Everyday I see people who lay claim to numerous titles; more than they could ever hope to provide all at once or be a dedicated professional.  It normally starts something like this… Jane Doe goes to school for graphic design but dabbles in photography, but is into fashion and does hair and makeup as well.  In setting up fun photoshoots with her friends they call her a photographer, a hairstylist, a makeup artist, stylist and so on.  Did she do all of those jobs… possibly.  But is she a dedicated professional at all of them? If a client hires her to do all of those services, can she deliver? Does doing those job duties make that person eligible for those titles?

I see so many people that claim to be a professional photographer simply by owning a DSLR and understanding basic principles, but this is a title that is earned through many other challenges just like any other profession.  This article isn’t to tell you that you’re doing things wrong but rather to broaden your perspective, earn more money and work less, and protect yourself and your clients from potential disaster by avoiding the temptation to offer services you aren’t prepared for.

As you lay claim to titles, be sure that you are as prepared for those responsibilities as you are with your core focus!

Its one thing to be able to help out in a crisis but I’m referring to the people actively advertising all of these services on their website, social media, business cards, etc. Do you have all the tools required to do the job right? Can you deliver quality results? Are you confident in your abilities?

Risks

Increased Responsibility – If a client hires you to be a photographer, a stylist, and a hair and makeup artist, all of these responsibilities are battling for your attention.  There just isnt enough of you to go around to properly cover all of those different aspects of a photo shoot. What happens if things don’t go as planned (and they rarely do)?  Working as a team helps spread out the responsibilities and each person has their own focus.  Putting all responsibility on your shoulders leaves no margin for error on any front.

Sales, Price, & Expectations – If you tell a client you can deliver all of these services for a job, they will probably believe you because they are assuming that its saving them time & money on hiring separate providers.  Because of that perception you have to do more work for less money.  If you hire out for the other services its easier to justify a higher price because they hiring a team, not a individual.  You must present the quote and price in a way that makes this clear.

What is the difference?

Someone who is dedicated to their trade will focus on their responsibilities  - they over-prepare, pack extra supplies, have a backup plan and backup equipment, have insurance, and are able to improvise.

Makeup, hair, photography, and wardrobe styling all require specialized knowledge and equipment in each of their related fields.  Do you think a professional makeup artist can do the job of a photographer – will they have backup cameras, lenses, and lighting if something breaks, will they have insurance if someone gets hurt?  Also, will a photographer understand the health precautions required for applying makeup with brushes or false lashes and will they have the right color pallet to blend with multiple skin tones? Will a hairstylist know how to mend or alter a garment if clothing doesn’t fit, will they know what fabrics photograph well under different lighting and different skin tones like a stylist would?

Will a still photographer understand and have the equipment that it takes to do video -do they know what IMAG is when a speaker requests it, do they have fluid mount tripods, understand display ratios and HD input/output and be able to compose a 5 minute clip from 10hrs of raw footage in a matter of hours and coordinate with AV staff for presentation.

All of the above are taken from experiences that I’ve witnessed first hand from people trying to over-sell their abilities.

Lasting Effect on Industry:

Diluting yourself as a professional has a long lasting affect that is hitting the entire industry of creative professionals. Not that long ago it was typical for photographers to bill for costs like wardrobe stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, and models.  Today we face clients that expect a whole lot more for less.  A lot of it has to do with this misleading perception that 1 person can do the job of 5 or more specialized creatives and achieve the same quality results.  This is almost never the case.  Although we try to educate our clients on these points, in reality they don’t want to hear it and are more likely to go to one of these “all-in-ones” that will do it all for less.  Some of this is simply the realities of changes in modern business, managers without any experience in creative industries, and changes in perception from digital content, etc.  However, you can prevent a lot of these negative factors by channeling your talents towards your strongest qualities.

Case Examples?

Rather than offering 5 different services, pick 2 of your strongest most compatible ones. In addition to photography, my education is in marketing and I have 6+ years experience providing support for organic SEO, social media, content writing, e-commerce, website creation, branding and more.  Although my core focus is photography, my experience and education has given me the skill set needed to provide these services on a professional level. I still hire out for PPC and Adwords work because thats not my area of expertise.

