Doing beauty shots is one of the great traditions of having a studio. It is quid pro quo. Attractive models need to work with different photographers for experience. We get to work out new ideas and techniques.

I had worked with Evelyn often, so we already had a rapport. The whole shot depended on the talents of the makeup/stylist with whom I have collaborated for years. I drew a diagram of what I had in mind, but Audrey embellished, using her imagination and experience to make the headdress come to life.

Evelyn is such a natural beauty the makeup needed only to be fairly traditional and simple. But her exotic nature was strong enough to enhance the over-the-top flotsam and jetsam in her hair.

Lighting was simple — classic portrait lighting with a softbox and reflector with a light on the painted backdrop to separate the model from the background.

Scheimpflug rule (shim’-floog rool)1. a useful rule when using camera movements is that when the planes of the subject, the lens panel, and the image are made to coincide at a single line, everything will be in focus. 2. (named after an Austrian Army officer who patented it in 1904) states that the film plane, the subject plane (plane of sharp focus), and lens plane (the plane through the optical center and perpendicular to the lens axis) must converge along a single line.

Over the span of a dozen years I have taken cameras and lighting into many of the most infamous maximum security prisons and draconian death rows in the United States. To the constant astonishment and distress of security guards, I have humped 35 mm and 2 1/4″ cameras and large studio strobes, Polaroid, black and white and color films, and every length of extension cord into these “black holes of Calcutta” only to be poked and prodded, checked, and bullied about every piece of lint I possessed. We’ve had to document and itemize each piece of equipment with make, model, and serial numbers and the list has been previously authenticated by Notary Publics.

The efficient prisons pat us down, peruse the documentation, spot check it, and ask us to retrieve random paraphernalia on the list. The dumb ones make me reveal every nut and bolt and cross it off both as I enter and then as I exit. This tedious exercise has been vastly streamlined with the advent of Speedlights. Without loss of creative control or quality, I have sped up the process and gained flexibility in the cramped quarters of the cells and visiting rooms with increased assurance like never before possible.

LAJ

As commercial photographers, assignments can test our mettle. I have had jobs where I photographed objects too small for the naked eye to see and things too big to see. I have been hired for pictures of events that moved too fast to observe and, of course, those too slow.

Macro photography is a specialty unto itself, often requiring particular equipment: lenses, bellows, extension tubes, etc. With products needing to be shot close-up, the size of the lighting needs to be comparable and a fair amount of technical expertise applied.

We meticulously positioned, taped, and glued this watch on a mirror to show off the sinuous but mechanical complexity of the wristband. The lighting elements of the Speedlights match the size of the watch making it easier to position them close to such a small item. But once the main lights are positioned most of the work goes into carefully placing “show cards,” i.e., pieces of cardboard or Foamcore^®, white to reflect light back in the metal surfaces and black to add contrast.

All Wireless TTL transmitter and receiver equipment is built into the 550EX, 580EX, 580EXMkII, and SB-900 and SB-800 flashes. No additional or accessory devices are required to utilize Wireless TTL with these flashes.

parallax, (par-uh-laks) n. 1. the apparent change of angular position of two observations of an object relative to each other caused by the viewpoint of the observer. 2. in photography, there is a displacement between the viewfinder and the optical lens in twin lens reflex or rangefinder cameras that causes a difference in what is recorded from what is observed.

While teaching a workshop in Newport, Rhode Island, we gained entry to one of the magnificent, famous mansions. We moved about the tailored gardens and shot with the ornate architecture as a background. But eventually we ended up in the cavernous ballroom. The opulence was so overwhelming that I wanted to do something befitting the setting. With the help of a dozen participants we moved tons of priceless furniture and props around. I had the workshop students push a grand piano into the corner. The stylist made up and dressed two models in period costumes. I showed everyone how to use the different sections of the football field-sized room. As a final effort, because I wanted to show off the entire space, I placed one model near the piano lit by the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and the other model in the much darker interior. With one Speedlight inserted into a medium softbox, I was quickly able to balance the two light sources before we had to pack up and leave.

LAJ

Advances in technology have improved so much that small Speedlights emit power that belies their size. Batteries continue to be the weak link but they have advanced enormously over the last few years. Therefore Speedlights can be considered for large jobs that were never possible before. Used in groups they can affect digital sensors like much bigger strobes.

