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Simple Portrait

Lesson 3 from: Hack Your Light

Chuck Arlund

Simple Portrait

Lesson 3 from: Hack Your Light

Chuck Arlund

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Lesson Info

3. Simple Portrait

Next Lesson: Making a Window

Lesson Info

Simple Portrait

Is it possible that dim these lines like just kind of get a little romantic who you're going to be my bride and black you know we need a veil watch this. This is what I love about creative life tool through tool tool or some kind of like lacey fabric that is it's not for you, it's for me? Yeah, good luck. All right, let's dim the lights a little bit. Yes, there we go. Okay. Yeah, really? Steel panther rocks okay, get this back on. Yes, I apologize aim a little spastic. Um but it's fun ryan giggs sees you, you make me feel at ease, you know, that's one thing about opposing people whose who hates posing people see, this is where we go with this I'm putting on the grid and start talking about posing for some reason it's like that's random all right, but a lot of that has to do with personality, and sometimes people don't have this like personalities. I understand that you're real quick posing. Look at her. She feels kind of feel comfortable to stand up for a second, please. All right. Rea...

dy? Okay. Do something. Yeah. Ok. Most people do that, you know, most people get what you want me dio oh, they don't do this like, can I take your picture will go they absolutely do that sort of actual wall and then they get stiff and the middle east and most people are still there okay, what you want? Okay, well, maybe do a little okay, okay shift but they're like or women what they want they think their models so they go wait turn so they don't turn their feet that's right? You'll say look that way and they get like this they go right like know what? There we go you know he does this right? Nobody so how long's it usually take to get somebody comfortable twenty minutes so you're right so I want to get some good pictures so what did you feel more comfortable sitting now? I always stop always get people on the ground because what happens to the ground we're already creating angles were already just doing it's feels a lot more comfortable I'm just more relaxed there's my posing okay, let's see where the reception okay? We're going to put this into practice really quick let's say we're a reception I want to take a pretty picture of a bride and can I turned her and the people at the reception table? Can you stand right here because I want to get all your lovely faces in this picture now just roll that out of the way thanks I am not used to having john you know what I when I do that you know what I call jon your name is val I know some people who knows what valid I know you guys what is it say it or or if it's a female valerie is in britain ellie voice activated lights was activated light stand yes boom spilling and I don't have to do this let's bring the c stand to the wedding yeah, I've done it thanks margot all right we're gonna have you stand right here and let's face me that you're facing me I'm taking your picture let's put it in front your face like that okay where's my camera here's what I'm going to do first I'm going to do what we're in a reception so well fighting's pretty dim correct and I might get that light in there there we go um what's my eye so to reception eight hundred maybe something high right not for me I'm going to shoot it I so one hundred because I'm cooling right? Ok what's my aperture dig it I'm doing it I'm digging it light meter must throw because that's I don't know what a voice I'm doing I'm doing something yeah are we on still along? Did you damn trigger me? Oh that'll work let's turn it down just a bit I was being yeah yeah yeah triggered and then one more time what we see when we see that thing and so seize your community pool close light which means I don't use that much power correct lovano down even more okay we'll shoot okay, I'm gonna test the sucker out right here ok, look at me like a hand up yeah ok yeah, I know it didn't flash flash and then I think I was reading a five point six there were ok, so let's look towards the light a little shooting to my guests right here they're just like towards the light but glance at me beautiful okay and beautiful I'm gonna try to put your head behind the red thing there we go love it so we're getting the portrait was kind of a black background you're not see anything because the light source is so close this is what it looks like when I just shoot without a flash it's black because there's no enemy it light so the only amy lights coming from this now if I had this back a little bit it's gonna light up some stuff so if I get close to her turn the power way down because of this little you know I can shoot pretty much anywhere with, you know, low ambient light or even you know I could kick it upto like f sixteen and probably shoot with lights on there and still be able to get that same kind of a look make sense so this in order to get you don't be afraid to do this it's okay what if you don't have a fancy shmancy light meter like q? What what's your alternative well with one light you can chip it with one light I mean yeah I'm going to meet her let's see what we have known it got closer saying I'm here you know that looks good where maybe it's a little bit let's get up look at me and just kind of go yeah demure bride do the bride cannot I'm so in love your she's so pretty thirteen oh my gosh, I like these so we're getting rule are we seeing them as they come up but you can see and that's that faa and is that short lighting that would be short lighting? Yes, I can see the shadow was too broad lighting really quick right? So turn away from the light there you hear? Look, get a little closer just weaken rapper fur in turn towards me in just a little bit more for arthur. Okay, see there's broad light now turn your head just a little bit this way this way that right there and she didn't move that much. I hardly moved and brother see how it just short lining really molds faces gives you that little loop that you want it's just prettier in my opinion um cool you have any questions yet we've been watching we always have plenty of I'll give me some questions they want some questions give me some questions all right let's see um sth photography does chuck always use just one flash? No no not at all a lot of fun things to three flashes but you know, if I'm outside and it's sunny the sun becomes my flash it's my back like yeah and there were a lot of people who were really happy to see you using alien bees because you know they're a little bit more affordable do you use alien bees professional successes? This is my life it's got duct tape it you know it dangles a lot they take a beating and keep on ticking, you know also get a shout out to nashville nash vegas that's right it's in a lot of my adult life and their walked into paul buff and say, hey guys and they're like what's up and then get funky glasses they're cool company it's fun to work with, so yeah and they're affordable I'm not a I'm not a rich photographer I'm you know I do what I can with what I got you know, I milked that five de forest long as I could with sensor damage and with all kind of just got to the point where I was working so hard to clean up my sensor damage because I stupidly somebody actually somebody sold me of the wrongs with sensor swiper and it scratched it they sold me the bike the smaller size were crowd the a p s sensors cameras and I didn't know I was the first time I've ever done the old scratched him with the slogan think ddt lines on a racing in every picture and I shoot enough eight above a lot so there I was just I can't do it anymore and was getting the point where's this ridiculous and now you know you can't second shoot a wedding if you don't own a five d mark three right because what did we do five years ago our wedding pictures looked awful I mean really it's they were terror everything fired in two thousand ten why would they were just awful because you have to have a five d mark three hundred eighty five point two am I right to shoot a wedding? You have to do those things didn't exist four years ago but every wedding picture since then has just been donald right? Okay and chuck chuck a speaking of weddings mr camera man would like to know going backto wedding shooting you prefer umbrellas or soft boxes on the show what size they prefer soft boxes I actually would prefer nothing beauty dishes I like more of a harsh light style that the thing with umbrellas and it's not so much outside because it scatters light so much but you know, outside in the daylight it's you're not going to notice that scattering, but I like focusing light because I think it shapes more personally, I like getting the light source closer it's just umbrella just kind of it just puts out a lot of light and it also because you're losing a lot of light I think coming off it or if you shoot through it or something like that um I used to use when I first started this off camera lights up before we had any of the stuff is this season pocket was or two's I had a vivid tara to eighty three or five and I use this thing called the westcott halo and it was like a shoot through umbrella but it had black on it, so we kind of it was like a big octo box basically, but in a number of reform I thought that was pretty cool and I broke a least three of those because I throw him in the trunk and I'm terrible on equipment, but it worked pretty well and you know back when I was doing this a long, long, long time ago cool and you will notice one duck a notice that you're using the strip bank do you prefer the strip bank? Does it provide a better lighting source on a regular soft box not necessarily better, it's, just different here's, the reasoning uses, stripping. Um, I like that it is vertical like a person, and sometimes we don't do it like a band I can, and now all of a sudden it becomes this kind of light source, and I do the same thing with speed lights like I'll turn a speed light this way, because then it becomes more of a, especially when I'm this close becomes more of a vertical light sources, supposedly horizontal light source. But I love this flexibility cause I can do this, and and we'll do some of this later, like, what happens when we do that, you know, indecently deal, little clam, that's gonna were ridden. This were good in that, but we're putting a lot bad that, you know, baffles out, but that's for later I'm getting ahead of myself, a little teaser there that hacking the light hatchet so that's kind of what to do.