I’ve helped out on video production jobs including DSLR video and HD pro camcorders, glidecams, LED and other continuous light sources, I own a copy of Final Cut Pro, but I don’t claim to be a videographer.  My equipment records video, but that’s not my gig nor do I feel I’m equipped with the knowledge to offer this on a professional level.  Videographers hire me to shoot stills, I hire them to shoot video.

The two best makeup artists that I work with are both great at hair, better than a lot of dedicated hair stylists, but they never advertise it… because makeup is their main thing.  The hairstylists I work with are awesome and they can do great makeup, but they don’t claim to be makeup artists… but it sure helps in emergencies.

One of those makeup artists is a very talented stylist with an active blog with a solid fan base and social media presence.  She really doesn’t advertise herself as one though, because she’s a makeup artist and she has a separate website and branding persona away from her style blog.  However, she is great at networking and people have recognized her talents and approached her in private and she is now a content writer for 3 different style and beauty publications.

Opportunity

Lets wrap this up on a positive note.  If people are coming to you for multiple services on the same job – photographer, makeup, hair, styling, etc.  You are really more of an agent than any one of those separate jobs.  As we’ve discussed here, you cannot do all of those jobs yourself at the same quality level as dedicated professionals in their trade and you are only harming your future value if you try to do so.  Rather than claiming those titles as an individual, try marketing yourself as an agent that provides these different creative services.  Go into the quoting process from a different angle listing each service on its own line with its own dedicated provider.

Even though you aren’t getting the profit from providing those separate services, I’ve always found the profit margin to labor ratio to be much higher.  More importantly, when the manager sees that he’s getting a team of professionals and not 1 person – it takes things to a whole other level and the price/quality perception is much higher.  It makes them take the project more seriously and also realize the work that’s required to make it happen; more respect.  This helps maintain a higher level of professionalism while employing additional people in the industry, good things all around.

We just wrapped up 3 very full days of travel, setup, and shooting session workshops at WPPI 2013 at MGM Las Vegas in the Savage Universal booth #1635!  Thank you all who stopped by and joined us for the sessions. If you missed us, here is what we covered…

Green Screen Shooting

Product demo using the Savage Universal 9ft wide Chroma Green vinyl + collapsible 5x6ft backdrop + Green Screen Wizard Software.

Lighting techniques – avoiding shadow while maintaining flattering and relevant light patterns for the intended “scene” that is being placed into the background in post editing.

Vintage Ambiance

Product demo using the Savage Universal retro antique muslin backdrop and antique pine floor drop.

Lighting technique, styling tip, post editing – combing different backdrops and floordrops to create a on-location look in-studio.  Utilizing creative lighting patterns for dramatic effect as part of the scene you are creating.

Bridal Fashion

Product demo using the Savage Universal antique pine and handscraped oak as backdrops and rustic pavers as floor drop.

A bridal gown by Amelia Walsh + Lighting Techniques for Bridal for recreating natural ambient look with 1 light in studio. Choosing the correct light source for your look.

Grunge

Product demo using the Savage Universal diamond plate as backdrops and grunge brick as floor drop.

Lighting Techniques using handheld light sources for spur of the moment changes +shooting techniques to achieve edgy results.

To see the full set of images captured through these sessions go to:

http://projects.rwalshphoto.com/Events/WPPI-2013-Images-from-Sessions/

I am excited to invite you to the workshop sessions I have coordinated with Savage Universal Corporation to demonstrate some awesome new products in their booth at the WPPI 2013 Tradeshow!  Stop by booth #1635 and we’ll be working with the floor drops and creative lighting to create ambiance along with lighting tips for green screen chromakey shooting and finally a bridal fashion editorial shoot with bridal gown by my talented wife Amelia Walsh with workflow tips for tethered shooting.

