on set and they do this and they stand there or they like, ok, direct me on performer they already know they gotta put the energy and you know, someone on tv, they know they gotta put the energy and so it's your job to compensate, you know, someone from actress, they're probably going to do do a lot of things. A model certainly is going to move business ceo you got to put that energy and you go to tell them what to do. So with cassie, I'm not too worried. I've already established that because we shot her for two hours this morning, but I like to say to the client or give references to the subject. So this's, what we're doing today, that's a big step that's often omitted if they know in their head this is to look, we're going for it, it's pretty simple. You know, I told cassie, good, we're going to go away from the fashion thing, we're going to do a portrait, and for me, I wanted to learn from sue how to do some of the poses, and I really admire sue for doing that, but the way I should portraiture is I usually let the person kind of be themselves and in those moments where they relax then I kind of I feel let's do that again and it will even be I shot a friend of mine in new york and she she kind of arrested like this off camera and I could have turned on and when I turned around she was like yeah I want to go back to that resting faith and it's okay you khun most people will be able to do it they were just there you know so it's because when I started I was like you have to get these candid moments and it has to be absolutely you know you have to get no no posing at all you know happy supernatural if they did something they'll be able to go back to do to it so the easiest thing to me is I'm going to tell them what do I want them to do and then the last point is atmosphere and I make sure you know that goes along with the crew that I have what is how bubbly are we have I said the atmosphere if you're doing something really dramatic you might put on like wagoner ride of the valkyries or who you love to sing but you just think god's on that that's the case I have a little boom box that I bring even on location music makes such a difference so invest in a little like you know there's this company called beats they have they have little boom boxes brilliant you know fantastic little things that you can take on set put him in a grass on the client ever thinks about it but music really make such a difference that we can't play music here way should get triple scoop music playing in the background shouldn't we like that's one of the partners that's really important that the bible and I've made playlists that are for dramatic or happy or children they want that frozen song and I worked on a job ten days there was his playlist that kind of lasted all day and the models for different every day so I listened to their playlists every day it doesn't matter they didn't know that we listen to it five times in a row and then once I found all of that if I set up um oh I forgot one backdrop on location so this is the checklist of things I go through for every shoot back drop location I have my back prop from elephants studios I we're live now in new york I'm actually right around the corner from them so I kind of walk in like seeing what they're making looking through their rental stock that's a fantastic thing for me but you know they rent out back jobs they custom make backdrops for photographers well upon studio is just amazing and I've had this one for five years and I should everything on its very versatile on dh so before the shoot that's something I'm going to be thinking about what we did here is I asked john if if we had any baseboard because you can kind of make it look like it's a wall in an apartment by putting a baseboard on the backdrop he I asked him for a skirting board had no idea what that meant so then I remember them in america that means I don't I'm not so keen on this floor it's a little bit too light for me but that means if I wanted to I could put the subject on the floor and then it doesn't have that like that fashion sweep I like the coves you know, the white coves that you've seen in all studios I just think it's such a pointless exercise like it's not this doesn't exist anywhere you want you're subject to be floating kind of in mid air it it bothers me and I've never shot on it on guy used to sweep this backdrop down and I wanted to experiment with in england I did this little children's shoots every all the kids they're all down there on dh we have this beautiful dark wooden floor I asked my friend do you have do you have any skirting border? He understood moment I've just had it lying around in his yard like a old piece of tattered skirting boards I put that down then it looked and the client I had shot the day before came in on the same came in the next day. We were going through pictures and I showed him what I shot with the children because what room did you shoot that in? I said it's the same backdrop I used on you. We just made it. We know that some set design, so if I'm on location that's the first thing I do is well, I have wept out where I'm going to shoot. Obviously I am. If anyone knows my work it's I do this bombastic kind of is there a valley in the river and a sunset and trees and angels? And, you know, all this has been going on so really quickly just the logistics is everyone their hair, makeup, wardrobe, your crew that's the people of the most important part of what you do anyone ever tell you otherwise? Lighting, backdrops, location, subject preparation that means they know what you're doing as well atmosphere, then the shortest part shooting right. Additionally, maybe having your references things to show them the poses where will apartment upstanding props, professionalism that means keeping everything tidy in the studio. That's very important. Nineteen my assistance, if there's a a little bit of a law spend time tiding everything up, sweep it's good to keep that. You know, even if no one demands that they will know it's a messy thing. But, you know, I mean, I don't know who put that there. That's ridiculous. And also with clients what I found really successful. I was there to shoot. And actually, christina who's in the audience here. I hired her to be kind of a production assistant, and she helped just deal with the client off the mortar coffee. Because there was we had one model and two clients on dh. They kind of get bored. They start asking the photographer questions, and you just want to keep them engaged and that's just the like, a professionalism thing. I like to put him good. So let's, get into it. What I'm using here actually cannot questions anything let's get into it. Good. So I have my camera set up to tether. This is great. I did a job. Same job ahead. Christine on. I use capture for the first time on. We have to shoot in black and white. So when I was shooting, because the client doesn't sit there and translate the picture and black and white, they see the