Seven lights were employed for this “beauty” shot of a vintage Honda. Motorcycles are big, shiny, highly reflective objects and require precise lighting. Employing several different methods of diffusion in this case eliminates the point source characteristics of the Speedlights and gave them a “broader” appearance. Modified with diffusion materials, they presented a very large rake of light that “fell off” gently around the edges to the left side of the motorcycle and on other surfaces they could be employed to highlight smaller sections of the vehicle as well as the background.

A single Speedlight is hardly enough to illuminate such a large object professionally ... successfully, but the cumulative effect of placing a sufficient quantity on contrasting surfaces is another strength of the portable lights.

Exposure Compensation on the Remote/Slave(s) should be set to “0”.

Sometimes it takes years for a photograph to evolve. An image can germinate for a long time before it is fully realized. I haunt flea markets, antique stores, and souvenir shops to find odd and interesting props. I store them away until I can incorporate one into the perfect shot. I owned the optometrist’s lens kit for two or three years before the right project came along.

In the studio we were not working from a layout or predetermined sketch. The whole idea sprang from an original concept we developed. The different elements got pushed around a lot before this still life came together. I was going for a feeling of randomness, but every piece is placed precisely for maximum effect. We had to “distress” some of the props to make them look old.

The designer used it vertically in a book. I preferred the horizontal.

When photographing highly reflective objects the size of the light source is essential. Because the shape and kind of light can be seen in the reflection, great care should go into its application. For metal, mirrors, glass, etc., both the light source and any reflectors often become part of the “design.”

A very large custom-made light bank was positioned on the right side of the set. Then an 8′ × 8′ Foamcore^® reflector was placed on the left so it started well behind the trombones. That way their curved surfaces would be “wrapped” by the Foamcore^® highlight all the way around. We had to erect another 4′ × 8′ sheet of Foamcore horizontally directly above the set to show highlight on the 180 degree curve of the instruments.

A second Speedlight was goboed on the painted background with a blue gel to connote concert lighting.

The client made large posters from this shot. It is always good to see your effort big.

pigeon, (pj’n), n. 1. grip equipment for photography, film and video. 2. metal plate with a mounting stud used to position a light low to the ground, much lower than a stand can go. 3. small, low light stand.

Flash duration is the mechanism that Speedlights use to control the amount of light they project into any photograph. The more power you need the longer it emits light, and when you want a lesser amount the thyristor shortens the period of output.

As a consequence, for small strobes that need to send out small increments, the flash durations can be very short (approximately 25 microseconds). The inventive photographer can exploit those quick emissions. In this case we wanted to freeze liquid motion. Defy gravity.

All the light for this picture is coming from behind the measuring cups. It was designed to give edge light on the Pyrex^®. The Master Speedlight was below the table and was only needed to trigger the other strobes. Stacking up the glassware was the initial problem. We actually had to superglue them together to withstand the buffeting of water pouring. We erased the logos and cleaned up errant bubbles in postproduction.

The Wireless TTL receiver is located on the side of the Remote/Slave flash.

Use the bounce and swivel head of the Remote/Slave to point the receiver toward the Master, while pointing the flash reflector at the subject.

After weeks of communication with the Department of Corrections and warden to get permission to photograph inside maximum security, I was refused by the guard on duty my contact visit with an inmate in a Texas prison. We were separated by bulletproof plexiglass. After long negotiation, I convinced the guard to let me pass a Speedlight mounted on a stand through the small security opening. He begrudgingly accommodated my request by precisely placing and aiming the light inside. I then put the Master Speedlight on low output on my side of the glass and used the remote as the main light in the picture. It wasn’t the ideal, but the setting and circumstances overrode the aesthetics.

LAJ

Remote/Slave flashes can be identified as Group A, B, or C. All Groups fire at the same time. Flash power for each Group is adjusted by changing Flash Exposure Compensation settings on the Master. More than one flash can be assigned to the same Group. Multiple flashes assigned to the same Group will provide approximately the same flash output. The camera’s computer views all flashes within the same Group as a unit.

Nikon: Master is identified and controlled separately as an M.

Canon: Master is always part of group A.

Wireless TTL exposure control for multiple Groups is illustrated by the following flow chart:

Figure 2.1. Multi-group metering and flash sequence.

