How To Master Strobe Lighting

Taking consistently beautiful photographs in studio is a skill and not to be taken lightly. I recently read a photography forum where someone said they watched a shoot during a seminar and then set their camera up with the same settings but still couldn’t get the same results. He went on to say he had the same camera and the same lens, but his images just didn’t have the same look. He ended by asking what was he doing wrong.

I hear conversations like this often since the world turned to digital photography. Photography is much easier now (and the learning curve is not as steep) but you still need to master the craft in every way. This means you must learn about lighting, composition and all the other elements that make a great photograph. If you want to work as a professional photographer it’s not enough to say, “I only work with natural light.” You can only get away with that for so long.

Learning how to use strobe lighting takes time and effort. It’s not always fun doing the necessary light tests needed to master light, but once you put the time and effort into it you’ll be rewarded with consistently beautiful images in studio and on location.

This week I wanted to try a light modifier that I’ve never used before. I’ve used a similar modifier for years, but I know each light has its own distinct look. Before I can use it on a job I need to test it out and see how it looks.

Milk Studios, the top studio in Hollywood, was gracious enough to let my assistant and I come in and take the light for a test drive. They showed us how to properly set the light up and how to use it with my preferred strobe system, Profoto strobes. As we conduced the light test we did a live broadcast on Periscope.

Light modifiers: Briese Focus 220 and Focus 77 with Profoto strobe system

Camera: Nikon D4s with 85mm lens

Results below

Bare Head with the 220 focus tube shot flood, half way and spot.

220 focus tube with 1/3 net and focus tube shot flood, half way and spot.

220 focus tube with full net and focus tube shot flood, half way and spot.

Briese Focus 77 with Profoto strobe system

Bare head Focus 77 with focus tube shot flood, half way and spot. 

Focus 77 with 1/3 silk shot at flood, half way and spot.

Focus 77 with full silk shot at flood, half way and spot.

This test was helpful in many ways and much easier than in the film days. With film, if you made a mistake it was a pain to correct. If you make a mistake with digital you just erase one image.

It's important to keep track on what you're doing with every step of the lighting test. You can do as many variations as you'd like, for example you can change the distance from the light to the subject and do exactly the same series of tests you see here. It's totally up to you how extensive you'd like to be. If you notice we didn't fill in the height on this test, as I didn't think it was necessary for this particular light test. If we were testing a beauty dish out however, the height would be a factor.

To learn more about lighting check out the following video tutorials:

 Ten Ways To Use One Light Source

How To Work With Complex Lighting Situations

Always dream big...and test your lights.

Jurassic World

Every photo has a story behind it. Sometimes the stories are profound and uplifting, and other times the stories leave us in shock. Only my closest friends know the story behind this image, but maybe one day I'll share it with Oprah or Tyra.

Arctic Birds: Available in the store as a limited edition print. 

Always Dream Big

Goodbye Mary

Yesterday I learned about the passing of an extraordinary photographer. Mary Ellen Mark was passionate about photography, life and shooting film. I always loved her work and admired her ability to stay current even as the world changed around her. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet her several times in my career.

The first time I met Mary Ellen was while working as a photo assistant for the photographer Gregory Heisler. Greg had invited his assistants over for the Christmas holiday and Mary had stopped by. I didn't get a chance to speak with her the first time, but years later we ended up sitting next to each other at the Infinity Awards in New York City.  That night she told me how much she loved film and all the reasons why she felt it was better than digital. She said film had a more organic feel and that she felt digital didn't do her work justice. That night she told me she would never shoot digital, and I am not sure if she ever switched over or not, but I admire her stance and will always remember that night.

R.I.P. Mary  

Memorial Day Traval

Two years ago, on Memorial Day, I was traveling from state to state, working on a book project entitled Future American President. As I drove toward Indianapolis, Indiana I spotted what appeared to be a large group having a holiday barbeque. From the highway I could see tons of cars outside the home and a big green and white tent. For the Future American President project, I approached strangers all over America and asked them if I could photograph their children. As you can imagine, it was a bit scary doing this.