color picture on the screen. That doesn't show them what it's going to look like in the end so in capture I just said make it black and white and the images were coming in and they could see right away what was happening I got the added benefit I can add a in contrast aiken recover the shadows I can do all of those things live on set so since then I take this on location plant my my laptop on abound somewhere on some rock on dh should tethered no matter where I am if and it's so so helpful so we have the my favorite this is I used this last delight screamed this is the one that we talked about with sue is well where you would have the silk in it to shoot through I'm just using this is white on this side black on the other I'm using this like a b flat fee flats if you turn up at the airport with the flats you're going to get turned away so this packs up into a bag a big and that's why I travel with on dh it has you know all of these just clip on clip off its great that's the last light skylight rapid and I in my new york apartment I don't even think I can fit three flats so I have a couple of these and that's how I build my little sets so this is here I'm going to move it let's go over here I tend to actually cassie come come here on news shows show them something so cathy her eyes sorry I'm like objectifying this poor thing she doesn't have deep I case to someone just watch that when the eyes you know the distance between the brow on where the eyes go if you have a deep I care if you're going to do the lighting a little bit differently I'm going to align the bottom of this light to her I some first going oppose the way I wanted to do it on dh let's see it's really much more fun with music and so on again I'm just going toe mirror it's much easier for me casi I'm thinking kind of something coming forward like this I wanted to be very cool so all that you do the rest you know what to do so this is going to be a little bit more of a portrait looks yeah and what I'm trying what I'm thinking cassie is you know I'm like instead of I want everything to be a little bit slouchy yeah exactly and what you do for a living on your model full time no okay well I would ask them personal questions but perhaps on television it's not the best idea you no ask about their children do they have pets? That kind of thing is you get from comfortable but again I'm just going to say I remember I did a shoot for cirovski once and I had fourteen people on dh was photographing them they were standing in you know like terminator style boom and then I said I used to work for this photographer that everyone knows and I don't want to mention the name of everyone who knows me knows who I worked for can you pose like that? And this photographer happens to do a lot of the the coolest poses you know everything's very so I said can you just pose like that police and they all went oh ok, cool so they all did that so that's what I want you to do just a simple is that I'm going to bring in the light and put the bottom of it that I that's why I always start so I'm thinking it's a problem for the cameras become interest raining it I mean really, really close and I'm going to do a test to marry, you know, what's going to happen it's going to look really flattened boring um I usually use a lightly toe because I'm already tethered to the computer I'm just going to test this out all right? Kathy and I need to come lower now, mr perfect good and just give me a little bit of attitude in the eyes because I'm just gonna fire tests on its I have no idea where we're at with my exposure. So there we go. I'm going toe, see where it five, six I'm gonna go up to eight. I can even go up to eleven. You know what? I'm going to do this anyway, I'm gonna use the meeting that's asia is the meat, so I won't have to life because I can figure out what the differences between them it's a f thirty six? Yes, I think that's a good idea. I would have taken a long time to get that right, it's hilarious. Five six. All right, john, you don't have a mic, so this is a really good experience. One of them let's try that. Where my at eleven. Good that come in. So I mean, this has really kind of a silly way of doing it because I could just know and I don't want to be running around on the set, so I'm just going to go back to five. Six here on dh capture show you something in capture. One okay up here. Capture shows you what? The raw file is where the exposure is on the roll file and it's, currently two stops under, so, john, just turning up a stop, I like I like being a little bit so captures meeting for you it knows what the last time was because when you make an adjustment that the curve changes right so this is telling you what the rule files cassie just come here for me this is telling me what the roar fire was doing so now you see it's minus one stop that's meat is the same way as the camera does and I actually think it's a little too hot so I'm going to go back up to fate and I'm gonna change the light around us well so the other thing I'm I'm goingto get catholic to be post and lit in the way I wanted to be for women I tend to kind of give a broad light cover everything so this I calm or wrap my systems now this is feathered so feathered means it's not so much on the subject rap means there's more on her it's wrapping around more I'm going to also move you closer to the backdrop she's on in the studio I'm always looking for ways to have people leaning across things meaning on things to kind of be cool I'm not doing that ariel flowers and you know that's really not my style and that's not what I'm known for that's the biggest thing I like those kind of things but I'm not known for it so I get hired for it so just kind of end up not happening so again now I've moved closer what will happen is that backdrop will be lit up more because it's like it's closer to the backdrop on dh way we're gonna have more like I'm cassie you'll see it go there we go good now it's eating a non boring post will get there if I if you guys on the screen I go to that image before and then after this is much more harsh and this actually the image after actually got softer so the spread of light is more even which works really well for women what I'm going to do next so that's my life coming actually from here but it's bouncing off this filling that back in if I turn this round two yellow or even if I just john would you come in and just hold this for me if I hold a black here due to do you're going to get a little bit of that black edge coming and you see that does it if I total back and forth between those so I'm taking all of these little steps just to figure that out to you know I actually john if you could put a white v flat just here because ideally if I had a lot of space I would build a giant white war to come all the way around it's going to fill in all of those shadows but I'm controlling the status I'm not just lighting from that side I'm also controlling what bounces back into the shadows I'm