We caught up with Elias Wessel on a shoot this week. Here’s what he had to say:
CK: How did you become a photographer? Describe your career development?
EW: I would have to say that graffiti was the catalyst for my love of art. At the age of 16 meeting Sigmar Polke at his huge retrospective in Bonn, Germany made me even more interested in fine arts. Following that, I started to draw and then had paintings exhibited about 2 years later. Also during that time, my best friend, who I had a crush on, moved to London. Our only source of communication was through mail. I wanted my mails to look good and make her feel special on top of what I wrote to her. I created my own envelopes by cutting out my favorite pictures out of hundreds of magazines. I collected thousands of tearsheets and still remember vividly pictures by David La Chapelle, Guy Bourdin, Jeff Koons and others who caught my breath. Since then I have always wanted to be able to re-create these wonderful feelings that those pictures gave me and started to draw pictures and take photographs of everything I loved.
CK: More specifically, was there one or more life changing moments that helped you move to the next level and become the photographer that you are now? Perhaps a big break, a perfect mentor, a movie, a mystical moment?
EW: What incredibly changed me and my work was the break up after 8 years with my former personal and professional friend and partner in 2008. I had to start all over and ask myself what makes me unique as a photographer. I figured the only possible answer can be: Myself! Beginning with my “Falling Up” story my work tells so much about me and that what makes it special. However I am very often asked how I consider myself as a photographer and my style. There’s no straight answer which feels totally adequate to me. You can say it is the way I play with time and freeze a moment or a motion. V magazine recently published a selection of my work and wrote “When time stops, your pose had better be fierce”. You can mention the saturated colors or the sort of magical realism. It can be cheeky happiness, subliminal concepts, beauty or sensitiveness. It always depends on the content of the story I am working on. Those who know me can say it may be my personal experiences which are always somehow reflected in my photographs. I would say as everything changes and develops in life all this can change and develop from picture to picture as well. There are moments every day which make me and my work more and more sophisticated. You just have to be aware of them.
CK: How do you learn your techniques?
EW: Working at advertising agencies, design bureaus as well as assistant, production and studio manager made me understand the different parties who are involved in the process of creating photographs. I know about their expectations, their thinking, their needs, their fears and about the whole process from the point of view of all participating sides. Studying with a huge focus on theory helped me to achieve a general idea about any field of the arts, a basic knowledge about anything which deals with art, visual communication and its reception. It can be a deep source for new ideas. Schooling didn’t really teach me about the technical side of photography or lighting. That is something I learned by assisting and working in the fields of photography but even more by realizing one personal project after another. It taught me how to create, communicate and realize ideas. And it can give you the time to experiment and to develop. A while ago I met David La Chapelle here in New York and I remember how he reminded me how fortunate I can be of being able to do my own thing. Even if it is not without a struggle. Studying also taught me to get up and motivate myself every single day to work on my ideas because nobody really cared about what I did. It can be dangerous depending of what kind of character you are but it also can teach you confidence in what you do and that you are the only one who is responsible for anything you do.
CK: Who are your photo heroes? Or who has inspired your career?
EW: There are so many. It wouldn’t make sense to drop names. Most of all I´m inspired by the reason why I´m doing this. I want to experience a feeling, that goes into bowels. But I also want to create a transcendency so that this feeling reaches the viewer. I also find very interesting the intersection between fashion and fine art photography and how to merge those genres. Typical fashion images focus on beauty and clothing as their central elements. To me it is not fashion itself but the image that suppose to fascinate the viewer. I believe that this is what appeals to clients who really care about being exclusive. At the end it all comes to the feeling you get from the picture you are looking at, not just the picture of the product.
CK: What is the worst part about doing what you do?
EW: If I could I would be out there taking pictures everyday. A huge part of photography deals with everything else than creating and taking pictures.
CK: What is the best part?
EW: All my works you see in this story have given me the most satisfaction because there are a lot of photographs that don’t make it. Every picture I’ve taken is from the past but it is the ones in the future that I’m looking forward to taking most.
