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Sue Bryce Interview

Well, Hey, everybody. Welcome to creative life. I'm glad that you're here with us today. My name is Drew Councilman. I'm gonna be the host for this live interview segment. Way got Sue Bryce. We're going to talk to you and Tony Core Bell. Both of them are expert photographers, Uh, in this course called Learning toe Light. So we're gonna be talking about lighting. We're gonna be talking to your favorite photographers about their favorite lighting setups and their tips and tricks and as well as the equipment that they use. So I'm really excited about today. I encourage you guys to jump into the chat room if you're not already in the chat room and you can ask questions there to me and I can ask those directly to Su Su Bryce is one of our photographers here at CREATIVELIVE. She's really creativelive royalty. She's done a ton. Of course, is she's a fantastic multi talented photographer and educator. How you doing? So I'm really good. Thank you. Good morning. Good. Good morning. I'm glad that...

you're here. This is the first time that we've ever actually done anything together. Live? Yes. Nice to meet you. Drink nice. to meet you as well. Thanks for being here. So we have some questions today. We're talking about lighting your your favorite lighting setups, your favorite lighting equipment. Um and we have a lot to cover. What lights? So I'm just gonna dive into the questions ago. Yes, I'm ready. Oh, I hear your dogs ready to go. Is that cookie in the background? Good love. Live television, huh? Love it. We are alive. Here s O. What lights do you use for your signature? Look, eso For 24 years, I used natural light. And it wasn't until I met Felix that I changed over. And what changed over. I still use natural life, but I started to explore both constant daylight in strobes. And for the last six months, since how course I've been shooting a equally those three lighting sit ups and really have fallen love with leaning something you and just trying to master what those lights mean to me in my studio with my work flow with my clients. Awesome. So, um, when we talk about lighting, we're talking about not just strobes. Flash is natural. Light is well, What ways did Felix really open your the way that you shoot to using natural light. It wasn't Felix his work that made me switch over cause I met him as Lara's assistant large AIDS assistant. Huh? It was his, um really incredible skills is, as an assistant, hey really embraced the professionalism of what a real assistant is like He put Lara fears, and then his pedigree obvious. I didn't see his work till later on His pedigree is that he's worked for some of the most remarkable photographers in the world. And I look at the light and I like how they liked. So, um, I realized that he knows this and he has this incredible skill. And so we talked and I said, The reason I don't use artificial light is it doesn't look like my life. My life is superior, and yet it seems to me people who specialize and lighting seem to think that they're fast superior, and I I still think to the stain natural itis unbeatable. In fact, whenever photographers tried to lord over me and tell me that you know that they're so brilliant at lighting and and I used these lights in these lights, I always joked for 20 years that I used God lights I back. But you know, at the end of the day, he he actually showed me that I could do it, and I've not seen anybody do it the way he does it. So now I do it and I'm just like I love every minute of it. That's fantastic. That's kind of the Ah, the Sunday school answer, right? Like Jesus is the answer. Everything it xgo It's like God, like Trump's daylight trumps all light. I love what daylight Trump's all like until 3 p.m. Yeah, yeah, But then I used to think to myself, Who wants to work up to 3 p.m. That's when he should be selling and editing or going for a walk. But I worked within my limits, and I very, really was stopped shooting because of weather conditions. So I just learned to bend light natural light in the studio. No matter how dark it was and his cameras got better, I esos got better and noise got less and we could turn out. I esos up. So you know, to me it I just got better it natural light over the last 20 years and I didn't made at official line. So now it's just a new skill set in a different look. Yeah. So what are somewhat air? Some techniques of using since we're talking about natural light. Um, what are some techniques that you use that you found to be Maybe your favorite techniques you to use natural light? Um, um beef. Let's obviously be flex and polystyrene boards. So for the longest time in the movie and the movie end photography industry, we have used to beef let's in B ball or Polly boards or Styrofoam their large. They light the versatile and you can just rep light. So if there's any light coming into a room of four by a poly board will pretty much bounce like any way you want to go. You can even bounce some of each other. My whole world existed on a camera kit and Polly boards before I had other lights, and