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"Long Island Photo Workshop"Workshop at the Ranch Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch.
I have had the pleasure to be part of many photography workshops
over the years. Most of them revolved around sports and action
photography although I have also been part of the faculty at
a few landscape and nature workshops as well. Recently I was
asked to join the staff of the Long Island Photo Workshop (www.liphotoworkshop.com)
for their annual series of classes that take place each year
in early August. The program's director Jerry Small explained
that this workshop centers around wedding portraiture, lighting,
and the fine art of making a finished portrait. Those who would
attend the workshop would primarily come from the wedding industry
and fine portraiture studios. I then asked Jerry, "Why
me? Have you seen my web site? ... are you sure you want me?
His response was "Joe McNally told me you are a master
of light and that you would do a great job." Wow!, what
could I say to that except Yes (and thanks Joe!). Jerry then
placed a very talented photographer who would be my right hand
man arranging models, securing locations and organizing all
the ground work on Long Island before and during the 4 day workshop.
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Benny Migliorino (Migs)
www.bennymigsphoto.com
(get ready to rock when you check out Benny's portfolio). I
tell you the truth when I say I have never worked with a better
assistant/location manager. Benny did it all, worked tirelessly,
and was a pleasure to work with. His expertise, drive, and attitude
made for a great workshop for the entire class of 20 students.
I could not have been happier with the class
performance throughout the 4 days. Together we learned a lot
about lighting and how to use it. By only lighting part of the
picture we produced some very interesting images. Eight photo
shoots in four days, how was it possible? Several weeks earlier
I had given Benny a request list of models and locations for
our class ... Flower Arrangement, Lovely Lady in a Red Dress
who could hold still for Lightpainting, Tattoo Artist or Rock
Star, Body Builder, Ballerina and Ballet Studio, Boxer and Boxing
Gym, Jazz Musician, and a Model and Location of Benny's choice
(Desiree and Panda). He found them all and arranged for all
the locations. Thanks to Benny for making each day of class
a great success. Thanks also to Dana Harris, a very talented
photographer in his own right who took time off from his shooting
schedule to work with all of us and help make the class run
smoothly. And a special thanks to Kevin Lackey and Mark Astmann
from Bogen Imaging for providing the Elinchrom and Bogen equipment,
and for assisting our class with technical expertise and some
additional muscle.
Past Workshop at the Ranch Issues
May, 2010
April, 2010
March, 2010
February, 2009
December, 2009
November, 2009
October, 2009
September, 2009
August, 2009
July, 2009
June, 2009
May, 2009
April, 2009
March, 2009
February, 2009
January, 2009
November, 2008
October, 2008
September, 2008
August, 2008
July, 2008 |
Lightpainting:
session 1 Image #1
... Long Island Lilies ... Although the rest of the instructors'
work seemed to revolve around weddings, portraits and
fine art studio portraiture I went my own way of experience
with lit portraits of people on location. The title of
our class was Light Is The Greatest Influence and
our class mantra was "If you want a picture to
look interesting, only light part of it." So
we started with the basic of all lighting, Lightpainting.
I gave a laptop image presentation of step by step/how
to Lightpaint early Monday morning after which the entire
class participated in making their own table top size
Lightpainting of a flower arrangement. By starting small
the class gained valuable insight as to the technique
of Lightpainting. Lecture/demonstration along with questions
and answers followed by participation was the general
style of instruction that I offered the class. Everyone
grasped the technique well and after a lunch break we
reconvened for the afternoon session which involved Lightpainting
the model on location. Here is an example image I made
during my demonstration to the class. Nikon D3, ISO200,
15 Seconds at f16, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 5000K, Lightpainted
with a Stylus Streamlight single LED penlight. 
