Strobist Reader Favorite: Light, Science and Magic

I love books.

I especially love escaping the August heat and disappearing into an air-conditioned room somewhere with a good photo book.

And since I suspect that you guys do, too, I am always curious to know what you are reading.

A few weeks ago, I asked you for your best bets. And boy, did you respond. I got nearly 100 "Strobist Book Review" e-mails, listing everything from how-to books to monoliths by great photographers.

(I even got a couple of "gag" book review e-mails, but we won't go into that...)

One of the most popular suggestions was Light, Science and Magic, An Introduction to Photographic Lighting, by Fil Hunter and Paul Fuqua.

This is no lightweight, either. Weighing in at 360 pages, I would expect I might find a new trick or two in here. I would note that people were sending me e-mails suggesting this book for the site before I even solicited your ideas. So, it's on my next Amazon order list, too.

I am happy to introduce you guys to my faves, and just as pleased to get fresh ideas from you for my own reading list.

Anyway, the book is apparently a very good volume on lighting theory.

Says Strobist reader Jeff:

You can safely file most books on photography in the trash can. This one you will reread.

It covers the "basic principles of lighting" in a straightforward and well-written manner, including the family of angles, diffusion, revealing shape and contour. There are also good chapters for lighting people, glass, and metal.

And there is a bad, outdated chapter on equipment, which seems obligatory in these books.

And this, from Joe:

Unlike many books which show you specific lighting setups and diagrams, Light - Science and Magic starts with the fundamental principles underlying the behavior of light. While some may be put off by the seemingly scientific focus of the book, the writing style is actually quite friendly and unintimidating.

The potential applications of learning these principles for portrait and editorial photography are immense. If you are actively working on improving your lighting technique, understanding the basic theory behind what you're doing will be tremendously useful.

Highly recommended.

Others noted that this book is not a cookbook, per se, but a book to give you a much better understanding of how light creates various effects.

The info on Strobist is pretty heavy on the "how-to" stuff. But you need your basic theory, too. Otherwise, you are just a photographer with a bag of specific tricks. Which can be about as exciting as driving a train. Knowing your theory is more akin to having the ability to go off-roading. Or being able to improvise a jazz solo, rather than just read music.

The establishment says:

"This is the first book I have seen on photographic lighting that is worth using as a text. Light-Science and Magic is about principles, not cheap tricks or the authors' portfolio. Thanks." -- Pete Christman, Savannah College of Art and Design.

"An excellent guide to high-quality studio-style lighting, even on location." -- John Alderson, Booklist.

And the reader reviews at Amazon are pretty impressive, too.

(At this point I will confess to being somewhat addicted to Amazon's reader reviews. They run the gamut from being right out of the New York Times book review section to looking like an extended family fight on the Jerry Springer show...)

Read it? Loved it? Hated it?

Comment on it below.

Either way, I am very much looking forward to reading it. Many thanks to all who recommended it.

-D

Results From Assignment #3: "Look Smart"

(Click on any photo to get to its Flickr page.)

OK, it is time to get back to Boot Camp. Assignment number three was the toughest one so far. And you folks rose to the occasion.

My goal in this series is not only to get you more comfortable with your Light Lite kits (oops) use of lighting, but to give you some experience in working within a set of constraints.

On this assignment, you were looking for good light. But it also had to be appropriate light to the subject.

The subject was not (yet) a known face, but they still needed a bit of the "Rock Star" treatment.

And you were to try to capture the spark of their intelligence, too. Which I suspect several of you now know is easier said than done.

Given the challenge, the work on this assignment was far more ambitious than what was produced for the other two.

Leading off (up top) was a photo that was not only simple, effective and elegant, but was also one of the first photos turned in on the assignment. There were several photos on this theme that were well done. But I thought this one was particularly nice.

The photo is graphic, really "pops," and she has that "I-know-something-you-don't-know" look.

And, speaking of ambitious, you'll want to click through and check out the "how-to" on this one.

If memory serves, this shooter works for a university. So this assignment was right up his alley.

Still, a very nice effort, using a variety of media and contraptions to get to the desired result.



Working with a similar thought, this photographer took the same idea and developed it in a different way.

There is also a photo that shows the lighting setup, if you click through.

This is a simple photo that could have been done anywhere you could scrounge a blank wall. Being able to make a cool picture in almost any environment is the key benefit of knoning how to use off-camera strobe.

This effort really pops, too.

Simple - and very graphic. Massage the composition a little, and it could also have worked as a cover.

The photo connotes the feel of the assignment very well, while in fact, showing very little.

