Thought some of you may be interested in this.  There is a big designer wedding gown clearance sale at Belle’s Bridal Boutique next Sat, April 4th.  The day is already booked pretty full.  If you call ASAP, you can probably still sneak in.

$99+ Designer Wedding Gown Sale in Abilene

PS - This is the best bridal shop eveah!  ;o)

Here are some basics of lighting for photographers.  There is lots of hoopla that is all debatable, but good lighting isn’t.  Good lighting is the difference between being an excellent photographer and being ho-hum.

The examples below can be utilized with what ever lighting equipment you use - strobes, aka flashes, hot lights, cool lights, studio lights, window light, alien bees - what ever.  The method is the same regardless of the light source.

Lighting tip #1 - very most important NEVER forget EVER - Always light from above. You can also say - NEVER up-light your subject.   Want to know why - please read the Halloween reference below in the flash section of this post.  If you can’t remember anything…remember this.  Its tip numero uno.  REMEMBER IT!

Here are some photos of our model and the different types of lighting.  The examples have no post processing done to them AT ALL.  The reason is so that you can see what stuff looks like straight out of camera.

BUTTERFLY LIGHTING (aka Hollywood Lighting)

This is incredibly quick and easy lighting!  Your main light goes directly in front of, and above, your subject.  This highlights the tops of the facial planes, defines the jaw line, and creates the little “butterfly” shadow under the nose that lends it’s name to the lighting style.  Add a reflector to give the eyes some sparkle!

REMBRANDT LIGHTING

This is traditional, timeless, lighting.  Your main light is about 45 degrees of center (and above!).  The key is to have the shadow created by the nose connect with the shadow on the far side of the face - creating a triangular highlight on the subject’s cheek.

By varying the amount of fill, and the harshness of the light, you can have crazy dramatic light or classic portrait lighting.

LOOP LIGHTING

This is very similar to Rembrandt, but the light moves back towards the front of the subject.  As a result the shadow from the nose doesn’t connect with the shadow on the side of the face.

This is a favorite scheme of many wedding photogs.  With a nice soft light, it’s hard to get it wrong.

SHORT LIGHTING

Once we move to talking about short, or broad, lighting, we are talking about where the camera is in relation to the light instead of where the light is in relation to the subject.  Make sense?

In short lighting - what we have below - the camera is shooting from the side that is away from the light, leaving more of the visable face in shadow.  This is very flattering, feminine, light.

BROAD LIGHTING

Broad lighting is simply the opposite of short lighting - the camera is shooting from the same side as the light.  This is generally less slimming than short lighting, and is typically more appropriate for shooting men.

FALL OFF LIGHTING

By taking into account the fall off of light we’re able to lose unsightly backgrounds!  The fact that light falls off quickly is your your friend if you enjoy low key lighting.

Simply put, every time you double the distance between a light and the subject, you quarter the amount of light that makes it to the subject.  So, a subject that is four feet away from a light source will be lit two full stops brighter than a subject that is eight feet away from the same light source.

What this means to you, the photog, is that you don’t always need as black backdrop.  Simply move the subject closer to the light and allow the rapidly falling off light to leave the background underexposed - black.

In the shot below our model is actually about 8′-10′ in front of a gold wall.

OFF CAMERA FLASH

OK, one thing that you have to realize with any good lighting is that the flash-light-in-front-of-the-face look is only good on Halloween.  As a photographer, you should almost never use that.  (I’m saying almost never, b/c you might want to shoot some scary crap on Halloween).  So getting back to the other 364 days this year, you’ll want to use some lighting mentioned above.  Your light source for off camera flash is still above the subject.  That part didn’t change.

In the example below we have two versions of the same shot.  One was taken without flash and the other is final product taken with flash.  Final product meaning there was some PP done.  Basically the colors were intensified.

SHOT WITH OFF CAMERA FLASH

SAME IMAGE WITH OUT FLASH

If you did that to the no flash image, it would just look funky (funky in a bad way).  You could never achieve the dynamic range as with the lit photograph.  Also notice the jaw line is not well defined (making the subject look younger/ baby face) and her eyes are caves.  Can you see any light in there?

In case you are having issues seeing the detail on the face, I put the images next to each other and enlarged her face a bit so you can see.  Check out what happened to her facial features with and without flash.  When using flash, you can see her well defined cheek bones, jaw line, and her eye make up.  If she was looking up, you’d have nice sparkle in her eyes.  In the shot with no flash, her eyes appear concave, her hair is flat, in addition to the other stuff already mentioned.