Lightpainting:
session 2 Image
#2 ... Lounge Act ... The Sheraton Hotel in Smithtown,
Long Island is home base for the workshop and for good
reason: great service, wonderful facilities, and a willingness
to work with 6 full classes of photographers. There
is also a trade show of photographic businesses/equipment
including Nikon, Canon, Epson and more. We needed a
location that had personality and could be darkened
for Lightpainting. The hotel offered us the lounge as
our location which included a piano, perfect for our
lovely young lady who would be subjected to holding
perfectly still while being Lightpainted for 30 seconds
not only for my lecture/demonstration images, but for
all of the classes 20 students to make 2 Lightpainted
images each. After I lead the way demonstrating how
I handle the given location/subject and then made a
few Lightpaintings as examples for the class to follow,
each student was given the opportunity to make 2 Lightpaintings
of their own. I was impressed by many of the students'
images and felt we were off to a good start. I emphasized
to the class the importance of choosing a subject who
has the ability to hold perfectly still. Desiree, our
model, was fantastic! Not only was she a beautiful young
lady, but, a perfect Lightpainting subject. She never
even batted an eyelash and remained perfectly still
for 45 Lightpaintings (5 example images by me and 2
images per student.) Thanks to Desiree for being so
patient with the Lightpainting process and her willingness
to help our class. Nikon D3, ISO400, 30 second exposure
at f10, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 5560K, Lightpainted with
a Inova XO3 LED Flashlight, Lexar 8G Flash Card. (NOTE:
I have written previous articles in Workshop at the
Ranch teaching the technique of Lightpainting for those
not familiar with this long exposure time lighting style.)
Small
Off Camera Flash: session 1 Image
#3 ... Tattoo Billy ... Our second day again began with
a laptop image presentation, this time illustrating
the use of small off camera flash systems and how they
can be helpful in the studio and on location. I use
the Nikon Speedlight system and in particular as of
this class I used the NEW Nikon SB900 just released
by Nikon. Once the early morning presentation was over
and Q&A complete, we all gathered in an available
banquet room where our subject, Billy, a local singer/songwriter,
was kind enough to model for our class. Step by step
I demonstrated how I would approach the situation. We
portrayed Billy as a bit of a loner subject for his
latest album Empty Rooms. I underexposed the ambient
light of the room and then revealed Billy using two
SB900 Speedlights, one with a small softbox and one
with a "pinched" LumiQuest Snoot. Nikon D3,
ISO500, 1/13 at f5.6, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 2500K,
One Nikon SB900 Speedlight with a power output of -3.0
and small Chimera Softbox (this is a home made set-up
using a Chimera Speed Ring for an Elinchrom Strobe and
gaffer taping a padded 1/4 inch foam-core divider that
I pulled out of an old camera bag on both sides of the
Speed Ring, then I cut an opening in both pieces of
padded foam-core for the SB900 to fit "snuggly"
into. It works and is easy to set up and hold in one
hand on location), the second SB900 with power output
of -3.0 and warming gel had a LumiQuest Snoot attached
and I "pinched" the snoot opening to be very
small with a paper-clasp ... it was aimed across Billy's
eyes, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the Remote Speedlights,
Lexar 8G Flash Card. The cool WB of 2500K gave the room
a cool/greenish cast while the SB900 with softbox illuminated
portions of his body in blue. The SB900 with warming
gel and "pinched" snoot gave a warm shaft
of light across Billy's face. Very moody and very edgy
to say the least. The light on Billy's left side is
from a ceiling light in the room. 
