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Chat with Chase Jarvis

Lesson 14 from: Foundations of a Working Photographer

Zack Arias

Chat with Chase Jarvis

Lesson 14 from: Foundations of a Working Photographer

Zack Arias

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Lesson Info

14. Chat with Chase Jarvis

Lesson Info

Chat with Chase Jarvis

When you're working with strobes, you can't lay on the motor drive until you're dealing with like big pro photo airs or broaden colors that can like keep up with your motor drive chase stars he's got a video where you're shooting for sandisk couple of chasing you still in the building and put you on spot uh when you that was sandisk, you're shooting skiers and you had to have a stroke that would keep up with your motor drive right? Because you needed them boom boom boom grabbed mike from chase jarvis everybody holy putting you on the spot got cookies in months, so right? So I'm speaking specifically of the sandisk job you did of the snowboarders where you needed them boom boom boom boom boom boom boom in the shot and you needed a strobe like hit it hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it because ninety nine frames a second, right? You didn't need a one single peak moment you needed a sequence, it's correctamundo we did stitch that together in post production, but right shot it a...

s one, right? You didn't shoot the peak moment here and then the peak moment here that because they take you what all day yeah, and it wouldn't be very wouldn't be very smooth transitions you'd have to rely on luck. So we motor drive through the whole thing and we actually had people pointing the strobes. We use the brown color shrubs because they can keep up with right nine frames a second and those were not alien beats that you were using correct there? Yeah. So angry like crazy and bees. But there there's a country mile between right? Exactly. So I shoot this picture and then this picture boom boom and I lose my main light because it didn't recycle fast enough. Right now I'm in here with bron colors are meeting with the big pro photo air systems, then boom, boom and I've got it because those things like you could have club europe going on with those I didn't have a dance party with those it's really weird that you as a at least as a photographer, I recall very clearly my evolution where I used to like, why do the people need all these fancy flashes and, like popping that actually back in my camera cause that was in film days he opened it up right, mary poppin then it would move your model and pop, but as you become more comfortable as a photographer, as I became more comfortable and I wanted to shoot faster and faster and faster, and then you start relying on you, shoot a picture and then it's the moment after the model goes like that and then that's actually the real moment so you've got to build a fire again so as you get more comfortable that's I think why more professional are higher and lights are used by people that are shooting in that capacity that fashion right? Right exactly so if you have gear that's limiting u right like I love alien bees, they're great! I picked take one, kick it across the floor and it's still use it and if I couldn't use it anymore it's a for one hundred dollars light it's not a three thousand dollars like you know kind of thing, so I threw him in the belly of an airplane if I'd hate if they all got crushed, but if they did and it's not a huge replacement you you watch three thousand ten thousand dollars where the lights go down and there's a bigger pucker factor and it's a lot about your shooting style to like your regular methodical. I remember when you shut like a kite last last creative live work that you were really methodical, posing them and what not right and and versus something like what I was doing in new zealand, where like, I'm having to chase these guys all over the sky right where I need to be ready at any minute at a one one thousandth of a second and so different strokes will be different for different shooting stuff actually and it comes back to knowing your gear known your gear you know what it does and you know what it won't do and when that job shows up of hey I need you to shoot snow borders in a sequence flying across the sky you go I need new lights I need a different tack right so when I'm shooting stuff like this I know I have to wait for the moment and I'm trying to the moments right there look at that that's not bad but here I want to show I think that's kind of that's kind of cool is butoh you yeah reminds me that michael jordan wings pose right there I got it finally where you were there um yeah thanks, buddy. All right, thanks for jumping in short notice. Okay, so, uh I wanted to see if I had one in particular here. Ok, check this out. Look at this shoe again knowing your gear if I was going to be a full time dance photographer I wouldn't shoot alien bees there's a thing called flash duration how long those lights are on and the alien bees is great of flashes is they are then they're fantastic cause they're super affordable and they're they're consistent pretty much but the amount of time that flashes on pop turn off is actually pretty long long enough that I get blur see that motion blur? Yes, I have not shot with the einstein yet the einstein from alien v is supposedly supposed to have a faster flash duration so the faster the flash duration, the mohr that would be sharp and I know full time dance photographers like all they shoot our dancers they wouldn't choose alien beasts because they have to shoot people in the air moving all the time and they wanted tax sharp and they have to go by lights that have fast durations and that costs money and it comes back down the business now you just shooting head shots and portrait's and whatever alien bees are fine, you've got people flying through the air and you need them to be tax sharp it's not the light for you the flash duration on a speed like like the hot shoot bill disaster, especially as you go lower in flash power because your flash power comes down, your duration gets faster typically with most lights. Um, so yeah, but did again I needed to be shooting this at like eight I needed because I'm focusing and he made where I focus, he may move a foot or forward or back, and if I bring those flash durations of hot shoe flashes down in power, then I might be shooting it at four right there, not a whole lot of light coming out of it, and so I'm shooting it at four, and then maybe I need to bump bump up by I s o to bring my appetite back up. And now it's getting noisy and so it's now you hand me a five thousand dollars like it has a fast flash duration and gives me f eight r f eleven on this great, we're for five thousand dollars. I find this flash conversation really interesting because a lot of the the commentary online is about like, all this is just all show and a bunch of b s like they don't need all these lights, they could do it. You know? Joe mcnally doesn't with eight speed lights. I love joe he's, a dear friend of mine, but the things that I like, what you were saying, what that sanders they can't physically be done with speed lights, there's not enough power, there's no, they can't recycle fast enough, they can't, they're flushed rations not short enough, the the I mean there's a they don't generate enough enough lot seconds, there's a million reasons, and the it's usually a lack of understanding of what the actual task at hand is and that's I think, that's what you're doing, a great job explaining is there are different it's like different tools for different jobs and when you look at what an alien be can do it's a great tool for a particular job and the one that you just outlined but in the example that uses a perfect one is if you were a full time and dance photographer that's not going to cut it and and so thinking that because there is a mechanism that throws light on an object, that all those mechanisms of the same is the same miss logic as thinking that all camera bodies were created the same way that a phantom camera that shoots a twelve hundred frames a second is the same as the is one of these sony cameras there's they're always different tools for different jobs some tools you khun fudge into different directions right usually have super high end tool you can fudge into aa lower and need like anything that that the alien be could do um except cost three hundred dollars is probably it's like that could do that job. But these cheaper, smaller lights can always do the job of the pro stuff and I don't blame people for not nursing that cause I was guilty of the same thing but that's just it is interesting discussion, I think, and people online I seem like talking trash all the time like this is just for show it's like not at all show because if you're sitting there waiting for your bad in to recharge the clients looking over your shoulder and the models having the seamless and how much money is sitting on that set it yeah time of the crew that travel yeah, the logistics and if you miss photographs, you know I mean, like we're talking about here when it's not recycling fast enough that's really acceptable in this environment or even a headshot environment but like you said, when you start piling a bunch of money and a bunch of pressure and oh, this is the perfect shot, but destro bin recycle fast enough, right? That's when it becomes kind of not accept, not acceptable right? And you're staying there in front of your client, having to make excuses for your gear? Yeah, right? And you've done a beautiful job also, I feel like of articulating that most often people want new year before they reached their that before they max out what the gears but is possible it's possible to do with the gear because of that we're being marketed to or whatever, but reality if you are bumping up against those those walls, limitations of here that's a great time the next time one of those jobs comes along to make the investment and actually upgrade and if you're not bumping up against limitations your gear than must be a funny. Yeah, I loved your conversation, but I also great things, like, if you're walking around your outdoor shooter and you a demon hunters, brian fine. But if you're concert photographer, you need six hundred thirty two hundred that's. A great example of why you need that gear. Not just for the sake of wanting to spend five grand or talking your children or whatever it takes to get the money. Talking your children as a double on tom. Yeah.