Bad flash has the deer in front of the headlights feel.  Its like standing in a spot light that is directly in front of you.  When you use on camera flash, that is exactly what you are doing.  And since most people think the deer in front of the headlights look isnt all that appealing…well, this is some cool stuff.

Here is another thing you can do if you use flashes outside.  Nice cloudy day.  When you fire a flash you expose the foreground (your subject), and underexpose the background (your sky).  Ta Dah!  You have a nice blue sky, not a blown white wall that is common with not using flash.

This shot was off camera.  We so totally didn’t mess with posing today, so the pose is kinda lame, buy you get the idea.  I went a little over board with the glowers.  I know.  Anyway, its an example, not a work of art.

And thanks to those of you who came out in the wind to today’s lighting workshop.  Here is a shot of you guys hard at work, learning all the lighting hoopla.

If you have been trying to email Belle’s Photography since last week, please know that our email is having fatal issues.  Last weekend we had a massive server failure where ALL of our email addresses were lost.  The company (IX Webhosting) was unable to recover the emails and/or addresses.  Which totally stunk.  If you sent anything at the end of last week, I DID NOT SEE IT.

Anyway, if you are in the BASICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING WORKSHOP this upcoming weekend, and need info or sent an email, please resend.  AS OF NOW THERE ARE STILL SEATS OPEN. This is a small class, and we kept it small on purpose.  So if you want in, sign up now.

We are still having email issues.  Please call the studio (325)201-7458 and leave a message if you have a question and your email is not getting answered.  I already complained to IX and now I have to wait until they fix it.  Sorry for the hassle.

Abilene Photography Guild people & our dear sweet patient clients - same hoopla.  Call if you need anything.  Sorry for the hassle.  See you at your session.

We get lots of emails, phone calls and PMs daily.  People who are getting started in photography ask how how we got to point A (I just bought a DSLR) to point B (I’m charging $500 for art prints to my super-swank clients)?  Well, there are lots of steps in the middle, but they can be pinpointed through a logical progression.

#1 - READ. Read everything you can get your hands on.  Learn the classic poses.  Learn contemporary poses.  Learn lighting.  Learn the basics of how your camera works.  Learn exactly what it happening when you stop down your lens; learn why it does that.  You’ll be amazed what a crappy little entry level DSLR camera can do when you take it off of auto and push it to the max.

I am a self-proclaimed weenie with technology.  I can’t stand it when AOL and google update their software.  And hardware, forget that.  Mike thinks it’s hysterical.

I used an entry level DSLR camera for a long time.  You don’t need top of the line stuff to take top of the line shots.  Yes, it helps at some point, but shouldn’t you know what that point is before you drop $5K on a camera?  Remember, YOU take the photographs; NOT your camera.  The camera is a tool.  Learn how to use it.

#2 - PRACTICE. Get out and shooting.  Shoot everything.  Shoot in different lighting (dusk, dawn, dim, bright, nasty florescent, etc).  People who don’t practice, don’t get better.  And practicing is fun.  I practice with all sorts of stuff - castles, pearls, cookies, change, beer…whatever.

(Talk about fun challenging things to shoot - fireworks and Christmas lights - and yeah, this is Cinderella’s Castle in Disney World).

During the course of 12 months, there should be a noticeable change in your work.  Especially in the beginning.  From the time you learn to turn on your camera to 12 months later, your work should have changed drastically.  Not necessarily the content, but how that image was taken and how it looks.  When you work stops changing, it means you’ve stopped growing.

(Beer is so the nasty, but don’t it look all pretty in the sunlight?)

At this time of year, we get creative with Peeps.  Ya know, the Easter candy?  See all the different ways you can light and pose a Peep.  You think I’m kidding, but I am SO not kidding.  It’s a really fun exercise.  It gets your creative juices flowing and allows you to play with different shots without looking like an idiot in front of your client.  I mean, if the Peep mouths off at you - you just bite it’s head off!  (And then hurry to a shrink - Peeps shouldn’t be tawkin to ya).

So, last year, I asked the question - can you dramatically light any subject?  C’yeah!  You can!  Vegas show peep in a spot light, as seen below.

Practice!  You cannot improve if you don’t take time to play, try new things, and practice.  If you aren’t into posing marshmallow farm animals, use models.  Practice makes a HUGE difference.

