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Shoot: Outdoor Lighting Roof Top

Lesson 17 from: Pose It, Light It, Love It

Clay Blackmore

Shoot: Outdoor Lighting Roof Top

Lesson 17 from: Pose It, Light It, Love It

Clay Blackmore

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Lesson Info

17. Shoot: Outdoor Lighting Roof Top

Lesson Info

Shoot: Outdoor Lighting Roof Top

You know, you made it rough on them because I think I'm in the most difficult situation in seattle. It's, windy, there's, no cover the sun that high noon at one o'clock. What am I going to do if I'm at a wedding? I'm leaving this area as quick as I can. I'm going to go to the shade, I'm going to get underneath the shade, but what I do like is that have the signature shot of the tower here and to pull it all together, so to do that, what I'll probably do is meter my light and bring it way up. I'm always talking about joining in with the light on stop under keeping it under, but if I'm going to expose for the needle, which is f sixteen, know what I'm gonna have to do on that needle right there, sonny sixteen I said that so fast, maybe educational. What does that mean? When kodak made film, they spent a million dollars giving you one little piece of information on a sheet of paper inside, and it was called the f sixteen rule, the sunny sixteen rule and you know what I use it to this day? ...

This meter is the sunny sixteen rule, but you know what? What does it mean? I have to tell it to you at home because some of you will get a grand out of this. When the bright sun is out, you put the cameron f sixteen what's the shutter speed. Well, it's, whatever your film speed is a moment one twenty five I s o I met one twenty five on the shutter speed. What if he gets a little cloudy? Hazy that's eleven how about you know that's? Cloudy bright? How about cloudy that's an f eight day? How about how about really cloudy? How about kind of rainy, cloudy, like seattle five six day. So you put your camera on five six and you around your shutter speed off to the film speed to the so and it works every time I mean it's, just a million dollars worth of information for you right there on critical, creative live. Now I'm going to say, I'm a f sixteen one twenty five that's when I put the camera and I didn't even check it. But what I'm going to do now is adding some flash so let's pull the flashover and let's say, how much light do I want adam, my quantum q flash, I think I'm gonna want write under sixteen, probably about eleven so that to me I know I've memorized this is going to be half power so you guys want to get a little shot of that you got it on half power right there so now I'm gonna hand it back to the camera position and I'm gonna take a meter reading I said this inside really fast so why don't I do it again my meter is on a sixtieth of a second take a hit the lightning bolt on the back of the flash it told me that that flashes f thirty two is that air you fighting that you wanted to put up the scrim because I know right now I would scrim jerry go ahead pop it open can you pan over here I brought up a scrim this is my cloud I have no excuses you know when I get to the wedding and the bride looks at her pictures a month later and she's like it looks so you know washed out or so sunny my excuse is I don't have an excuse well this is the cloud so what I'm gonna do is I'm going to stand in a cloud hey hallelujah now can you send that off again? I'm getting its telling me thirty two out of the light I didn't think the light could do thirty two how come it's because it's on a sixtieth of a second and that's not correct I'm going to meet her this down I'm putting the meter on four hundredth of a second. Hit it again. Hey, guess what that light is. Can you get a macro shot? It's f sixteen? I could have made the picture without the meter is just from doing it so often I hate to be humorous, but I eat three meals a day sometimes for and never does the food hit my cheek or my chin. I do it so many times I just know it. I just know it and that's where I want you to be I want you to know your equipment and that's important. So now let's, get a model in here. How about hannah? Just step in here. Where? Your jacket it first. You know, just for fun. She's got a little sweater on. I want to keep her comfortable until I get the picture. It's a little breezy up here. We're in seattle, pacific northwest and just turned to me like that. Good. Now we can speak to a lot of things here, but the tower over here is going to be really hard to marry in and get rid of that holiday. And so I'm gonna have to go vertical well, let's, take a test shot we're gonna bring our scream in we've got that in place so now a silver reflector let's add that end even though I'm using flash I always have the silver reflector in the mix because it lowers the contrast on the thiss entire image so it's always flash and reflector and you know, sometimes it's one or the other you know, I just don't know but this this reflector is just doing a beautiful job and guess what the sun's over there normally it's really kind of like straight up but it's kind of creepy in that direction but he's just playing a game of bumper pool with it he's just where