Small
Off Camera Flash: session 2
Image #4 ... The Male Torso ... After lunch our class
met outside in the courtyard of the hotel where we had
a male body builder ready and waiting to pose for the
second session of our small off camera flash study. Rather
than demonstrating what I would do in this situation I
had the class arrange and position the SB900 Speedlights
where they wanted them. This is a great learning process
of trial and error. Everyone voiced what to do, where
to positions the lights, how much power output to use,
gels, no gels, White Balance etc, I merely posed our subject,
held the camera and took a shot after which the class
examined the image and began making lighting corrections
after their own critique. Our body builder was VERY patient
with this circus of learning by trial and error, (not
easy to do while posing outdoors, on display in front
of 20 photographers with only a string speedo on), but
I have found this session to be most valuable as the exchange
of ideas and seeing the results on the LCD screen eventually
result in some good pictures and also prepares the students
for making their own images. Nikon D3, ISO100, 1/6 at
f20, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 3030K, Two SB900 Speedlights
i-TTL, Remote mode each with warming gel and power output
of -1.0, the Speedlight to my right has a small Chimera
softbox, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the Remote Speedlights,
Lexar 8G Flash Card. A slight counterclockwise spin (30
degrees) was added to the camera at the time of exposure
to give a slight spin-blur to portions of the image not
illuminated by the Speedlights. (NOTE: I have written
several articles in Workshop at the Ranch teaching the
use of Nikon Speedlights. If you are not familiar with
off camera Speedlight use please check out the previously
written articles.) 
Bigger
Strobes/bigger location: session: 1 Image
#5 ... Ballerina in Blue ... The third day of class took
us to two different locations. Early Wednesday morning our
class rendezvoused at a Ballet studio about 40 minutes from
our hotel. This was the day for bigger strobes, power packs,
lightstands, softboxes etc. used in a bigger location. Our
young ballerina was lovely and talented and easy to work
with. I use the Elinchrom lighting system for some of my
larger lighting jobs and for lighting sports arenas. Sometimes
I use the Elinchrom 600 RX units, but often times I'm at
a location where no AC outlets are available or there are
too few AC outlets in the room or sports arena catwalk,
so I use the Elinchrom Rangers which are portable battery
powered 1100 watt/second strobe units. Kevin Lackey of Bogen
was kind enough to supply our class with all the equipment
we needed and attend in person to lend a hand and answer
questions (
Bigger
Strobes/Bigger Location: session 2 Image
#6 ... Heavy Hitter ... Lunch on the run and then we all
arrived at Heavy Hitters boxing gym in Bohemia, NY. Here
we were greeted by feather weight champion Kristian Vasquez.
What a great guy and perfect subject to work with. I used
everything Kevin and Bogen provided and proceeded to light
portions of the gym, the ring and of course, the CHAMP!
While setting up the equipment and lighting arrangement
our class had the chance to work Kristian over with photographs
of him pummeling the speed bag. This gave him a good pump
and plenty of sweat for the main event image. I underexposed
the ambient light of the gym by 1 and 1/3 stop. I used one
Ranger with a 20 degree grid in the far left corner of the
gym to cut a diagonal shaft of light along the white wall.
A second Ranger was bounced off the wall on my right in
order to illuminate the far right corner of the ring and
ropes, and the left side of Kristians face, chest, and left
arm. Kristian's right side, ribcage, and face are revealed
with one Ranger bouncing light off the wall/American flag
out of the frame to my left which gives him a slightly warmer
skin tone thanks to the red stripes on the flag. I added
a fourth Ranger with a 10 degree grid that has been gaffer
taped over so that there is only a 1/2 inch slit that light
can escape. That light is on a Bogen lightstand and is pointed
at Kristian's face. This slit of light gives a spotlight
or Paramount Lighting effect that reveals the sweat on his
face and catchlight in his eyes. I'm standing on a ladder
and want you to know that the Skyports were invaluable in
that I could increase or decrease the power output of each
Ranger pack remotely without ever climbing down the ladder.
With Kristian atop the ropes of the ring some of the class
hammed it up to look like a media frenzy at the conclusion
of a fight to photograph the champ. Nikon D3, ISO250, 1/125
at f11, Nikon 14-24mm lens, WB 5880K, Four Elinchrom Rangers
with Wireless Skyport System, Bogen Lightstands, Lexar 8G
Falsh Card.