Here is where the Savage Floor Drops are hugely convenient.  In Arizona, its difficult to find cool old worn brick or wood buildings to work around and having a portable backdrop to use whenever needed and in a controlled setting to replicate that sort of feel is hugely beneficial.  Especially with the growing trend of shooting products in a more lifestyle setting, the floor drops make it easy to create popular shabby chic type feel with the wood and brick patterns but without the headaches of working around a location.  I really wish I had come across these earlier in my career.

In past shoots we’ve had to create settings or scout locations to get a lifestyle type of feel and get those warm natural type patterns in the background.  The added color reference and natural textures and perception of depth and separation from subject and background can add so much more dimension over a traditional studio backdrop paper or muslin.  With creative use of lighting you can really exaggerate that more to fake a location shoot – you’ll see a variety of applications in the photos.

Setup Tips

The Savage Floor Drops are a heavy weight rubber with the printed side having a felt-like finish.  The ones we are using here are 8′x8′ because we needed the extra width and height to shoot full length.  The 5′x7′ versions would probably be a little easier to work with for travel and setup if you are only doing 3/4 length and headshots.  They are extremely durable and roll up nicely for storage – I opted to get some wide heavy duty velcro straps to keep mine rolled up well for storage.  If you unroll them and let them sit flat for a while before use they rest nice and flat without curling.  If you cannot wait, if you roll them back in the opposite way it was stored it will help flatten them out.  The biggest challenge is figuring a way to hang them as back drops – tall ceilings help.  The added weight and rigidity and trying to keep the patterns flat and not pinched or buckled can be challenging – I recommend having an assistant to help.  Its easy enough to hang them on typical backdrop stands but getting it to sit flat and make a nice realistic seam between floor and wall will take practice. I used heavy weight squeeze clamps along the top side and gaffers tape along the sides to hold it against the wall.  If you are shooting your subject at an angle to the backdrop its crucial that its flat when working with the brick and wood because the lines may not look straight otherwise.  Shooting more directly square to the backdrop will minimize some of those concerns. With industrial grunge this is really a non issue because there are no linear patterns.

A shot of us in studio…

Floor Drops in Action…

For this shoot we were working with the Savage Floor Drops in the 8′x8′ size in Worn Planks, Aged Brick, and Industrial Grunge designs.  We used a mix of all different designs as both floor coverings and backdrops to create different scenes.  Our first set was a more vintage inspired casual look and using the Aged Brick as a backdrop and worn planks as a floor drop worked great to achieve that look.  Our second look was more dramatic formal high fashion kinda thing so we switched it up and used the Worn Planks as the backdrop and Industrial Grunge as floor drops.  For our final set we reversed it and focused on mostly 3/4 length and close headshots.

Throughout the shoot I did a mix of moderate depth of field (F8, F11) to keep some of the background more in focus for the wider shots, and a lot of the 3/4 and close headshots shot at wider apertures (around F2) to see how the patterns would respond. In my opinion the Industrial Grunge is best suited for black and white and thrown out of focus – it adds interest and texture behind the subject but in full color can be a little distracting for wide shots.  The brick and wood patterns are much more flexible for full length in terms of creating a realistic scene.

See photos below and captions for different setup combinations…

For more information and additional patterns go to Savage Floor Drops

For the full gallery from this shoot checkout:

http://projects.rwalshphoto.com/Fashion/Brynn-and-Floor-Drops/

Credits:

Model:  Brynn Beaty with The Agency AZ

Clothing: Amelia Walsh

Makeup & Hair: Double Take Artistry, Kindra Oshrin MUA

Tethered Shooting in Practice…

In the past, my most common reason for shooting tethered was to see details full screen for technical product photography like jewelry where controlling highlights, achieving critical focus,  and posing product is crucial.  In those instances, we have a controlled environment in studio with images going right into my iMac workstation and normal office setup – not really a need to setup a mobile station and laptop.  So for my first shoot with the new Tech Table setup I decided to try it out at our monthly photo shoot for the advanced makeup students at a local cosmetology school.