you just point it first look where you point it first to the sun that's the third time I said that today and I bet you're going to forget it tomorrow you've got to grab the light and then bring it in right there how about I just take a picture with no flash and see how it looks guys ready? I'm ready I like just leave that sweater on I know it looks a little bit cozy for me right now and I'm not sure it's gonna be the end all portrait I don't think it will be but I'm just testing good now if I go horizontal, which I would love to go and go live I'm gonna pull out these little guys here and go into plus five plus ten yes, there is no reason to have a picture and f sixteen out of focus that's everything's in focus god, this looks great I'm turning off the flash unit and I'm just gonna take the picture right here I'm on auto focus and that's making the uh thing jump up behind now I'm going to bring that flash and so let's go back to my exposure how did I get on program job you think could you sneak up here and put my camera on p for professional? I'm going to em for master just like your von said ok we're gonna go backto live you good right there and hit me with now we're gonna put a little light on there let's see that works when we're plugged in no it doesn't okay, just open that reflector up a little bit more good right there and okay so there's the picture but we have half the space needle so I'm going to go vertical I'm going to unplug for a little bit I'm gonna have to do that to go vertical and because of a video camera y you're now looking at it looks gorgeous here it is vertical but is everybody at home seeing it sideways what's happening? We're okay good, good good chin down a dash good now here's the point watch this I'm on matt manual this right here my cloud is going to take two stops up of the direct sun so if this is a sunny sixteen day what is the light now eight I'll bet you guys dinner the whole staff all right here we go there's eight of the ten of us up here we're gonna go that we're taking the flash out of the equation okay we needto s o two hundred and we've got to take the mod back to daylight neither the shadows uh I might be at eleven I might be buying tonight I'm at eleven I'm at eleven right now so I'm going to shoot eleven I'm gonna shoot eleven and let's see what happens to the needle I that's gonna wash out a little I know it is because if that's if that's sixteen and I'm shooting at eleven let's get my camera set sixteen eight thirteen fourteen alright I'm at eleven it looks beautiful I mean you can't miss the needles all pulled in but the point being many times your background will wash out you want this beautiful cloud and what's gonna happen right after our session up here I'm gonna have a super educational slide show for you and it's going to show me working in every situation and there's many times where I'm not going to marry in the background with the foreground and less I know what I'm doing and and I just want o come over here and talk to it watch this let's pretend I'm on a golf course and it's just this beautiful willow tree behind hannah hannah I'm going to meet her for your face and I'm gonna put my camera on what the meter says and that's going to be sixty at eight just about every time what is the flash going to be? One stop under eight five, six two stops under it for is even better so I like to work in this soft open shade there's where you're gonna find me to come up here is just we're just asking for trouble we're asking for trouble but I'm gonna pull it off and what I'm gonna do is expose for that now this if you're on the beach which you know who wouldn't like to be on the sunset on the beach what's the key to get in the color in the sky the key is to under expose the sky a little bit that means fast shutter speed remember that fast shutter speed I want the needle I want a fast shutter speed maybe two fifty at eleven. All right, so there's two things I do with flash outside what's the first thing first thing is find the open shade exposed for the open shade and put a flash in one stop under the flash is going to shape the face it's going to give me better color and it's going to give me more sharpness I love the queue flash off camera it works every time it's my go to light the quantum q flash now I'm in a sunny situation on the beach I met a sunset and I say look at the sky I wanted I want it I exposed for it there's the needle I'm going to expose for it I'm gonna go to fifteen eleven and I'm gonna put the flash in at eleven all right? And let's see what happens now so so far we just been kind of tinkering around with all available light let's get our flash in the mix I hate to do this but I'm gonna unplug the life feed because it won't work with it that plugged in the sun do it real quick and let's shoot away so we can get right back on and review the pictures what do you guys think? Is there a stylist up here? I don't mind the sweater. I think it looks fine. What do you guys think? I think it's okay in a minute we'll do fabric so let's just leave her like this now she looks comfortable turn your your shoulders to the left your totem e rightto toomey now watch this trick you guys saw me do this yesterday pick up your