A Master At Work. Define the Vision, Set up the Shot, Make the Picture.
- Jan 25th. 2013
- Posted in General thoughts on Photograhy . Image Critique . Studio Lighting . Tips & Tricks . videos
- @ThomasShue . Greg Heisler . Lilsamedia . lilsamedia.com . Michael Phelps . Thomas Shue . Thomas Shue Photography . Time Magazine . tom shue
- By Thomas Shue
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A Master At Work. Define the Vision, Set up the Shot, Make the Picture.
The Final Image by Greg Heisler for Time Magazine
Hi, today I want to share with you one of my favorite photographers of all time, Greg Heisler. In the video below, he shoots Michael Phelps for Time Magazine. You hear it all the time, define the vision. The vision is the fingerprint of your style, it’s unique only to you. You can be inspired by anything, but once it filters through your brain the vision becomes all you. Once you have a clear vision, now you have to translate it by bringing it into the to the material world. Before you actually create the file and realize the vision, you need to set up the shot. Depending on how complex the vision is, it could require a collaboration of multiple people to realize a vision. After you have all of the pieces of the puzzle in place, it’s a simple matter of recording your vision, aka make the picture. Simple right? Well maybe on paper.
Now I want you to think about what I have said here today, I want you to see how it translates into what a master like Greg Heisler does when creating a picture for Time Magazine of Michael Phelps. Heisler is a master of his craft and one day I hope to me half as good as he is.
Check out my blog entry for Greg Heisler, please.
Do you have a link to the one you want me to read. I read them all here http://www.duckpondworks.com/?s=Greg+Heisler. It would be incredible to work with Heisler for a few shoots. He is a man that’s into lighting as much as I am. Mastering light is a life long process. I think he is very close to mastering it.;)
I think you have seen my posts. Heisler’s genius comes from an unwillingness to be bound by his predicaments. He adjusts his lights to fit the canvas, almost treating the subject as an incidental part of the shot. His lights add volume to the frame, sculpiting the subject into a two dimensional plane. In a way, he is Manet unchained.