The concept was simple and straightforward.  Shoot a portrait of the company (60-70) people outside in their parking lot.  Make sure everyone is visible and try to make them look good. I said to myself "sure, no problem...I do this all the time at weddings".

I got to the location, and then the fun began. Here's how that conversation went:

Client: "Hi Chris, lovely weather we are having today!"
Me: "Ah yes, cloudy and drab.  Change of plans?"
Client: "Yes...and by the way, the company meeting is running late, and the management team has a conference call sooner than expected, so you'll have five minutes, OK?"
Me: "Sounds perfect, I'll start setting up."

I even had time to do a little video describing my setup. I've also included the final product for you to see. Enjoy!

(Click for a larger version)

Every photographer has their own approach to lighting.  Some use trial and error until they see what they like. Others pre-visualize entire scenes and can see the final image before they even take out their camera.  Perfectionists can use light meters to tweak the exposure using 1/10th stop increments. 

What's my approach?  It varies.  It can depend on time restrictions, subject, equipment, time of day, and of course how I'm feeling at any given moment.

Let's look at a the evolution of a shot that I recently created.

This first test shot is crucial.  It shows me how the camera is seeing the scene, and where the natural light is coming from. From here I can begin to understand where my light needs to be, and how much light I will need.

Subsequent test shots reveal how my light is impacting the scene.  From here I can move and shape the light into a more pleasing source.  At the same time I can give the model instructions as to how they need to interact and orient to the light source. I will also begin to adjust light output to more closely match the natural light in the scene.

When trying to balance ambient and artificial light, I will often do a before and after comparison to see if my light is believable or not.  In this particular shot, I have included a practical (cinema term for a light source that is present within the frame) to give the viewer an realistic place that the light should be coming from.  This helps to hide the fact that I am using artificial light and makes the scene more believable.

As you can see in the final exposure, I continue to tweak wardrobe, camera position, and model position until I am happy.  Throughout the entire process I continually re-evaluate the light an shadows to make sure everything is balanced.

This past Saturday was a very special day for me.  It was the first day for a lot of things.  It was the first time that I have done any serious charity work. It was the first time I really appreciated what some families in this country are dealing with in these hard economic times.  It was the first day that I felt that I really gave something back using my gifts.  It was the first day for the world-wide event Help-Portrait. Help-Portrait is the idea of Nashville photographer Jeremy Cowart.  Instead of trying to explain what Help-Portrait is, it would be better if I can show you… In October, Jeremy put his idea to the test and held a Help-Portrait event in Nashville.  I'd say that the results looked very promising… I think it goes without saying that after hearing about this event and the Help-Portrait movement, I needed to get involved. Steve, Brad, and I feel strongly that its really important to give back to the community in which you live.  Charity is so important especially in these uncertain and challenging times. I promptly signed up at http://community.help-portrait.com, created my account, and joined the Detroit, MI group.  Soon after, I was in touch with the organizers of several events, and decided that I wanted to help out at the City Mission.  The months flew by and all of a sudden Dec. 12th came along, and it was time to make the event happen. That morning I woke up, packed all my gear (I took care of editing and post-processing) into my car and headed out at 8:30am.  I arrived at the City Mission at 9:15 and found many other volunteers already hard at work getting ready for the first family scheduled at 10:00am.  I quickly introduced myself to everyone and joined in on the preparation.  Everything came together just in time, and we were off. 67 people had their portrait taken that day. For some it was the first family photograph that they ever had. For others it was just the thing they needed to lift their spirits around the holidays.  I know for me, it was something that I won't forget and that I will look forward to doing every year. Below is a short video from the day.  Note: you may be wondering why there are no pictures of the families up here.  The pictures look great, but it's really important that we respect the privacy of our subjects.

I had some down time out here in San Diego, and I’m currently recovering from my tryptophan induced coma. So, I decided to work on a few blog posts. A few months ago, my friend Katharine needed some headshots for her acting career in Massachusetts. Of course, I volunteered to shoot some for her since I always look forward to mixing things up a bit with photography. Katharine brought in a few outfits and we got to work. I remember asking her as to why we had to have so many different color outfits if we were just going to convert them all to black and white. She told me that these days, many casting directors are now requesting full color headshots and that this was now the norm. I actually wasn’t aware that casting agents / directors don’t really request black and white shots anymore.

Either way, I think we were able to come up with some great shots for her, and being an old high school friend, I thought it would be fun to come up with a magazine cover for her. I have no doubt that she’ll be on the covers of magazines one day, but for right now, let’s consider this a preview of coming attractions.

Thanks for a fun shoot Katharine!

-Steve