Ratings and Reviews

SunSoBright
 

I just watched the rebroadcast of Hack Your Light with Chuck Arlund and at first wondered if I would get anything out of the class as he seemed ADD (he warns you he's scattered and a "blond"...LOL) but I stuck with class and by the end was sad it was over. I have a few years experience in photography so I could perhaps understand what he was teaching better than a true beginner. He gave some fabulous points and even demonstrated how you could overpower the sun with one speedlight something I've only seen others do with a strobe or multiple speedlights. He took some awesome pictures without thousands of dollars in camera and lighting equipment. He explained the difference between the portrait and the fashion look. He showed you could potentially go above your camera sync and still get a decently exposed pictured without high speed sync. Best of all he reminded me of the principles that it's the photographer not the camera/equipment that makes the difference, it's all about the light and most of all photography should be FUN! This was one of the most awesome demonstrations of lighting. I would love take a workshop from Mr. Arlund as he is obviously very talented and passionate about photography and knows his subject even is his explanations aren't practiced. Some found him frustrating; I found him refreshing. If you like experimental you will probably appreciate Chuck Arlund.

DeniseWinters
 

I have been a pro photographer for 30 years, and I loved watching Chuck and even learned quite a few things. He is creative and enthusiastic, and reminds you to think outside the box and get back to the enthusiasm you had when you first picked up your camera. He certainly knows what he is doing, and he has fun doing it...

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