When I first saw the house from the highway I envisioned a large family having a great time together enjoying the holiday. I thought an image of a family spending time together in this way would be powerful and that families all over America would be able to relate to such an image. Something inside me said, go and knock on the door and introduce myself…Then my internal fight started. Part of me wanted to knock on the door and tell them about my project, but then part of me didn’t want to intrude. What if they wanted to be left alone? What if they thought I was some crazy lunatic? Also, lets face it, what if they were scared, (or hated) Black people? This was the internal fight that went on in my head as I drove down the highway. Two miles later, I thought about the words, “you have not, because you ask not.” I turned the car around and drove back to the house.

I truly believe God protects me throughout my travels wherever I go, so I can never really be fearful. The fear is always in your head. As I pulled up to the driveway, my heart was beating a million miles a minuet. It seemed no matter how many times I approached strangers and told them about my project, it didn’t get any easier. I knocked on the door and was greeted by a smiling face who asked, “can I help you?” I introduced myself and started talking about how I saw the family gathering and told her what I was doing. She said, “well it sounds like a great thing you’re doing but you’d have to ask the owners of the house.” Then she invited me in and took me out back where I saw about 30 people having a great time. I was introduced to the couple hosting the gathering and told them about my project and why I decided to stop at their home on Memorial Day. I showed them images on my ipad of other families I’d photographed around the country and they loved the project. Then they said, “well, who would you want to photography because there are a lot of kids here?” I said, how about the youngest child here? The next thing I knew I was being introduced to a young mother with a 7 week-old baby.

Future American President

Last week, my minister at One Church spoke about audacious living, and defined it as “showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.” He said, “you will never be as great as you can be without taking risks. Creating Future American President is a series of bold risks but I believe in the message of this project. I believe this book has the potential to make a profound impact on children everywhere by seeing themselves in ways they wouldn’t have imagined otherwise.

I want to have a stronger impact on children with this project. What if I could include every child in America in the book? Well, my team and I have figured out how to do just that. Very soon every family in the world will have the ability to put their child’s face on the COVER of the FUTURE AMERICAN PRESIDENT book with a special edition version of the book. Imagine your child growing up with their face on the cover of a book that is dedicated to inspiring children to dream big.

Photography notes:

To photograph this image I used Profoto strobe lights to overpower the sun. This image was shot during the middle of the day, when the sun is the most intense. I shot one stop over the daylight reading. The sunlight was reading on F 16.0 @ 1/125th, so i used my Sekonic light meter and adjusted the strobe to read F22.0, which is one stop over the sunlight reading and makes for an image that is dramatic and solves the problem of bad light from midday sun.

Always Dream Big

Happy Memorial Day

As we celebrate Memorial Day today, I think of all the military families I met throughout the country as I worked on Future American President. I really enjoyed working with the family pictured below in the District of Columbia, but they are currently stationed out of the country. Today I salute all those who have served and currently serving to keep us safe.

To create this image of the family above, I thought first about the location. I wanted an image that showed Washington D.C. in a manner where it wouldn't dominate the shot. I wanted the children in the photograph to stand out and become the hero of the photograph. For that reason I decided to layer the shot. The main subjects are in the foreground, with the parents behind holding the younger child. To emphasis the daughters I used a Profoto strobe light and balanced the strobe to be just slightly over the daylight reading. For example, if the daylight was reading F16 @ 1/125, I adjusted my strobe to read F.16.5. This way the strobe light is just 1/2 stop over the ambient which helps my main subjects stand out, but keeps the parents within a good exposure as well. 

I loved photographing this family and the kids were all great. Watch out for these little girls in the future. One day, one of theem may run the country. 

Always Dream Big

Beach Time

It's finally here! The unofficial start of the summer season. The Memorial Day holiday is always a great time to take pictures and get away from your computers and devices, at least for a little while. 

I plan to shoot a lot, hang out with friends and listen to great music. I hope you will be doing the same. Make sure your batteries are charged and that you have plenty of space on your memory cards, because this is a great weekend to capture memories that will last a lifetime.  There will be no post this weekend, but I look forward to sharing more about the world of photography starting next week. 

Have a safe and wonderful holiday everyone and always dream big!