heel a little bit yes, yeah, look at that. Look how I posed the legs just so gently hands on the hips now bart she's going in this direction bring your shoulders to be a little so I'm going to pull you out and I'm going to put my flash just like in the studio exactly it's so exciting when you can take this technique on the roof to the golf course to the window and it never changes I'm looking for a loop shadow and you know what I've learned to do? I've learned to look under the nose for the shadow and I can honestly see if I'm getting a rembrandt or a loop can you believe that? I mean, you gotta look fast, you gotta look quick and you can see it right there. So now the flash looks good. What is the intensity of the flash? It is eleven. What is the picture going to be? Two. Fifty at eleven. So let's, go to him for manual for master and let's kick it up to two. Fifty. Here we go. Love, love, love. All right, jerry, you're doing awesome. Can you raise it a little bit here? The flash did not go that's, no flash and this is flash. But why don't you throw your reflector in the kind of catch the flash you really mean and kind of bring it in one final refinement here is going to be getting down low what am I doing here? I'm selecting the background first hannah turn your nose to the right tip your head this way bring your shoulders around to me a little bit chin down chin down right there come on right there let's see that's looking great it's looking really beautiful I'm thinking right here you know it would almost be a good idea chin down a little bit if somebody can just take up this fabric this jacket here can you come with me and just grab it can you cover my head with it? Just I want to look at the picture and this is going back to the days when we were ahh you know under the o four by five camera howley this is just beautiful I'm going to make you guys surprised I think it's great I think it's great yeah I'm good now I got it let's keep shooting now alright that scream is hitting her hip I mean come on jerry you were awesome. You are awesome now how about this? I got my picture give me ten poses how about one that do it two three lose that sweater pleas four here we go and let's just play five six yes uh hang on my focus seven yes, yes it's eight yes, go go, go nine ten let me keep going ten how about yeah I love it love it love it love it love it love it yes that's it chin down a dash right there flashes going every time all right, how about somebody just hold the fabric way over here you know, before I dio before I do watch this we're in the studio I've got beautiful light right? What is it it's full face and then a full faith so let's say we want to go to two thirds but I'm thinking I want you looking this way so watch this if I want her looking that way which way did the body go? I think mike even knows the answer he's been paying attention more than all of you at home I want your shoulders this way now your left toto may we build from the bottom and now she's in which posed the feminine pose where is the light? The light is right here. There it is now look under her nose click I've gotta loop shadow that's picture one looking right in my camera now bart, I'm goingto wheel around, bring your body square to the camera and look right over there don't stop right there not turned your nose to me hands on your hips and I want you to look at that crane right over there that yellow crane so now we're in the to third view of the face two third view thank you chin down a little now look chin down a little more if she's to third let me take the picture yeah sorry about that chin down a little bit two thirds what is that going to do? I said this a moment ago and here's what I said I said when I'm on that too third view I still don't want her body square to the camera this is posing pose pose it pose it what's happening she's square to the camera she's so petite but I still want to cheat your body this way go back yes yes now that's good drop your right shoulder yes that's it even more see that's it pot's light love now looking right over here there's there's um I'm going I'm going to take the picture hey how about this part just like a statue can you wiggle around to me and full face we go around this way yet right there now bart bring the light bring right here we go oh it's going now the flash with what did you do? Mike look at this one look at me look at me look at anyone turn your shoulders to me a little yes chin down what is that it's a little bright actually feathered a little bit see what bart's got even feather the light you know he was going right at our blasting there's one now like a statue rotating bart you go with her right there a little more bart you're almost ninety now right there no your nose back to me of it on your shoulders this way a little bit more right there now look to that crane that yellow crane turn your nose to the left now wherever you're looking look to the right a dash christine I know you're down there and you know what I'm looking for I'm looking for a little flesh toe hold in her eye and I've got it how about a hint of a smile? You look too stiff right there you're a little hot bar kind of feather it feather it this way keep feathering