now Felix has taught me how to use the poly boards to bounce the constant light. End the strobe so they're still probably the single most important lighting thing you could have is Polly Sheets Off Insulation Board from home Depot. Okay. And those coming, like four by eight sheets, right? Yeah. Huge. And I just put a blogger up about it because I know that it's one of the most asked questions. It's being the most asked questions in my whole whole life on creative life that has been the most the most asked question. Yeah, okay, fantastic. I talked a little bit about natural lighting. Let's talk about lighting setups like your actual gear that you would use if you're not using natural light. What would be your go to, um, lighting set up? So Felix first got me onto strobe through scrim, which is what we did without lighting workshop together, where he was replicating. He was replicating my natural light by bouncing the Ellen Chrome through the scrim off the wall. And so I bought that Ellen Chrome when I got home. And then the last time Felix and I shot together, he introduced me to the 59 inch deep dish modifier, which, quite frankly, is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen. Although I've got to say it's the size of a Mini Cooper and it lives in my studio, and I don't dismantle it because you have to have big men muscles to bend the while. So I leave it up. So it really is the size of a Mini Cooper in my studio, and I id so often I'm just like, Why did I get this thing? But it's so 60 but it is more fashion to May, so I can't use it on my older clients. I tend to use it on my younger, more stylized clients. More fashion style clients, I should say. And then, um, the Kino Flo. He got me into those to sit ups, and they just they're quite remarkable said. Now, the best result that I'm getting is the Kino through the scrim. And yeah, I'm Felix just opened my world with that and I'm love it. I love it. That's fantastic. So after this live chat and after Tony's the chat with Tony, you're gonna actually be able to see Sue and Felix working together in the studio. It's pretty pretty cool. I got to watch some of that footage, Um, is well, it's pretty fantastic to see you two working together. Yeah, he's amazing. Felix is so clever, and he's so patient and gentle. And I'm so glad because it wasn't that I, you know, resisted leaning lighting. I truly hate it. Hate artificial lighting. I don't like it. It's not for portrait photography, in my opinion. And I resisted it on every level and the he noted may you used you into it. Oh, good. Eso you have some slides to show? Yeah, maybe we could tell us a little bit about those and what you want, Teoh. What you want to share? I wanted to show how I've set it up. Um, basically, I'm feathering feathering my light. So my light to mostly at a degree. To my client and myself, I'm shooting with lights quite close. So you'll see I've got a strobe sit up where I'm bouncing the light off the reflector and then on to my client. And I like to shoot nice and soft at a very, very shallow dip the field. So I am using the Indy filter, which Felix and I use in the workshop. And that's been a real game changer for me because a lot of people never told me about the indie feel to infect a lot of people were using it until Felix and I started to do it. And then everyone was buying them. Um, but the truth is, is I don't like shooting at a fight or if nine I want to shoot at two point, I want to shoot. At one point, I want Oh, my look! And the point was not that Felix tried to teach me. Felix replicated what I do and natural light. That was his genius, that he said I could do that with artificial lights. And then I said, Well, I need to be shooting at 2.8 s. Oh, of course. I had an indie filter. I put the new tried entity filter on, and I shot with that, which was a game changer. So these are the lighting setups that we're currently using in my studio. The three sit ups, natural light, obviously bouncing back off the poly board, and then the Kino and then the stroke. What? Ah, so as far as like, mistakes go cause obviously lighting is a huge learning process. You've learned a ton from Felix. What would be the biggest mistake you see that's repeated by new photographers that air starting out learning how to light either with natural light or with studio lighting. Flash Phil outside. Okay, they go outside, and then it's usually in a park. I see new photographers do this all the time, and then they hit the flash from the front just to fill in the missing light. And it is the most ugly artificial looking thing I've ever seen in my life. Um, biggest mistake people make is thinking that they can't start with natural light even in the studio. My studio operated for 22 years with net. Relax perfectly, and it still could. Now, uh, that you don't need to wait to get lights. And instead of getting cheap flights, uh, wait until you can, you know, commit to the $600 Kino. I mean, you've committed to a beautiful camera, so you can bet toe one beautiful light and that you don't need to buy a three or $400 scream. You can go to the local