It is easy to think of Speedlights as portable — for use on location. But they should be considered just as well for still life photography. However, the philosophy for lighting still lifes is very different from lighting people or interiors. Speedlights are especially suited to direct small beams of light and can be arranged in tandem to selectively illuminate individual products. For small objects you are often highlighting particular shapes or surfaces. In that case directing small lights is ideal. Pinpointing the important features is easy for Speedlights.

In this shot the set was relatively small so space was limited, but several flashes were positioned in close proximity. Each one had a different kind of modifier — softbox, grid spot, gobo, or gel — to get a specific effect, shadow, sidelight, or color. Because they are compact enough, they can be placed close, aimed precisely, and dialed up or down so side by side two lights output very different levels of power.

I had a huge selection of antique toys from a friend’s collection. I labored for days drawing a preliminary layout. All the other props I had stored away in my studio. I was up on a ladder. The camera was rigged to shoot straight down onto the set, which made it easy to arrange the reflectors and mirrors around the legs of the tripod.

Shooting still life is very painstaking work. You make very intricate adjustments and shoot often just to see how it looks.

With sufficient numbers of flashes, the Channels feature can provide flexibility and speed on location or in studio. Pre-set lights in different parts of a room or lights set for different visual effects on a subject can be accessed instantly. For example, a “hard light” setup can be placed on Channel 1, and a “soft light” setup can be placed on Channel 2. The photographer can switch back and forth from one lighting effect to the other interchangeably simply by changing the Channel setting on the Master.

At the beginning of my career I convinced the second largest computer company that I was an experienced traveler. They immediately put me out on the road. Out of my league I went downtown and purchased a couple of cheap cardboard steamer trunks from Woolworth’s Five and Dime, stuffed old newspapers around the twenty-plus pound studio power packs and boarded coach class, flying out of my local airport toward a new way of life.

Not knowing any better, somehow my equipment survived this treatment for months. Until I could afford more elaborate methods to better protect valuable, delicate electronics, my entire arsenal was at risk.

Soon after an entire industry caught on and caught up and designed high tech luggage for photographers along with lightweight stands, carbon fiber tripods, and pint-sized zoom lenses. Entire companies emerged around the necessity to make it easier for “road warriors”: photographers who turned the factories, boardrooms, and extreme locations around the world into their personal “studios.” At the same time the cameras and lights got smaller, the packaging got better.

Now I take the bulk of my lighting kit on board as carry-on.

LAJ

There are few things that genuinely inspire you. I do not know why but music has always held great fascination for me—both the sounds such as classical, jazz, rock and roll, folk, and gospel as well as the implements: pianos, guitars, horns, woodwinds, etc. It is as if the instruments and what they produce are magic. Boston has dozens of companies and craftspeople who manufacture and repair every conceivable kind.

My assistants and I scouted a few potential sites before we chose the violin/ cello shop. The choice was obvious once I saw the array of violins and violas against the green wall. We made a date to come back later when the store was not busy. Then we tiptoed around the expensive merchandise and gingerly erected a boom to hold the main light and set up all the background lighting.

Working with non-professionals can be tricky. They may have their own preconceived ideas of how they want to appear in pictures. As photographer/ director you have to control this. Holding the delicate violin overhead was unexpected, but I had seen the movement while observing craftsmen before the shoot. My contribution was to have the face of the violin pointing downward and have a reflector on the repairmen’s lap to kick light back into the surface. I brought several polishing cloths for extra color and chose the yellow.

The repetition of shapes is a classic compositional gambit. The colors make their own statement and the connotation of craft and music is a metaphor for sophistication, culture, and quality.

gicle’e (zhee clay) n. 1. French term meaning “ejaculate,” “spray,” “squirt.” 2. a category of digitally produced collectible fine art prints similar to serigraphs or lithographs. 3. fine art print created by adhering to strict standards that utilize special high resolution inkjet equipment.

Using multiple TTL flashes is analogous to swimming pool lane buoys. They are all held together by a single cord. When you pull one buoy down underwater, they are all partially displaced by different but predictable amounts to hold the one submerged afloat. Likewise, each Speedlight contributes more or less light to balance the overall shot.

