Working with Complex Lighting Situations

Working with multiple lights in different situations can be intimidating at first, but as you start to learn how light works its not as hard as it seems. Balancing strobe light with sunlight is one question I am asked about often so I decided to make the next lighting tutorial about working with multiple lights in different situations, or in some cases using one light to accomplish the desired affect you're looking for.

I've posted a link on youtube to check out from a recent cover assignment. Click here to view the link.

All ten examples are now available in the store for only 12.95. For more details Click Here.

Have a great week and I will speak to you again soon!

Always Dream Big!

Behind the Scenes with Brides Magazine

I can't believe it's Friday!

I woke this morning to see a blog post from a friend and was totally shocked and elated, so I have to share it here. Marketing Essentials International

To learn more about lighting check out the new tutorial "Ten Ways to Use One Light Source"!

Have a great weekend and shoot more photos!

Always Dream Big

January 2011 Cover

I've always liked women with beautiful nails. There is something sexy and alluring about this to me, but I never noticed a magazine dedicated to nails before. My first cover of the year is shot for Nail Pro Magazine, a new client whom I look forward to working for a lot. This months cover was shot using one light is the exact manner described in lighting description # 10 in my " Ten Ways to Use One Light Source" lighting tutorial.

For the Cover I used my Sony A900 shot with the 85mm lens, and for the detail shots inside the magazine I used the 100 macro and even shot a few behind the scenes images with the Sony NEX 5. A great camera that's usually in my pocket every day. To see how the nails, hair and makeup were done take a look at the behind the scenes video.

To learn more about photographic lighting, including detailed descriptions and diagrams click here.

LEARN MORE

Inspiration: 25 celebrities speak about how they made their dreams come true.

Art: Limited Edition Fine Art Prints

Education: Instructional Photography Video's

Always Dream Big

How to Use One Light

What's the best way to learn about photographic lighting? I believe the best way is to work as a photo assistant, but that's not always easy for everyone. Last week while speaking at Imaging USA I noticed how so many of the people in my program really tuned into the lighting section, so I have decided to share all my knowledge regarding lighting.

To start, I believe it's essential to master using one light first before venturing off to multiple lights.

This shot was done using one light. The light is 20 feet from the subject and coming from a high angle. The idea for this shot was to show an image that felt like a woman was headed out for a night on the town. I instructed the hair and makeup to create a look that felt glamorous and I had the job of creating the feeling in studio. I choose to shoot on a black background to give a sensual evening feel. I used black V-flats to make the shadows stronger and used black flags to create the light effect. To hear more about this shoot check out the video.

The entire instructional video is available from my gallery and shows ten examples of lighting situations with one light. The subjects represent all ethnic backgrounds but the common denominator in the ten examples are that all images were created using only one light source. To master light learn to use one light first and then add lights as you become familiar with how a single light works.

Instructional Photography Video's

Always Dream Big

Meetings and Thank You!

Today was a photo day filled with meetings. The first meeting started at 9:00am and lasted until 2:00pm. I can't stress how important it is to get out and meet with clients. Yes, it is important to do the social media, send emails and the like, but there is nothing like face time with you and your clients or your potential clients.

Tomorrow will be just as intense of a day with an early morning shoot starting at 5:30 a.m. in two locations and then a meeting starting at 4:oo p.m. It will be a busy day but isn't it best that way? Thank you again for all those who came to hear me speak in San Antonio. Remember to put work in discovering what you love most and then spend all your time only shooting that. Friday will be the final day to purchase the PDF from the online store. Starting next week educational video's will be available in the Gallery Store for purchase.

We all need a little inspiration from time to time and my eBook "Successful- How I Turned My Dreams Into Reality" is full of nothing but inspiration. Filled with 25 interviews and photo shoots, Successful shares how 25 African-American famous and familiar subjects made their dreams come true. Each subjects name is a link for additional knowledge on their life and career. Also included are links to behind the scenes video footage and photo's. Successful is available for only 12.95 and available now:

BUY SUCCESSFUL NOW

Here is a sample from Russell Simmons speaking about focus:

Russell Simmons

Focus

You have to stick to your dream. You have to focus. You have to go to work every day and have but one goal.