Contents of the Tech Tables Kit:

• Savage Air Flow Tech Table (15.75×18.5″)
• Laptop Secure Strap
• Extended Mouse Pad Platform
• Camera Mount Platform
• Utility/Cable Hook
• Velcro Cable Straps
• Carry Bag
• Lens/Drink holder Accessory (Add-on, not part of kit)

First impressions are very positive – quick setup and minimal overhead in terms of weight and space – very practical. Nice matte black, non-slip, non-reflective finish. The accessory platforms slide/hook into the platform without any other hardware or screws to worry about losing.  For those of you that travel a lot, you know how important that is – the less you have to worry about packing, setup, repacking and remembering all the bits, the easier it makes our job.

Here is a break down of my setup here…

• Canon 5D Mark III with BG E11 Grip
• Canon 85mm F1.2L II and 100mm F2.8L IS Macro
• Apple Macbook Pro 15″ w/ Magic Mouse
• Adobe Lightroom 4.3
• Savage Tech Table+Accessories mounted on Bogen-Manfrotto Tripod
• TetherTools Pro 15ft USB Cable
• 9ft Bright White Savage Backdrop Paper
• Alien Bees B800 Monolights with Beauty Dish and PLM

Observations & Setup Preferences…

A couple observations based on my setup specifics… the laptop strap works best if it wraps around the front side of a Macbook Pro as the auto-screen brightness sensor runs right along the screen hinge.  The alternative is to turn off that auto adjust function in display settings.  For this shoot I removed the tripod head so I could mount the Tech Table on the Manfrotto tripod legs with the larger 3/8″ thread.  Later on I also tried mounting on the 1/4″ thread on a lightstand. Both thread mounts were very secure although I prefer the larger thread size on the tripod just in case.

The lens/drink holder is very convenient for this shoot as Im usually switching back and forth between my 85mm for full and 3/4 length and the 100mm Macro for the close headshots to show makeup details.  The lens holder accessory adds just enough extra surface space to set things on and temporarily hold lenses when switching. The cups aren’t quite big enough for the 85mm 1.2 but its a beast of a lens – it holds every other lens I own with room to spare including the 100mm Macro, 24-105, 15mm, and 70-200.  The only thing to note about this as a cup holder for drinks… Im not so sure I would feel comfortable using it as a drink and lens holder at the same time just because I am a little paranoid and protective over my glass.

The camera-mount accessory platform would serve as a nice quick release setup with a nice ball-head and maybe RRS plate. I didn’t end using it like this because the only tripod head I have is a 3-way Bogen which was just too big and bulky.  I think a nice quick release ball-head would be a great future add-on.  One tip worth mentioning when attaching this camera mount platform to the main table, use one of the slots thats 1 or 2 positions further in rather than the furthest outward slots… that extra supporting surface space makes a world of difference for stability. If you use the outward slots with a heavy camera setup it will feel unstable.  In terms of shooting with it on the platform… for my purposes I am usually hand holding the camera or need something with more flexible movement like a traditional tripod for product shots but it depends entirely what your needs are. For me, I look at it as a place to mount the camera when not in use.

The slotted airflow table platform itself seems to do very well at venting the heat from the computer and keeping it cooler – this generation of Macbooks is notorious for getting extremely hot during continued long term use and it seemed to stay within normal temps.

Here are some images of the kit in action and different configurations…

For those who aren’t already aware, my wife Amelia Walsh and I have been striving to grow her fashion brand since 2008 by participating in numerous runway shows, retail boutiques, charity events, contests, and artistic projects in Arizona and California since 2008.  To say that its been a blessing to have her in my life and for our careers to co-mingle in such a harmonious way would be an understatement.

Although its been a fun journey within our local communities, it is time to take the business to next level by making her clothing lines more accessible and affordable.  Up until now, Amelia has always made a full line of samples each season for the runway and fulfilled orders each herself, by hand with the assistance of her mother Julie Bethel.  This process is extremely time consuming, tedious, and expensive and limits production to a very small scale.