not putting a light here to fill those shadows I'm letting this light bounce naturally back the reason I do that it's because if you're in a room or if you're if the sun is hitting you and you take a picture natural light in a room it is bouncing back from the other war and it is coming back and that's how you get soft light if you're in a black room and you have the sun coming in you're gonna have black shadows but this is such a more elegant way of controlling what bounces back then putting a film like and I never used the term ski lightened phil light because I can do this all with one giant light source is going to be beautifully soft we're going to make it more feminine pose who will just look into it so I can get this a little bit closer the closer I get the more it fills in from where cassius this side of her is getting some of the light now that kind of wraps around here on its bouncing back off here and that's to another test kasie let's see what can we do with you just lean really slouchy onto their yeah good lovely actually that arm across was good yeah you're full and just give me a little bit of like shape in the neck like that so we're actually I can't avoid going back to kind of a fashion face here I wouldn't do this with, you know, with a man or something, but so I'm still getting that hot highlight on her head, so I'm just going to fix that and I'm going to do that by taking this a little bit away from her now, it's going to be more feathered, john, let me just I'm gonna put this like a continuous wall, and this just means that more of this life is coming back at her. That means the distribution between what's hitting her directly and what's coming back is going to be more even. All right, cass. Perfect, I think, um, let's see? So you see, I've gone from that hot highlight on the head to wait, get the screen up for you guys. I've gone from that hot highlight on the head, which is really distracting to me up here too much more even like just by moving the light away from her a little bit and relying more on the light, bouncing off the other side to come back in this kind of and you only moved it probably a foot, maybe to the back and a little bit away, so it was not too far it correctly, and if you have a small space that's, all you can do if I had normal height ceilings, I don't have the choice of shooting her sitting up this high and have to seat her further down in fact, where's the other store could oh I'm sitting on a classic way try this what's bugging me about this story so lot so this is kind of ugly highlight so right even the bits of her that I can't see I'm going to pose so if you cast would you cross your legs the left leg over the right leg cross it over the knee the other way around I know it's not that comfortable right and swing your body a little bit that way yeah good I'm I'm making contortion contortion ing you that's good, but I kind of like the great thing again think of her and not as a model it's really distracting to have such a beautiful face in the regular clothes but I'm doing the lighting demo I'm not going to go too far into the posing I want this to be about what's going on there. Okay? All right let's do that. I'm gonna shoot a couple of times so where I'm out so far you see how beautiful himself that is on her face cast can you just turn, turn your face towards the light yeah good and then just look at me with eyes only beautiful all right, so we'll see how that so I just wanted to see how that light is so beautiful and so soft. So I'm going to take a moment to show you guys and capture one what happens and how I go on set on dh really kind of tweak it, so when I'm looking at the back of the camera, the pictures are always ugly and I had to get experience to know that I could make them look good and photoshopped, but then you wouldn't want to show the client, and the other thing that happened is I would under expose everything because I like that dark, moody look in the camera, but that creates a lot of problems in post production, so in capture are having it on the screen while you're shooting is really huge benefits I'm going to go here and I think the white balance is just about fine, but just in case we can drop put the dropper now, that's actually quite nice. I play around a lot with this caliber guns. Usually if I go kind of a little bit green, you see how it makes such a huge difference on the backdrop that's why I love this drop, I it literally looks like I have a green backdrop if I just go there a little bit yes, kind of all right a couple of questions again people that asked them about what you're talking about tell us again kind of what the color of this ala font backdrop is how would you describe it when I was in any drop okay, so if you call up all the fun and you say I want any drop today that's a good starting point and I originally had a stop under great middle gray okay um it was too dark so I brought it back in and they repainted it for free paid because she you know, they want you to have the perfect rover and spending a lot of money on it thiss I have never really been able to define if it's brown if it's warm or cool because it changes every time a different line really middle gray either I don't it is an enigma and a child remain such when one more clarification question thank you is you said that the images don't look great in the back your camera is that because they're brought our e why'd you say that if you go to the screen I'll show you one actually probably look ok why resettle the adjustments? They just kind of I mean now it's perfectly lit and it looks fine obviously, but often also if you're on, if you're on on location and you're shooting, you can't see the screen it's terrible so you know, you know you'll know it when you're in the silent light squinting at the back of the screen that's a really terrible experience for years a photographer on dh usually you'll end up over exposing under exposing and having to fix it you want to if you want if you want to be very good at what you do if you wantto should commercial you want everything to be good as you can get it on screen and you know, maybe capture one roar processing engine is only five percent better than light room but that's enough for me because I can go up to stops and I don't lose anything and that's why, you know, in my evaluation of what I was going to use that kind of capture I'm going to also go in and play around here with if you guys go to the screen so you can see this and play around with my contrast curve and immediately give her that more punchy look that's what I'm known for perhaps cassie is not the best you're too beautiful okay um for this take down the situation a little bit and play with the brightness and I'm going to show you guys I can I'm going up in exposure here, I can go up to stops and this image doesn't really it's probably better to show you on an under exposed to mitch actually let's do that let's take kassie one acrobatics here perfect