pulled back right there right there just laid right there it should be exactly the same distance works good right there and there's our two third view now profile can you keep going around right there? Switch your feet I bring your right foot to me bend your right knee in front of your left hands on your hips lean your shoulder back a little bit drop your right shoulder and yeah that's hands on your hips and now look at to those yellow cranes turn your nose to the left a little more you guys remember my picture of paris got that beautiful shot with the eiffel tower it's exactly how I made it although it is in silhouette now bart you need to be a loop shadow and right now you are flat you are flat coat go go go keep going keep going keep going now turning back to may not get in a little closer bart it should always be the exact same distance we got a winner here, guys bart keep feathering to me keep feathering now bart use your reflector to catch the light and open it back up look off the flash profile light right there now come to me with a reflector keep coming keep coming come out way out to me look at me five steps over keep coming keep down open up the light you're going to use the sun and the flash you know what bart's flashes his reflectors also doing he's a gobo we talked about that look where that flash you come in right into my limbs so bart kind of go straight up and down just like in the studio yet now open up the light keep going and you're going to shield me there you go. Watch the shot right here one two and tip the top of your head to me a dash chin down now how about if I take one with no flash okay, no flash eyes a little higher drop your right shoulder a dash good right there, turn your toe to me a little more drag that foot back a little bit this way yeah a little more dragon on now lean that knee weigh in well suppose it lighted lovett were tipped atop your head to me a little now what's happening no flash let's turn on the flash and let's nail it right here one two and smiling teeth for one hannah eyes a little higher that means you see bart the flash might be in a little tight is go back there it's great it is great don't wear tipped atop your head to me a little bit somebody just give her one piece of fabric in her left hand and letter just hold it straight up in the air little piece of fabric whatever I know we got tons of both of fabric yeah just white fabric I've got this shot let her play with it let's get a breeze going yeah right hand your left hand I just hold it straight up you have right there beautiful right there wings wings drop him a little bit on each side good, good good it's great fart run over and feather the flash it feels a little punchy just pull it back up you know give me it's really hard to see what I'm getting it should be the same distance every time I'm shooting a big raw file and then feather it towards me there you go make sure it gets under nose there we go right there all right, this is where he takes patients right here to get something gorgeous lower it on this side please even all the way down all the way down right there beautiful I hear you're doing an awesome job in part you got it going great one two and let's get the fabric closer to her feet can you kind of bring it in like a bridal veil right there? Yeah, look at me like that when she looks at me like that the flash is in the wrong position look back out to your left you higher with the veil all right, now let's do we got the shot I came up here and I conquered it. I mean, just flat out saw the picture of my mind's eye and did it now what I'm gonna do is have a little fun we're gonna go let's go this way a little bit you can talk to me go this way a little bit review the lighting set up although we're just moving but just one more time okay, so one more time tell us exactly you get up here, there's nothing there's nothing going on and you're looking at the blue sky like exactly your process I think I found your real picture I want the two of you next right here with your shades on and everything okay, what am I doing? I'm picking the needle and exposing for it okay that was two fifty eight eleven or one twenty five to sixteen kodak spent a million dollars telling me how to figure that out every day I look at seriously I've been taking pictures since the news paper in high school and we read the thing and my professor made me learn the f sixteen rule and we'd sit in the classroom and he'd say dr full gym I wish you were out there I know you passed away your son's out there your son awesome family how full jim said and he taught me cinema too he said what kind of day is it today? That's a half a day he go eight point two would be closer you know he was that precise so we didn't really you know we love the meter in fact what I do with my meter all the time and say I'm gonna second guess it I think it's so and so yes are no so I got the exposure there using I think what's the best off camera flash made the quantum q flash I'm able to give me a lot of light or a little light this could go bare ball sometimes I have two of these if I have a bridal shoot I'll have one behind the veil you know behind t tl is through the lens mita ring I would rather do what joe's