Over the last month we have been evaluating ways to reach out and start working with clothing manufacturers, press agents, and the WWD Magic trade show organizers in order to get her clothing in nationwide stores and available to public in a much more direct way.  Our problem is lack of capital to expand the brand on this scale.  We have decided to try a crowdfunding platform called Indiegogo in order to generate capital to make this happen.

Please checkout out this video narrative we have been filming with the help of Doug MacLeod of Southwest Post and checkout our project on Indiegogo.  We understand times are tough and thats why we are offering generous payback prizes that make great Christmas gifts with any contribution.

Check us out on Indiegogo:  http://www.indiegogo.com/amelia-walsh

View the full photo set here:  Sal’s Challenger RT and the rest of my automotive portfolio.

A few of my favorite shots…

Are you interested in hiring me to shoot your car?  Don’t hesitate to contact me to set it up.

Professional images are perfect for promoting auction listings like Barrett Jackson or Russo and Steele, gain exposure for builds and gain additional Sponsors through Social Media by tagging brands and manufacturers in our publishing quality cover-worthy photos.

• Being bossy and being a leader are VERY different.  Knowing the difference and choosing the latter and adjusting behavior accordingly is crucial in effectively managing people. Examples:
  • Bosses tell people what to do and how to do it and want everything their way.  The classic know-it-all.
  • Bosses mask their insecurities with aggression. Leaders are comfortable with leaning on others’ expertise to help pull things together and direct when needed.
  • Leaders explain the objectives and goals and discuss it with their team and collectively they create a plan.
  • Leaders take others’ opinions and suggestions into consideration – bosses do things their way.
  • Leaders ask, bosses tell .
  • Bosses give instruction from a distance. Leaders treat people as equals, no hierarchy of positions  - they include themselves as part of the task force.
  • Bosses use their authority and position as power over their people
  • Leaders negotiate and compromise when things don’t go how they want, Bosses use their power position and authority to command people to do it their way.
  • Leaders inspire and lead by example and through challenging their employees.  Bossy people bark orders.
• Give compliments! People respond much better to compliments and praise rather than criticism.  Let the small nit picks be, they usually work themselves out.
• Provide challenges with intrinsic satisfaction. Money never hurts but creative people are usually motivated by their interests, challenges, satisfaction of completing or overcoming the challenge.
• Be decisive! Make an informed decision and commit to it!
  • This is one of the most common mistakes… managers get caught up in stress and fear of making the wrong decision that they put off making a decision at all or make the wrong decision because of fear of the consequences of risk. Business is all about calculated risk, its okay to make mistakes so long as you learn from them. Mistakes are inevitable.
• Trust the professionals that you hire! Set expectations and share your vision beforehand and step away and let your employees and/or hired contractors do the jobs you hired them to do.
• Let that which does not matter truly SLIDE… Don’t make mountains out of mo-hills… Don’t over bake the cake… Carefully choose your battles and respectfully interject when your direction is really needed and will impact the end result.
• Give specific focused feedback!  Being vague or over generalizing does not give anything constructive to improve upon.
• Avoid forming habits!  They make you resistant to change and alternatives.
• Step back and examine different perspectives before you express concern.
• Appreciate others’ talents and expertise rather then feel threatened by them – they arent out for blood, they are there to help you accomplish the collective goals.
• You are not always right! In most cases there isn’t even a right or wrong way but a different path to the same results.  Be open!
  • You might think you are right but your employees have a different approach that provide fresh ideas
• Don’t get defensive when people dont agree with you 100%.  Its nothing personal, no one is out to get you or trying to say you are wrong, its business and everyone is there to do a job and get the best results.
• Make a conscious effort not to transfer your stress onto your employees. They understand the responsibilities you have and usually are more then happy to help carry those burdens if you ask them to.

Don’t Micromanage!

This should be like the ultimate curse word for managers everywhere. This is really a culmination of all the above points!