this is how I should shoot in my apartment on the stool beautiful people perfect so that's kind of under exposed by let's let's capture one telling me by two stops I don't quite believe it so I'm going to go up and I'm not really getting this kind of washed out a horrible image I've taken images two and a half stops under exposed and rescued them images where one of the flashes didn't fire and they still come on I can match them I when you're shooting children you should very quickly and often the flashes don't have time to recharge or if you're shooting with two flashes on dyken usually make an image where the flash didn't have time to recharge look exactly like an image where did so maybe the flash only fired a half power but that's really I don't know it's black magic it's the role processing engine because I could never have matched it it would have to end up being you know you take underexposed admit nothing quite works you come up I'm going to play around with the shadows here and just bring this up and that gives it for women especially filling in the shadows again um brining up the shot is going to show you guys again it just fills in that little bit and now I'm actually thinking I want to go a little bit into, like a pinkish softer field and I'm going to really soften this image up in a minute and show you guys soft and hard on the same really fast, easy way to do this, okay? And I'm just going to see what other adjustments and I can bring in the highlights and rescue of those highlights again if I had this problem on the forehead that's what I would do and it can really rescue a lot I don't tend to play around with the levels in the curves until afterwards but let's see yeah, and again I'll show you what it was before and then after and this is great if you on set with clients they get to see what's going on while shooting and it's going to take the same adjustments and apply them to every shot you take afterwards I could actually make it black and white as well let's see yeah let's not do that doesn't look so good right? Let's work through supposes I'm actually gonna refer to suze manual and I'm just going to get some that I really like um and I don't think cassie very inspired by this pose so let's try new lean with actually I'll show you how she way try something like this connect the hands here it's a little bit masculine so maybe you know bali hands feet all these things I learned from sue this morning yeah good draping across beautiful and can you give me like uh actually can I have a poll could have wind pull in to do you know it is ok I just like picking the people as the audience thank you over there you know how to do it polls actually work with me before you're not miked up so in order to say anything good that's what I say to him also and said good all right let's get a bit of wind good catherine I wanted to be a little bit intense always yeah, yeah yeah well it much just just yes good. You see that's coming in and you can see if I was shooting a portrait like this would be a really flattering way shoot someone who's older everything's filled in the skin looks beautiful you're right off the bat it's probably a little bit of a making it too easy for me shooting cast let's try some different places saying I'm gonna go to seize posing manual here I liked that want to do they're going uh so if anyone watched that we didn't do this post so I think now it's prime time to try that right you were chomping at the bit for this I know kath good s o this is try that one yeah good so cast I know it would usually be a a crescendo rude jokes and but it won't today let's see if we can make this happen like this was that not tall enough and you're going to have to go on your tippy toes maybe we'll sit shoe let's set you a little bit lower and try that that thing that I wanted and then when I can't figure out opposed I like to try it myself I expect them to do it and then they can't and it's actually physically impossible so I think something like this yeah let's try that and I've put her lower down so I'm gonna I'm always yelling it like just do it come on and actually try it doesn't let and again this is when I started out I was like I need everything to be super contrast t I'm not scared of like filling in the light anymore the way they used to be on dh it's going to have a beautiful cover right and you know what I like this was showing on creative life the rial experience with cramped in a little space this paper everywhere I can hardly get to my laptop to feel right at home ok perfect goods on dh cast let's just get that hand your left hand in your pocket let's go oh, you don't have pockets too you know pockets girls okay, what about then just like kind of putting it into your you lower leg here cast like there yeah, well quit right in inside and then just make it beautiful. Yeah, good and can you do? Can you let me in on yeah, I remember that but comb thing like you get grabbed a little piece of your hair good on poor let's get a bit of them and I think the light is going to be a little bit weird now and I shoot this changed it around take a couple shots and yeah, you see, I've got a little bit closer with the light so I can do two things I can change it back and capture and I have a little keyboard shortcut to reduce it one tenth of the time so I just that's now reset the exposure reset to zero we have a little bit of a contrast curve and have reduced the saturation slightly on dh just going toe again a little movement a couple of inches it's now not going so directly on her on again more is bouncing off that reflect on the other side books myself good so cast let's make it really beautiful and feminine and I can say these things to models you can't say that teo to someone who doesn't have experience great and just that little mouth open like a tiny bit say that yeah, yeah great, good and pull like wind brother blow the light of her blow the light that's great beautiful and that's that's trying a bit more like a little bit more slouchy of more attitude yeah perfect good get away with that did and then just that friendly feeling so think of you know it's possible to think of their pets for that children that gives them that little sparkle me I cast just turn us up towards me a little bit yeah just the tiniest smith yet perfect I don't want to get too much of your that's perfect yeah great it's really flying all over the place, isn't it? So if I if I get people in the studio and now I should on my little space in new york it's really nice to kind of do it without that much pressure without you know and I'm kind of exploring this portrait idea off just everyone could do this and I think it's really, really beneficial to sue gets people in that she wants to shoot I get people in that I want to shoot large aid tests with fashion models all the time creating a scenario where the pressure is not on you because you have a paying client could be so beneficial you can mess around, you can try things