Knittage simply lit

When Inny needed some snazzy new shots of her knitted wares recently, for use on her blog and online shop, we used the absolute bare-basics approach of 'one camera, one lens, one light'. The location/studio arrangement was also just about as simple as you can get - a living room coffee table table.

What you see in the picture here is the lighting set-up... A single SB-800 with Pocket Wizard (for wireless connection to the camera); attached to the front is a diffuser panel (for nice, soft, even light). A Magic Arm was used to support the rig just off to camera right, positionable back and forth, left to right, as required.

The camera, incidentally, was hand-held.

You'll notice daylight striking the 'set' from the front - this was taken out of the equation not by closing the curtains, but my letting the flash be the sole light source (and adjusting settings accordingly). Flash light is perfect for close-up detail work, as it is very clean and crisp.

As many of you know, I don't believe in relying on post-production in order to 'save' poor technique - clearly, it makes far more sense to get things looking the way you want them at the time of capture. Case in point - the image you see up top is essentially unaltered.

The most Photoshop work that was applied here was to the image which ended up as Inny's banner - a simple case of choosing the crop and superimposing her logo, to end up with this:


Photo shoots are expensive, time consuming, stressful affairs, right? Nope. This little lot took all of about 10 minutes from setting up to taking everything apart, including time to arrange the object (a Spring Greens scarf, no less!), discuss framing options and, of course, sip a nice cuppa.

Take shot, take flight

A number of weeks ago, I teamed up with all-round nice bloke John Preston (of Preston Creative Design Consultancy), to illustrate some publicity material for another of his clients.

The brief was simple enough - photograph a single male subject against a bright blue sky, pointing a branded paper aeroplane towards that sky. The reality of the shoot, naturally, turned out to be less than perfect just as soon as the weather got involved.

Arriving in plenty of time, John and I had a scout around the area for the best location, taking into account the sun's direction, the patches of blue sky and the fierce wind that was blowing around the coastal area. It's one thing having a nice breeze blowing through, but on this occasion it threatened to jeopardise the shoot, given that the paper plane was relatively flimsy and our subject's hair could look a mess if he was blown around too much! The morning's weather had generally been pretty good up until that point and the ground was dry underfoot, so at least that didn't pose any real problems.

Whilst Mr. P went off to meet with our subject, I investigated further, picking out a shortlist of two possible 'sets' to work with. In each case, the sun would be behind the subject - acting as a back-light over his right shoulder (and in so doing, balancing the flash nicely). But my main concern was getting the subject sheltered from the wind.

Here's a quick diagram of the set-up (click to enlarge):


Our saving grace came in the form of some trees and bushes, roughly shaped like a letter L, which wrapped around us nicely.

Next thing, moments before the guys returned, it was time to set up my kit. As ever, keeping it very simple, I went with a single lens (50mm) and single light (SB-800, triggered by Pocket wizard, on a stand). Remember, the sun would be my 2nd light - after all, it's free, so why not make use of it?!

That's when things started to slip. And within a time frame of approximately 1 minute, the shoot was over.

In all I shot just 7 frames, including lighting and posing/angle tests, before the heavens opened and we were forced to run as fast as we possibly could back to the cars.

From memory, the sequence went something like: Sun becomes obscured by cloud... wind picks up... single patch of blue sky is replaced by grey rain clouds... torrential rain. What a farce.

Of course, there had always been a Plan B - to head for a local hotel which both John and I have worked with in the past. There, we would be able to set up a more typical 'studio' arrangement in one of the larger rooms, if needs be.

Amid the ensuing deluge, we peered at the back of my rain-soaked camera...

Job done. No need for additional pictures, no need for a re-shoot. The only call was for dry clothes and a hot cup of tea.

Once the pictures were turned over to John's team, they were tweaked a little - just enough to bring a bit more colour into that damn awful sky. The picture at the top of this post is a quick scan of the final document, showing the image as it appeared, so apologies if it doesn't exactly 'pop' off the screen.

In hindsight, and keeping in mind the less than perfect conditions we faced, I was happy with the way these photographs came through. Looking for the positives, the paper plane stands out well from the sky and the 'mood' of that sky ties in well with the accompanying text.

Sometimes, as they say, it's not the destination but the journey - and this shoot was a case in point. The greatest irony of all still remains that as I was driving back to the office, the clouds parted, revealing a great blue sky and perfect sunshine. Bugger.

Still, at the end of the day, the client was delighted with the end product - and that's what really counts.

Mine is a WiFi world

Funny how we come to rely on things without realising, isn't it? Case in point - internet access.