I am a creative entrepreneur. I get this great idea. I get excited I go to work on it. Then the hard work starts, and my new idea moves very slowly a lot of times, slower than you’d expect. It always seems very slow to me. At the end of the day you’re struggling to promote something or develop something that no one sees but you, that’s what everybody has to get past. That’s the point where people give up, and that to me is the critical point of developing any ideas about a business.

You already have to know that there are going to be a lot of times when people will question what you’re doing and when you’re going to question yourself. But if you had a gut feeling in the beginning, and there’s something there, and you give up-you’re going to regret it. Usually it takes years before people accept you. It took years of my giving parties and working in the record industry before I got a record out of it. And then it took several years before my clothing business took off. People forget it’s not often an overnight success. They don’t know. It had to do with what you are trying to get done. You have to stick to your dream. You have to go to work every day and have but one goal.

My father had the most impact on me while I was growing up. He inspired me to focus and work hard on my focus. My interest in the entertainment business is something that developed when I was in college. I think going to college, just having that experience, allows you to dream. College is one of the best places for people to formulate plans. It really is a place where people make those decisions. The most freedom you have is when you’re in college. It’s the one time you believe that you can really do things, and it’s the first time you can really dream about those things. College is where I started to formulate expectations for my future-and plan.

It started with giving parties. That’s how I learned that young people are always looking for great music with great energy and that they are willing to pay to listen and go dance to it. Giving parties was more of an entrepreneurial thing. Later, I translated that same idea of making people feel like they were a part of something exciting and unique into the record business. That’s one of the things that hip-hop music does for people. It creates a community for them. I wanted to be involved in building that community from the streets up. I was always going to clubs and stuff and promoting parties. It became my source of income, and it also became a passion because the music was hip-hop. There were no hip-hop records yet, but the industry, the artists, and the music became my passion through my giving parties.

Dream Bigger!

Thanks You for Coming!

I am finally back in my hotel room after an amazing day spending time with photographers from around the world at Imaging USA. I had a wonderful time meeting each and everyone of you from as far away as Australia, Spain and Korea. I'm at a loss for words to the crowd of over 600 people who showed up to hear me speak and share my knowledge of photography. Thank you again!

Today is a day I will never forget in many ways. First today is the opening day of my Digital Store, open 24 hours for everyone around the world. Now everyone can enjoy my programs, eBooks and purchase prints.
The Store Address is - www.Gallery.MatthewJordanSmith.com

Todays program in a PDF form is available for purchase. The quicktime version will be available in four smaller segments for purchase in the coming which includes my commentary.

I am also proud to introduce my inspirational ebook: "Successful: How I Turned My Dreams Into Reality". Part 1

Successful includes 25 interviews with famous and familiar celebrities in the world of arts, entertainment, sports and more. Each interview is combined with moving photographs and links to each person for research on their career. There are also video links to give you a look into the making of the book and hear the celebrity in their own words as they share their knowledge on how to made their dream come true. Successful is an updated ebook version of my first book, Sepia Dreams but includes much more. Part 2 will be available soon and stay tuned for a brand new book coming in the next few months.

Always Dream Big and again thank you for coming out today!

How to Make More Money in Photography

How do you make more with your photography? Today I am in San Antonio, Texas as a keynote speaking at Imaging USA. My theme for today is "How To Make More Money and Have More Fun in Photography". My program takes place starting at 3:00pm and will run until 4:30pm. If you're not in San Antonio you will still be able to hear this program and stay tuned for more details which will be coming soon!

If you are at Imaging USA I hope to see you soon! Today, a lot of your photo questions will be answered in this program.

See you soon,
Matthew Jordan Smith

PROGRAM SPONSORED BY SONY

Sunday Morning

At times we make images that remind us of segments of our life. This image, for some reason, reminds me of Sunday morning and going to church.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see you in San Antonio,Texas this Tuesday at Imagine USA. I am a keynote speaker's and will give a program from 3 - 4:30! I hope to see you all there!

Ummmmmmm Blowfish

Since it's the weekend I want to take on a lighter note. I recently found an image from one of my more memorable meals in Japan. Eating blowfish!
Every year people die in Japan from eating blowfish but it is normally from preparing it the wrong way. The restaurant where I had this meal was in Osaka, and they specialize in serving this delicate fish. After the meal, which comprised of blowfish served in varies forms including sashimi, fried and nabe style, one of the waiters took a blowfish out of the tank and taped his head and he puffed up for the images here.

When people see this image and learned that I actually ate blowfish, they want to know how it tastes. Like chicken! Except the best type of chicken you've ever had!