• Creative people never respond well when they are told what to do and how to do it.  Creatives are normally very passionate and emotionally involved with their work and when you tell them how to do it, their passion quickly fades and they work less efficiently trying to do it YOUR way and the end result suffers, resentment starts.
• When assigning a project, explain the goals and expectations and not necessarily individual tasks unless absolutely necessary

How You Destroy Creativity:

Some Example Scenarios:

1. I was doing some consulting work for a client that ran an e-commerce site and a few days into the project we were going over all the different products on their existing site and prioritizing which products to add to the new site first and how to display them, reorganize, re-optimize, etc.  I started noticing a lot of the above points coming out. They were so stuck on how they did things in the past (habits) that they didn’t think it would work any other way (fear, indecisive).  This was happening in numerous instances where they just were not open to change, and change that needed to happen to move forward.  Ultimately I ended up asking them “Why did you hire me if you wanted to re-create what you already have?”  They initially responded with some push back with the reasoning… because it worked in the past.  I responded “Well, its not working now and thats why I’m here to help, so lets figure out a solution together (compromise, negotiation).  We took parts of what worked in the past, combined with some more updated design, restructure, re-positioning of the product by tweaking titles, descriptions, options and optimizing for current search trends.  Their website traffic has since increased 500%, their conversion rate is vastly improved, their click through rate is now 40% for their top 15 keywords all which get 500+ clicks each.  Their willingness to change and accept others’ ideas paid off.

Working for controlling, micromanaging, twerps…

There is a fine line between providing the needs of an assignment and the direction you have been given and being controlled.

We’ve all made these mistakes at some point, but some people just don’t have the willingness to change their behavior and even if you try to work around it or with it, there will always be a struggle. In those cases there comes a point you have to decide to tolerate it or move on.

When you give feedback to these types of people it turns into a you versus them power struggle and they view your ideas as a threat and they will shoot them down at every turn.  This goes back to insecurities – your ideas are different then theirs and they might be better, and because they are your employer/superior that just doesn’t fit into the order of things.  In my experience once this happens the only way to end it is to walk away and move on.  That will either show them that people wont tolerate their crap and will trigger change, or they become someone else’s problem (rinse & repeat). If walking away is not an option then you are stuck doing things their way.  And maybe eventually after many hours of time are wasted and failed objectives later they will try something your way.  In my experience, this rarely happens….usually that type of person will then cast blame onto everyone else rather than taking responsibility for their failed plan.

Managing ADD & OCD

Its fairly common for creative minds to be easily distracted especially when multi-tasking or brainstorming where one thought process spans to another and quickly the teams gets off topic.  When this happens, quickly reel them back in by reminding them of the business objectives.  Sometimes this is a team effort where the managers themselves fall victim to distraction and the employees need to re-focus the discussion.  Sometimes great ideas spawn from this thought-wandering so depending on the nature of the project it might okay – the trick is finding a balance between the brainstorming and the on-task topics based on the needs of the project.

Inspiration & Additional Reading…

http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2012/03/07/managing-creative-people-and-teams/

http://www.halogensoftware.com/blog/mad-mens-guide-to-managing-creative-people/

http://www.snd.org/pdf/Manage_Creatives.pdf

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201108/ways-kill-creativity

http://www.popeconomics.com/2011/02/22/the-brilliant-idea-how-focus-can-destroy-creativity/

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic161082.files/Reading_Materials_Week_2/How_to_kill_creativity.pdf

Camera Basics:

(For more advanced technical recommendations for cameras and general use, scroll down)

This is probably one of the more difficult decisions for a lot of bloggers because it involves a hefty sum to purchase good camera equipment.  However, most of the bloggers I know already have a passion for photography as an art or hobby as well so lets talk about making photography and blogs sympatico.

The Canon Digital Rebel is probably the most popular starter digital SLR for most all photo enthusiasts and bloggers.  Its a great camera for this, its affordable and offers a lot of future flexibility to cater towards specialized needs.  The Canon RC1 or RC6 wireless remotes are great tools combined with any of the Canon cameras because they’re small enough that you can photograph yourself with it and easily hide the remote from being in the photo. Put the camera in timer mode and go to town.  My cameras allow me to set a delay (2 sec, 5 sec, or 10 sec) the 2 second delay works great for self portraits because you can trigger the camera with the remote, and you have a couple seconds to repose and hide your remote.