Final
Exam: session 1 Image
#7 ... Champion Companions ... With three days complete
our class had done it all, Lightpainting on Day 1, Small
Off Camera Flash on Day 2, and Larger Strobes/Bigger Location
on Day 3. They had watched presentations, heard lectures,
witnessed demonstrations, experienced hands on learning,
made some images and I think learned and enjoyed the class
thus far. This day, Day 4, would be different. Today the
class of 20 would team up into 10 groups of two students
each. Each pair of students would work together and could
use any of the equipment (Lightpainting, Nikon SB900 Speedlights,
Elinchrom Rangers, Bogen Lightstands, Softboxes, Grids,
Gels etc, etc, etc,) to produce their own images. Our
first location was a horse farm where, back by popular
demand, was Desiree, our Day 1 Lightpainting model. Desiree
is a championship equestrian rider. She and her horse
Panda graciously modeled for the first of two final exam
photo shoots. Each student-duo was given 10 minutes to
set up lighting gear using whatever equipment or combination
of equipment they felt would make the image they wanted.
Benny, Dana Harris, Kevin, and Mark Astmann the product
manager from Bogen, would help assemble gear and assist
the groups during this first shoot. Desiree and Panda
were very patient during this morning session as each
pair of photographers took their turn selecting equipment,
managing the assistants, positioning the lights, and finally
making some pictures. I could not have been happier with
the results. Some beautiful portraits, nicely lit, on
location, and no one stepped in any ..... well, anything.
An egg timer helped count the minutes and as it ticked
away the two students on the clock would collaborate,
recall the previous 3 days of instruction and experience,
and then set up lights and shoot. When all the groups
had finished and the gear was being packed up, I took
a few frames of my own and made this portrait of Desiree
and Panda using a Nikon D3, ISO200, 1/25 at f5.6, Nikon
24-70mm lens, WB 6250K, Two Nikon SB900 Speedlights in
i-TTL and Remote mode off camera flashes, One SB900 with
my Chimera Softbox set-up held by a student just out of
the right side of the frame with a power output of -2.0,
and one SB900 with warming gel and a power output of -2.0
held by a student 10 feet to my left and behind Panda
to illuminate the barn wall with warm light, Nikon SU800
Commander to trigger the remote SB900 Speedlights, Lexar
8G Flash Card. 
Final
Exam: session 2 Image #8 ... Peter Black Rocks ... After
lunch the class gathered in the Sheraton Hotel lounge for
the second session of their Final Exam. Unlike the barn
area which was too bright for Lightpainting, the hotel lounge
was suitable for every form of lighting the class had been
taught including Lightpainting. Our Final session was a
Jazz Guitarist dressed to perform in a Night Club. When
we walked into the lounge, there was Peter Black, no relation
to me, a Jazz Guitarist dressed in all white with a fiery
red guitar. We cleared the staging area, prepared the equipment,
and made ready any props, chairs, instrument cases, etc.
The class knew what to do and paired up into their 10 groups
of two. All was ready so I set the egg timer at 10 minutes
and then Benny, Dana, Kevin, Mark and myself watched as
each pair set up lights, posed the subject, and made pictures.
As the timer ran out on each dynamic duo of photographers
I would review their images and then watch the next group
spring into action. The class produced many good pictures
using Speedlights, Rangers, Lightpainting, and a few even
combined Strobes and Lightpainting for some great imagery.
Everyone produced interesting pictures and deserved the
highest of marks. While one of the groups was preparing
the lights I stepped in and made a picture of Peter too.
Nikon D3, ISO800, 1/6 at f20, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 3700K,
One SB900 Speedlight i-TTL, Remote mode with warming gel
and my small Chimera Softbox rig held in my left hand and
a power output +0.7, Lexar 8G Flash Card. I used a slow
shutter speed of 1/6 so I could move the camera slightly
while making the picture of Peter playing the guitar. This
slow shutter speed gave a soft ghosting to Peters body and
to his left hand as he worked his fingers up and down the
guitar neck. The hand held SB900 with warming gel and softbox
is easy to hold and move with me as I worked around Peter.
