Spread Your Wings And Try New Stuff, A Paparazzi Story with Britney Spears

Image shot just feet away with a 24mm lens

Hi, today I want to talk about trying new stuff. In photography you can easy get burnt out. Once you master an element it’s time to spread your wings in order to keep it all fresh. I am not saying you need to try radical things, what I am saying is look for things that might allow you to use your existing skills in a much different way.

For example, yesterday my phone rang, it was from a friend that is into celebrity paparazzi stuff. He has been trying for years to get me to check it out and today I did just that. There is astigmatism associated with paparazzi. Princess Diana is a prime example of why people view paparazzi as scumbag’s and I agree that person was a scumbag. What you might not know is the celebrities actually invite photographers to come shoot. Sometimes the celebrities tell friends to come take pictures of them doing certain events to help their friends make some money. Hell fathers, brothers, cousins ect.. all get in on the action so you have to be careful if you get invited. You see this type of photography is all about the money.

How it works is the celebrity or an agent or a business owner that is looking for free publicity tells a photographer what will be going on. Then it starts to spread, if you are lucky and a close friend to the celebrity, agent, or business owner you might get exclusiveness for an event. So you show up and take a bunch of pictures then sell them to an agency that brokers them to anyone who will pay for them. The more exclusive or the popular the celebrity the more money the images command. Almost all of the time it’s a big setup and again it’s always about the money.

Today I shot Britney Spears, it was at a place called Town Square in Las Vegas and it was for a place called the Meatball Spot. Over the next few days you will see the images floating around the net and on TV if you are into that gossip stuff. What you might not know there is a ton of stuff to think of when you are doing this type of work. It’s like shooting sports and photojournalism all in one. You have to be fast and ready to get right in there if you want to get the shots. Usually there are many others trying to get the shot too so you need to have a plan or the inside track as to where the talent will arrive and traverse to their destination. We were lucky, we had all of the information.

Some of the others photographers weren’t so lucky. When you do this type of shooting there are some rules, first you can walk in front of the talent, but never impede their path. This means you will be walking backwards while trying to frame a shot. You are trying to get a full length (portrait orientation) shot where there is noting blocking the view of the talent. Easier said than done because the body guards are blocking you the whole time. Also you want a wide shot where you can see what is going on in the scene. You want to try to tell a story about what the talent is doing.

The image above is a close crop of a shot that didn’t make it for submission to the agency who sells all of the photos. However I did want you to see that I was able to get the ring and make keepers for the person who hired me, for cash, to do the shoot. I am not a paparazzi, I am just a photographer that shoots all kinds of things. Also I studied many hours to determine what kind of images sell for that style of shooting. All I can say is it was super fun, and now I can add celebrity paparazzi to my resume, not!

Thanks for taking time to visit today. Sincerely, Thomas Shue

Yes! Skip Cohen University Starts Today

I am so excited today!  SCU is finally here. I can feel the excitement building as I write this post. I just know how many super duper & amazing people are all going to be in my home town of Las Vegas.  Learning new stuff is great, however it’s the interaction with people that really gets me going. You see, we all share some form of passion for photography and sometimes this passion can wither.  My passion never withers, but I do get frustrated sometimes. I sometimes get a form of writers block, not with words (well that too sometimes:) but with my photography. I have found that I need some sort of inspiration to keep me going. Teaching, for example, is often times that inspiration, that helps me get through my creative struggles. When I see people interested in what I am teaching, it makes me dig deeper to do a better job. Only a robot can work restlessly, without any form of emotional interaction.

Enter SCU, this place will be packed.  It will be a who’s who of creatives from the photography world.  I will be completely buried in this experience. I plan to assist as many of the instructors that will let me (hopefully Mr Clay Blackmore). Then, just when the fun is almost over, I get to take my turn as the instructor. I have a really unique class in mind, if I can pull it off, and I hope the people will see lighting in a whole new way.  In the end, I’ll be charged up and ready to kick some butt for the next six months, as I try to start a new senior portrait and wedding business.  Oppps, the cats out of the bag now, doh!

This post really isn’t some great learning experience. It’s just a bit of what I am thinking and I wanted to share it with you.  Also, I want to say I wish I was a billionaire so I could afford to buy tickets for everyone that frequents my blog, so you all could have a chance to attend SCU with me.  Wish me luck.  I am going to need it in front of a huge audience. I can feel the butterfly’s already, but I know what I am going to do, I’m just going to try and have fun.