Have a great weekend and take great pictures

How Research Saved a Shoot

I believe we all can learn from the past, so since this is the end of the week I think it's the perfect time to go back and share a story on how doing research saved a shoot and helped make one of my favorite images.

Years ago, when Gregory Hines was still with us I was shooting him for my book project. I spent the week prior to the shoot doing reseach and found out some very interesting things about him. He loved photograph for one, so I thought it would be a great shoot. At the time, I had no idea how the research would help me but my training told me it was important to do.

On the day of the shoot, Gregory walked in and asked me which camera I was shooting right away! I said the Mamiya RZ, a medium format camera. He said, "Oh I love that camera", you get twelve frame per roll right? I said, actually I like shooting 220 format vs 120 as I get twice as many frames without having to stop. He smiled, and said "are you familiar with the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson"? Yes, I said, then he said, "you know he believed in using one lens as he took photographs, and he also believed in only shooting one roll of film at a time! Lets say we shoot in the Cartier-Bresson way today!" Everyone went silent and looked at me, but I just smiled and Gregory went to get changed.

When he came on set, I had my light set and the spot where I wanted him to stand. The first thing he said when he walked on set was, "so you have 24 frames right" and at that point I could see he was serious. He wanted to shoot one roll and leave. As I started shooting he started counting down. Then the research kicked in and I started using it to break him away from counting down. The images I was getting were just the standard types of shot and nothing interesting. We were down to a few frames when I said, "for the last few frames close your eyes and imagine you're in an elevator by yourself tap dancing". He stopped and looked at me and said, "how did you know I love doing that"? By doing my research I'd read that he loved tap dancing in an empty elevator because of the sound. He was so surprised and happy, and at that moment everything changed. He went and took his shoes off and gave me the image you see here and much more. After the roll was over he'd forgotten about leaving and we shot and formed a bond that led to a great interview for my book and a timeless image.

To read the interview with Gregory Hines that accompanies this image the eBook is available for purchae for $12.95. The eBook pdf not only gives you his interview but 24 other interviews with famous and familiar people sharing how they each became successful.

The Gregory Hines image is now also available in a limited signed edition as follows:
Limited Signed Edition of 50 (11x14) – Price - $575.00
Limited Signed Edition of 5 (30x40) - Price - $7500.00



Successful eBook: $12.95


Have a great weekend!

Why Use a Light Meter?

Today I'd like to share my idea's on why I use a light meter. The following video is shot using a Sekonic light meter, my Sony A900, and Profoto strobes. In this video you'll learn how to make a white background the proper way and why its important to have a meter vs just looking at the histograms on the back of your camera.

Enjoy!

Video Link: http://bit.ly/gezUpb

Aphrodite's Love Potion

Voulez-vous avec moi ce soir?
Even for those of us who do not speak French, this phase is something we've heard at one point or another in our lives. A few years ago I was commissioned to do an assignment where I had to photograph a couple kissing and make it seem as if the image was taken from a TV screen. The lighting in my clients comp was fairly untraditional so I had to approach it in a different manner than I would normally. The shot was for Raynal Brandy, and the concept was to show intimacy because Raynal is supposed to be the "love potion" of sorts.

The casting for this assignment was fun because we saw a lot of female models and a lot of male models. The only real concern from my client was that the models have great lips, so in casting this was a big part of what we looked for. Too bad Angelina Jolie wasn't around at the time. While my clients were concerned about lips, I was more concerned about chemistry between the couple and wanted them to meet before the shoot, but it wasn't possible. By the time the models were confirmed we were shooting the next day.

The models never met before the job and on the day of the shoot the male model walked in looking a bit apprehensive. The female model was a very sexy, feminine young woman and was full of confidence and energy. When they were introduced I noticed the male model seemed even more nervous. I went to speak to him in private and learned that this was his very first job as a model in New York City. I spoke in private with the female model, who was an experienced model and told her the situation. She assured me that she would do her best to calm him and asked me to play sexy music, which I already had planned for.

When the shoot started I closed the set to make it comfortable for both models. It may seem like a simple thing to get a shot of a couple kissing but the lips had to be just right and we spent the entire day getting the shot right and shooting different lip situations. We shot images with his hands on her face, then with her hands on his face,but in the end the client decided on a cleaner look.

