- Wing It
- Ring Light
- Bring a Chainsaw
- Get There Early
- Dont Be So Darn Serious
- Tell 'em Anything
- Be the Boss of the Light
- Push the Wide Lens
- Smile and Nod
- Stand in Front of More Interesting Stuff
- Play Catch
- Stick with Your Subjects
- Always Something to Bounce Light Off Of
- Soft Window Light Equals Studio
- Beware Straight Flash
- Pray for Bad Weather
- It's Gotta Speak for Itself
- Remember: Light Picks Up Color
- Try Not to Be Too Self-Involved
- Keep Your Camera Ready
- Sometimes You Feel Bad
- Step Right Up!
Play Catch
- “If you catch the light just right, you can throw it a long way.”
Think of it as volley and serve with the sun. Find the right angle and you can just smoke a return back the other way.
You don’t need much to do this. There’s all sorts of springy, twisty, bendy, collapsible-type fill surfaces out there that compact real well and stuff in your bag. Lastolite makes a thing called a TriGrip reflector that gives you a handle to hold it with one hand while you shoot with the other.
But a piece of white cardboard will do. So will a bed sheet. Or a table cloth. Or a bunch of pieces of Xerox paper Scotch-taped together.
Just make the catch.
It’s also advisable not to have your own gear in the picture. Some editors will get upset about that. In this instance, you can tell I’m using a fill card, ‘cause it’s poking into the left side of the frame. Oops.