Learning from the Pro
EW: What are we going to shoot today?
“Falling Up”. A personal project which will be exhibited in New York and also be published as editorial. Falling is something involuntarily. Something threatening you get forced to. In contrast “Up” is a synonym for success. This aporia results out of the two contrary moving directions: Down = falling and Up = Up. A conflict which was indissoluble at that current period of my life. “Falling” as well as “Up” relate to my very private and professional areas of life which were strongly linked over 9 years. “Falling Up” is based on personal experiences, thoughts, symbols and metaphors. Analogies to “Mary Poppins”, “Rumpelstiltskin” and the “Shock Headed Peter” finally allow to express my emotions as well as making a statement about the current art and fashion industry. “Falling Up” is a modern fairy tale out of my personal past, present and future.
CK: How did you learn how to do what you are about to show us?
EW: It’s probably the same answer I gave when asking me how I learned my techniques. To sum it up in one word I would have to say it’s experience.
CK: What tools are you using to make this image?
EW: 503 CW Hasselblad with a Leaf Aptus II – 7 with lenses from 25mm to 150mm. SBI ParaFb 170, Pulsoflex 80×80, Verso A4 and A2, beauty dish and P70 reflector, 2 Pulso heads, Ringflash P, the sun, clouds as well as my heart and my brain.
CK: Why did you choose these tools?
EW: “Falling Up” was shot on location in Long Island City, New York with a great mix out of different set ups including day and night shots. So being flexible without sacrificing quality and to be able to control every situation on set
was my first priority. I took advantage of the para 170 using it as a soft filling light. With the heads and reflectors I was able to adapt to every single situation, setting highlights, focus on different parts of the scene. The Verso allowed me to add crunch and a little magic at the best possible speed.
CK: Did you use competing products in the past? What made you change?
EW: I worked with pretty much all available lighting and camera equipment and used everything from 35mm to large format cameras – film and digital. I’m in the lucky position that I got into photography by using film and digital equipment at the same time. The experience of working in the dark room, processing my own films, making my own contact sheets and prints help me to understand what happens in digital photography and post production. Same with the lighting gear. I always like to test all equipment which might be of any interest. Currently I prefer working with the 503CW Hasselblad and the Leaf Aptus II always in combination with broncolor lights. It just works for me and gives me the consistency and flexibility I need. The decision of the equipment I use as well as the decision of shooting in studio or on location depends on the pictures I have in mind. Not the other way around. The cooperation with Bron Imaging Group is based on how I use my lighting which plays a big role in my work and gives it it’s consistency. No matter if I have a huge set up of lights or just a bare bulb in combination with available light. It always defines the look of my pictures and bron recognizes this. But this cooperation is more than that. The guys from bron are part of my team, part of my photo-family and they care about my work and about photography just as much as I do. That is what really matters to me.
ENTRY DEADLINE – MARCH 8 Win a broncolor MobilA2R KIT !
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
WIN-Initiative’s 10 BEST 10 International Competition is presented by SONY and is a definitive showcase of the very best of contemporary photography. This photo competition offers excellent exposure to both leading edge and emerging photographers that like to think outside the box. The competition is open to any creative photo artist and the subject matter may range, but we’re mostly interested in your cutting-edge personal work. WIN provides an opportunity for international editorial exposure plus a peer review of your work by esteemed judges, each influential in their field of expertise. Winners will be selected on the basis of concept and originality, as well as coherence in style.
We recently caught up with broncolor user and super prolific photographer Colin Andersen after he shot soem new video footage. We continue to see more and more of our community of still photographers making the jump into video bringing new and exciting perspectives to the moving image. – CK
By Guest Contributor: Colin Andersen:
I recently made my first steps into shooting footage.
Having never really shot anything more than home video – l had my fair share of concerns. The actual shooting was concern enough, but more of a worry was editing it all in Final Cut Pro – which l had absolutely no idea how to even launch let alone edit an entire sequence!