Going into this shot my client felt the shot would be an intimate kiss, but I felt the sexiest moment was the instant right before the kiss. We shot it both ways and in the end the shot that was selected was that moment just before the intimate kiss.

It was a hard job for the male model but when you think about it he will forever have a great story for his very first modeling assignment.

The shot was done in a traditional manner and enhanced in photoshop on the back in. To show my retoucher what I wanted I shot a photograph of an image on my Sony TV and sent her the example of what we were looking for. The ad ran for a year and the client liked the shot so much they purchase an additional year of usage. We love days like that!

Always Dream Big

Yin & Yang of Life

Yin

Yang

I love photography! I also love sharing what I've learned about photography during my career. A few years ago I had two new interns spoke with them about the art of telling stories with their photographs, vs simply taking a nice picture. They had so many questions I decided it would be better to show.

The first step was to pull out my list of opposites. My opposites list is just what it sounds like, a simple list of opposites that I use to inspire ideas.
Hot - Cold
Big - Small
Wet- Dry
Day - Night
Yin - Yang
Sexy - Innocent

The list goes on and on, but this day we picked yin and yang from the list as a photo theme. I had the interns do research to find out the true meaning of yin and yang, because before you can shoot it you must understand it. As the interns did research I sketched out my idea and assembled a team of hair, makeup and models. The concept would be to show yin and yang as a beauty story with two models. We talked about the concept and then decided the best way to bring the concept to life visually.

I felt a clean, soft light would be best, so I used one Profoto strobe-head with a 74 inch Elinchrom Octabank umbrella. The Octabank is silver on the inside and comes with a diffusion cover to soften the light even more. I opted to shoot it without the cover to give the images more punch. I’ve never been a fan of very flat light and for that reason I never use a soft box.

We used two backdrops to help illustrate the story, one black and the other white. I choice a Caucasian model and an African model and each would be shot on contrasting backdrops for the entire story. The only colors in the story would be black & white. However, once we started doing hair and makeup the hair stylist approached me with the idea of adding one accent color and I loved the idea. He pulled out the chop-sticks from lunch and had one of my interns spray paint them red. Then we spray painted bobby-pins red as well and we were ready to go. An idea is always stronger when you let your TEAM contribute. Together Each Achieves More.

The resulting images have become two of my favorite images and have graced covers all over the world. My interns learned a very big lesson that day on the art of telling a story and using opposites to make powerful spreads.

For the first time ever these images are available in a special limited edition.

YIN
Size: 11x14
SKU # 7327
Price: $575.00
Limited Edition of 100



YANG
Size: 11x14
SKU # 7328
Price: $575.00
Limited Edition of 100

YIN
Size: 30x40
SKU # 7450
Price: $7,500.00
Limited Edition of 10



YANG
Size: 30x40
SKU # 7460
Price: $7,500.00
Limited Edition of 10

Limited Edition - Polar Bear Beauty

It's not every day you come face-to-face with a polar bear but last I had the opportunity to get extremely close.

I was invited by a good friend to travel to Cape Churchill, in Manitoba, Canada to photograph polar bears. At first I was elated with the idea and then I wondered how I'd prepare for the trip. I made a list of things I needed: Warm, hooded parka, long underware, snow pants, wool sweater and hat, thin gloves liners, warm gloves, wool blend socks, my favorite Hudsalva lip moisturizer from Sweden, fleece sweatpants, turtlenecks, scarf, warm rubber sole boots and sunglasses. Then what camera gear to bring? I took two A900 Sony bodies, one A550 body, a 400mm, 300mm, 70-200, 85mm, 50mm, 35mm prime lenses, extra batteries and tons of media cards.

When working with wild animals you never know what you're going to get so you have to be prepared for anything. I wouldn't have time to change lenses if a bear came close so having multiple bodies with different lenses was a must.

To photograph the polar bears I was in a specially made Tundra Buggy designed to keep us safe and out of harms way. At times the bear were far away and at times they would venture close but you never knew when you'd turn your head and find one a few feet away.

We lived on the Tundra buggy for four days and on the third day I spotted a huge polar bear in the distance. At that moment I had the 300mm lens on my Sony A550 on the window mount with a converter, and the 400 on an A900 body. My third body was close by with the 70-200 in the event I needed it . As the bear came closer, other polar bear came out of nowhere and we were all shooting in different directions. For some reason the bear I was shooting seemed to stare right at me and slowly walked toward the vehicle. He came right to the perfect spot where I had just his face and stopped. For what seemed like an eternity he starred at me and I popped off 10 to 15 images before he turned and walked away. My shutter speed was set to 1/500 at F8. In my excitement I'd thrown my gloves off and my fingers were aching but I didn't care because I knew at the moment I had the shot I'd come there for.