3. GHETTO vs PRO. OK, what holds a lot of photographers back from learning about lighting is the expense of lighting equipment.  This is where you get into the question - should I use ghetto stuff around my clients?

I totally say - USE WHAT EVER WORKS.  You know all those famous photographers who manufacture their stuff?  Guess how it started?  You bet it was ghetto!  (Ghetto = homespun).

We use tons of different types of lighting stuff - some ghetto, some not.  Modifiers are the same thing.  Honestly, I LOVE foam core.  What an insanely easy way to get soft romantic light, spread evenly over your subject.  Just because it doesn’t say PRO CAMERA SHOP on one side and cost an extra $50, doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.

(Above: Ghetto light + window light = awesome ad piece)

You can start to learn to use lighting for under $100.  Buy yourself a little ghetto flash and foam core and your work will improve leaps and bounds.  You’ll leave those soccer mom’s holding their balls, wondering what happened…and take your biz to the next step.

4. BIZ PLAN. Turn your brain back on!  I know, most of us are ‘artists’ and don’t want to bother with the math of the moment.  But you have to.

(Mickey Money…lol!  See, money stuff can be fun.)

Let’s just jump into examples.  If you need to gross $150 per session to turn a profit (which is insanely low), then you need to make a plan of attack.  How are you going to reach that rate?  There is some predictability to what people will buy and how they spend.

Here is an example of typical blunders/ money bleeders.  Say you shoot a session and you have your prints priced at fine art prices - so $50+ for a 5×7.  You only need to sell 2 prints with your session, which was on sale for $50, to gross your $150.  You can do that, right?

Well, say you are offering a cute little album for $60.  It has 10 pages and comes with prints.  The client will buy the album, not the prints, and you failed to meet your min.  Arrange your packages so they benefit you.  Do NOT give away what people are willing to pay for.

And don’t give away crap because you feel like you HAVE to.  It’s a package, not a garage sale. Packages tend to bleed new photographers dry.  Add up what your clients typically buy and what it cost you.  Subtract your overhead, and see where you are.  It takes some photogs years to realize they are operating in the red (upside down, negative cash flow, bad, etc).

Add stuff up NOW and avoid that blunder.  You can push a primary product to make sure people buy it and then do add on sales with all the other stuff.  If you want to witness the master of add on sales, check out VistaPrint.com.  Holy add on sales, Batman!

5.  CONFIDENCE. Set your prices and stand by them.  When a client asks why your prints aren’t $2, tell them.  You should be able to answer this simple question - WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU? If you have no answer, you have no clients. Stand by your products, your images, and your photography.  Be confident.  BTW - you aren’t selling paper with ink on it - $2 photographers are a dime a dozen.  And there are dozens of them.  Increase your skill set and you will have more to offer.

(Sunflowers are NOT weeds!  See the pretty backdrop they provide?)

Take these tips and light a fire under your butt.  Now, go read stuff, take classes, go to workshops, and practice!  Your only limitation in photography is you.  Cameras have gotten so cheap, there is no film, and you can shoot tons of stuff with a 50mm.  That is still one of my fav lenses.  You don’t need a room full of pro equipment to be a pro.  Ask a wedding photographer - they have to carry all that crap.  Yet another reason to make ghetto stuff - its lighter, travels, and if you loose it or Aunt Hildie sat on it, you can replace it without crying.

HOPE TO SEE YOU IN ABILENE OR AUSTIN!  I’m taking the rest of the spring and summer off from workshops.

A couple of times a year Mike Ward of Belle’s Photography teaches an introductory photography class. This class is offered via the city of Abilene and the meetings are held at Sears Park on Ambler Ave.

The next class is on Tuesday May 5th from 7pm-8pm for 4 weeks.  Learn from a professional photographer how to improve your family photography by discussing the basics of composition and camera settings along with how to print, store and share your photos.

Many folks have taken this class in the past to improve their skills, learn to better use their cameras, and how to take better photos of their children and grandchildren.  It’s a lot of fun and we’ve met many wonderful residents over the years.  I hope if you’ll all come out!

City residents are $38 and non-city residents are $41. Talk about a bargain! This class is a basic beginner level.  Are you a NewB?  Don’t know what you’re doing?  Don’t know how to use your camera?  This class is totally for you!

To sign up call 676-6440 and ask for class section: 6450.205. Class size is capped at 25, so make sure you sign up early. For more info, visit the city’s website.