To compound the stress, this project was for a client, and it had to be done in just over a week. The video was to appear on the client’s web site while it was being rebuilt for a new launch. The clip was intended to be a teaser for the fall catalogue (which l am also shooting), and would be themed around a girl being shipwrecked.
To speed up production and make life easier, everything was shot at my home, which saved on permits and everything else that can cause headaches while shooting on location. Camera used was the Canon 5DMark 2.
Here is a breakdown clip by clip on how it was created.
Pic.1 This was actually the last piece of footage we shot, basically because the light was nice this time of day, which was late afternoon. To create the blowing curtains effect we used a Bowens wind machine just out of frame and the panning motion was achieved by using a Foba studio stand, which has a very smooth fluid action. In FCP l ramped the speed down by about 50%. Lens-Canon 85mm F1.2
Pic.2 This was shot around 7:00 am, again to catch the nice light. The challenge of this shot was to get the models’ timing right so the gates closed just as she passed through them. A few practice runs through and we were able to get it pretty right. My intention was to have the model’s hair blow just as she passed through the gates using the Bowens wind machine. What actually happened on the very first take was the gates closed on the wind machine cord shearing it and tripping the safety switch which cut the power to the entire house, including the gates. Scrambling to keep working while the light was still nice we got the power back on within 10 minutes and ended up using my daughters jumping castle blower to replace the Bowens wind machine. Lens-Canon 80-200mm f2.8.
Pic.3 Again using my Foba studio stand as a dolly, l did the panning shot using natural window light. Lens- Canon 50mm macro.
Pic.4 A crucial element to the story is the shipwreck. Obviously not having the budget to create such a scene l decided to show it using a newspaper. I created the newspaper in Photoshop, printed it out and backed it onto normal newspapers. Using the Foba again as a dolly, l panned across the set while my wife followed shining a broncolor head (Scoro A4s Pack with a P45 reflector) through glass bricks. Lens Canon 50mm macro.
Pic.5 The two water sequences were shot on a pool ledge. The pool tiles were hidden by laying down black weighted velvet. A normal beach umbrella was used to shade the scene, as the sun was directly overhead and very harsh. In FCP l increased the contrast and pumped up the blues. Lens –Canon 80-200mm
Pic.6 Shot immediately after the water scene while the models hair was still wet, we moved straight into the studio. The model was positioned in front of a white seamless background and lit by two broncolor heads with P-45 reflectors. The lighting on the model was achieved by placing a Bron head in a Mola dish to the right and a broncolor bank light to the left. The great thing about this set up is the ability to also shoot stills by simply syncing over to flash.
Pic7. This was actually the very first piece of footage l shot because l thought it would be the most difficult. Luckily, it was fairly straightforward. Using fishing line hot glued around the bottle, l put it into the pool and using a fishing rod was able to keep it submerged and bobbing around. To make the waves we simply just used a big broom to push the water around as well as turning on the water feature (like a waterfall). In FCP l pumped up the blues, desaturated it, and then darkened the water for mood. Lens-Canon 85mm.
“THE PMA HOT PICK AWARD 2010″
for the innovative SNIPER-STRAP camera support system. Overall innovation, the integrated shock absorber and customer-friendliness impressed the jury.
It is a long tradition: Every last day of the show the jury (selected international dealers) – meets and makes their choice. The PMA ist the most important camera and photoshow for the dealers and retailers worldwide. This year it took place in Anaheim/ California.
Wolfgang-Peter Geller, founder, designer and owner of the “two sunny companys” CALIFORNIA SUNBOUNCE and SUN-SNIPER:
“Who better knows what the customer wants than the dealers? They are at the front every single day and listen carefully to their customers. I am very proud that the SNIPER STRAP SYSTEM got their vote”
Click HERE for more information on the Sun Sniper Strap.
Want to find a Sun Sniper Strap? Check out our US DEALER list.
Each year broncolor publishes a famous photography calendar with images from the finest photographers in the world. The calendar is always beautifully printed – it is a highly coveted collectors item if you are luck enough to get one. The 2010 calendar features images from New York City based fashion and beauty photographer Sarah Silver.
