Quality of light issues are among the topics that we discuss in my Fashion Lighting Workshop. We are usually talking about the relative harshness or softness of the main light when discussing quality of light. A larger light source will yield a softer quality of light with a smoother transition from highlight to shadow. The distance from your light source also plays a factor in this equation: lights that are farther away create a harsher quality of light. It is critical to remember that these same laws pertain to ALL of the lights on your set and changing the quality of your accent lights can have a profound impact on your image.

(more…)

We are proud to announce that PhotographersHandbook.com is off and running and is going strong. To celebrate this we wanted to run a New Years Giveaway with some AMAZING PRIZES!

Entering this contest couldn’t be easier! Simply enter your email address into the “Sign up for the Handbook Email Newsletter” area in the sidebar then click Subscribe.

That’s all there is to it.

As always, we will never sell or give you email addresses away, however we may on occasion send out an email announcement with some usual information for helping you market your photography business online. You can cancel anytime.

So what are you waiting for Sign Up Now and take a chance at winning some of these great Prizes by our fantastic sponsors Amherst Media, BorrowLenses.com and Picture Code. Prizes after the Jump (more…)

Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography
By Kirk Tuck

If you are looking for a book on super trendy hard lit portable flash photography this book is probably not what you are looking for, but if you are looking to to make bankable portraits without breaking your back or the bank than Kirk Tucks Minimalist Lighting is just the book for you.

The first 88 pages are dedicated to giving you a solid understanding of how to incorporate these little Hot Shoe wonders into your shooting workflow by getting them off of the camera and getting them into a softbox, shooting through a light panel and all sorts of other small flash trickery. Other topics include chapters on A History of Photographic Lighting, Accessories, Modifiers and even a very thorough chapter on powering your portable flashes.

The balance of the book is filled out with Case Studies of Kirks work over the years. Each page showcasing a different client and how the shot was achieved. Each study is complete with lighting diagram. This is the stuff I really love and I’m hoping Kirk’s follow up effort to Minimalist Lighting includes many more of these Case Studies.

My only real critique of Minimalist Lighting is that being a Canon Shooter, I wish the Canon Speedlite system was better represented. Kirk is a Nikon and Fuji shooter and most of the examples, including an entire section on using Nikon SB 600 and 800 flashes in remote mode were illustrated using the Nikon system. I wish there would have been comparable section showcasing Canon gear. Though not a deal breaker for me since both systems are very similar, it just would have been a nicety for beginners just starting out with Canon equipment.

All in all I think “Minimalist Lighting – Professional Techniques for Location Photography” is a great addition to every photographers bookshelf, either seasoned shooter who wants to learn how to lighten their load while still capturing top quality images or the Weekend Warrior, who is just getting into lighting and doesn’t have a 5k dollar budget for a traditional strobe lighting setup. I’m already looking forward to Kirks next book!

Order your copy from Amazon.com