you can make mistake mistakes no one will judge you is some this is not one of those moments but that's what? I've been enjoying my little apartment. So that's how I now move. I've been moving through these portrait sittings just kind of playing around trying to compose is and seeing where we go with that so cast make it your own so that yeah, there's just a slight little very good good. And if I'm shooting portraiture, we have this say polls interacting with her in some way making a lot of good, good and that's what? You know, I can I can I can say to my assistance okay, we're going to make this fund she has to laugh, we have a commercial. We knew the teeth. So then my assistants are doing a lot of laughing at my bad jokes and things like that and they know to do that, so I'm already liking where this is actually and good let's try out one other pose actually, you see she's just relaxed into that which I really like. So I'm gonna pose just that. Yeah. And you had your head tilted a little bit more good that's great cast. Lovely. Good. I like that. Just if I had to shoot something that shows who cast might be, which is what I'm going for, then this is a bit closer to she's like, yeah, I know a little bit closer to the sea and I just made her smile and I caught her looking and that's kind of cute, but then that's kind of what I'm looking for I don't have an audience to turn away to when I'm shooting on set, but those moments where the person and relaxes or were having a chat of asking about children and pets and passions and things and that's why I get those interesting poses cast let me try this on the floor you should try it maybe you khun like I think the here I'll have you pull will hold this for you to see and folks at home what what it is we're attempting to do and if so, can we all right the way up here, huh? Thiss oppose this's way didn't do this one this morning in my posing class was soon, so I think because you have this kind of jacket thing on, it might work, so have a seat on the floor and I'll show you I'm not quite happy with like I said this particular floor but john, there was the black fabric remember where is that? Would you bring that to me? Good, so there's one thing you have to watch out for for the floor because a lot of the light will bounce off the floor on her from below, especially children lights always found thing on two children from the floor sorry um I'm going to move these set pieces so if you if you cast just yeah, I mean, how would you set there if it was you so but you have a little bit of that slouchy thing or maybe a little bit more playful childish then don't worry don't don't be afraid to go there right? And this is a black piece of fabric that also attached to the last delight frame and I only said during this recently on dh where is it I feel like I'm like yeah abracadabra exactly what it's like a cat in here that doesn't remind me of random thanks so I put that on the floor in front of her and now it's you're not going to get all that light bouncing back up into her and I'm gonna drop this thing down doesn't go further down okay, here we go caution to the wind handheld for catholics to that pose the hand resting on the tri like your head resting on the thing yeah perfect good and then we have tio see, I can talk to her but I can't have a talk back to me so I move this way a little bit I like that actually like the way it looks ok let's have let's have you catch that light a little bit so turn yeah good and I can say again I can say this to cast I couldn't say it leads to a little bit of a lifestyle like huh? Huh great perfect good so we're going to pretend that this is cast israel personality there we go okay good. I'm so happy here on the floor good poor I'm paused blowing wind of me this is normal. Yeah, good and if I had some schoolbooks lying on the ground it would be great with a different kind of full but you see, you get a black room under here that's kind of coming back from there if I remove this we're gonna end up with it's not as dark below we'll see now not bouncing as much as it normally does just the way these things work good let's move let's have a couple questions and I'm going to move into how I shoot males but again I'm not we've got such great pictures of cast this morning I just want to show you guys from the lighting things that I would move through in this short ninety minute segment we have I love it when former instructors join us on day ask questions of other instructors we have matthew the body kay who is in the chat rooms and would love to know um how long did you spend editing each of the images in capture? One way he can tell that you like the results is it is their time difference between light room and capture one or is there again and difference where you're doing that? Well, I know that version eight is the new one is really much faster than it used to be. I said to the I said to the guys that phase one, I'm not going to stand there and tell people that capture one is perfect, all that it's it's like it, but it crashes the tether drops every now and again, but I think that happens in light room too, but I think the end result I can achieve is better than it was through light room, and if I have to work a little bit hard, I think version eight is much stabler so I do a lot of mad it's here, it's great because I can like a children's should I mentioned there was shot people under exposed? There was stuff that didn't work there's a lot of movement, I've never been able to match a shoot up as well, because if you have something on top of stuff under because the light didn't quite fire right, you can never bloody match it until I got here I can now match it doesn't die, I don't know if I'm explaining some weird conflict, but and I have eight shots they need to look the same before I even go to photo shop or go to aliens going to do color and I can do that and it's really it's really changed everything like that little hot all right next question this is from the pink chile and we have several votes on this question as well can you explain again why do you use one light in the scenario versus a two light set up because I'm going do you wantto could give you two answers one is the real one that I'll give you great I want to show to light set up in another class okay and how I do that on dh I think I want people to be able to follow along from the lighting challenge sided with soup rice that's a really good start an introduction into lighting we're going to start with one light now if I take all of this away it's going to look like one line but because I bounce it back kind of fills really beautifully oh yeah that's what the other thing I was going to show okay you've reminded me of something on guy want like get a light, get a light you don't even need this soft books but remember this and this makes a huge difference ok? This isn't pacing directly it casts set this one hundred times I've said on laura's workshop president susan workshop