The client wanted a variety of detail images from the rug showroom to include in advertising materials. A Slave Speedlite in a 20″ × 30″ softbox, ratioed to provide the main light, was positioned to give a dramatic skim light, accenting texture and casting shadows forward to enhance the sense of depth. The Master Speedlite on the camera, fitted with a 5″ × 7″ softbox, was set to fire as a fill. The angle of the main, with the Slave at the rear of the softbox, did not allow line of sight between Master transmitter and Slave receiver, and the large dark interior of the showroom did not bounce the signal. The Main would not fire. The client was watching. In a moment of problem-solving inspiration, I popped open a silver disc reflector and put it by the slave, eyeballing the angles between Master and Slave. Test shot... Main fired. Image accomplished.

Group A is used as a Fill light.

Group B is used as a Main Light.

No available or continuous light is relevant in the image.

The brightness of the Main light determines the highlight exposure and its value. In this example, adjusting the value of Group B will change the highlight exposure in the image file.

Once a satisfactory highlight exposure value for Main light Group B has been established contrast can then be analyzed. The relationship between the Main light and the Fill light determines the density of the shadow areas and the amount of detail visible in those shadows.

To compress highlight and shadow, to lighten the shadows, and to reduce contrast, the exposure values for the two Groups must be brought closer together.

To increase contrast the exposure values for the two Groups must be pushed further apart.

Increasing or decreasing the Main light, Group B, will adversely affect the highlights, so the contrast in this example is controlled by changing the value of the Fill light, Group A.

Fill light Group A “–” will increase the difference between Main and Fill, increasing shadow density and increasing contrast. Fill light Group A “+” will do the opposite.

If Fill light Group A is set to “–2”, it will fire at a reflected value two stops less than the Main light Group B, regardless of whether the Main light Group B is adjusted up or down.

Wireless TTL exposure for multiple flashes is also based on the total amount of flash entering the camera. As one flash Group is made brighter, other flash Groups may become darker. With manual flash each change is independent. But with multiple lights, as in the buoy analogy on page 49, any change in any of the lighting, available or flash, affects all the others. Adjust flash Groups accordingly.

gamma (gam-uh) n. 1. measure of contrast in photographic materials. 2. in digital photography, the measure of the contrast of an image or imaging device.

The background is black seamless colorized with a green-filtered Speedlite. The green was selected to complement the clothing and eye color, and to add mood. Firing a filtered flash into the black background produces intense, saturated color and quick falloff for a dramatic haloed vignette effect.

The combination background/hair light effect is produced with one Speedlite behind the subject. The Speedlite is on a low stand, tilted straight up, covered with a green gel, and is fitted with a diffusion material “sleeve” (see the section Diffusion Sleeve on page 147). The sleeve effectively turns the Speedlite into a soft, diffused flash that fires in predominantly two directions. Light striking the background gradates beautifully and light going forward illuminates the edges of the subject producing a rim light. If I wanted to illuminate only one side, I would place a black report cover over the opposite side of the sleeve as a gobo.

The Main light is a Speedlite in a 12″ × 16″ white-lined softbox. I move my lighting in close, looking for the edge of the softbox in the viewfinder, then backing it up only an inch or two so it is out of the picture. The physical closeness of the light results in the glowing skin tones. It also produces large bright catchlights to add life and bring attention to the eyes. Classic Rembrandt lighting was created by using the light at 45 degrees to Julie’s face, accentuating and complementing the facial structure. A 3′ × 6′ white reflector was positioned to camera left as fill. It picked up some of the background light resulting in the green cast in the shadows.

Consider a two Group lighting setup providing a Main and a Fill. The Main light is often used close to the subject. But let us suppose that the Main light is an off-camera Slave. Identify the Slave as Main and Group B. The on-camera Master is ideal for use as a flat, frontal Fill light. Used with a TTL cord, the same Master can also become a Form Fill (see the section Main Light and Fill Light: Definitions on page 48). With Canon, the Master is always part of Group A.

The difference in brightness between the Main light and the Fill will determine contrast. To make the Slave Group B Main light two stops brighter than the Master Group A Fill, set the A:B Ratio at 1:4. This will provide four units of light from Group B for every one unit from Group A. Group B as Main will be two stops brighter than Master Group A as Fill.

When needed, adjust the Group C Flash Exposure Compensation to make Group C brighter or darker relative to Groups A and B.