I will take a lot of pictures and try to set up some interviews to post here, on the blog.  So, if there is anyone you want to hear from, or a topic you want to see covered, please don’t be shy.  Let me know and I promise to try to make it happen. Have a good one, Sincerely, Thomas Shue

The Light Meter, Pt.1 The Basics

Hi and welcome to my blog.  Today I want to talk about the light meter.  It is an invaluable tool for a serious photographer.  A light meter is simple in concept, being a device used to measure the amount of light, used to make a picture.  You can use that simple concept of measuring light and apply it in many ways to give you ultimate control.

(If you don’t want to hear my thoughts on knowing your craft or a few tips and want to get right to it, skip down until you see —> ***)

My philosophy about photography in general and most photographers, as well. Most photographers learn to make pictures traditionally. This means most people learn from someone showing them a setup or settings, then they apply what they have been shown.  They learn stuff from a book, a video, a workshop, a blog, ect., then over time, this information gets passed around and it becomes a tradition (a tradition to making a photograph).  They rely on the camera (chimping), and being able to shoot frame after frame in the hopes of making a good photo (spray and pray).  They learn traditions that get them pretty far, like composition (rule of thirds), expose to the right, and some say they can effectively use the histogram to judge exposure and I will dispel that tradition.  So how do you read a histogram to properly expose a skin tone?  Things that make you go hmmmmm…the answer is, you cant!

The traditional way of learning is great, in the beginning, and it will get you pretty far, however, I say it’s far better to learn how to use some basic tools like a light meter, and learn some basic exposure controls that will allow you to be innovative, not traditional in your photography.  Innovative thinking is where you can use the basic controls as a framework, and then, when you have an innovative thought you will know exactly how to render your thoughts into an image.

I’ll put it another way, is it be better to know what is going on and be able to create images without anything holding you back, except the law physics, or is it better to try and fill your head with recipes of setups that everyone already knows?  You see, the light meter unlocks the door to innovative thinking and image making.  I can’t explain everything in a single post, but I promise to explain everything over time. It’s your job to come here and try to fully understand what I am telling you.  I am sorry about the long winded theories, now I will start to explain how it all works.

There are many types of light meters (analog and digital), and they all work the same way, with respect to the information they tell.  A light meter is basically a calculator, that solves an unknown variable from the exposure triangle (exposure triangle is, ISO, Shutter Speed, F-Stop). You simply plug in two known values like ISO and Shutter Speed and based on the amount of Light hitting the light meter it will give you the final value, like an aperture.  That’s it!  Simple right?  It really is simple, but you need to know your craft.

To use a light meter you need to have a solid understanding of reciprocals (see older post), they need to be second nature. You need to know aperture, ISO and shutter speeds, because the known values (controls) in lighting and knowledge of the exposure triangle is the backbone for every lighting setup you will ever make; speedlights to studio strobes and controlling them, is all the same.  Armed with a light meter and the full understanding of reciprocals, ISO, and shutter speed, the world of lighting bows down at your feet, I promise.  I can’t stress this enough - if you respect yourself as a photographer or photography as a craft you owe it to yourself to know this stuff.

So on with the show.

***There are two types of light meters, reflected and incident. You can buy them seperately or as one unit. In the picture above, you see the unit on the left is a Pentax Digital 1 degree spot meter, the one in the middle is an incident light meter and the unit on the right is a combination of both, an incident light meter with a spot meter built in. (Note: All of those light meters above are mine and I love them all equally).

An incident light meter will give you the proper exposure of whatever you measure, no matter if it’s black or white, any color or texture.  If you use that meter it will tell you what to set the camera at and you will make a picture of exactly of how everything really is.

You see, your camera is dumb.  Have you ever tried to make properly exposed image of a black wall that fills the frame?  The wall will end up 18% grey, the camera will not record it as black.  On the flipside if you try to take a picture of a white wall and fill the frame, again it will be 18% grey, not white.  The camera needs an even number of dark and light tones in the frame to make a properly exposed image.

An incident light meter just tells you the amount of light falling on the subject.  The setting it tells you will never be wrong; a black wall will be black and a white wall will be white.  An incident light meter reading is the “First Lighting Control” that you will use to create every lighting setup.  That reading is the base, the control that allows you to easily predict a black and white point in a scene (I will cover that in a later post).

