Reschedule of the NYC Workshop Today

Tags

Expoimaging Rogue Flashbenders, Lastolite, NYC off camera flash workshops, NYC Photography, NYC Photography Workshops, NYC workshops, off camera flash, Phottix Ares, Westcott

Hi Everyone,

The NYC workshop at the Space 4 Shoots studio has been rescheduled till January 31.

I chose to cancel based on the weather.  I have a few attendees traveling to the workshop from a fair distance and felt that “Better safe than sorry” was the proper thing to consider.

The Workshop will be re-posted on Sunday.

If you are interested, there are still spots left.

I’ll be using all small flashes and great gear from:

Rogue Flashbenders

Lastolite

Westcott

California Sunbounce

Our Model the the day is Julie Dawson:

 

Look for an update tomorrow!

Join in the fun if you can, this will be a great one!

Till next time, happy shooting!

The Upcoming NYC Workshop, January 24

Tags

Model Photography, NYC Lighting Workshop, NYC model photographer, NYC Model Photography, NYC Off Camera Flash Workshop, NYC Small Flash Workshop, OCF, off camera flash, Space 4 Shoots

Hi and welcome back.

My first Off Camera Flash workshop of 2015 in NYC will be held on January 24.

To register, you can use the Paypal link above, contact me directly, or join and register through my Meetup page.  

Location: Space 4 Shoots (Adelante Studio), 25 West 31st St, Second floor

Time: 11-5

Date: January 24, 2015

Cost: $300.00 per person

I’ll cover multiple speed light techniques going from 1-3 lights using various modifiers including:

Rogue Flashbenders and grid

Westcott 43″ Orb and Strip softboxes

California Sunbounce reflector

If I can fit it in the bag, the Lastlite Tri Lite MK II

Convertible umbrellas

Bare flash

This workshop is geared to all levels of photographers, so bring along your camera, lenses, spare cards, and batteries for a great day of shooting different looks from headshot, to commercial on white and color to fashion.

Model TBD

Styling by Reena Shaw

If you have any questions, you can contact me through my blog or call or text:

203-641-2880

Thanks and I hope to see you there!

BH Photo 40’s Glamour

Tags

40's Hollywood Glamour, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Model Photographer, Eva Ivanova, Model, Model Photography, NYC Headshot Photographer, NYC model photographer, off camera flash, Phottix, Phottix Odin, Rogue Flashbenders

Hi and welcome back.

Yesterday I was presenting one of my favorite lighting looks: 40’s Hollywood Glamour at the BH Photo Event Space.

I love the old hollywood look, and I teach it and do it with speed lights and Rogue Flashbenders.

This was as always a superb presentation with a full house and fabulous model: Eva Ivanova, who looks like Lauren Bacall!

My gear:

Key: SB910, Small Rogue Flashbender as snoot

Hair: SB800, Large Rogue Flashbender as snoot

Back: SB800, 20 degree Rogue Grid

All flashes triggered by the Phottix Odin.

Here is proof from yesterday with beginning retouching:

 

Many thanks to all who attended, Eva, and the great team at BH Event Space.

Till next time, happy shooting!

Shooting with the Lastolite TriLite MK II

Tags

Beauty Headshot, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, Lastolite, Lastolite TriLite MK II, Nikon, NYC Headshot Photographer, Phottix, Phottix Indra 500, Phottix Odin, Studio Lighting Techniques

Hi and welcome back.

One of the pieces of gear I used to use a lot, which for some reason was relegated to the store room, is the Lastolite TriLite MK II.

Link: TriLite MK II

I’m shooting with the Phottix Indra 500 and the 36″ silver lined beauty dish with diffusion cover installed.

Link: Phottix Indra

I dug it out the other day while cleaning the studio and decided to break it out once again.  I also dug out a few images of me using it a while ago.

The TriLite MKII is an amazing reflector system.  One of the best features of it is that it breaks down quickly and stores in a compact bag for easy travel.  This is one of those tools that can really change the look of your work, especially if you are only using one light source.  With the ability to use all three panels for a beauty look or dropping one or both side panels, you can add or subtract shadow detail.

Here is a proof image of Kelsey:

Here are two shots of the setup.  You can see how the TriLite wraps your subject with beautiful soft light for filling in all those facial features.

The Lastolite TriLite MK Ii found its place in my shooting repertoire once more.  You’ll be seeing a lot more of it in my work, so stay tuned!

That’s if for now.  Till next time, happy snow shoveling!

 

 

One Light 101 Workshop, January 10

Hi and welcome back.