Use these guidelines as a starting point to obtain a traditional 3:1 Main:Fill contrast range:

camera obscura, (cam’-er-ah ob-scoo’-rah) n. 1. light-tight box with a small pinhole on one side, through which rays of light pass and form an inverted image of the external view projected in their natural colors onto the opposite surface 2. from the Latin meaning “dark room”. 3. device leading to the origin of the present day camera.

Consider a two Group lighting setup providing a Main and a Fill. The Main light is often used close to the subject. It is likely that the Main light will be an off-camera Remote. The on-camera Master is ideal for use as a flat, frontal Fill light. Used with a TTL cord, the Master can also become a Form Fill (see the section Main Light and Fill Light: Definitions on page 48). To control the brightness values of the Remote Main and the Master Group M Fill relative to each other, identify the Remote to be used as Main as your choice of Group A, Group B, or Group C.

The Remote Group used as Main will provide the highlight brightness. Set the Flash Exposure Compensation for the Remote Group used as Main to “0”, to provide a standard flash exposure.

The difference in brightness between the Main light and the Fill will determine contrast. To make the Master Group M Fill two stops less than the Remote Group used as the Main, set the Flash Exposure Compensation for Group M to –2 EV. Group M will now remain at two stops less than the Group used as Main, even if the Flash Exposure Compensation for the Group used as Main is raised or lowered.

If additional Remote flash Groups are added, adjust the Flash Exposure Compensation for these additional Groups in relation to the Main and Fill to achieve the desired brightness values.

Use these guidelines as a starting point to obtain a traditional 3:1 Main:Fill contrast range:

With one or more Remote(s)/Slaves you can press the Flash button on the back of the Speedlight Master and each Group will ignite in sequence to demonstrate that the Wireless feature and the entire system is working. It is quite an impressive display. You can activate the Master and have dozens of Speedlights firing one after another. It is a veritable stroboscopic light show.

CEOs are an acquired taste. Fortune 500 ones can be for photographers with trust funds and blue blood. The rest of us fly coach to shoot VPs and managers for their annual reports. A special language is spoken in the boardrooms of large corporations. It’s different from down on the assembly lines of automobile manufacturers and roustabouts on desert oil patches.

Years ago, my first bank executive was done with trunks of rental studio strobes and my recently purchased sports jacket and tie. I think he appreciated my sartorial effort. Soon I owned enough of my own lighting equipment. Name brand stuff in custom made cases but still it cost dearly as excess and overweight baggage and took a cadre of assistants to transport.

Over time I’ve had to bully some execs but many have become friends. The last CEO I did was with two Speedlights on automatic as I chased him around four floors of a new acquisition. He was “too busy” to stop for fifteen minutes and have a proper portrait taken.

At 38 billion dollars S&P worth he was a ten with everything and I was still a six in a new pair of slacks.

LAJ

A large segment of my work over the years has been what used to be called photoillustration where I have had to “illustrate an idea” with a conceptual photograph. A client once asked for a series of photographs to highlight a story concerning different aspects of ecology — some were negative and some positive. This one represented something like “preserving clean water.”

With the help of the shop owner, my assistant and I spent a long time, at a pet store, scouting and researching fish that could withstand the treatment of being enclosed in such confined quarters. I wanted as much color as possible but I was told the prettiest fish were also the most delicate. We had to acclimate our “model” by slowly adjusting the water temperature.

For each exposure we had to position a mirror just right for the fighting fish to see his reflection, get excited, and flair his fins. We made the idyllic blue sky with puffy clouds by spray painting seamless background paper and lighting it.

Since I spent so much time thinking about concepts that were eventually turned into photographs, I have had to develop systems that resulted in abstract but legible ideas. My theory for good photoillustration is that the more ambiguity the more successful the idea. After the shot one of the authors took the fish home to his children.

Reducing Flash Power: If 1/1 Full Power were to provide f/8 worth of flash at a certain distance, 1/2 Power would provide half that, requiring an aperture of f/5.6 for the same distance. Quarter power would provide 1/4 the amount, for an aperture of f/4 at the same distance and so on.

This Thanksgiving my mother and father’s families gathered together, 26 people in all, to cook and devour enormous amounts of food and drink plenty of wine. A rare occasion, I needed to document the three generations.