elfman told me feet and distance I said ten feet it's five six I pumped it up and made it ten feet at eleven I shot eleven the light was eleven it all came together okay, now we're just gonna have fun now we're just gonna let the veil kind of flow on the face and what would be really awesome can you uh well, way don't bring it up with my two hundred one eight but I'm just going to shoot it with this lens uh, two hundred one eight would give me this shallow depth of field and I'm gonna just get that fabric and let her play with it watch your step here's what we're gonna do now I'm gonna cheat over here you know what? I'm trying to get away from the building to the left of the needle so just cheat a little over here you see my painted background on the floor I'm an end here you can actually stand right on it right there cool, good, good good. Now I'm just gonna have fun here with you guys. I think what we're going to do now is going to go no flash why no flash because I want to pick up the pace a little and I'm going to shoot and I'm gonna be honest with the viewers at home high speed sync it's just not something I do I don't really understand it that well I've worked with bob davis and my buddy stephen eastwood they kick up this thing upto like eight thousandth of a second with flash I know my flashes do that it's just something I haven't wrapped my head around what I do is bring my flash stronger and that's the same thing really keeping my shutter speed under two fifty okay, so now I'm going to get the shutter speed about a thousandth of a second why I'm going to put my camera at two point eight and guess what? It's a thousand to two point eight I just took a guess I'm shooting a thousand to eight no flash, we took that off and we're just gonna have fun with fabric, you know what I mean? Uh, bring it up a little higher above her. Yeah, there we go just like that you're beautiful uh lovely. I'm gonna get a little lower now you guys are gonna think I'm a little nutty, but this is kind of what you might see me doing on a shoot like this. I might drop in here and just flip on a mark four camera and I just hit the video button and I'm lying I'm live you I'm gonna get my exposure down and it is gorgeous come on uh this is pretty video I got to make sure I've been focused and I'm rolling right there this is bringing some ten eighty p video into the action and I love it let's go for a baby let's show me some love pose it light it love it let it wrap around or just having a good time like that yes, right there. Yes, yes, yes. Turn back towards the wind how about bring your side all the way around in front of her and let it just yet? And you just let it kind of blow against you? Yes, right. They're beautiful. Beautiful. I'm going to give up this camera and I'm gonna take my my film camera and I would usually just have bart, you just stay on this, okay? And you just kind of play with it, rocket so what am I doing? I'm picking, uh I'm picking the video and that's that's kind of being a dp director of photography I I know what's going on here and photographically and I know it's going to translate to video justice just as well. So let's, go shoot now I'm gonna go down. I need the start of the day now here we go, the reflectors doing its thing, you have a one more how about just one of you let go of the fabric and come over here and wiggle my reflector let the fabric oh right there just wiggle the reflector apart yougot it and just give me a light in her face maybe come over behind barred a little bit so you can get a little more flatter here we go now I'm gonna shoot away look into the light turn your nose to the left all right, don't go I'm gonna play around with this for a second for you we're running out of time but we're not gonna be finished until we get it. What did I do? I pointed it to the sun I bring it in here that's you keep wiggling in there show me something beautiful here this is going to be the cover of seattle magazine I can see it now and that's I'm selling the model selling the subject lean back yes cover your face with it and just make it real sheer. Yeah, right there right there. Drop it! Yes, right there right there. Let me drop your shoulder look over your shoulder. All right, slow that's gorgeous that's gorgeous. Come on, camera I must be shooting on two cards it's trying to keep up. I might just take my exposure down. You stay right there now let the kind of the wind here's what I'd be looking at for you, hannah more like this this look this way lean this way yes yes see that that's what I see in the statue's that's what I see in the museums like this oh, I love it right there look at that look at that little that's gonna get it get it get it get it to the top of your head to me turn your nose to the left come on wind guess put it right over your face one sheer piece and then wrap it around yeah just like that just like that now pull it higher yeah give me a veil right there beautiful show me that needle come on come on come on now let me see your face just a little bit of your face let go of this piece is too yes here there you go beautiful come on show me a picture now we look I'm going so fast I haven't even reviewed anything oh look at that look at