Class Materials

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creativeLIVE-Zack01.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

Ivan
 

Outstanding! There are so many gems, any photographer aspiring to venture into business will gain much from this course. There are plenty of technical how-to's with superb examples, from choosing the right lens for a given situation, to learning about reciprocals, expressed in Zack's warm and fun style. He's a joy to watch. But, this class is much more than that. Zack is extremely generous in sharing very personal experiences and insight, on how he began from early days of struggling, to current projects, how he built his portfolio, and looking ahead to the future. And, in the final discussion with his wife Meghan, they open up and share their personal struggles balancing work and family life, and their strong support of each other. We can all relate to this. This class is a great guide on what it takes to start and become a successful pro photographer, and pulls no punches. It's not easy to do, but with some creativity and an insane amount of hard work, is doable and very rewarding!

a Creativelive Student
 

Zack's always been one of my favorite photographers and when I think about why he is, it isn't even his work that comes to mind. Zack's technical knowledge and ability to pull off really stunning images is reason enough to check out this course. While he does a good job at teaching the fundamentals, he even better job at explaining why he makes the choices he does. Anyone can tell you what "rules" to follow and what you should and shouldn't do but Zack does a good job explaining why those guidelines are JUST guidelines and shouldn't be taken as law, which can be limiting. I highly recommended this for anyone who has an interest in becoming a better photographer.

a Creativelive Student
 

I haven't finished the course yet either but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I love Zacks work I think he is an amazing teacher and a very funny man. I loved one light and I'm looking forward to finishing this and starting the his studio lighting course also.

Student Work

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