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Ok, it’s been a couple of weeks since I first wrote about This Week in Photography and I must say that episode 35 was a bit of a fluke. I’ve since added the podcast to my regular lineup. The group is funny, and has that TWIT feel to it that I like so much. And, Fred Johnson cracks me up. If you like photography (and humor), check it out.
I’m a big fan of Leo Laporte’s TWiT network of podcasts. I regularly listen to This Week in Tech (TWiT), MacBreak Weekly, Windows Weekly, Jumping Monkeys, and FLOSS Weekly. I also listen to a couple others, although not as frequently. The funny, informative content in Leo’s podcasts often leads me to other interesting podcasts, websites, or gear. The last one can be expensive.
Listening to MacBreak Weekly has lead me to This Week in Photography (TWiP), which is hosted by Alex Lindsay and Scott Bourne. Both, especially Alex, appear frequently on MacBreak Weekly. I’m an amateur photographer, so this is right up my alley. I’ve listened to a few photography podcasts over the past couple of years, but only a couple remain in my playlist. Nonetheless, I decided to give TWiP a try, starting with episode 35, Portrait Lighting.
In this episode, Scott’s setup consisted of one studio light on a stand with an umbrella. This was about 45 degrees off the subject-camera line, on camera left. One thing Scott mentioned, that I’ll second, is that he prefers using an umbrella close up instead of using a softbox because the umbrella setup is much easier. And, the closer you move the umbrella to the subject, the softer it gets. Of course it also helps if you can reduce the output of your light as you move it closer so you don’t cook your model.
That brings me to a problem that Scott’s setup suffered from. By using a studio light, he couldn’t move the light too close to the model because he didn’t want to overpower her with light. But, he wanted the light as close as possible to get a nice soft light. This can easily be solved by using a flash (aka speedlight). With my Nikon SB-800, for example, I can place the light with umbrella within inches of the subject and just manually dial down the power of the flash. Using this technique, you can have a large soft light without overpowering you subject. To learn more about off camera lighting with flashes, I highly recommend visiting Strobist, and/or picking up Dave Hobby’s Strobist DVD set.
Another thing that caught my eye in the video podcast, which I don’t think was necessary, was Scott’s use of a light meter. In fact, Scott insisted that you, the viewer need one too. I understand that using a light meter may have been necessary for getting great exposures using non-natural lighting in the days of film. However this is the digital age. You don’t need to waste your money on a light meter when you can take a best guess at your exposure, chimp, then re-adjust your exposure, and be sure you’ll get a great exposure. You may have to chimp and re-adjust more than once; your mileage may vary. The point is, I personally have been convinced that light meters are a thing of the past, like outhouses and $3 gallons of gas.
Lastly, Scott mentioned that the setup he used for the podcast was the cheapest way to start getting studio lighting, “It’s the cheapest way to get into studio lighting”. I have to disagree. You can get similar results with a cheap flash, then use the money you saved on the light to buy a few light modifiers (or even build your own).
Scott seems like a nice guy, so I want to stress that I’m not trying to make him look bad. I merely wanted to point out a few places I thought could have used clarification or modification in episode #35 of TWiP. To be fair, I’ll check out a few more episodes before I decide whether or not to add it to the permanent playlist.
Cheers!
David Hobby released eight DVDs of Strobist lighting know-how yesterday. Having been to the his Phoenix workshop I couldn’t resist. I ordered mine as soon as I found out. If you have any interest in photography beyond the point-and-shoot, seriously consider this set. It’s cheaper than one of his workshops and contains far more information than just a workshop. Check out Duncan Davidson’s write-up on the DVD set for more information.
Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape recently read one of Ken Rockwell’s masterpieces and wrote the rebuttal most of us have wanted to write ever since having the unfortunate coincidence of coming across Rockwell’s site. In the brilliant, “Your Camera Does Matter“, Reichmann writes,
Discussing the merits of one tool over another is relevant. Some lenses, cameras and other photographic tools are better than others. In some cases they are objectively better, while in others their degree of betterness will be subjetive and will depend on the specific needs of a particular photographer.
Um, Rockwell writes camera and lens reviews, albeit not very good ones, but he writes them. It seems contradictory to then write an essay arguing, in Ken Rockwellian style, that your camera doesn’t matter.
Compare this with Reichmann’s sage advice,
When a person asks these type of questions let’s be generous instead of snarky. Let’s ask them the type of photography that are doing, or plan on doing, and then if we have anything worthwhile to contribute, do so. But to spout holier-than-thou cliches one more time is simply the sign of either a lazy or an angry mind.
In an update to his essay Reichmann writes of Rockwell,
Unfortunately, from what I have seen of his writing in the referred to essay, as well as the rest of those on his site, consistency of thought and clarity of expression are not hallmarks of his writing style.
I have to agree that Rockwell is not a gifted writer (not to imply that I am). While it’s easy to say “just ignore his site if you don’t like it”, the fact of the matter is that a newbie photographer wouldn’t necessarily know that Rockwell’s advice is crap, even if he/she Google searched, if people like Michael didn’t write rebuttals. I think Michael has performed an important public server for newbies. And for my own sense of humor I say thank you, Michael.
The software update recall is for LR 1.4 and ACR 4.4. The problems with the software were: EXIF Time Stamp Error, DNG Conversion Error(Windows Only), and Olympus Conversion Error.
I’m glad I waited to install this one. I usually follow the rule of “wait and see” before updating software, but not always. I’m quickly learning that with Adobe software, it’s typically best to wait a week or so. Let other people find the new problems and (now) wait for potential recalls. I’m not sure what’s up with the Lightroom team’s QA department, but it doesn’t seem like they’re doing a very good job. Although, it may not be their fault. QA typically gets software late, has to qualify it like last week, and is usually short staffed. So, maybe the program management should be to blame instead.
Regardless of who’s to blame, Adobe really needs to be more careful. They may be the only game in town for Windows users, but Mac users have Aperture, which is starting to look really good with their latest update.
… in a cave … with bats. Or, “Del Sol Trash the Dress | Bat Cave” (via Strobist). The is of a truly amazing video of a photo shoot in a cave filled with water and bats. And the photos are amazing. I wish he showed more of the light setup.
Finally, a stable Leopard release of Lightroom, version 1.3.1. Here are the fixes I wouldn’t have released 1.3 without that are now in 1.3.1:
-The Lightroom 1.3 Print Module could previously cause the application to crash on either OS X 10.5 or 10.5.1 during template usage.
-On Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.5.1, the import process from a card reader or other device into Lightroom could fail to import all or a portion of the selected images.
-The Lightroom 1.3 Develop module could cause the application to crash if adjustments were made in quick succession.
Source Adobe’s Lightroom Journal
Arizona Highways photographer Jerry Sieve (pronounced sih-vee) is holding a four hour Photography Workshop on December 8th. I think I’ll go, but I have to wonder just how much I’ll get out of only four hours. The good news is that it’s only $40. The workshop will be held at the McDowell Mountain Region Park at 2pm.
“This class is limited to 12 students; cost of the class is $40.00, The $40.00 fee includes your $6.00 park entry fee and a $34.00 donation that helps fund educational programming in the park. To register for the class and make your payment call (480) 471-0173.”