Photography news and tips for the hobbyist or seasoned pro
As a photographer the most weight I’m lifting these days is my Nikon with a 70-200mm lens attached. Not quite the workout that Leah Cronkite sees on a daily basis. Leah is a fitness model in Calgary. I had the fortunate opportunity to test with her. At the same time I was able to try out a few different lighting setups that I learned from Zack Arias out of Atlanta. If you get an opportunity check out his work. The guy is amazing with light!
In the studio I’m a really big fan of white or grey backgrounds. The background needs to be blown out completely otherwise it just ends up looking messy (just my opinion… please don’t send me hate mail!). One of the advantages of blowing out the background is you can use the image in editorial spreads. Below is an example of a collage made from four separate frames. I wouldn’t be able to do this with the same ease if the background wasn’t all white in each of the individual frames.
Another cool thing about blowing out the background to all white is you can utilize the entire sensor area of your camera. If you’re like me and don’t use a medium or full frame sensor every pixel is a premium. You gotta use it or lose it! If you’re a stock photographer you know what I’m talking about because some of your images are used on billboards.
In the above two photos you may notice the reflections. This was done with the use of white reflective tile board. Another cool Zack Arias tip! Let me know if you are wanting to pick some up. It took me a few trips to Home Depot and Totem here in Calgary to find some.
Leah was just amazing and such a good sport. We ended up laughing most of the time. A definite delight to work with. I hope to work with her again soon! If you want to know more about the lighting setup I used in these images drop me a line here or send me an email.
Hey this post is very interesting. I’ll use it for my blog :). Can you say to me some related articles I could use too?
I’m going to be doing a fitness shoot, and can definitely use some tips on lighting if you are willing to share :)
Hi Kim, that’s great. For lighting I say keep it simple and make it about the subject. Directional light is important, you want the shadow detail to show off muscles, etc. Let me know if you have any more questions, would love to help.