Joann's fabrics and by three or $4 police to ship on and use that, you know, just heck, yeah, that's a rate hack. No, that's a great hat because a lot of the stuff. You don't want to cut corners, right? So, yeah, so you want to buy one or any other light on the line? Got it? And it save on the screen because the screen is really just a fancy. You know, somebody had Polly chiffon up one day and somebody went, Oh, I could make base and someone for $480 call them scrims. And then they did. And you know, the truth is, Is a kitten kitten from my Kia is perfect, So I would rather have spent the money on the kino on them. A store? A lot of people said, Oh, that's way too expensive. I think I'll get the heck vision off the light. And I was like, Issue can heck the lights. But then they get hot and their fire heads it and all the rest of it. But the truth is, is if you commit to the light, um, you know, learned to bounce it And usual Polly boards. And also, if you're not really to commit to the lighting, it's OK, Master Natural light. It's spray and it's there every day. Most days, unless you're in a state of course where winter takes Will you liked away? Yeah, until three. Now I think that's great advice because not everybody can can dive in at that level of investment right off the bat. But I think it's important Teoh, um, and saying that Drew, I will say one thing, Really Here All I hear photographers say is what witch up should they do and what logo should they dio? But what? Who's who can design a logo for me? A logo will not make your photography bidder, but a light will. So if you're gonna pay a designer to design a logo for you, scrapped that and by the light you know the truth or by the online workshop that's gonna teach you how to master it, because the truth is, is you could go in person and spend all this money, and you can, you know. But if it doesn't make the ship go faster, don't buy it so good. I hope you are listening. People thought this is so good. Wise wise words from sue for sure. Um so how do you actually use the scrim with the key? Know? How do you So I do have a good slide there so you can show them. But I have the The Kino is literally going through this. Graham. What happens is Felix was moving the scream around and he was explaining to me that it's like the front of a light box all the size of a window. And so now what I've done is I put the lights was behind the scrim, and that makes the light source huge and some like a massive soft box. And look how big my scream is. So the truth is, is now I've created a light source the size of a sliding glass door, and I can dial the light down. So Felix has got me run to the four bank Kino, Flo. But to be honest, I'm mostly shooting one and two bank, okay? And it's $ that to bank, you know. So the fullback Kino is around $ I suppose if I was in a big a studio, we're doing more commercial work. I would probably use the four, but to be honest, the two is extraordinary, and it's enough. Even one bank on one light on natural daylight balanced bolts through that big scrim, which is the laser light scream that Felix and I use in our workshop. So on and I'm loving the effective. It is just beautiful, beautiful, fantastic. So it sounds like my next question that I had planned was, uh what, like, piece of equipment would you recommend people buying? It sounds like a to bank Kino is what if people can afford it? It's actually the same prices. A stroke? OK, a story about a modify. It's actually cheaper than a strobe in a modifier. Wow. So that strobe in the modified together would be around $1000. Aquino to bank would be 600. Okay, um, I know that these other brands So it's not that I'm flogging Kino because I'm not. I was introduced to the Kino through Felix because that's what he uses, So I used it as well. I'm sure there are other natural balance daylights out there that compete with it within Tim's off being what I've got. That's what I've got. And I love it. So is it better than this, Strobe? Yes, in the sense that it replicates exactly natural light. Where is the strobe? Has another look entirely that to me is a little bit more fashion. So if you want a different look than extra light, I would go with the strobe. And if you want Yeah, the same look. But just after hours or controllable lines, then the Kino is awesome. Awesome. So is faras, I think a big a big thing for anybody Starting out, um is learning how to how to actually see the light. And, uh and you do a good job teaching that in your courses here. How can what are some techniques that some beginners can use? Toe actually learn to see the light cause it's my guess is that if it doesn't matter what lights you have and what gear you have and if it's beautiful natural light if you don't know how to see it Um, yeah, so what you're looking for is the biggest mistake I think a lot of photographers make is they set up the light and then they move the model in the light, so the faces always somehow towards the flash or towards the strobe or towards the soft box. And then you very limited imposing when you can't move the face because we want the