Photoflex LiteBlog

Jay P. Morgan: Shooting Chrome on Location

2013-05-10T20:19:51+00:00

Recently, We were out on location in downtown Los Angeles shooting for Pilot Freight Services. We shot a composite image that required us to shoot chrome on location. The shot was for a print ad that Pilot would run in consumer magazines. We blocked off a lane on Hope Street in Los Angeles that looks into the downtown area so that we could shoot our truck in the right position to match the comp. The image consisted of four parts that needed to be shot separately, including a chrome mirror on the Pilot Freight truck. Shooting chrome is a reflection... Continue Reading

Jade Hannah: Working with Color on Location

2013-05-06T13:01:53+00:00

Recently, I shot a spec shoot for a makeup company to show both natural and crazy makeup and hair. I shot on location with simple, painted 6x8-foot wooden boards to lend some color to the backgrounds. The main challenge with not shooting in a controlled environment like a studio is that you're constantly dealing with off colors and lights coming from different directions, even if you think you're only dealing with white walls. To cut down on the ambient light for this shoot, I used two black LiteDisc reflectors, which also provided a negative fill and... Continue Reading

The Boudoir Divas: Lighting for Muscle Tone

2013-04-24T20:19:59+00:00

My husband, Weston Bouchér, recently completed an intense 45-day health & fitness regimen and his coach, NPC Physique Competitor George Waszczuk encouraged him to have photos taken at the completion of the program to document his transformation...which was where I came in! My light of choice was a Photoflex StarFlash 650 through a Photoflex Medium HalfDome with Grids attached. Weston, being a photographer himself, already had some suggestions for the look he wanted. He showed me some H&M product shots of David Beckham that really emphasized muscle definition due to the dramatic single source lighting approach. ... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: The Basics of a One Light Setup

2013-04-09T19:33:34+00:00

In this Slanted Lens video, Jay P. Morgan demonstrates the basic principles and techniques for lighting dynamic indoor portraits. But rather than shooting stills, Jay P. shot video with the Canon 1DC and pulled high resolution still frames for the footage afterward. This meant, of course, that he needed to use continuous soft lighting, as opposed to strobes. And to give that lighting an elegant look, he oped for Photoflex modifers, naturally. To learn more about the equipment used in this shoot, check out the links below: SilverDome® nxt: medium FirstStudio 3... Continue Reading

Scott Stulberg: Using the new Photoflex LiteReach

2013-03-18T16:33:18+00:00

Sometimes I find myself out on a shoot and in need of a LiteStand, though I don’t really like bringing along extra gear if I don’t have to. Many times I wish I had some kind of long pole to hold up a diffuser or silk that would allow me to capture a more wide-angle shot without the diffuser being anywhere near the borders of my camera frame. Fortunately, my gear-packing choices have just gotten a whole lot simpler, thanks to a new product Photoflex released called the LiteReach Plus®. Recently, the Photoflex team asked... Continue Reading

Jade Hannah: Fashion Sunseeker Swimwear

2013-03-01T14:29:58+00:00

I began casting for this project a week before the shoot date. A tight deadline, but not an uncommon one. In looking for a new makeup artist, I went through a school, Face Stockholm, which has some really great students and alumni whom I've worked with in the past. For this shoot, we planned out three basic looks that were clean, summery and matched the colors of the bathing suits. Thanks to the portability of my lighting kit, we were able to shoot inside my office against a wall that had a pattern I thought would go well with... Continue Reading

Boudoir Divas: Shooting in the Caribbean

2013-02-14T21:36:01+00:00

We had been dreaming up our Caribbean editorial shoot for a LONG time - for at least two years. We finally got the chance to make it happen this past fall, when we traveled to a beautiful island off the coast of Puerto Rico. We had a custom red gown made for the shoot, hired a gorgeous model, brought part of our team with us, and arranged to work with a horseback riding company on the island. We also brought our favorite equipment with us - including the amazing TritonFlash from Photoflex! After all the planning and preparation, it all... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: A Revolutionary War Composite

2013-02-05T17:46:54+00:00

Last Fall, Jay P. Morgan and crew traveled to the Concord and Lexington area of Massachusetts to capture scenes of a reenactment of a Revolutionary War battle. Afterward, Morgan would compile images from five shoots to create this final image. In addition to demonstrating lighting and staging techniques, this video also documents how the team set up and photographed explosions to be used in the final image! Click HERE learn more about the Photoflex Large LiteDome used in this shoot. To see more of Jay P. Morgan's work, check out his Pro Showcase page. Continue Reading

Ian Spanier: The Two-Minute Shoot

2013-01-25T14:36:50+00:00

The Two-Minute Shoot" is something I came up with on assignment for Muscle & Fitness magazine shooting with the Florida Gators football team a few years ago. The concept of the shoot was to do a day-in-the-life of the National Championship-winning team as they trained inside and outside their Gainesville, Florida facility. In a situation like this, I would need to have a consistent look inside and outside as much as possible. I knew I wanted to have better light quality than a on-camera flash would provide, and I wanted to have more light control, something I wouldn't... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: Creating Bokeh

2013-01-21T18:40:48+00:00

For this lesson, photographer Jay P. Morgan was in New York City shooting in Times Square. He wanted to explore shooting bokeh with all the intense lighting of Times Square. The term "bokeh" is Japanese and means "blur" or "haze". Here, Morgan takes a look at different lenses and aperture settings to see how they create this cinematic look. Different lenses create different patterns and you'll see how a 200mm lens compares to that of a 50mm lens. Bokeh Tests Before heading out to Times Square, Morgan first did some bokeh tests indoors with Christmas lights. With Christmas... Continue Reading

