What do you think it will be? We don’t write about rumors on this site, but this one comes from the camera company itself. This morning, Leica posted a photo to their Facebook suggesting that they’ll soon be releasing a new camera that will fit between…
How To: Guerrilla Lighting Techniques For Location Photography
Photo by Sam Muller
Master fast flash setups for speedy location lighting
The ability to work fast is the mark of a great location lighter. And nowhere is this need for speed more acute than for shooters of skateboarding. “Skateboard photography is guerrilla-esque,” says Los Angeles-based Sam Muller, who specializes in it.
“There’s almost no preproduction,” he explains. “The skater picks the location, and you have to set up and break down your lights really fast. You never know when cops or security guards are going to show up.”
This image of Nate Broussard performing a trick called a front-side flip is a good example. It took Muller 20 minutes to shoot, with another 25 to set up and break down his three-light kit. And, yes, the guys were asked to leave the location.
Muller credits his Lumedyne and Quantum lights for his ability to work at a breakneck pace. “The lights I used for this specific photograph are pretty standard in skateboard photography, because they’re portable and powerful, with short flash durations.” he says.
Muller has also developed a set of specific techniques for quick setup and breakdown, leaving as many pieces of equipment plugged in and attached as he can. For example, he rarely disconnects head from packs, or packs from wireless flash triggers. “I leave all my sync cables plugged into my PocketWizards to eliminate that step, and I have the PocketWizards and flashes organized in the bags so everything is as close to its counterpart as possible,” he says. “It also helps to practice setting up and breaking down new gear when you buy it.”
He keeps all of his lighting gear in one Think Tank Airport Security roller and all his cameras in a Lowepro Computrekker Plus AW backpack to avoid going back and forth between bags.
Other skateboarding tips:
• Use strobes with short flash durations that can freeze motion more sharply.
• Avoid flat lighting. “Don’t be afraid of shadows,” says Muller. These can set off your subject, emphasize depth, and add graphic interest.
For more great skateboard imagery, go to sammuller.com or visit his blog at sammuller.tumblr.com.
Kris Holland/Mafic Studios
“The spot was actually great for a skateboard location shot,” says Muller. “A beautiful light raked across the trees in the background. I knew I had to use it.” At the same time, however, he didn’t want too much detail back there. He set his two mainlights, a Lumedyne 400ws P4XX (A) and 200ws P2XX (B) to bright enough output that the skater would stand out. He then set the background ambient exposure in the camera so the sunlight on the tree would read, but not much else. “To get the proper sculpting on the skater, I needed some shadows on him, so I placed the main lights at 90-degree angles to the camera,” says Muller. His positioned his third light, a Quantum QFlash T5dR (C), behind and below his subject. Hidden by the curb, it produced a rim-lit effect around the figure that separated him from the background. Muller shot with a Nikon D3 and 24–85mm f/2.8–4 Nikkor zoom (D). The manual exposure was 1/80 sec at f/6.3, ISO 200, and the short-duration flash burst froze the skater mid-trick.
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Reader Gallery: 25 Photos With Beautiful Lens Flare
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Personal Space, the Final Frontier
By Peter Kurdulija
Winter sun is rising above the spectacular Southern Alps in Fiordland, New Zealand.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Tender Light
By Polina Tankilevitch
A random photo I took a few days ago when the sunset was absolutely beautiful
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Imagination
By Laura Makaltses
Sun flare on a dandilion.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
American Girl
By Jake Pignanello
This was shot at the beautiful Hays Mansion during magic hour. This particular shoot was the first using my new D600, and I wanted to test the dynamic range of the camera. What better test than removing the hood and letting the sunshine in?