I had three speedlights and my camera, but nothing else. Searching through my family’s basement we found cardboard boxes, stands and linens. Good enough. We cut a hole in the back of each cardboard box for the Speedlight swivel head, making sure not to block the sensor. We attached pillowcases to the front opening of the boxes. The “softboxes” were attached to stands.

One “softbox” lit the subject while the other was positioned behind a white bed sheet background. The sheet acted as a diffuser, giving a soft halo effect around the subject.

With the white background and consistent lighting I was able to focus on the individual characteristics that make each person unique.

If 1/1 Full Power at an ISO were to provide f/11 for a subject 10 feet from the flash, 1/4 power at the same ISO would provide f/11 worth of flash for a subject 5 feet from the flash (see the section Inverse Square Law on page 18).

If 1/1 Full Power at ISO 100 were to provide f/16 for a certain distance, 1/2 power at ISO 200 would provide f/16 at the same distance and 1/4 power at ISO 400.

Off-camera flash can maintain a constant flash-to-subject distance for constant exposure values while allowing the photographer to move, changing the camera position without changing aperture or flash power.

Attach a Speedlight to the hot shoe of a camera with a zoom lens. The flash should not be in Master or Remote/Slave modes. The flash head should be in the straight ahead, not bounce, position. Turn on the camera and flash, and set the flash mode to Manual. A single usable distance will be indicated on the flash LCD. Canon displays this distance as a bar under a single distance number on the bottom of the LCD. Nikon displays this single distance numerically. This displayed distance will change with changes to the ISO setting on the camera, changing flash power, changing focal length, and/or changing the f/stop setting on the camera. To obtain a correct Manual flash exposure, make adjustments to flash power, aperture, and/or ISO until the distance displayed on the flash LCD matches the actual distance between the flash and the subject.

Set an aperture on the camera for depth of field. Determine the flash-to-subject distance. Referring to the flash LCD, adjust the flash power until the LCD indicates the correct distance.

Select a flash power. Determine the flash-to-subject distance. Referring to the LCD, adjust the aperture on the camera until the LCD indicates the correct distance.

A handheld flash meter can be used to determine exposure when a single Speedlight is set to Manual flash mode and is connected to the camera hot shoe. The use of a flash meter is recommended when a Speedlight, set to Manual, is bounced or used with a softbox or diffuser. A handheld flash meter may not be effective with Wireless Manual flash (see the section on Wireless Manual Flash page 128).

An average full-length portrait with a normal focal length lens^[7] will place the subject about 12 feet away from the camera. Shut off the autofocus and pre-focus the lens at 12 feet. Set the aperture on the camera to f/8. This will provide sufficient depth of field to get from approximately 10 to 15 feet in focus. If the flash power is adjusted manually to provide f/8, all subjects at 12 feet will be correctly exposed regardless of light or dark clothing or skin tones. As each subject steps into the 12-foot distance from the camera, providing a pleasing full-length image, the photographer makes the picture. Focus and exposure are virtually guaranteed for each image.

Continuous autofocus can also be used if the photographer can judge the distance by the size of the subject in the viewfinder, or by noting when a subject passes a particular feature in the scene used as a “marker” to indicate correct distance, such as a bow on a pew at 12 feet away from the camera.

Manual flash mode can be advantageous in static situations where a variety of subjects must be photographed using the same lighting setup. A good example is a location setup in a conference room, where the job calls for individual portraits of a number of employees, and all exposures and images must be uniform.

Another example where Manual flash mode may be appropriate is in volume prom couple photography. Manual allows the photographer to make pictures of the dark suit, the white shirt, the light blouse, the dark sweater, and the lab coat subject all the same.

Interiors are designed around light. So when scouting this residential location with the property owner light was streaming into the front foyer and illuminated it beautifully. I thought the available light would do most of the work. Of course on shoot day the weather turned ominous and there was little help from the sun.

Shooting architectural photographs with a 35 mm camera has been transformed with the advent of digital. The ability to employ very wide angle lenses means you can work in more restricted spaces and maintain good depth of field. Camera movements can be managed even though there are no swings or tilts. Keeping lines parallel is a decision that can be made while shooting or afterwards, with software.