The jury of the 60th International Calendar Show including Wirtschaftsministerium Baden-Württemberg (Ministry for Economic Affairs Baden- Württemberg), Graphischer Klub Stuttgart Deutschland (Graphical Club Stuttgart, Germany), Kodak GmbH, Deutschland (Kodak GmbH, Germany), Verband Druck und Medien in Baden-Württemberg (Association of Printing and Media in Baden-Württemberg) has awarded our 2010 calendar, with pictures from Sarah Silver, the special prize for the best cover picture. We are extremely pleased about this honour and would like to share the award with the entire calendar team:
PDN one of the most important journals of professional photography has chosen the generator broncolor Scoro A4S to power pack of the year. The PDN Gear Guide is one of the definitive sources of quality reviews and ratings of photography equipment. We are delighted that PDN has chose the broncolor Scoro as the Best in Class Studio Flash Generator.
There is no other power pack on the market that can shoot as consistently and as fast – both in terms of flash duration and recycling time – as the broncolor Scoro. And no other power pack has as much control or ease of use as the Scoro.
Over the weekend we were lucky enough to get a few words from Ryan Enn Hughes about his latest video project for the Winter Olympics. Here is Ryan’s input below:
In late 2009 I was commissioned by The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad to create a film project that “celebrated the human body in motion”.
Experimenting and collaborating closely with Krump Dancer Amadeus Marquez, I wanted to capture the energy of his dance form in a unique way.
The final project – RGB MOVE – was shot entirely with digital still photographs and lit with photographic strobes. It is a motion project that blurs the lines between photography and filmmaking.
I have always been drawn to interdisciplinary production – combining the best tools and methods from a variety of media. Adding Broncolor’s Scoro A4S into the mix when conceptualizing RGB MOVE, allowed us to push technical boundaries, and in turn craft an aesthetic for the project that captured the energy of our subject.
A Special Thanks to Dave at Amplis in Canada for turning us on to Ryan’s work. This video also available on the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Cultural Committee Site.
And to beat the aberration of the Buggles ’79 hit right away with one breath to death: No, definitely not! Digital didn’t kill the Photo-Star! So if you’re one of them, don’t bother reading further, your status quo is secured! Take a break and enjoy the park!
I have had several talks recently during which I was told that the time of the high rollers were over particularly taking into consideration the omnipresence of the internet and the economic realities. I don’t believe it. There are always going to be shooting stars. We want them, we need them, and they are the lighthouses of our industry.
It is intriguing that the guys on the top are almost always the first in line who adapt new technology into the field. This doesn’t just happen because the high-rollers have better means or that they are favored in their exposure to the latest. At the end it is simply intelligence and vision, motivated by whatever brought them up-front in the race!
So what is the rest of the crowd doing? How did working-life for photographers change in general since the color-pixels kicked the silver-grains butt and how can we live positively with these changes?
Changes have side effects; the dinosaurs could play a great tune on that theme.
What also happened to the profession of the photographer during and with the digital revolution is that it has indeed lost its power (assuming that it ever had some).
Nowadays a lot of people who love photography (and I am the first to admit this) have a nostalgic look back. In the past more money was spent on actual photo-production; in today’s world budgets tend to shift into post-production. Common knowledge dictates that if you want to control your “look” and your “end-product”, you better control the post.
A lot of shooters have to bargain for this control with “free” retouching and to make a long story short – often our profession replaces the work that was executed by photo-labs back in the good old celluloid times.
Also, the “oh, we fix it later”-mentality is not just encouraging a drop of the involved crafts-levels such as lighting, make-up etc.
It degraded the photographer’s position. If the person at the camera doesn’t know how to rule the digital technology the art-director might as well direct the talent while watching closely the computer-screen. We all have seen it: Entitled or not, suddenly everybody who can grasp a look on the screen comes up with a judgmental opinion which doesn’t necessarily always have a positive, constructive effect on the work-flow and focus on set.