The second type is the Reflective Light meter, also known as, a Spot Meter.  This light meter works just like your camera does; whatever you point it at and measure, it will tell you the settings to render the subject 18% grey.  This means that if you measure a black wall, it will tell you the settings to make it 18% grey.  On the flip side, if you measure a white wall, it will tell you the setting to make it 18% grey.  It sounds kind of stupid right?  Why would you want to know how to make a black wall 18% grey or for that matter a white wall, grey?  Here is the secret, that information isn’t what we are after, we are after the aperture reading.  With the aperture reading we can predict many things.

A simple example, if we take an incident meter reading of a subject’s face and it tells us f5.6.   Set the camera to f5.6 and the subjects face will be perfectly exposed. Now, we want the background to be completely white, how much brighter does it need to be?  The answer is 2 1/3 stops brighter.  So we take a spot (reflective) meter reading of the background and the reading is f11, what color is the background?  Is it white yet?  Is it almost white yet?

The answer is no, it’s grey, and not just any grey, it’s 18% grey.  It’s not just 18% grey, it’s the same value as the subjects face, so we need to turn the background strobe power up 2 1/3 stops to make it photograph white.  So what is 2 1/3 stops more than f11?  We don’t really need to know that, but I do and it’s good for you to instantly know these numbers inside and out.  So, to make the background white, we need to double the power (1-stop), double it again (1 stop), then add 1/3 stop more so we increased the power 2 1/3rd stops and the background is white with no guessing.  Now where do we need to go to make a black background?  I know, I know, eww eww eww, pick me!

I know I didn’t give all of the information needed to explain an entire lighting setup, don’t let that that bother you, I am trying to give you a taste of the controls that I will speak to in future episodes.  The controls are the key - think control and concepts.

Imagine being able to create a vision in your mind, set up some lights, put a subject in the frame, take a few measurements, go to the camera and press the shutter one time and you have created your vision…with no guessing.  That is some powerful stuff!  There is a little more to it than that, obviously, but you get my point.  Armed with a simple tool (a light meter) and some knowledge and you can be innovative with your lighting.

In future episodes of “The Light Meter” I will provide more information, so you can start to fully understand it’s use.  I will teach you how to set one up.  I will cover the lighting controls you need to know in order to fully take control over your lighting.  And one last thing, if anyone ever tells you “your camera has a light meter built it, why do you need a light meter?”, slap them upside the head and tell them, how the heck does the camera’s light meter measure flash?  Answer:  It can’t.

I want to thank those that took the time to read this post. You are the ones that are serious about learning your craft, and my knowledge is your reward. I love to teach, and I hope you like to learn.  If you have any questions or comments, please take time to post the below. I will respond to them as soon as I can.  I hope you have a great day.  Thomas Shue.

Man 1658 words is a lot for a Basic Light Meter Post.

Do You Think About “Intellectual Property Rights” Before You Buy?

How much thought do you give to “Intellectual Property Rights” (IPR)? Do you think about them before you buy something? Do you think about them when you post an image or a video on the internet. I am quite sure you would never want anyone to trample your rights, well would you? As a photographer, you are an artist, a creative. When you make pictures you do so from your heart, a part of you is embedded into each and every image. In this post, I want to take some time to talk about Intellectual Property Rights and the disturbing trends I see happening every day. This post will be long, for this I am sorry, but I feel very passionate about this.

Before I go into IPR with respect to buying things, first lets talk about photography. What is the actual cost to you as the photographer to make an image. First is the obvious, it’s the cost of the camera, and the lens. There are costs of lights, stands, modifiers, back drops, staging, and all of the little gadgets we use. If you shoot in a studio there is rent, electricity, water, ect.. the list goes on and on. Almost everything has a cost associated with it, but most of all, is your time. How much is your time worth? How would you feel if someone to just took from you all that you have invested to make a picture and use it as they wish? I see it all the time, people take without as much as a single thank you. There are laws to protect people, but only if you have covered your self in every area.