This image is now available in signed, limited edition prints.

Polar Beauty

Limited Edition

Size - 11x14

Price: $475.00

Going Pro Podcast

A big thanks to Scott Bourne and Skip Cohen for interviewing me for today's podcast. I truly enjoyed speaking with them about photography and sharing my love for the craft. Please check out the podcast at GoingPro Podcast Episode #27

Next week is Imaging USA in San Antonio, TX and I will speak next Tuesday, January 18th from 3:00pm to 4:30pm. Come by and say hi. To learn more about Imaging USA and all the great photo classes and speakers go to Imaging USA.

Sponsored by Sony.

Hard Light and The Comeback

Choosing the right light for the job is critical to success with your images. If you have become comfortable using the same light for every job it is time to break out of your comfort zone and try something new. You only get the fruit when you go out on a limb so push yourself to try new lights from time to time and then think about which light is right for your images.

For this shot of Winona Ryder, who can be seen this month in Black Swan, I used two hard lights. The main light is a profoto head with a magnum reflector. The magnum reflector can be zoomed in or out to get the desired look and feel you want in your image, so I had the main light at a wider setting. The backlight which is lighting her hair was also a magnum reflector on a boom but was positioned to the spot position. Outside of the lens view we had a 4x4 black floppy, which is basically like a large black card to block the backlight from hitting my lens and causing flare.

Now the fun part. I was shooting black clothing on a black background but I still wanted detail in her clothing without overexposing her face. To get detail in the black I needed to overexpose by a 1/3 to a 1/2, but in doing so I'd also overexpose Winona's face. To achieve the look I wanted I used a 1/3 net to take the expose down on her face. The net was half way between the light and Winona and only affecting her face.

Light Reading: F 16.5
Camera: F 16.0

Have a great weekend and always dream big!

Sunlight and Sex Appeal

Sunlight can be used in many different ways including using it to show the absence of light in an image. Whenever I want a sexy feeling or situation in a shot I usually do the same thing I do when setting the mood in an intimate situation. I turn down the lights or "turn down the light" on my subjects by showing their silhouette. When we shoot images that show less of the subject and give more of a feeling our images become timeless, intimate and take on a sensual feeling.

To achieve this look shoot backlit images, where the sun, or light, is behind your subject vs in front of the subject. Expose your images based on the lighter part of the image vs the backlit subjects. This will keep your subjects darker and give a sensual feeling and mood to your images. Become keenly aware of light and shadows. For more impact when showing your images pair a backlit shot next to a front lit shot for contract and impact.

Always Dream Big!
Matthew Jordan Smith

Last of Holiday Cheer

It's always fun to photograph friends,but even more so when they give you free reign to do whatever you'd like. During the holidays I was asked to photograph family friends. I've worked with them for years and photographed them before for their holiday photos. I didn't want to do the same thing or just make standard portraits because they can get that done anywhere. I told them I had an idea and wanted to send them a story board.

My girl and I started doing research and found images I wanted to fashion my shoot after. I've always loved Norman Rockwell paintings and let some of his holiday work inspire me with my shoot. My friends loved the idea and I went to work putting my team together. My friends still wanted a few classic portraits but my main focus was on the conceptual images. We started off shooting at my place and did a simple large umbrella light as my main light and I let my white background fall off. The spill from the main light was enough to give the white background some illumination and that was all I needed for the studio part. We shot at my place first in the morning from 8-12, then drove to my friends place and finished the shoot there. The entire shoot took about nine hours in total and everyone involved had a great time, but I was exhausted at the end of the day with a big smile.

For the shots in the home I wanted to shoot the family sitting all around the table and have them in different clothing and positions. Years ago I'd shot a story for Tyra Banks and her show America's Next Top Model where I had to shoot the models being both male and female celebrity couples so I know how to go about doing the shoot.

