- 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!
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Be the Boss of the Light
- “The hardest thing about lighting is NOT lighting. We’re talking control of light here-- lighting THIS, but not THAT.”
The hardest thing about lighting is not lighting. We’re talking control of light here—lighting this, but not lighting that. The problem is that light from a strobe likes to party—it pretty much goes everywhere—and it’s your job as photographer to be the cops, shut down the party, close the bar, and tell everybody to follow you.
I showed up to photograph Dr. Jeremy Nathans, whose work centered on color and the human brain. I had a couple of flashes with me, cameras, and a tripod.
Given Nathans’ work, he had a bunch of color gels. I covered the lenses on two Kodak carousel projectors with swatches of primary colors and asked him to put on a white lab coat. I tipped the projectors so that the primaries crossed and became the complement on the white coat.
Now all this clever color would go bye-bye if I just set off a flash in something like an umbrella. Hello washed out, dramaless, crappy picture that won’t get published!
I was always good with construction paper and tape back in grammar school, and things haven’t changed much. I took one small Nikon SB flash and taped a tight honeycomb spot grid1 over it. Then I took some gaffer’s tape and cut the grid even further, making a small, controlled opening for the light. I positioned the flash directly in front of his face (the flash was clamped to a ceiling tile), with a quarter-cut CTO2 gel on the flash to make the light a little warmer and add a little drama.
It ain’t pretty, but it works.
)