Here is the sad truth, even if you cover all of your legal obligations to protect yourself you still have no way to fully protect yourself. That’s right you have no way to protect yourself. Let me tell you why, people in other country’s take things, like ideas and use them to make products. How many times have you seen a new product hit the market that is awesome and it gets knocked off in a matter of days. I love the Flash Bender from Expo Imaging. I saw a knock off Flash Bender for penny’s on eBay. I bought one just to make a video to show what a total piece of junk it is in the hopes people would not buy it in the future. I also reported it as a counterfeit to ebay and it was removed from sale just after I got a refund. (*At the bottom of the post is the video I made of the Knock Off Flash Bender)

I have tried to figure out why this stuff happens so often and I have come to the conclusion that most people are cheap. I dont mean that is way to offend you. I mean most people dont like to spend money. In this age of the internet, people have become more frugal. They are well informed, and they find the best deal on stuff they buy. The problem is people dont think who is impacted or how their purchase impacts all of us. People dont think of all of the time and effort and money that people invest to manufacturer the photography related products we as photographers consume. We look at price vs function, heck a softbox is a softbox right? A strobe is a strobe right? A reflector is a reflector right? Well yes and no, yes knock offs will function and they will save you money but at what cost.

Here is the sad truth, I was guilty of it myself. When I was first starting off, I bought all sorts of eBay stuff. I am not talking about OEM stuff, but rather the cheap eBay softboxes, reflectors and light stands, radio triggers, ect. What a huge mistake, I have learned a few things since those days. I have learned that I am only hurting myself. Fist off most if not all of that stuff is JUNK! I lost money because the cost I paid to buy that knock off is gone and I was left having to rebuy the OEM gear anyway, so I had to over pay. I will tell you now the knock off gear does not perform like the OEM, results using the knock off is hit or miss. In the end all I did was loose money, hurt the people that took the time to invent the new gear in the first place, and make profiteers of some not all of people that are basically thieves.

Here is the sick part, I never gave much thought to it. I just saw the price, it is what I wanted and needed and I could afford it. I always knew what was the best product was and who made it. I just never pulled the trigger and bought it. I seemed to always skimp to try and save a few bucks. I might be a unique situation but this was how I was.

This is how I am now, I try to only buy the best, even if I have to save or rent the gear I want to buy. I grew tired of using tools that are substandard. We are only on the planet for a short while in the scheme of things. I want to use tools that are the best the world has to offer. We are all entitled as much as the next person, it is just a matter of knowing this. When you make the personal choice to not settle for second best, the world opens up to you. The secret is to be patient, and work hard. Keep your head down and work toward a goal. I promise you that you will be much happier in life if you start looking at things differently. Most of all, this attitude will show in your work, you will have confidence in your gear.

In closing, it is up to all of us, the consumer, to stop the trend if buying knock off’s. Support the people who invent the gear, support the people who bring new and exciting gear to market. Do not give your money to people who steal ideas and have zero creative vision. If we continually support the great and pioneering companies that develop new and exciting gear will be out of business, they knock offs will go away. if we dont show support, then just maybe there wont be much of the new and exciting gear that we all love so much. Protect the companies that you love, make sure you think about more than just price before you buy. I am sorry this post went so long, however I am very passionate about this topic. Thanks to those who took the to read this post. Thanks for your visit, Thomas Shue

Below I posted a video that will hopefully open your eyes to what is happening.

*Knock Off Flash Bender Video (warning it is 33mins of bitching about a POS)

What is a Circular Polarizer? (CPL)

What is a polarizing filter? It is a Glass filter that is placed in the front of your lens and is used to darken the sky, remove reflections in water, remove the shine from plants and increase the saturation of a scene.

To use a CPL you must place it on your lens. They attach via the treads on the front of your lens. Be sure to look at the thread size on the front of your lens to buy the proper size. The most common sizes are 52,55,58,67,72, and 77mm. CPL’s have the most effect when you make images at a 90 degree angle to the sun. If you are facing North and look East you just turned your head 90 degrees. When you are positioned correctly, turn the outer edge of the filter until the scene looks the way you want, then take a picture.

If you use a CPL on a wide angle lens, beware, for if you do not buy a thin version of a CPL the filter will actually cause vignetting at the corners of the frame. Thin filters can be purchased by Hoya, B+W and the Rolls Royce of filters Heliopan. A decent CPL is a must for any nature photographer, it can be invaluable for blue sky’s and water scenes.

Image by Care_SMC

Image by James Neeley