It might be a little bit too rough to say that our profession is in danger to degenerate to an armada of botton-pushing space-monkeys whose raison d’être is limited to the production of page-filling content. But it is more obvious than ever before that more and more “content over quality” can be found in all media-outlets.
In his teaching on Samurai Philosophy Miyamoto Musashi explains very diligently that they are TWO ways to look at every situation and that the same correct principle is valuable for both “Small Scale” and “Big Scale”. Neglect of these principles will be punished with defeat; it is that simple!
As an example for “Small Scale” the ever-so popular look for reassurance on the screen of the digital backs comes to my mind. It has already changed the instinctive “shooting-with-the-guts” approach. The number of “magical mistakes” is reduced.
Plus – with digital a lot of photographers really mutated to machine gun shooters and tend to produce higher quantities of images. Why? Obviously because the first superficial thought is that pixels cost less money and naturally everybody, young or old, grace to the boost of inexpensive photo-Viagra loves to keep the finger on the trigger while the model is doing her job! More and longer is better! Well, at least the probability to catch one good frame is bigger!
Maybe I am getting hold of the wrong end of our stick. So let’s swing over to the “Big Scale”.
First, let’s be honest the popularization of photography to the masses through digital didn’t help us to conserve our “special” status.
Secondly on broadband the smaller quality requirements of the Internet combined with the fast development and pushing of ISO numbers over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND still appeals utopist but in reality it represents a threat to artificial quality lighting. Why spend money on lighting equipment rental if we can shoot available light and anyway the photographs are so small on the internet-page, who cares?
The next photographer who intends to light beautifully with Strobe, HMI, Tungsten or Flourescent must be a master-hustler or has to own his own equipment which sets us back to the cave-days before rental.
Beside this I believe firmly that we will see a stronger polarization of photography in the future; the writing is on the wall! Much more fast food for the majority of photographers and just a smaller number of us will have the opportunities to dine in wonderful French Restaurants and enjoy the exquisite privileges of great productions.
On a side-note: Will printed paper/magazines as THE most important outlet die and disappear?
I am not convinced that this is the case but before its total extinction paper will certainly take more and more hits – the closing of magazine titles of the leading publishing-houses during the last month is the best witness.
The newspaper industry, as we knew it, is certainly dead – tomorrow’s paper with today’s news has no chance to compete with the instant gratification of the electronic media.
It might be right that very specialized magazines on paper will still continue to exists and sell well but I myself know for a fact that my fashion-shots will be used for the ecommerce-business of on-line-magazines.
The deadly sin that we creative people commit, is that we see ourselves as far too important in the general commercial view! Bitter truth is that at the end of the day it comes down to business. Numbers talk and decide our faith!
Are your feelings hurt? Harsh words? Too hard? I don’t think so! A taste of sarcasm and exaggeration could help for once, no? Absolutely!
Please, show some self-irony and gallows humor, nobody else than a handful of other shooters are reading this blog anyway, so it stays between us.
Recently I was confronted with a situation where I had to give away all my photo-files right at wrap-time on an editorial shoot. Total loss of my editing/postproduction/“director’s cut” privileges.
All I can say is that it all worked out to my advantage. There are always ways to turn a bad situation into a good. Read Doctor Wayne Dyer.
It does not help at all to digress into some “in the old days everything was better” talk – if you want to do this on an exhibition opening night with a glass of champagne in your hand, be my guest and know that this will only gain you some false compassion from your competitors.
If you want to survive in the jungle of the competitive New York photo-industry you have to be part of the evolution.
Let’s face it – the way that we photographers were sold on digital was a big mind-blow. Our life didn’t become easier; it became more complicate and complex, even more expensive! If you want it or not – we are slaves to the machine!
That’s why it is imperative to find the right balance with all the other side shows and to stay in the loop BUT it has to happen intelligently, efficiently – knowing where the state of the arts is, how to adapt it to your personal needs and not taking every technical progress as a “Do or Die”, that’s amateur.
Last November I assisted a great Seminar featuring the Canon 7D presented by Jeff Fuller of Canon at Fotocare on West 22nd Street. I was particularly curious about the video-capacities of the new body.