If you are on a budget and don’t think you can afford an SLR… don’t fret!  You don’t need the very latest model, checkout Craigslist or talk to a photographer friend that might have resources to share.  I enjoy helping friends save money and find camera gear that helps them.  You can easily find a used Rebel for under $400, if you’d like some help send me a message or comment.  However, an SLR is not necessary in order to achieve great photos and simply shooting with one will not guarantee great shots either.

 Improved Posing:

When in doubt do what the professionals do… spend time in front of the mirror.  Look at your favorite magazines and how the models pose with different kinds of products and find what fits with your style.  Try and think less literal poses and just what comes natural to you and however you are comfortable.  80% of the impact in a photo comes from the facial expression and particularly the eyes.  Most people tend to get so wrapped up in trying to pose their body that their face just looks stressed and distracted.

Lets talk about lighting…

Regardless of whatever sort of camera you are using, lighting has a very big impact on image quality and mood.  Lets go over the basics of portrait lighting… you’ve got your main light source whether its sunlight outdoors, or light coming in from a window, a flash, or indoor lighting from a lamp or ceiling fixture, etc. Usually there are multiple mixed light sources that combined makeup all of the ambient light in your space.  Some of these sources can be modified to get the affect you want.  Turning lights on or off, opening and closing window curtains, picking different spots outside… this is really about trial and error and finding what works with what you have to work with.  You can also use other tools to help bounce light and fill shadows – more on that later.

Choosing the right light source for the mood you are after is key.  In general, window lighting works awesome, the larger the window the better.  If you have a sheer neutral color curtain to help diffuse the light, that’s even better.  Window lighting is a great source for soft flattering light, but it depends how much sunlight is coming through so some times of the day might be better.

When picking a spot outdoors, you want to be where you are most comfortable. Avoid bright direct sunlight or dark areas in complete shadow.  A lot of this comes with picking the right time of day… early mornings and late evenings before sunset are typically best because the sunlight is the least direct.  If shooting outdoors during the middle of the day looking for softer light, possibly a patio or canopy.

Manipulating Light…

Reflectors are an awesome way to modify light and they are pretty cheap and user friendly.  You dont have to buy anything fancy – a large piece of white foam core works really well, the reflective folding windshield shades for cars also work well.  If you are trying to macguiver things on the cheap think about using your surroundings to hold your foam core or reflectors or if you have an easil or anything that can be used as a stand.  If you have a white or silver umbrella…this can also be a good reflector.

Or you can buy a 5-in-1 reflector kit in various sizes usually under $80.  Here are some links to my favorites:

22″ Photoflex 5-In-1 Reflector

42″ Paul C. Buff 5-In-1 Reflector

These reflectors can be used to bounce light to help fill shadows or when used with the translucent fabric (no gold/silver cover) can be used as a scrim to soften a light source (shine light through it).  The gold side helps warm the light which can really help add a natural warm glow to skin tones. Practicing with a mirror will help you to see the affects all of this has…. again just trial and error so you see how it works.  Think of it like bouncing light – so if your main light source is coming in from your right side, place the reflector on the left.  The smaller 22″ reflectors are best for close headshots and 3/4 length, the larger 42″ and bigger ones are better for full length.

A good general rule when trying to use a reflector, if you cant visually see the affects its probably not doing anything…your reflecting light at something else. This is very much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kinda thing.  For instance, if you are taking a headshot of yourself, if the reflector is positioned correctly it will seem pretty bright and should be obvious.

Reflectors work great for beauty photos because they really help make detail in lips and eyes and texture really pop.

For lighting products try using the translucent fabric part of the reflector directly above the product to help diffuse the light.  This works best outdoors in daylight where there is a lot of light or indoors where there is lighting overhead.