most flattering light on the face, and Felix had the most. When we're doing our workshop, he had the most obvious but incredible advice. Move the line like move the client, but moved the light with my window. I moved my client within the window, but he moves his life. He's very active and lighting. He he just moved everything instead of moving the client. And so he sits up his backdrop and he just adjust and moves and pulls and pushes in. It's really need to watch because ah, lot of people are trying to move the model and you know, you've got to look for the face. The face is, if you can master natural light, then I feel like if you master natural light, then learning studio lights is easier. Okay, so go in that order naturalized studio because then you know how to try to recreate the natural light that your yeah, And if you're looking for a style of light, I mean, there are so many wonderful people that teach different visions of light. Look for the look for the instructor that teaches the light that you want to learn and learn from that person. So if you want something that's fashion and something that's highly stylized. Portrait check, Go. Go with feelings. Because Felix has a way of lighting with strobes and Kino that has that look of you want wedding, you know, go with Scott. Robert, go with somebody who matches your personality. And that also has the look of photography that you really want to capture. That's really the most important one. Okay, fantastic. Um, so what's a favorite story, sou That's happened on set. Maybe an accident or something. Uh, that you, uh, are now something that happened by accident. That now you're like, when you see that you're like, Wow, I really like that. That was a total accident. Ah, fluke. And now you're like, I want to recreate that. Do you have a story like that? I do, Actually. It's funny. When you first it accident. I was like, Well, in the stitch for natural light. One day I climbed up onto the window soul and fell backwards off a five foot window so onto my posing blocks. And the woman I was photographing happened to be a nurse. Oh, my. You see it? And it worked out well for you, I think. Well, they didn't work out. Well, uh, yeah, I What? I came out with this thing could film to our great shoot kind of nude and boudoir almost in the dark with very little highlight. Uh huh. And that come from shooting an entire roll of film under exposed. And then I realized that I could shoot it to stops under and bring up the highlights in fed A shop on what I got was this incredible painted the effect, and I loved it. And it became something West studio that made me lots and lots of money so I could make you eliminate out of an under exposed roll of film, which I didn't really know until afterwards. And then it became this kind of signature for me to do these dark moody, um and I guess my skills on photo shop Probably help say that, but yeah, I've got lots of them. I've made a lot of mistakes over the years, and I've always tried Teoh create something out of it. I just filmed a video, actually, this week of a shoot true story in 2003 a client tuned up with no clothes to wear for the shoot. She was wearing a shabby old black T shirt and jeans, and I really needed the money. Like I was counting on this shoot to pay my rent next week. You know, I was brand just before I started. My business is in that desperation place, and I didn't have any wardrobe or clothes or anything, so I wouldn't got a piece of black fabric and I made some dresses with pens. So I went and bought some fabric and I to see how many dresses I could make with this fabric. And I made 30 dresses. So May black style guide. So, yeah, I've made mistakes. I situation you could ever imagine with every sort of client you could ever imagine. And and, um, I've been there, done it. So I feel like yeah, super awesome to hear somebody that's at your level now. Stories of starting out in where you came from and having to make dresses with pins and fabric. Oh, I'm still the biggest head. I love it. And also, you know, I will say, for all the criticism I've received in not lighting the fake that I've learned light in my 26th year of business, I think is I didn't really care what people said about it. I was actually just excited to learn it. And Felix has opened a world for me that I feel very, very grateful. I take them all the time pictures of something I've just taken. And I just say, I love you. I love you. I just I love you. And I'm so happy that he's my friend and that he's taught me something new. And I'm I'm always happy to learn I'm not the best photographer in the world, but I'm certainly one of the Keenest students. And I'm quite happy to keep trying to master something You and one of the best instructors. So thank you so much suit for joining us to They really appreciate it. Um uh, have a great rest. Your day you can go play with Cookie. Now she's fighting my angle. Is she fantastic? Well, thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate it. We're looking forward to your toe watching your segments later today. Awesome. All right, take care. CIA