It is amazing how fast the developments run but what I find more relevant regarding the new video-capable camera-systems is the question what affect the overwhelming hype around video for photographers, particularly for the Internet, has on our work.
Is it really true that photographers must provide video in the future or is this just another way to sell me a feature in a camera that I don’t really need? As a war correspondent in a conflict-zone it becomes handy not having to carry around both a stills and a video camera, but how about the advertising-battle-field of Manhattan?!
What makes us believe that video is the savior of our hurting profession?
What makes photographers believe that they could save their skin with video after the inflationary appearance of images has devaluated the stock-image market for example (there exist also other reasons for this development but that’s a different story)?
One day when I picked up some gear at T.R.E.C. Rental, I discussed the issue briefly with Ken Kobayashi, a great guy and one of the best veterans of the Rental-Industry here in New York City. He showed me some little video on the website of a big retail fashion-brand where jeans were featured with a model’s 360º-turn.
Ken’s point made sense! Why hire a separate video-crew if it is more cost-effective to let the still-photographer shoot both?!
The moral of the tale is that Video most definitely has to be part in the package of any successful commercial photographer in the future. Why not – who knows what’s waiting down the road!
Which finally allows me to close the circle:
Even though with digital our photo-life has become more complex we have no choice, we need to stay in the process of development, creatively and technically!
Plus there are so many strategies and tricks to regain control and make you important as the leading man/woman on the “Small and Big Scale”.
If you are getting tired of spending so much time in editing because you over-shot just let it be a lesson and fall back again on your shooting-instincts. Shoot less but better!
If the focus of your team is sabotaged by its own curiosity, choose to shoot into card or hide your digital technician and computer in a corner or behind a V-Flat (if the situation and your client allows it).
If the photography-market will polarize more and more between fast food and fine dining and you don’t like to eat at McDonalds you better develop a distinguished photography-style that makes you out-standing and recognizable. This will make the negotiations around post-production much easier. You will have much more clout to place your editing and your preferred retoucher on the job!
And to summarize > Let’s not cry about past glory! Like a prize-fighter we are only as good as our last fight. In commercial photography, whoever wants to be successful has to be part of the technical and creative evolution. And if you don’t want to make the extra effort, somebody else will do it and fill the gap you left. Rule the technique so your creativity can unfold!
Because that’s what the big boys are always doing . . . and at the end, remember – that is why Digital won’t kill the Photo-Star . . . and that’s what you are . . .
The expectations of clients booking photographers for web based products shots has changed over the last decade. Photographers are not only expected to produce traditional two dimensional images they’re also expected to produce seamlessly rendered 360 degree views. The issue is two fold, how do you mechanically move the product in a way that is repeatable without having to climb into your set, worrying about jostling the lights and the product and having to restart the same shot over and over because you’ve bumped something. Second, once you have the captures, manually having to move through each processing program to get to the final flash file is laborious and time consuming, in a high production studio this means lost revenues.
The FOBA TURNA turntable provides high-precision, reproducible motorized rotation of the object, and is complemented by a user-friendly, intuitive control software and a highly innovative, fully automatic imaging software, which can produce up loadable flash animations in .swf format in as little as 120* seconds.
The FOBA TURNA is a modular system. With an extensive range of fittings, and platforms the TURNA can handle any of your shooting needs.
FOBA TURNA has been developed by photographers for photographers. Its brilliant functionality is enhanced by an outstanding design.
How did you become a photographer? Describe your career development?
My father was a photographer, a commercial photographer in fact. He did weddings as long as I can remember, but it was his portraits that interested me most. I sort of “tripped” into photography with all the photographic gear that surrounded me. What started as an ongoing hobby, turned very serious in high school when I was brought on to the Correspondent Staff of the Sun Sentinel, a major newspaper in the South Florida area. It was there that I saw my future, and paid keen attention to my desire to create images.
2. More specifically, was there one or more life changing moments that helped you move to the next level and become the photographer that you are now? Perhaps a big break, a perfect mentor, a movie, a mystical moment?