the wind that video is going to be so magnificent keep it in focus oh yes jerry's got the sail by the helm let me just take a ten seconds and let a picture load up before I just keep hammering away here it's great it's great it's great! I need my infrared this is an I r a dream shot now look over the fabric at me just a little bit just look over it yeah, right there right there let go of your left hand yeah and lower right there chin down lower the fabric a little more in the back yeah right there laughing look straight up yeah, the reflectors great what you do with the reflectors great all right, now you take two hands and just hold it straight up hannah and let it just blow try to get as much windows you can right there right there beautiful now your left hand higher and your right hand down and then soften the reflector chin way down chin way down turn your nose to me a little little more reflector bring this fabric in right there right there is a shot right there laughing yes come on, come on right there came down I think we got it guys one more look out into the to the reflector right there. All right, relax. Beautiful lay right on your back right there. Let your knees go away from us so we don't look up your dress, turn around and just lay down jerry all the way down. One of the things I've always had fun with my backgrounds as I use them outside I lam on the ground let's say I'm doing a three year old I tell him it's a swimming pool hey, we're gonna go swimming it's a swimming for our promise and I drop them in there and I do this everything I do is I roll great paper you'll see that later and I have people inside the paper that's the burrito we're going to do tomorrow but now we're just gonna lay your face to me a lot right here now this reflector to get one more shot we gotta go fast I'm gonna help you out here I'm gonna have you go like this real close to where you got it you feel good you don't need a man you're the man the other man turn your face right to me I actually want to take the reflector backwards what did I just do here? This should be better you're in the shade now you got that what we're doing here we're making our own we're hanging in your face to me a little more can you just let your hair out and just let it blow everywhere this is the last shot yeah there we go the stylist maybe she could play with the hair a little bit of make up just just take the hair for this shot and just let it go everywhere let's finish kind of wild yeah the pony tail out all right doesn't have to be work pretty quick you can just put all the hair in the front look at bard on the video we simply record everything we do we really do you just it's just so beautiful there we go right there and just look at your face to me. This fabric. There you go. I just turn your face to me a little bit right there. Just take a knee right there. They're gonna come down low that's the screams, missing screams missing right? They're beautiful, right? They're beautiful right there. Look, it look right in my lens. Then I'm gonna come on in for manual for master and I missed it. Hey, joe, you think p for professional. I'm in a hurry. We're running out of time. Just go to pee and shoot auto focus. How about your left hand? Right up to your face. Right there. Right there. Beautiful. You're okay? And a hand long, beautiful hint of a smile. Chin up, no smile, no smile right there. Roll your knows more. Close your eyes, your pinkies in your eye. Hide your pinkie why'd you, pinky now, just close your eyes, chin down, chin down right there. Now look at me. One, two, three got it. All right, I'm ready. I'm ready to talk. I'm ready for whatever throwing at me guys.

Class Materials

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Clay Blackmore Top 10.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Clay Blackmore is the real deal in portrait photography. The guy is a bundle of creative energy and technical mastery. I took portraiture with Monte Zucker, and am glad to have Clay now as his successor. This concepts in this course are the rudiments. They'll never change, regardless of trends and fads. Clay is also very likable and fun to watch work. Keep your ears peeled for every word. When Clay points out those many little details, they all count. Love the course, and have a ton of respect for Clay. He's a portrait master, and a great guy. What else could any portrait student hope for?

Rosina
 

This a wonderful class. Clay has worked w/Montey and brings a supreme knowledge to photographers who want to learn more. His skills are creative and insightful with a modest personality. This is an amazing class that comes with a great price.

Tom Lokos
 

Of all the courses I have purchased without exception this is the best. Clay is an excellent teacher. When he speaks he is saying something and not just talking. He explains his lighting techniques in great detail while demonstrating them . He is clear, concise and fun to listen to. You will learn how to pose individuals all the way to large groups, while learning the correct way to light them. All this while being entertained by one of America's great portrait photographers.

Student Work

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