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Tomahawk
By Marsalis Eason
This photo was taken as sun rays peeked through an abandoned building during golden hour.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Fun with Sea Lions
By Brian McGInnis
Played around with Sea Lions for the better part of an hour.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
5th Avenue Starburst
By Michael Ernest Sweet
A man gets caught in a sun flare on 5th avenue in NYC.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Engagement Photo1
By James Park
Taken summer of 2011 at jones beach during engagement photo session NY.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Lens flare 1
By Ivan Galic
Backlit portrait with low sun behind
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Sequoia Sunrise
By John Grusd
Looking into a bright sunrise over the Western Divide of the Sierra Nevada, the forest of giant sequoias catches the early light.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Hope
By Jason Shaffe
My subject moved slightly to the left – leaving my wireless flash exposed and creating a small flare.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Bells
By Daniel Juarez
Summer time in the back yard, the sun at its full splendor…
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Frozen leaf
By Arthur Kirakozov
While walking in the park at november i have seen a maple leaf lieing on small fir.I have made a shot in contral light and low sun had gaven to subject more air and trasparentness.Scanned slide 6×6 sm.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Warm Light
By Lisa Clark
Shot on June 1, 2012 in Katy, Texas of my daughter in a cow field during golden hour.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Pride
By Manoj Masand
This glare as created using a flash light aimed at the camera.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Tim
By Brian Calabrese
Shot in Long Island City, NY. Lit by a single flash. Processed in LR4 with VSCO
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Maria&Dmitry
By Olga Golubew
just married couple in the garden
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Rise
By Tatum Clark
Wanting to showcase the unique, whimsical trees, located in seaport village area, in San Diego CA, we shot these photos during the sunrise ‘golden hour’. My external flash/softbox wouldn’t fire the day of the shoot, so we improvised with no fill and utilized the flare.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Fields of gold
By Ray Downs
Shot in a pasture near Dallas as the sun was going down. These are basket flowers and they are bright purple in the summer, but in the fall they look like little seed heads.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
looking down
By Orlando Behar
Test fashion image.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
The Finale
By Nicole Wu
This was the final photograph of my project 365, hence the title “The Finale.” With a lower angle, back lighting, and a controlled hair flip, I was able to show a new found confidence and sense of empowerment. With a lower aperture, I blurred out the background and only focused on the main subject, the model. During post processing I made sure that I made the colors lively and bright in order to convey the happiness and joy I felt in finishing the project.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Castaway
By Justina Matuleviciute
Self-portrait
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
The Enchanted Forest
By Sabina Miklowitz
Model: Kayla Harrington, MUAH: Brooke Skropits
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
spring and its consequences
By Rachel Bellinsky
Some daisies in a neighbor’s yard.
Photo by: Popular Photography Magazine Editor
Skip
By Danielle Marsh
Red Roan Appaloosa
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New York Times Fashion Spread Sparks Discussion on Photo Editing
The New York Times takes a dim view of significant editing of journalistic content � but what about when it comes to fashion?
The New York Times, being a newspaper of good repute, has always had a very strict policy on image editing. All but the most basic changes are not allowed. But a recent discussion over a fashion shoot has prompted some serious discussion about if this applies to all branches of the New York Times or just the journalistic side.
The New York Times puts out T, a monthly style magazine, and its most recent cover proved controversial due to the thin model, her apparent youth, and the strappy outfits. Responding to the controversy, section editor Deborah Needleman said:
Julia Nobis, the model, is a 20-year-old undergraduate studying medicine. We chose her because of her strong looks and the personality she is able to project. She is rather thin for my taste, as most models are, and I considered adding some fat to her with Photoshop, but decided that as it is her body, I’d let it be. Fashion photography involves a bit of fantasy, and often some edge, and while the bathing suits are strappy and have buckles, that is a far cry from bondage — either showing it or advocating it. “Fifty Shades of Grey” is racier and more explicit than these images.
It was the suggestion of Photoshopping an image in the esteemed Grey Lady that prompted the discussion. Public Editor Margaret Sullivan took to talking to the various other parts of the paper about what their policies on retouching is.
In this, it seems that fashion really does stand apart. Other non-journalistic, but still editorial, sections of the paper forbid retouching. The Styles and Times Magazine both keep to the strict and standard guidelines of the paper. But it seems that the specifically fashion oriented T magazine skirts this rule. As Needleman said, “images are sometimes retouched. Red taken out of someone’s eye, a wrinkle in a skirt smoothed, a model’s tattoo removed.” But only for fashion and glamor photography.
As the NYT’s associate managing editor for standards, Philip B. Corbett, put it, “This is a different genre of photography. It has different goals, different tools and techniques, and there is a different expectation on the part of the reader.”
The fashion world is often heavily criticized for editing models to give them unrealistic bodies, but in this case, no substantial editing seems to have taken place. The Times was being critiqued for choosing very thin models to begin with, not for taking models and digitally slimming them. Which in turn, raises a whole different suite of issues about if readers are being overly critical of skinny people, or if T Magazine is promoting unhealthy standards by hiring only the very svelte.
[via DPReview]
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