Ian Spanier: Sometimes One Light is Enough

2013-01-10T20:15:45+00:00

I’ll admit that sometimes on set, it’s about the “show” that you need to put on for your client. What I mean by this is that there are times that having lots of equipment around and assistants constantly moving becomes a necessary part of showing your client that you are more than just a monkey who presses a button. And while that’s all fine and good, sometimes you can say a lot more with one light on a stand than with a cube truck full of gear. All too often, photographers these... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: How to Light a Large Space at Night

2013-01-07T17:29:30+00:00

In this followup video tutorial from his shoot aboard the USS Constitution in Boston, Jay P. Morgan demonstrates the finer points of lighting a night scene effectively. To learn more about the Photoflex equipment used in this video, clck on the links below: OctoDome®: small Small SoftBox Grid for OctoDome Strobe Connector for Dynalite Transpac®: dual kit case To see more of Jay P. Morgan's work, visit his Pro Showcase page. Continue Reading

Laura Tillinghast: Preview to Holiday Portrait Lesson

2012-12-28T18:40:37+00:00

Pro Showcase photographer Laura Tillinghast recently produced a lighting lesson with accomanying video, which will be released in early January, 2013. Until then, here are some notes from Laura on the shoot, as well as a few images. With the holidays swiftly approaching, I wanted to make sure the look of this shoot matched the season. I chose to work with two models and go for a party look with fabulous dresses and great jewelry. The first step in making this shoot happen was to find a location that would work. Since I wanted to shoot two beauty looks in a... Continue Reading

Ben Clay: Experiments with a MultiDome®

2012-12-20T23:37:49+00:00

Recently, I shot some portraits with the Photoflex® MultiDome® to examine the various effects that can be achieved with it. A couple of years ago, I had photographed a shot of espresso with the various MultiDome configurations (Figure 1), but this time I wanted to use a live subject. Over the years, I've enlisted my children (Aidan, Nola) to serve as subjects for various lighting lessons and tutorials, but my youngest, Sam, had yet to make his debut. This was his chance! In considering a few portrait options, I decided on a warm, holiday theme to see how... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: Warrior Princess at Vasquez Rocks

2012-12-14T21:53:03+00:00

Recently, we had a couple of shoots out at Vasquez Rocks, just outside of Los Angeles. The final shoot was of our model, Gabrielle Tuite, dressed as a warrior princess. We suspended her on a rig so that she could position her feet in a variety of ways that would not be possible otherwise. We also used an air canon to create a layer of smoke behind Gabrielle. (We had to use an air canon rather than a Rosco smoker because Vasquez Rocks does not allow smoke machines. It's a bit of an outdated rule because the new... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: Depth of Field as a Creative Tool

2012-12-07T21:56:16+00:00

In this video lesson, I wanted to demonstrate how depth of field can be used as a creative tool. I brought a crew out to Vasquez Rocks and used a simple two-light setup to shoot my beautiful model, Gabrielle Tuite. Here, you'll see how different focal lengths can give you different depth of field options. You'll see what lens choice will give you a shallow depth and what lens choice will give you a more scenic deep depth of field. Location Vasquez is the perfect place to look at depth of field. It'... Continue Reading

Liam Doran: Trying His Hand at Product Photography

2012-11-16T20:51:37+00:00

This just goes to show what you can achieve when you shoot with good equipment. Pro Showcase photographer Liam Doran doesn't spend a ton of time shooting products in the studio - he's made a name for himself as a first-rate outdoor sports and lifestyle photographer - but that doesn't mean he can't switch gears when he has to. "In today's ultra-competitive market, you never want to turn work down. I think it's crucial to be at least literate in all aspects of photography so that when 'atypical' work does come your way, you'... Continue Reading

Jay P. Morgan: Balancing Strobes with a Setting Sun

2012-11-16T17:31:22+00:00

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but every one of us who buys a book spends a few seconds looking at the title and the cover. Not only that, publishers know that readers also flip the book over and look at the picture of the author. That’s why authors and publishers view the author photo as a marketing opportunity. The author photo is just another opportunity to tell a story. An author who provides a simple portrait is telling a story, but it’s probably something like, “There is a... Continue Reading

Jade Hannah: Tips for Fashion Lighting

2012-11-09T21:57:39+00:00

Swedish fashion photographer Jade Hannah likes to shoot with a very small aperture (often around f/22) to ensure that everything is in focus. "That's one of the main differences between portraiture and fashion for me. Selective focus works great for portrait work, but I'm more interested in having everything being tack sharp. It's just aligns better with my aestthetic." Of course, shooting this way requires you to always be factoring in the background first; letting it go soft and undicernible is not an option. And if you're shooting with strobes, it also requires that the strobe... Continue Reading

New LitePanel Frame Hardware

2012-11-06T17:45:23+00:00

For over 28 years, Photoflex has brought innovative, high quality and affordably priced lighting equipment to both the photography and film industries. From lights to soft boxes to reflectors to rolling cases, our products are designed by photographers for photographers. But our success is something we don’t take for granted. At Photoflex, we are continually analyzing and fine-tuning our products, as well as incorporating feedback from our working pros and customers when designing new products. One of our latest gems, the new LitePanel Hardware, ties in beautifully with both a product we’ve been producing for nearly two... Continue Reading