Wild and Crazy

In the 80's there was a photographer named Bill King, who was famous for high energy fashion images. I loved his work because it seemed like everyone was having a great time. I envisioned a studio set with loud music and a party atmosphere, but then, I learned from people who worked with him that it was quite the opposite. I think about Bill King whenever I'm trying to direct a model when playing music isn't an option.

Music has a way of relaxing people so they can express themselves in photographs, but it's not always necessary. There will be times when it's not possible to have music around. An example of this is working on sets where a TV crew is shooting, like on America's Next Top Model, or if you're shooting on location. It may look wild and crazy in the images, but that's just an illusion.

Having a connection with your subject is essential to create great images and the more you shoot the better you'll become at establishing a bond with your subjects. Sometimes I'm using music, other times it's simply the conversation, but I'm always working on relaxing my subject so the images show the true essence of the subject. The key is to have fun while you shoot and enjoy your life as a photographer. If you do this on every shoot your subjects will feel it and respond based on your energy. 

Always Dream Big

Black-Out Night

Last night the power went out just as I was about to upload my blog for today. Eight hours later, the power is still out so I'm now at my temp office, the neighborhood Starbucks.

Please Don't Stop The Music

If you’ve ever heard me give a presentation or speak at an event, then you’ve heard me talk about building a connection with your subjects during a photo shoot.

Music plays a big part in helping to build that connection, so we put a lot of time and effort into making sure the right music is played on set for every shoot. When I photographed Trisha Yearwood, the music was based around country music artist, but when we photographed Queen Latifah recently, we had a DJ on set.

When I received the assignment to photograph five different music artist, from different sectors of the music industry, we had to work a bit harder. During this shoot with Common, Kelly Rowland, Smokey Robinson, Ciara and Yolanda Adams, we made a music mix that included each of their songs. It was fun watching them appreciate the others music, and it helped make an amazing photo session. They were all having so much fun during the photo shoot that it felt like a party at one point. I gave direction to keep the energy contained for sake of the shoot, but I loved how they each interacted with each other.

When the right music is played everyone in the room can feel it, but if your client hates your music selection you could be in for a difficult photo session. Remember you can't play just the music you like, because your clients may hate the music you love. Be aware of what they like, and if you don’t know, don’t be afraid to ask. People won’t always tell you if they don’t like something, but when they love it, you will see it on their face.

Always Dream Bi

What's Music Got To Do With It

It’s funny how a great song can change our mood and even give us new-found energy.

I have a very good friend named Dushyanthi who now works at the United Nations. When she lived in Los Angeles she worked for me and helped me put music together before jobs. The right music can set the tone for the day and even save a difficult photo session.

During the morning hours when my subjects are having hair and makeup done, the music is played low and it’s softer. When the actual shooting starts the music is more upbeat and energetic.

On one assignment for Olay, I was hired to photograph another good friend, Angela Bassett. The day before the shoot, Angela was shooting a movie and worked late into the evening. When she arrived at the studio the next morning I could tell she was tired. As we began to shoot my clients noticed that Angela’s energy was less than what we’d hoped for, so I spoke to Angela and we tried shooting again, still it wasn’t quite right. My production assistant, Dushyanthi, came to me and whispered, “I know the perfect song to play.”  She switched the music and as soon as Angela heard this song she was the Angela I’ve come to know.  The song was Tina Turner’s, Proud Mary, and it saved the day.

Angela played Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It, and the entire studio came to life when the song started to play. It was a magical moment when having the right song made all the difference.

Always Dream Big……….and play great music.

Music

love having great music during a photo shoot. Wonderful tunes has saved the day on many occasion over the years, and even helped me keep talent longer when I’ve had limited time with them. This week’s blog will be dedicated to photography stories based on how music have helped me and hopefully how it can help you in creating great images.

Always Dream Big

The Secret To Shooting Big Jobs

Recently I was part of a panel discussing elements of the photography industry. The panel included an art buyer, photography agent, magazine editor and several photographers. During the course of the evening someone in the audience asked the art buyer a great question. His question was, "If you loved a new photographers work, who had never shot an advertising job before, what would persuade you to give him or her the job?" The art buyer said, "I would have to make sure they had a great producer."