just don't point the light of this subject directly because you get harsh light this gives you a harsh light you want to achieve softness so I'm now this light is pointing here cass is over there it's bouncing from here onto here and some on her and that's what creates that spread of light that we get all right let's sectional I did want to show actually how if we turn this to the black side to the dark side what happens so let's talk about with that john let's see if it's ready to just switch around let's just take it off the pull just take it off the knuckle there under the knuckle yeah, perfect we're just going to do this handheld because does it come out? Don't be shy yeah there we go let's just turn around without hitting her she's she's aware good on dh someone just hand hold this quite close to her right cast would you consider on an apple box someone just hold this thank you and let's just anything really we're gonna have you see I'm trying to keep up the same eye level good lovely we take a shot of you and show you guys how different that looks you see that's that's the quintessential one light look ugly as anything you've got the harsh shadows you can never get this back it doesn't look flattering your clients will be upset that's the one right look so what everyone does in please do not do this in effect continue to one thing do not put a light on the other side to fill in that's why everyone has trouble because you can't you put the light in the other side just doesn't look right you know this there's two lights on me here in the studio one from that's just so that you can see everything it's not so that it's the most flattering shape okay then I'll tell you how I really feel good so thank you cast your released thank you so much wonderful job and you um yeah if you guys put that back no, leave it there. You can just leaning against the thing, okay? While they do that we're going to take I think I'm gonna take a poll and shoot you ready people he's like what? I'm going to show you how I change it up for a man on dh where john where's my other ellen crumb there it is, right, alexis behind the cameras. Okay, if someone danielle someone khun roll that in, I'll set that up and we can get I'm going to put this guy over to the side on just so you'll know what's happening I'm plugging way so this is just going to stand over here on the set thiss one good and the fundamental difference with so I'm going to go through my little checklist on dh I want I'm gonna would you pass me my jacket actually thank you and I've shot many people in this jacket and it always works here put that on and you instantly looked like a motorcycle rock star poor looks like logan lierman does anyone know that actress on dh when I had him on set I said poor I called him logan he loved it all right let's plug this guy in same power this one is smaller and other differences sorry john um if you can see that light is poking in from the back which is not going to be asked flattering but this is how it comes and that's what it is and with men we can do a more directional light and we can get away with it right john would you put this back together for me? Good. The other thing I wanted to show you guys is how radically we can change everything I showed you with kathy how contrast t that light is and we're going to do a close up of poor and I'm going to use some little tricks just two I think I've had to create a really moody portrait that how I would do that any questions from anyone in the meantime in the audience or anyway ahead portrait how much do you and this come from the model or the person in portrayed on how much does it come from you I mean you try to let them express themselves or you guide them I guide them imposing usually but that's why I talked about this like judging how good they are performing because I want them to like I want to get an idea of are they going toe do stuff by themselves they're going to add that energy are they just gonna stay stiff? You know I the other thing okay going you can I'll get back to another point on that already. Well, I had another thing that I do which is I mention this before this is my magical wonder this's the ruler does that I remember whose photograph a member of their family and it was my brother and he said can I get some new headshots of change jobs and so we set it up in far too small a space and he he he goes comes on set and he goes can we do this already and I just come here and I just went you will be a ceo one day because that's how they all react you know and it's like this defense can we just do it already? So I am because he's my brother I got my little roeder out and I was like I pressed very odd you know, like because they like a comment like that can we do this already makes me wanna invade their personal space because that's what they're objecting to write I had the shooting was architect and there was a sculpture and I asked her I don't think you people you can go back I've done my research on her and there was the sculpture that they've made and I said and she hadn't designed it was someone in her office and I said can you connect with this piece on dh she goes, I don't connect with things I said I pulled her aside and I said, I know you do I saw your videos and she goes she's really known for being ferocious and she pulled me aside and goes I'm going to pretend not to do what you say for the sake of my p r so it's I that ideal you already invading their personal space you can't help but do that so my you know my brothers thing was I mean he's my brother it's I would expect it the least but actually you know there's the boundaries or so have been established for so long so I used the lint roller to get in and I roll them down and they think this is part of the shoot but it's a little trick or anything you know you turn their head you do something but I see it and it makes me kind of feel like cheeky and I'm gonna come in and somehow ruffle your hair or you know just for the sake of kind of snapping them out of that thinking and I think sue does the same thing and all the photographer that scene they have their own way of doing it sue creates this bubble of atmosphere that you can't escape and but she's bossy wenches I've been photographed by her and she's like move your head with your head movie ahead who didn't know which way to move it and she kind of it isn't this cotton gloves approach it isn't oh everyone must we must be so sweet and oh my god don't offend the subject not know they're here on the same times as you just they want to get a photo and you you have more um freedom than you might think they will let you do if you're doing it right if you you know I'm not grabbing people but if you're doing it right you khun they'll do what you say but you have to invade the personal space a little bit paul's assisted me for before so that doesn't really an issue him so let's do let's do our best george clooney on right let's zip this up and we're going