I’m taking my One Light 101 presentation from BH Photo Event Space and putting into action in my studio with a shooting workshop.

To register, simply use the Paypal link above or join and register on my Meetup Page. 

I’ll cover:

Exposure

Composition

Gear

Working and interacting with your client

Rogue Flashbenders

Convertible Umbrella, including reflective, shoot through, and collapsed

So come if you can:

Studio, 233 Boston Post Rd, Orange, CT

Cost: $120.00, If you book by December 31, cost is $110.00.

Time: 11-3

Date: January 10, 2015

Model is the incomparable Julie Dawson:

If you have any questions, you can contact me through the blog, email, or text: 203-641-2880

Hope to see you there!

View original post

Expoimaging Rogue Gels

Tags

CT Headshot Photographer, CT Model Photographer, CT Off Camera Flash, Expoimaging, Nikon, NYC Headshot Photographer, NYC model photographer, OCF, off camera flash, Rogue CTO gels, Rogue gels

Hi and welcome back.

One of the most versatile tools in your lighting kit is or should be gels.

Gels correct for color temperature shifts or add color to an image.  I love the Rogue Gel kits as I can now carry a bunch of gel colors in a nice carry case that I never carried before, like Rose, Purple, Yellow, Green, Blue, etc:

Rogue Gel Kit

Alyssa came to me a with an idea for a colored look.

I set up 3 SB800’s and covered them all with Rogue Gels to achieve the look.

Backlight: SB800, Rogue Full CTO, Rogue 45 degree grid

Left Edge: SB800, Rogue Full CTO, Rogue XL Pro strip box

Front Fill: SB800, Rogue 1/2 CTO, Rogue XL Pro with diffusion panel

Here’s an sample:

 

And here’s the BTS shots of the gels:

 

The setup is a bit complex and the back/hair light, which is actually the key light, took a bit to set up in the correct position.  Once we had it, we nailed it!

The backdrop is black felt I got from Joanne Fabrics.  I like felt as it absorbs all of the light and gives you true black on the background.

The Rogue Gel kits open up a new wave of creative outlets for you as you can color your light for any need.

Well that’s it for today.  Till next time, happy shooting!

Happy New Year and the First Post of 2015!

Tags

Hollywood Grip arm, Matthews Grip Head, Matthews Hollywood Grip Arm, Nikon, one light, One light Education, Profoto, Profoto Acute 6e, Simple One light portraits, Strobe Light for Portraits

Happy New Year Everyone!

I’m glad 2014 is over and am looking forward to the prospects of 2015.

I plan on expanding my travel workshops this year, so stay tuned and be sure to get my schedule as I’m planning a whole bunch of new lighting techniques and workshop seminars.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and profitable 2015.

Now to the first post of the year.

One of my passions in photography is getting great gear and teaching you how to use it effectively and in different ways.  So for 2015, look for gear reviews and a new Youtube page on lighting and equipment.

When you are first starting out or are looking to upgrade, sometimes we are forced to make decisions based on our budget, right?  I’ve made them and have made some poor choices on gear.

One of those choices was buying a reflector kit like the one here.  I set up my kit and within an hour I overtightened and broke the handle on the reflector arm.  These reflector arms are not very high quality and will not withstand any hard use at all.

 

My solution is not cheap, but it will last your forever and gain you a short boom arm for any of your lighting needs.

I recommend trying a 40″ Hollywood Grip arm and extra 2.5″ Grip Head:

Matthews Grip Arm

Matthews 2.5″ Grip Head

Simply take a grip arm and mount it to a lightstand horizontally:

 

Then take the extra 2.5″ Grip Head and mount it on the opposite end of the arm:

Once you have this setup, simply unscrew the grip heads on either end of the arm and install the reflector.  Here I have a 32″ 5-in-1 collapsible:

Now, you can unlock the center grip head attached to the lightstand and rotate the reflector to any position:

This is an incredibly sturdy way to attach a round or square reflector to a lightstand and give you the ultimate in versatility when shooting.

Here are some examples when shooting a headshot with my client Alyssa.

First, I did a simple one light shot with a reflector for a simple look:

And then, within just a few seconds, I swapped this look to an over and under or clamshell style beauty shot:

The Hollywood Grip arm is a simple addition and accessory that can be used in a multitude of ways.  Just look at my lightstand on the right, a second grip arm is doing the heavy lifting of my strobe light and getting it up and out of the way for this simple shot.

Well that’s it for now.  Let’s get 2015 started and make it the best yet!