Having a great producer on your team is essential for big advertising and editorial jobs. I have seen many photo seminars that focus on teaching lighting and shooting techniques, but production before the job, during and after are extremely important. For the Farmers Insurance job, we had my set builder make the floor and chalk board, but before that, we had several meeting to discuss the size, color, and what fake room should feel like. This is all up to the photographer, so you must do your research and have references to show your team. All the other elements were rented for the shoot. We had several options for everything pictured in the image, including several desk options, chairs, books and more. To learn more about production, lighting, and photography check out the tutorials available at Photography Help Store.

Always Dream Big

Behind The Scenes

We have all heard the phrase "pictures speak louder than words." I am often asked by new photographers, or those who would like to be photographers, if they can come on a shoot with me. The reality of that happening is zero, but I can share what it's like to be on set. 

A commercial shoot is always a team effort, and a lot more work than anyone can imagine, but I love the creative process and bringing an image to life. Here are a few behind the scenes images from an advertising shoot created for Wells Fargo.

Day 1 - Park Location

Crew On Set

Talking To Talent

Wells Fargo Ad

How Much Is Too Much?

One blog I love reading every day is Seth Godin’s.  His blog post yesterday, Imperfect Substitutes, hit on a subject every photographer (or business person) needs to be mindful of today.  Seth’s post gives a perfect example of why photographers need to have their own unique vision.

Laila Ali by Matthew Jordan Smith Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Without a unique vision, all photographers get lumped together as just another person with a camera who can produce a decent image. Without a unique vision photographers are just commodity producers. Commodity products compete based on price and the lowest price often wins. However, with your own unique vision, expressed through your photographs, you become a specialist with a competitive advantage. If someone wants your unique vision, they have to come to you and you can charge what you (or your agent) believe the market will bear.

Matthew Jordan Smith Copyright © 2013 All Rights Reserved

Some will try and copy your vision and claim it as their own, but they can only copy your style, not your vision and way of seeing the world. When others try and copy your style, think of Pablo Picasso. This week an original Picasso painting sold for $179 million, the highest price ever received for a painting. The value is with the artist with their own unique vision, not the copycat.

Always Dream Big!

To learn how to find and use your unique vision, sign up for One-On-One classes with Matthew. There you will learn how to find and use your creative style to become the best artist or photographer you can be. 

Who Moved My Cheese?

Years ago I read the popular business book, Who Moved My Cheese. I have thought about this book often as I witnessed the photography industry changing before my eyes. The old method's that worked in the past are no longer adequate for the photography market today. To stand out in the saturated photography market today you must think differently and not be afraid to show your most personal work.

Always Dream Big

LIVE PERISCOPE BROADCAST - INSPIRING THE WORLD THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

Today at 10:00am PST, I am doing a LIVE broadcast on How To Inspire The World Through Photography. 

The program can be viewed live on Periscope from your smart phone. If you are not familiar with the hot new app, Periscope is Twitter's Live new video broadcasting application. Download the app and watch today.

Always Dream Big

The Definition of Success

Today I did an interview and was asked a question that always seems to come up in interviews - “when did you know you’d made it?” The funny thing is, I always feel like I am still in the process of “making it.” Whenever I’m asked that question I think back to the day I spent interviewing Samuel L. Jackson for my first book Sepia Dreams.

Mr. Jackson was shooting the movie Shaft at the time and I was doing the interview in his trailer. I asked him the same question that I was asked today, “When did you know you’d made it?” Samuel responded saying, “well success is a funny thing because it has different stages at different times in your career. When I first started out I had success and I struggled, but I never worried about whether or not it was worth it. When I wasn’t acting, I was building sets and hanging lights and doing something in the theater. I was around when Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Wesley Snipes were breaking out and becoming stars. At the time, I wasn’t getting a lot of acting work. I went through a kind of depression for a while, but then it occurred to me that the work is what makes me happy. It never occurred to me to quit. From early on, it was instilled in me that it was about the work and not the result of the work. It didn’t matter if I was a big star or not, I just wanted to do great work. Everybody wants things to happen at the exact time that they want them to. But I’ve always been very accepting of what going on around me. I wasn’t trying to be a movie star, or to be famous, or to be anything way before it was supposed to happen, I was just trying to be an actor.