Being able to do this is a very valuable skill. You never know what you will - or will not - have available to you on an assignment's location.

I very much like the effectiveness and efficiency of this entry from Sweden.

The panels work as a background, another layer (reflection of the model) and as fill lights (they are also light reflectors.)

Nicely done.

If you can find some space on one of those things without the numbers, so much the better.

In another variation of the light-bulb-as-idea theme, this photographer demonstrated excellent light control and strobe/ambient balancing to get his desired effect.

A snooted light on the background could have have given the photo additional depth, with sacrificing strong graphics.

And, speaking of light control, kudos to this Swedish entry.

I love the choice of subject. There's something about her that really makes me think she could have pulled off an earth-changing invention.

Great expression, too. That's important.

I thought this person had an interesting choice of location for the photo. Very striking.

I am not sure about the purple water, tho. Get a room of scientists, combine them with some beer and get them talking about the use of dyed water in their feature photos.

You will quickly learn how people from their profession view people from ours!

(Hey, we are only trying to make them look interesting...)

I liked this photo for it's "don't-give-away-the-invention-until-they-read-the-story" aspect.

Gimmicky? Sure.

Does it work to draw the readers in?

Every time.

You can't use it every time, though. But it is nice to have in your pocket for when it is needed.


And now, before we get to two entries I thought were outstanding, it's time for the awards.

The "More Of A Strobist Than That Guy From Pop Photo" award goes to this guy, who included a VIDEO on how it was made.

You rock, Education Man.


The "Idea LIkely To Be Stolen By Strobist" (with credit, of course) award goes to this bright idea.

And remember, it is only bringing up the rest of the photo with flash that lets you effectively use the sun as in this way. Nice light control.

The photographer nailed the tones on this one, But remember to work the subject for an engaging expression.


The "Pardon Me While I turn Your Office Into My Own Private Studio" award goes to this effort.

You really need to read the Flickr caption to imagine this one in action.


The "Most Creative Use of an Air Filter" award goes to this photo.

Not in a million years would I have thought of using as air filter as a solar panel stand in. But, oddly, it works.

(From all of us, thanks for using a clean one.)


The "Where Can I Find A Really, Really, Really Smart-Looking Subject" award goes to this person, whose subject is, in fact, the photographer.

(I imagine a sort of basement lair, with computers and light stands and cables and the like...)

And the "I am Gonna Make Sure They Play My Photo REALLY Big" award goes to this person, for saving the designer the trouble of deciding how to use it.

________________________

Finally, two photos which were elegant in their simplicity, effectiveness and look.

But first, a caveat. This is one person's opinion. We all have our biases. I am a "Keep It Simple, Stupid" kind of guy. IMO, less is frequently more.
I love this photo for the light control, graphic quality and simplicity of concept.

If you look at the Flickr page, you'll see that he could have offered the designer several choices within the shoot, too. That's a good thing.



And also this photo, which showcased the concept simply, and without being in-your-face about it.

But more than that because of the simple, earnest look of the subject. She appears at once humbled by her own discovery, yet look absolutely capable of having pulled it off.



Very nice work, all. Remember, these examples are not a "cut" but merely a selection of photos that, for various reasons, merited discussion points.

Clearly, there were other photos that illustrated similar concepts which, had they been chosen, would have been redundant to the discussion.

You all have much to be proud of from this assignment, and I hope you will continue the discussion here.

Next on Boot Camp: A cool, refreshing break.

Please Tag Your Boot Camp Assignments

My shooting schedule is heavy this weekend, so I will not be able to get to the Boot Camp #3 after-post right away.

In the meantime, please make sure your photo shows up here.

If it doesn't, make sure your tags are correct. If it still doesn't, please post a URL to your picture's Flickr page into this thread. That way, I will be sure to see it.

Thanks,
David

Boot Camp Assignment #3: Due Tonight

Get 'em in, folks. The third assignment is already shaping up to be the best effort yet - by a long shot.

What we lost in quantity, we more than made up for in quality. Many of you - amateurs included - are producing stuff that could easily drop right into the pages of many magazines.

Nice work.

The next assignment will be deceptively easy, so I am sure we'll bring a few of you slackers back into the fold...

Tupperware and Trash Bags, Part 1 of 3

Once in a great while, I am tempted to pull out the big lights on location.

By "big lights," I mean my trusty, well-worn White Lightning Ultras. I still have a pair of 600's, and I mainly use them to overpower sunlight when I need to create a "magazine look" on a larger scale.

Last week I had a food shoot which had to be done on location because it required quick access to a freezer. Since we do not have a freezer in The Sun's photo studio, I packed the WL's in the trunk and headed to the home of one of our features section designers.