Regular readers and subscribers will have noticed that the GBP Blog has been somewhat quiet in recent weeks; there is a very good reason for this. Well, several really. But most importantly is the fact that, due to an impressively disruptive combined-effort cock-up on the part of our phone line and broadband suppliers (let's not mention names, eh?), we have been without internet access for the best part of a month. I won't go into the messy details here, but if you see me around and really want to know, you might want to buy us a coffee because the story is a long one!

Getting back to the point, then... Without this service in the office, we have been lost and our productivity has dropped noticeably. Don't get me wrong - we've not been sat twiddling our thumbs, but not having internet (by default creating the need to venture forth from the office) has meant that our days have certainly been longer and more tiring. Clearly, we multi-task more than we know, conducting web-based activities whilst waiting for imaging processes to run their course - simply put, saving time and energy.

In this tech world, it is no stretch of the imagination to say that we cannot make do without the internet in our business - certainly, 95% of GBP's marketing endeavours are web based, for example the website, YouTube , Twitter and LinkedIn.

So when we get no connection, this spells potential disaster... or, rather it would do, were it not for the WiFi service available in many hotels, restaurants and cafés. If you have received any communications from us in recent weeks, including our newsletter, then these will have reached you thanks to this technology. The above picture shows my all-too-familiar coffee house 'workstation' set-up - an Asus Eee PC, BlackBerry and a nice cup of tea (well, you have to make the most of what's on offer!).

But this inconvenient need to use other people's facilities rather than our own is not all bad. There is an expression, something along the lines of 'out of necessity comes... something-or-other...' (answers on a post card please), which alludes to the fact that a change of circumstances generates fresh ideas, insights and positive developments. I have certainly found this to be true and as a result of my 'location office', I am now seriously considering making regular use of my net book (the Asus), a mobile broadband dongle and online cloud facilities to control such things as email, calendar and general marketing activities.

It's all food for thought.

Simply effective product photography

Another little product shoot from earlier this month, a further example of how I like to keep things nice and simple. The products in question were a range of samples produced by a local firm of screenprinters, engravers and precision engineers. We have created images for this company in the past, and the purpose of this assignment was to show off the new line aimed at the medical profession.

One empty meeting room, one camera, two lights and a plain card background - that's all we needed in order to produce a set of simple yet effective pictures which can be dropped into the company's website, brochures and all manner of marketing material.

Here is a time-lapse video showing the process, from start to finish. Be sure to check out the selection of images at the end of the film:

In spite of the rain...

Whilst up in Manchester, Manda and I decided to take a trip out into the countryside of Bowland - a lovely area of rivers, sheep and rolling hills crossing rural Lancashire and North Yorkshire in the North West of England. I'm sure there's probably more to the place than that, but these were just my initial observations!

Having been treated in Blackpool, the day before, to a relatively mild afternoon with dry weather and a fantastic sunset, we were all fired up to have another day out walking around and taking pictures 'just because we can'. As I said in a previous post, creating more personal work is very much on my 'to do regularly' list this year.

In theory then, the idea of another day out was a good one... Seeing that the light was pretty good and conditions were almost rain-free, we packed the car with everything we'd need to create simple lighting on location - 2 flash guns (Nikon SB-800s), 2 lightweight stands and a set of Pocket Wizard remotes (for reliable wireless flash triggering). Between us, we were using both Nikon and Canon camera/lens kit. Oh, and just for a bit of comfort, a flask of coffee came along too (pity we forgot the milk!).

I say the idea was a good one 'in theory', because nature had other plans for us.

With every mile we drove, the wet stuff got worse. Specks of rain turned into a fine drizzle, before passing through a state of what can at best be described as 'lazy droplets', before threatening to become a downpour. Add to this the increasing cold and we were getting further and further away from what would be considered 'favorable' conditions.

But of course, in true British spirit (that is to say a stubborn and determined fashion), we refused to be beaten by this. I always carry a bunch of clear freezer and zip-lock bags with me, to keep all the electronic stuff dry in such scenarios - and thankfully, as ever, this simple, cost-effective solution proved perfect for the job.

Modern pro kit is pretty resilient these days - it has to be - but even so, it makes sense to give it a helping hand from time to time.

We managed to get a good few pictures in the can between us before the decision was made to head off to a different location further up the road. In the event, the weather really set in and so 'Plan B' came into force - head for the nearest pub on the way back and have a late lunch before settling down to a warm evening and review our day's efforts.

