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There's Always Something to Bounce Light Off Of

Apr 21, 2008

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Moment It Clicks, The: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters

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Tell ’em Anything

There have been magazines and editors I have wanted a job from so badly that I told them anything they wanted to hear, agreed to just about any sort of expectations, just to get the work.

I mean, once you get the job, then you can work out the details, right? Details like, how to shoot it.

I had an appointment with an editor of a big picture magazine I was crazed to work for. I was a young photographer, sitting there, making conversation, and trying not to appear desperate. She was holding all the cards. I was ready to agree to just about anything. Although she was a terrific editor and great to work for, she had an exterior Teutonic iciness that could make you think you were standing at the Gates of Mordor instead of sitting in a picture editor’s office.

“You look like outdoorsman, yes?” she asked in heavily accented German. “Yes,” I gushed. “Absolutely. Live in a tree house, drink rainwater, and eat bark. Yep, it’s the outdoor life for me!”

“Good,” came the reply. “We have a story about fishing you would be good for. Do you like to fish?”

“Oh, yes.” More gushing. “My dad used to take me fishing. Love it. Fish all the time.”

“Good. We will call you.”

I walked out of the office embarrassed and panicked. Her assistant picture editor was sitting outside her office. She knew me pretty well and had overheard the entire conversation.

“You don’t know shit about fishing,” she said quietly, not even looking up from her paperwork.

I put my finger to my lips and slipped out of the office. I didn’t get a fishing story, but I got a story about the Sicilian puppet theater, much more up my alley.

“Tell ’em anything. Just get the job.”

How to Get This Type of Shot

Get one older Sicilian man and a puppet, and drag them to the top of a hill...just kidding. Actually, it’s not that far from the truth. This gentleman was a classic artisan, a maker of puppets, and I wanted to get him and one of his prize creations out in the Sicilian countryside. Of course, we got desperately lost, and the sun was plunging to the horizon, so I pulled over at an outlook and pointed to some rocks. “Can you walk up there?” I asked. He nodded quietly.

This was shot with a two-foot-square softbox, set off to camera right, about five feet from the subject. I feathered it slightly, turning it a bit away from the subject, to the right. This would be called panning the head, or swiveling it right or left. In this case, I wanted some of the light to blow past him out into space, lest the bulk of the box hit the puppet, who is dressed in much lighter, gilded clothing than his dark suit.

I metered the sky and got a value just off the hottest part of the sunset. If you meter the hottest part, the rest of your sky could get very dark, and you’ll have no detail or context—just the hot core of the sunset. It’s good to meter just off the highlight, in the beginnings of the shadows and the clouds. This will give the sky a more open feel. Nowadays, the camera meters are very good at doing this, and really averaging out the overall sky in an even way. But always remember, looking at the sky and clouds like this is a good opportunity to play with your plus or minus EV value.

He looked to the heavens and got the puppet in position. I was completely, desperately unaware of it at the time, racing the light, but what I’ve always liked about the picture is the play of scale between his hands and the puppet’s.

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