For a shoot like this planning is very important. Before the shoot I went to scout the house and found where I wanted to do each of my shots. I looked not only at the space but the light at certain times of the day so I knew what to expect and what type of lighting to bring. After scouting the house I went to a movie prop house and got all the silver ware, fake grages, fake bread and more. My girlfriend wrapped the Christmas gifts for the door shot and we went to work. The advantage of scouting the location before hand was it let me know what I could use in terms of lighting. My my place I used a large Pro Big profoto umbrella as the main light. At my friends home there was no room for that so I used small whilte umbrella's with removable backs as my main source. Very often with smaller umbrella's I will bounce the light into the umbrella's and then bounce that light off the walls to make it softer. The effect is very pleasing most of the time and it worked well for the dinner table shot.

I had to use a tripod for these images and the result was a group of classic images I hope I can look back on years from now and be proud of.

When I told my friends about my idea for the dinner shot they didn't really get it at first, but they trusted me still. For the dinner shot I had both Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance change three times. The kids only had to change twice but still it was a lot of back and forth for one shot. In the end it was worth it and made for a day we will all never forget. Direction was key during the dinner shot and the door way shot. I had to make sure the energy was right and that the kids were able to give me what I wanted also. The kids are four so I had to be fast and not give them a change to get tired. To keep their attention in the right spot I had my girlfriend sit across from them as a person to focus on,(it also made it easy for her to shoot great behind the scenes images with my A55). :-)

Always Dream Big

Looking for Light

There are times when the weather isn't always the best, but sometimes those days can be a blessing in disguise. On the day I photographed these images it was a wet, miserable day. I was down about the weather because I had a model, makeup artist and a class I was teaching along with a friend in Kyoto, Japan. The entire time we were wondering if we should go to the location but decided it was best to just go and see if the rain stopped or became worse. We were lucky! The rain never really stopped but it became more of a light drizzle and it kept people away from an area which would have been crowded with tourist normally.

The location was a bamboo forrest in Kyoto, Japan and the light rain, or mist, gave the shots a quality we would not have had if the sun was out in full force. It was one of my favorite days and we had the location almost all to ourselves for hours. A great day.

When shooting on an overcast day you still must look for the direction of the light. As you become more familiar with light you can easily see this, but at first it may seem hard. If you are new to this use your camera to take a meter reading in one direction and then turn your subject around and meter from the other side. This will show you the difference in exposure and make you keenly aware of where your light is coming from. The other thing you must be aware of when working on overcast days is that the light can go up a stop or two and you won't notice it, so always be aware of your light. My assistants are always surprised when I announce that the light is up or down on an overcast day because they can't see the change yet, but the more you study light the easier it will become. The next time you are out on an overcast day watch the light and notice how often it goes up or down. The more you do this the better your eyes will become at noticing small changes in light.

For these images I shot at ISO 800. My F stop was 2.0 @ 1/40th of a second shutter. Very low light conditions but it also added to the mood and feel of these shots. I love shooting wide open at times and focusing on my subjects and letting the background blow out. For these shots I used a 35mm 1.4 lens. Since I was shooting so slow I didn't want to use a heavier zoom lens and it would affect the sharpness of my images and the fix lenses are usually sharper. Zoom lenses have become better over the years but I still love my fixed lenses.

Always Dream Big!

Shooting Wells Fargo Ad's

This week I will share a lot about lighting and as I mentioned in my previous post, I've learned everything I know about lighting from watching and studying the sun. How to make hard light, how to make soft light, creating diffused light and much more.

I recently shot an advertising assignment where I had to shoot three ad's over the course of a few days. All three ad's were shot in different situations and required different types of lighting. One day we had to make it look like a sunny day even though it was overcast. Another day we had to make a sunny day look soft and then we had to light a class room. Being aware of sunlight every day can teach you so much. Remember the sun is only one source of light but it gives us so many different types of lighting situations. Learn to look at the shadows and learn where the light is coming from. Even on rainy or snow days you can still learn a lot about light if you just pay attention to the light. The more you pay attention to light the better you will become at recreating what you see on your images.

Learn to look at the light and notice the time of day and what angle the sun is coming from. Is it high and giving you shadows under the eyes, or is it coming directly at your subjects and filling their face? Is it coming from behind and bouncing off a building or the sand on the beach? The more you notice the better your eye will become at seeing and understanding how light works.

To shoot this assignment I used an H2 med. format body.

To learn more about shooting on location check out the instructional videos available at the Gallery Store. CLICK HERE

Always Dream Big,
Matthew Jordan Smith