On Assignment: Man on a Mission

Not all stoppers are over-the-top lighting tours de force. Some stop you with quiet, elegant confidence. Or great composition. Or a strong connection. Such is the case with photographer Bret Hartman's portrait of human rights activist Chad Griffin for The Washington Post.

Honestly, as an online reader I barely even notice The Post's print edition anymore. But sitting on the kitchen table, Hartman's section-front portrait stopped me in my tracks.

As an LA-based freelancer for The Washington Post, Hartman is always auditioning for the next assignment while he is shooting the current one. Which is very different than being a staffer. Here's what that's like. Read more »

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On Assignment: ATM Man

I am working on a series of portraits of businesspeople for my county's Economic Development Authority, and it almost feels like I am back at The Sun shooting dailies for the biz section.

It's been awhile since we have done a full 360-degree OA, and this is actually a good example of working on top of a fluorescent environment.

So what the heck, let's go. Follow the bouncing ball… Read more »

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SBPD Booking Mug Booth is a Pretty Good Little Headshot Studio, Actually

Live in Southern California, and can't afford a decent headshot? Maybe you should get yourself booked by the Santa Barbara Police Dept. Because their mugshots are actually … pretty decent.

And better yet, it's something that any home studio DIY'er could duplicate. Read more »

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On Assignment: Toufic Araman's Sunset Resort [Stoppers]

To photograph the resort area of Sharm El Sheikh, in Sinai, Dubai-based photographer Toufic Araman spared no effort.

He lit the hills. He lit—individually—the area under the area under each of the dozens of umbrellas on the normally dark beach. With an ingenious hack, I might add. He even lit the boat.

And he did it all without a single strobe, as he all but apologized to me later. That's right, this is all done with continuous lights. And it wasn't easy … Read more »

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On Photographing People: Pt. 3

Editor's Note: This is the third in a three-part series by Italian photographer Sara Lando on photographing people. The series begins here. I asked her to select some of her favorite images to illustrate this piece.

By Sara Lando -- The model is gone, your studio is a mess, you’re tired but still a bit excited about the shooting and can’t wait to see your pictures on your big monitor.

Some might call it a day and go grab a beer. But there’s still a couple of things you might want to do before wrapping it up. Read more »

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On Photographing People: Pt. 2

Editor's note: This is part two of Italian photographer Sara Lando's three-part series on photographing people. Part one is here.
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By Sara Lando -- So you got yourself a willing subject, everything is ready, you’re pumped up and ready to shoot. Your doorbell rings. Woo hoo!

Slowly put down that camera and breath: we don’t fire yet. Now we welcome. Read more »

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On Photographing People: Pt. 1

Sara Lando is an occasional contributor to Strobist, but is also a commercial photographer based in Milan, Italy. Today, I am very pleased to present the first in her three-part series on photographing people.

Let me back up. A few months ago, I met with all of the Strobist's correspondents in Los Angeles. We were brainstorming to fill the knowledge gaps in the site's content. Suddenly Sara started off on this tangent on all of the things that get lost in the shuffle when thinking about lighting and lenses and cameras, etc. Picture a tiny Italian woman gesturing continuously as she uncorks a full brain dump (from a very, very creative mind) on all of the little things that many people never think of when photographing others.

As I was listening I kept thinking, "Someone should be writing this stuff down RIGHT NOW."

English is Sara's second language, and I normally smooth it out a little when editing her pieces. Not today. I am sending this through largely untouched. Should you come across an unusual way to express something, just imagine the Italian accent behind it. Read more »

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This Remote Flash Power Control Hack is Genius

Some ideas are as brilliant as they are obvious—in retrospect.

With some minimal soldering skills, Strobist reader Ilya Terentyev (originally from Moscow but currently in Beijing) is using a cheap, auxiliary remote to control the power levels of a manual flash remotely.

It should be noted that the hack is only possible on flashes with a simple, mechanical switch for increasing and/or decreasing the power level. The discussion thread is here.
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(Thanks to BudroWilson for the tip.)

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Art Streiber Lights Bear Grylls for Outside

Literally.

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On Assignment: Smokin' Joe

I am spending lots more time lately trying to recognize and understand color as a component of lighting. It's not easy for me, as I have never had a strong sense of color in design.

So my approach has been a mix of working harder at seeing light in the real world and occasionally just flailing around, throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.

The photo above, of Irish dancer Joe Duffey, is a good example of both. Read more »

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Want. This. Light.

So, here's a light source you don't see every day. Dunno know who makes it, or even if it is store-bought or DIY. But it's pretty freakin' cool.

The navel gazing in the Flickr group over what these giant light sticks might be has devolved into a discussion of blow-up lawn ornaments, natch. But Strobist reader Jonathan Camere of Miami, FL (and a bit of a car photographer himself) chimed in with a link to the video.

Lotsa cool stuff in here. The camera (PhaseOne back on a Contax body) is physically joined, offset, to the car to get perfect pans over time exposures. Thus the need for continuous lighting.

Anyone knows anything about those mods, hit us in the comments.

Oh, and let them be cheap please. Nope. Here they are.

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