Another option to consider is using your pop up flash on the camera.  In dark poorly lit indoor settings this flash becomes your main light source versus using it for fill flash.  The issue with these flashes is that they provide very direct harsh lighting which is unflattering, and it casts a nasty shadow when doing vertical/portrait photos.  Unlike a hotshoe flash which gives you more control to bounce against reflectors and ceilings, walls, etc the pop-up flash is fixed.  Well sorta… with the lightscoop pictured below it allows you to bounce the pop up flash a lot like you would a hot shoe flash.  This yields softer more flattering lighting.  You might seriously consider buying a hot shoe flash if your budget allows.

Light Scoop, Pop-Up Flash Diffuser

More instruction on specific how-to use the lightscoop

Advanced Camera Tips:

These tips are for users who have a pretty solid understanding of basic exposure principles and how to use their camera and from here we’ll talk about how to use those factors to get more creative results and where to expand in terms of purchasing lenses, flash, etc.

If you havent tried this yet, change your camera metering mode to center-weight.  This will tell the camera to meter more for the center area of the frame versus evaluating for everything including the background.  This is much more effective for portraits especially in mixed lighting where you might be indoors or something standing next to a bright window, the camera will more effectively meter for you instead of you+ all your surroundings.

Don’t be afraid of higher ISO settings… 800, 1000, 1500, etc.  Newer cameras record less noise/grain than ever and the more ambient light you can use without relying on flash the better softer light you’ll have and also just a more balanced exposure.

If you arent already, start shooting in manual mode or try easing up to it with aperture or shutter priority.  It will help train your eye for judging light and eventually it becomes like a 6th sense. You’ll walk into a room and be like, oh this looks like about 1/80th, F2 ISO 800.

If you are shooting with a kit lens (Canon or Nikon 18-55mm) I would suggest looking at prime lenses.  They are sharper and provider wider aperture ranges which allows for more creative selection for depth of field and flexibility in lower light.  I would suggest wider angle lenses like 24mm because it makes it easier to compose when taking photos of yourself but not so wide angle that it distorts things. Using wide apertures like F2 and carefully selecting the right focus point will help give a nice background blur which can really have an impact over what people pay attention to in your photos.  These fast wide primes can usually be found for around $300.

If you are also photographing products and closeup features  for makeup or food, you might also consider a macro lens.  The Canon 50mm Compact Macro is a pretty affordable option.

The next step up in lighting would be to buy a hot-shoe flash.  The Canon 430EX can be found used under $200 and this will open up the possibilities for off-camera flash, diffusing the flash beyond the lightscoop, bouncing into a reflector, more powerful light, etc.

If you already have an external hot-shoe flash try using it combined with the reflectors we discussed earlier.  Try positioning the reflector a foot or so above the flash and angled towards the subject. Experiment with different combinations. Diffuser attachments like the Gary Fong lightsphere, Sto-fen Omnibounce, or Rogue Flash benders are all great at giving you more control of the light and different bounce and diffusion options.  Also, use the controls on the flash to dial power up or down to control the amount of fill.  For instance, if you are using window light as your main source, using a flash on auto mode will likely wash out the soft natural light and give you harsh lighting.  Instead, use that window light as your main source and position the flash on the opposite side from the window and bounce it through a diffuser or reflector and dial the flash power down 2 stops so its less intense and more flattering.

For help with composing your shot…

Try tethered shooting!  The Canon EOS utility allows you to plug your camera into your computer and see what your camera is seeing on the computer screen along with many other controls and possibilities.  This of course works best with a laptop for portability.  For tips on tethered shooting, read your camera-specific manual.

Also, some cameras have a fold out screen where you can switch the camera to “live view” mode and turn the screen around to face you while your taking a self-portrait.

In Closing…

Try not to get too tied up and frustrated with the technical aspects that you forget to have fun and enjoy yourself.  If you enjoy what you do, it will show in photos more then any technical advice I could give. Make friends with other bloggers and photographers and work on doing some cross-promotion.  Photographers like myself are always looking for new resources for links and sharing traffic and content and working with new talent.  Its all in the purpose of capturing and sharing your creation and passion with others!