We were shooting cold, no-cook foods, and she had made some neat "ice bowls" that we were going to use to emphasize the theme.

The bowls melt very quickly, so we would have to work fast. The idea was to pre-block the shot and pull the bowl out of the freezer when we were ready to shoot. We had three shoots to do in a small area (her kitchen) and they each required a completely different setup.

Looking at the shooting area, I quickly decided against the big flashes. I thought they would be big, cumbersome and slower to arrange than my familiar SB's. And then there is the fact that the ice was melting into water everywhere, and those WL's use AC power. That's a potentially bad combo.

In the end, we went with just two Nikon SB-800's. And only one of them was on a stand for each shoot.

The result, while not overly produced, is a good example of making do with two small lights and using some found objects as light modifiers. In the end, it was a very satisfying and teamwork-oriented shoot.

In the three articles that follow, we are going to walk through each of the three shots, thinking out loud as we go. I am going to post the process shots and the solutions we used to get to the desired looks.

The three foods were to be a gazpacho (cold soup) with crab, a cold bean salad and some tuna tartare.

We wanted to shoot the soup in an ice bowl and using ice as a background. I figured that we would have to backlight the ice, so we would need to get it off of the ground in some sort of a translucent container. What follows in an exercise in building a light box that would give smooth backlight - and making it from found objects in a kitchen.

I had brought some tupperware with me, and Joanna had more of the same. She also had a couple of white cutting boards. I had a variety of plastic baggies (to protect the flash when working near water.)

So we started building a light box.

I wrapped the strobe in plastic, hooked it to a Pocket Wizard, put it on 1/4 power manual and set it in a tupperware bowl. I knew I would have to diffuse the heck out of the light - in several stages - to get even backlight.
Every time I put a new piece of tupperware over it, I would pop the flash and "eyeball" the hot spot on the plastic.
When it looked a little more even, I knew I was close. Adding another layer of tupperware and cutting board got me a smooth light spot that was large enough for my framing area.
A quick test shot to see how even the illumination looked in the photo...
Backing up, here is what it took to get an even light box from a small, bare shoe-mount strobe.

Now, you might think all of that diffusion would also suck up all of my light and rob me of the power that I needed. You'd be both right and wrong. Yes, the tupperware did eat a stop or two of light with each new layer. But remember, that light was not going to be a light source. It was going to tone a background. I would be shooting right into the backlight. So a little goes a long way.

Our tupperware tower now complete, we were now ready to shoot some soup. I had used 1/4 power for the bottom flash to give me some wiggle room either way, should it turn out to be over- or under-powered. As it happened, it was fine.
I fired several test frames and adjusted my aperture to give the best backlit effect on the ice.
Here you see the first shot with the soup bowl added. The soup is in deep shadow because we are only using the bottom light source. Now, we have a dark canvas from which to start our front lighting.

I tried using a snoot on the front flash to control the spill, but it was still too wide. So I switched to a homemade grid spot. It worked fine.

(As for the cardboard grid: I'd tell you, but have to kill you. That nifty piece of cheapskate engineering is still in beta testing.)
With the soup in position I quickly aimed the gridded strobe. Next came a quick series of test shots during which I adjusted the output (on manual) of the front strobe until the soup was the right exposure. No meter, no Polaroids. (No runs, no drips, no errors, as the old Krylon paint ad used to say.)

One down, two to go. No melted bowls, and - so far - no electrocutions.

The point(s) of this shoot, along with the next two parts to this series, is that you do not need thousands of watt-seconds of light for a food shot. Nor do you need expensive light modifying equipment. You can do just fine with some cardboard, tupperware and a little creative thinking.

Next: Tupperware and Trash Bags, Part 2 of 3

Whoa. Must've Left a Door Unlocked...

I came home from a day of shooting in 100+ degree weather (see above, from Ravens training camp) to find a huge amount of traffic on Strobist.

I do not have access to the stats through Blogger, so I have no idea where we popped up today to generate all this traffic. But wherever you are coming from, welcome!

Please feel free to look around. There's some interesting stuff in the site's various closets and the attic...

-DH

(p.s. And let me know where you stumbled upon Strobist from in the comment section!)

Keeping it Real

Want to know what it's really like to work at YouTube? Check out this video of Chris (our head of BizDev no less) hunting down that stinky smell in the office.
The fun never ceases at YouTube! :)



For all my fellow animal lovers - we did NOT set up those horrible rat traps, they were left in our office by the old tenants. I'm personally quite fond of rats.



Maryrose

The YouTube Team