I remember the week Spike Lee’s, Do The Right Thing opened. I was walking down the street in New York with one of the main actors in the movie, Bill Nunn who plays Radio Raheem in the movie. People were stopping him and asking for his autograph but didn’t notice me. They just didn’t recognize me from the movie, and the first scene in the movie is my character opening the movie as the DJ.  Years later, my family was on vacation in Italy, we were walking around the Vatican with the other tourist, and a priest stopped us and said, ”Oh my God! It’s Samuel L. Jackson.” The reality of success is actually a lot bigger then the dream. Your career will lead you to all kinds of things that you can’t predict.”

Today I feel the same way Samuel Jackson felt after doing the movie, Do The Right Thing, but like he said to me that day, it’s not about the result of the work, it’s about loving the work you do. I love photography through all its ups and downs. It’s a difficult decision to decide to become an artist, but if you make that decision make sure you love the craft because it’s the love of your craft and enjoying the work that will define success for you. 

Always Dream Big

Farewell My Concubine

I have always loved watching movies, and not just American movies, but films from all over the world. In the 90's I started watching popular Chinese movies and became intrigued by how the stories were told. Some of the movies I watched were, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live and Farewell My Concubine. Never in a million years did I think I would ever get the opportunity to photograph one of the directors, but life has a funny way of bringing things to you. This is why it's important to gain control of your thoughts because what you think about, you bring about.

When I learned I had the assignment in China of photographing Chen Kaige and his lovely leading lady Chen Hong, I was excited and wanted to try and learn to speak a little Mandarin before the assignment. I purchased the Rosetta Stone's Mandarin language course and studied as much as possible before my trip to China. I wanted to be able to greet my subjects properly at the very least. I even learned how to say, "that's nice" so as I photographed them, I could say, "Henhow, henhow!"

Well, on the day of the shoot everything was going great. I ordered beautiful flowers for his wife and had the right music playing as they walked into the studio. As I went to say hello and try and speak the few phrases I'd learned , Mr. Kaige said, in perfect English "oh you know a little Mandarin?" I quickly told him I only know a few words and phrases and he laughed and said they spoke English. As the shoot progressed, what really made the day enjoyable was Mr. Kaige's enjoyment of the music I played during the shoot. 

I was horrible at speaking Mandarin, but my subjects were happy that I took the time to try for them. The lesson here is to do everything you can before an assignment to make your clients (and subjects) feel like they are the most important people in the world. Taking the actual photograph is usually not the hardest part of the day on a photo shoot. The hardest part is connecting with your subject and pulling out the best of them while they are in front of your camera. Taking the time to get to know everything about your subject is important for the success of the shoot. Even when you can't speak the same language, music can serve as your universal language to relax your subjects and help you get great shots.

Have fun and always dream big!

Inspire The World Through Your Photograhy

Before I published my first book, Sepia Dreams, in 2001, I was met with many stumbling blocks and hurdles. There were times when I wanted to give up on my first book project and call it a day, but something deep inside me kept pushing me along. After a while the hurdles became something I expected and each time I jumped over one, I became stronger.

Sepia Dreams, my first book published in 2001

Many of us have big dreams but when a difficult moment comes along, or our friends say things that discourage us, we give up on our dreams.  Today, I am here to push you forward and tell you that you, and you alone, have the power to bring any dream to life. The only thing standing in your way is you.

In Sepia Dreams I photographed and interviewed 50 African-American celebrities about the struggle to make their dreams come true. Each one told me there were times when they either quit or wanted to quit. Even with my photography I gave up on it early in my career, but then learned that a bad day as a photographer was better than a good day doing anything else. Remember, when you have hard times, it is only the universe testing you to see how badly you want something. NEVER GIVE UP!

Hold fast to your dreams and do something every day towards them. Today I would like for you to pick up your pen and paper, and take 10 minutes to write down your personal goal or dream. Put the date at the end and sign your name. Each day I would like for you to write what you did towards your goal. Day by day you will gain more confidence towards bringing your dream to life, and before you know it you will be working on your goal every day until it become a reality. Don't worry about how long it takes. Time is only an illusion and it will pass by anyway. Be fearless and always dream big!