you guys will see how different it looks um I'm going to change that around that can you just been like yeah all right can move okay and I put this on a boo mom because for men I'd like to shoot down on them a little bit more, which means I can kind of do this. Do we? Oh, just like that, right? One seconds. Herculean strength. Where's it or smart whichever one works good. All right, get up a little bit and again, I'm targeting that. I hide. This is lovely because it has the model and so I can see what's going to happen. Why even shoot way modeling lamp and that you write the light has inside of it. Two bulbs. One is the fresh boat that's the ring and one is a tungsten bulb on when I when when I shoot when I press the shutter, the cold comes off on the flash tube fires and the flash troop is made to fire at daylight. Temperatures on the ball was made to be whatever this is and model it helps the camera focus and helps you see what's going on when I do this, when I popped the flash, the model light turns our first place second and that comes on. Some people shoot with just the model eight just like this without the trigger. When you actually police say so this there's a pocket wizard it's a flash trigger that connects to the pack and remember when we set up the pack we just turned it on I'm not going to get into kind of what power it said that I just want to kind of end up somewhere between five, six and eleven and make it look right if I'm on a commercial job, we're gonna have exact parameters and we'll set up everything but when I'm shooting just portrait, I want to shoot a lot of portrait I don't want to worry too much about the technical I wanted to look good and I'm more worried about the end result when the means used to achieve them. It's fine, I will ask for it if I knew it all right now on hand held good pull that's great and he's already kind of going into the post let's see where we end up with the light? Uh, don't you look good? All right, it's, a little bit of hot on this face. I'm going to get the tripod back. Yeah, um, just move you back a little bit because I also want you to listen to the backdrop again. I can control you. See, we're getting a little bit of light on the background. That's by design removed him far, it would go black. All right, let's, go in there, that's good, right, I'm gonna come up a little bit higher. And we have remember we have the black so there's no light bouncing back that's why we're getting that harsh shadow on that side if I you know and I should show you guys some things lovely all right I like this thing who makes it man front yeah good I like the little lamb d'oh that's a piece of copyrighted music is it all right? Good poll that's great. I'm telling your body more back yeah, good and you wantto let's try just come towards me I think I want some out of the pocket good and just really lean on the back they're good and you're doing this or thing just relax it ok he'll cool yeah bring this's kind of one of my standard poses let's try that and I want to achieve really kind of nuanced what's going on here uh I have lost my temper. Well, this happens on set on dh it's been so attempting to just say I'm not going to tell her anymore but then I go and put a card in the camera and shoot and look at the back of the camera on dh that's never I now I'm so spoiled I can't go back to that like back good yeah actually tilt your head this way and just bring your face towards me a little bit come back up I saw something when he was moving I quite like that that's. Good. So now, with the man, we can get that more contrast. You look it's. Not a problem. I am going to make the light a little bit softer again by just coming away, tilting this feathering it slightly more so, again, this you're if you're keeping track is pointing at me here, he's. Just getting what's bills off the side. All right, let's, try it again. Be cool. Poor keep cool. Perfect. And, you know, I just finally little pieces of furniture around in my apartment. The ladders just post people and but bring your head a little bit more. Yeah, very good. We'll get out of this kind of lion slayer pose in a minute. Good. But for I think this is a much more masculine portrait. Then what we did with cast? Yes. Go ahead. There's. A question. The audience microphones. How do you feel about the shadow is falling on the background with him? I don't mind. I mean, aiken, I yeah, maybe it's a little bit of a depressing, but I like these kind of quirks that happen because I think it connects it back to being sort of human that's. If I took him off the background you know this is also one of those things when I'm shooting for myself I don't mind but the client might say something I know what to do I would move all of this a couple of feet forward on the shadow would force somewhere way over to the left because he's further away from the background but can you just goes close to the background as you can just give me a good we go that close yeah I just I'm just going to demonstrate he's looking down like what so that that would be a little bit too much for me you know but I'm because they kind of when you generally look at the picture from its here's a thumbnail what is that voldemort mass that their next him what's come with the evil spirit leaving him you know, kind of feeling so yeah come off a little bit again and I'm gonna change one little thing and show a little trick that I've used all right? I'm happy with way have a picture that I'm trying to reinvent the wheel here um let me try something stand up all right raise this and I'm going to get you really really actually sit on the store that's a good idea put the stool there great and just it's cool on the edge so again we're laying the legs so one leg down yes perfect good john would you come in and just hold this here for me? I want this to be really, really close to him just hold back their good. I'm going to bring the try put up magic was great. All right on I'm going to shoot this must be really good for teach me messing around with my tripod e I'm gonna get one of these all right, good. So this is going to be an ultra contrast e picture if my temper hasn't died yeah, there isn't going to get one with the eyes open good and I'm just this's a little bit too harsh for me, so I'm going to pull this back again good let's try that good. So you see that's actually kind of cool I really like it. What I've done before is we have a little bit of tape. I see some tape on the table there yeah, and we'll show you how you can do such such a little things. Thank you so much. Get that, john, just move that really close to him. Gaffer tape the best tool any photographer ever had. Good really close and I'm just gonna tape just keep looking forward. Yeah, and just hope that in a little more and often it's me holding this and shooting at the same time okay and then that stay exactly where you are and the difference between the two it's noticeable do you see on the left on the screen we