To best illustrate the space, I almost always strategically position the camera first, then arrange everything else around it. I then find the architectural elements first, then solve the logistics problems second. We had planned on bringing many of the props with us — neon sculpture, flowers and plants, diptych painting — but the rest was impromptu. My assistants moved a lot of heavy furniture out of the picture and replaced them with preferred pieces. Then we slowly “built with light,” adding another Speedlight wherever necessary.

Step by step we substituted Speedlights for nonexistent sunlight then accented different areas to control the contrast. A large blue seamless background paper was moved just out of frame on the extreme left to be reflected in the glass doors on the right. We lit the paper with a blue gel and you can see the intentional glare in the glass pane and on the black chair. Eventually seven flashes were needed to make the scene appear “natural.”

rotogravure (rō’te-gre-vyōōr’) n. 1. photographic intaglio printing process in which type, illustrations, or pictures are transferred from an etched (recessed) design in a copper plate onto a web of paper, plastic, or similar material on a rotary press. 2. printed publication, such as newspaper section, produced by this system. 3. using photography to produce a plate for printing. 4. the opposite of letterpress printing.

Recently, I received a call from a prestigious, national magazine: follow and photograph a jazz musician for several days. Dream assignment. Only caveat, he was a nine-year-old prodigy AND autistic. That meant if he wasn’t interested in what was going on, his attention span was nonexistent. I surmised that it would be difficult to set up lights and have him pose or repeat movements.

The magazine has a very specific look and we needed a great deal of ingenuity to maintain that look. I was stymied as to how to accomplish my very deliberate lighting methods without alienating the boy.

Speedlights to the rescue. I jerryrigged a small, cheap 12″ × 12″ softbox to one Speedlight and connected it to the camera with a 15-foot TTL cord. My able assistant was saddled with chasing the budding genius throughout our sessions inside, outside, during rehearsals, etc., as he “bounced off the walls” with his relentless hyperactivity. Through hand signals she kept the light just outside the frame, so that I could get the maximum effect from the diffused light.

With the camera on Programmed mode, I paid no attention to exposure or shutter speed. Virtually every image was usable and using rear curtain sync we were able to balance to all the ambient lights on the fly.

LAJ

Photography is well suited to illustrate abstract concepts. One of the first things you learn with glassware is to illuminate it from behind. This works with clear, transparent glassware, translucent, or containers holding liquids.

We had to light this setup from both front and back to get the best qualities. The problem arose from trying to keep the front strip light from “contaminating” the saturated color coming from behind through blue gels.

Set the zoom head of the flash to a wide setting to provide even coverage across the diffusion screen. Multiple TTL flash units, set to the same Remote/Slave ID, can be rigged or mounted firing into the same bank for increased light output.

A paper towel tube, rolled black seamless paper, or Cinefoil^® can be used as a snoot to limit the spread of the flash or create special effects. (See the section Accessories on page 147.)

Do not carry “AA” batteries loose. Loose batteries can short out and discharge against one another and are prone to leakage.

Make bundles of four (or five) AA batteries with rubber bands and place each bundle in separate plastic bags. Purchase and use commercially available battery cases or battery boxes.

Avoid touching battery contacts with your fingers as body acids and oils can damage the contacts.

Battery contacts can be cleaned and polished with a pencil eraser. Corrosion can be removed with a swab moistened with rubbing alcohol.

New rules limit how many spare lithium (rechargeable) batteries you can take on an airplane. No lithium battery spares are allowed in your checked baggage. Up to two spares are allowed in carry-on bags. Batteries that are installed in their devices are not spares and are not affected by the new rule.

Major changes in wedding etiquette mean there is less time between “Yes!” and “I do.” Couples also expect less time between capture and delivery of the wedding album. More pressure is being put on the typical wedding photographer to be a “Jack-of-all-trades.”

Speedlights no longer need to be relegated to just the ceremony and reception. Now we can expect them to document the studio images too. They are perfect for the formals as well as the “getting ready” candids that are so popular now. The compact nature of Speedlights permits them to do double duty filling a large church with illumination or for those wedding “photojournalists” who want to fly under the radar of “Bridezilla.”

I used a large flattering softbox for the bride and another remote strobe for the background. We brought in a magenta seamless background paper, set up, and then just waited for the make-up artist to work her magic. Photographers learn very quickly their position in the pecking order for these types of situations.