I had two muses from high school who from their abundance of images came an abundant flow of requests from people in their network. A network that grow to over hundred individual “models” durning my five year wedding spree. And “that” is where my creativity grew.
3. How do you learn your techniques?
The answer to that question both plain and still PRICELESS. I’ve learned virtually EVERY technique from actually making mistakes. Real mistakes that ended with me posing the questions: “Why did that happen?” and “What should I do instead?”. The latter question leads me to trial and error. Trial as in “intentionally” re-creating the mistakes (and any variance on them), and taking the time to identify the circumstances. Error as in directly avoiding the mistakes by doing perhaps the opposite when the circumstances arise once more.
In essence, my techniques come readily, easily, and successfully from a wealth of understanding “what not to do”.
4. Who are your photo heroes? Or who has inspired your career?
Easy – Patrick Demarchelier. His work is uncomplicated and beautiful. His images are achieved seemingly without effort. He seems to quickly establish a rapport with his subjects and is blessed with their best moods at the time of shooting. The end results are as minimalistic (in terms of editing) as the original state to begin with.
5. What is the worst part about doing what you do?
Editing. Yes, I could share my workflow with a retoucher, but that often means that the last hand to touch the work is not that of the original photographer. I have always questioned the merits of that. None the less, I do edit my own work, and because I dislike it so, I have developed several methods for streamlining my work flow so that I take equal to if not less time at the computer than during the actual shoot itself.
6. What is the best part?
The best part is either my actually “seeing” the image in the seconds before touching the camera, or “seeing” the reaction that the subject(s) have afterwards when showing them why I was so happy in the first place.
1. What are we going to shoot today?
Four poster images over two days for SR Perrott, Inc. who is the distributor of Miller Lite and Coors Light beers in the Daytona Beach, Florida area. The posters are promotional pieces for the 2010 Daytona 500 NASCAR event of which SR Perrott is also a sponsor.
2. How did you learn how to do what you are about to show us?
The simple answer is that I learned through years of experience. The more creative answer is that I learned through patience and the basic premise of focusing the lighting and camera on only what is important to the client, and leave the rest to the viewers imagination.
3.What tools are you using to make this image?
*Nikon D3 with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
*Verso A4 (x1)
*Topas A2 (x2)
*Pulso G2 lampbase (x2)
*Ringflash C
*Beauty Dish with diffuser (x2)
*Para 220 Soft with Ringflash P
*RFS Transmitter
*Sekonic L-758dr lightmeter
*Gitzo Systematic tripod
*Really Right Stuff Ballhead with bracket & various plates
4. Why did you choose these tools?
Because I don’t yet own any Scoro packs! The Ringflash C was essential to give me even light coverage across the surface of the image, with emphasis on the areas that the models encompass. Also, in order to remain softly lit throughout the image area, I had to use the beauty dishes in relation to the PARA 220 Soft. The reason that I chose the PARA 220 Soft is because despite the nature of the poster, the main subjects are the models of which are on a large canvas (the NASCAR). Otherwise, I would have used a greater number of heads with P65 reflectors to compliment a single Ringflash C as my my main light.
5. What features of the equipment that you use make it easier to do your job?
The PARA 220 Soft has a distinctly wide spread of light that works favorably with wide-angle lenses. The Ringflash C is just one of my favorites as an all-in-one light source. I love the robust nature of the Verso A4 and if only by appearance & audible sounds, lends itself to establish the feel of an intense photoshoot.
6. Did you use competing products in the past? What made you change?
This could lead to short novel. Yes, I started with Norman (over a decade of use and familiarity), then moved over to the Pro-7 line of Profoto (six solid years of use), before switching vigorously to Broncolor. I really would need a great deal of time to explain the decisions and nuances as to why I switched, but to sum it up – drawing from my years of experience and knowledge, Broncolor offered a superior product, and NOT by a marginal amount.
Andre divides his time between NYC and Miami. Andre kicks off a traveling seminar series starting in the North East this month. For more information please email us at events@bronimaging.com