get the camera in here he has just that tiny hair off light coming back and filling in the shadows and that means the shadows are not going to be black black black they're going to be controllable so then you know I could go in and up there so I'm going to select this one and select on up the shadows and I couldn't do that with the other image as well because there's no detail in the shadows so think about it like this I'm adding in that tiny bit of bounce back here all I'm doing when I put the white and create this big wall of white is making that bigger and bigger and bigger and filling in more and more more and that's how you should with one light you control it the bigger the reflector, the softer the less contrast you're going tohave and white anything white work that's why we have the flats by big big room built big rooms if I built two coves off white just make white behind me why everyone can't do that because I would block off this we were gonna have such a it looks like it's natural light with just a little bit of kick because the light is kind of coming around bouncing back in looks really beautiful for a fashion look or something like that so let's show what what happens if we do the exact same thing because then we can do the three count me with the black we can have the little reflector and show what we do what happens when we put this the white side yeah, but whether you could use just a white wall in that concept of using the one light with something to reflect off yeah, a white one I used to have trouble with white studios because it's about control even if I had a white studio what happens to me if the life bouncing off the ceiling the light's bouncing off the floor on dh this gives me control I am controlling it so even I think that's kind of why I don't like to shoot against the white walls because I can't move them I can't put something in front of them so I like to have these gives me a little bit more control yeah yeah or anything else go ahead that's different than your scream is your scream does that clip on separately in this black and white fabric? The program is just a clip on. So this is this is a black and white we've turned up on a couple times on the scream is a clip on and if you watch letting challenge for sue we used that with lights behind it to create a really big soft light source which in essence is what we're doing now as well. So it has this has clips that has a silver you could buy a silver and a white on dh that black fabric I used on the floor that's just the you know, a matte black fabric has the same effect. Good. So, logan, mr lemon, we're gonna get trouble for using accusing paul of impersonating a celebrity same face game face good. You look like a serial killer this's a photo fitfully a driving licence. There you go, let's get those three up next to each other. You see, the very right is the is the picture with the white coming back, the middle one is the complete black on the one on the left is where we're just getting in a little bit of that piece of paper the piece of paper it's filling in just here I mean, it's incredible it's just a piece of paper. Everyone has this in their houses. You don't need a giant war. If you're close, if I move this further back, it would change if I put something up here. You know, I could reflect light from here. This is I could build this forever, but it gives me so much control and that's why I love it all right, shall we do questions for five minutes and then yeah well before before we go teo full q and a do you have handy your top ten steps that we could go back and review where we started for getting it right and camera sure from where they are right logistics planning number one right we do this one logistics getting everyone they're booking everyone this is you would be surprised how people turn up late or they don't come the whole shoots hair pulls hair was flawless makeup is secondary to her silver amporn wardrobe crew work with people I like people who are enthusiastic about what you do who want you to succeed no negative nancy's no one wants that lighting I always have an idea of how I want the light to look before I go into the shoot backdrop location you know where they're going to sit what's going to be behind them if you leave any of these things out the shoots not goingto work subject preparation that they know what's going on I know what's going on knowing their level of preparation eso knowing the level of performance are they going to give you something or are they just going to sit there like a sack of potatoes and then the temp is atmosphere music I've your food is it clean snacks what's the violence that and I tell my crew atmosphere want to create if I was shooting you know an evil something or though I did like him venus kind of like a girl with hair blowing and you know and it was we played some classical music but then this latin girl I shot we put beyonce and it just worked so those are the steps you haven't take a seat I'm going to come out here with felix thank you, pope well, that will do I think behind way we'll move it that's what the cameras four was in there hiding behind now debate that okay? All right, questions for felix covered mike if you have any in here, I'm going to start with the interweb. How about you are shooting in landscape view most of the time yeah, you did go a little bit different was everything like yeah, I'm I mean, I'm drawn to that wide a shape I just think it this always feels like it's chopped off and it doesn't look good on websites might look good on your iphone but I like this I'm do crop a lot or do you always what the proper approach portrait now I think I tend to go in landscape or indication it's how we see it's how I think it has more that epic sweep it feels you know I always tried my biggest heart flutters is when it's ethic you know that's some always going across try to lay people across just this is the present preference and what's your approach to catch lights in the eyes and what's your approach if the subject is wearing glasses. Three glasses it's just get the angles right. And if you only have one light, it works pretty well. I actually have in my aliens in class after this. I haven't image with glasses on. We did it with this and it worked out fine. I'm going to say something controversial that catch lights. I wish I had less cat fights in my pictures because I won to push my work to be more editorial, which means I am working so hard to get away from shooting for that I don't want my subject to be the person pain so that's, you know, my goal is to be doing magazine shoots, and if you look a tw fashion magazine editorial, they're not all these rules that we have and all the things I get criticized, we'll get criticized for in line they don't apply an editorial fashion wacko editorial portraiture work because you're not trying to please the person in front of you and that's a huge distinction for me, and then I could get away without a catch light.