All in all, we had a great time in Bowland. And despite the weather, the experience only served to fuel what drives us as photographers, and what it's all about - a passion for photography, and a desire to make images. Pure and simple. And with the thought of long summer evenings on the not-so-distant horizon, we can't wait to get out and about and do more of the same!

How to hijack a photograph

If you are the sort who likes a good prank, or who simply appreciates a good bit of technical thinking for the sake of art, you're going to like this. I got wind of this guy's activities thanks to Strobist (original post here), and I see Chase has also made mention of him too (ah the joys of blogging - watch those stats shoot through the roof, Sir!).

The artist goes by the name of Julius von Bismark; he is Berlin-based and his 'invention' is called "The Fulgerator". What does this contraption do? Well, in a nutshell, it is basically an adapted SLR camera and flash gun device which senses when another camera's flash goes off and then projects an image. Doesn't sound like much hype, huh?

Here's the best bit. It is an unwitting passer-by (often a tourist) who sets the sequence in motion simply by the act of taking their own picture; within a fraction of a second, The Fulgerator lets off a flash, projecting its image onto the scene that the 'subject' is focusing on.

Confusion and amazement then follow (though not necessarily in that order) when they review the image only to find something unexpected.

All is revealed in the video below. Enjoy!



If you like what you see, make sure you also check out Bismark's website for more info.

Marketing Portraits - Set-up and break down

Right then... This is the first video we have produced for the GBP Blog, so please be gentle! As always we're looking to add more and more interesting content here, so do give feedback about what you see... and, of course, tell us what you'd like to see in the future, too.

This video is, quite simply, an illustration of how a shoot can be arranged in any loction, fitting in with the client's working day. The resulting images were to be used in a marketing campaign, both on large vehicles and printed matter.

People often ask us what is involved when setting up a shoot - for example should they come to a studio?/what should they wear?/how long will it take?/how many people will be present? In this instance, our 'studio' was an on-site cafeteria - which we took over for a few hours. Our subjects (7 in total, although only 2 appear in this time-lapse video) were actively on call, so we just grabbed them when the opportunity arose - this actually worked very well, as it often does, and we were only kept waiting for a few short minutes between sitters.

As for the technical stuff - we shot on the usual Nikon cameras, directly hooked up to a Mac. Okay, I admit it, I'm not a Mac user... and that's why you'll see Matt pressing all the buttons on this occasion whilst I take care of the light and, well, simply point at the computer :-)

It's always nice to preview images on a larger screen, as they appear, but in this case it was especially important as the lighting arrangement was very specific and had to be tweaked until it was just right. Speaking of which, 3 Nikon SB-800 speedlights were used, triggered remotely using Pocket Wizards. Naturally, the video was shot on the trusty G9. Be sure to watch out for the photographs at the end!

Enough talking... on with the show:

Oh, and one last thing - a big 'thank you' to Paul for the backing music. Seriously, you really brought this first video together for us!

For more behind-the-scenes GBP videos, check out us out on YouTube.

Happy Birthday, Grandad!

Yesterday was a very special day for our family - my Grandad turned 97 (though you wouldn't have thought it to look at him!). So, naturally, out came the camera and lights to mark the occasion.

The backdrop for the pictures was the rear garden of his house - with a bit of privacy and so many happy memories there, it was the ideal setting.

Past experience has shown that taking a 'posed' picture of my Grandad is akin to photographing a young puppy - I find myself with a maximum of just a few short minutes before he decides it's time to move off to get on with other more 'exciting' activities (thankfully, I have also learnt not to take this reaction personally!). So, with this in mind, I set up the lights in advance, making full use once again of the wireless capabilities of the Nikon Speedlight system. For more examples of this system in use, see the content label list on the right; if you have any questions, please post them via the comments link below.

The diagram here shows the basic arrangement, viewed from above. As you can can see, the main light was fired through a translucent umbrella; I often use this approach as it provides a clean and flattering diffused illumination which softens the skin nicely.

Behind the subjects were placed 2 other (undiffused, SB-800) flash units - one either side, each at approximately 30 degrees, creating a nice rim light and giving clear separation from the background. This would have been accentuated even further had the subjects' clothing been darker.

For any keen photographers who are reading - yes, you're quite right, the the main light is in fact a Metz, not a Nikon. Simply put, the Nikons were set to fire off the Metz, thanks to the SU-4 hack. Want to know more? You should definitely check out this page over at Strobist, where David Hobby gives a great run-down of this excellent slave function.

But getting back to the point... and the whole reason we create pictures in the first place. Regardless of subject matter, every image is designed to be memorable, meaningful, impactful in some way. Of course this process is subjective to varying degrees - the photographer's beliefs, his/her stylistic preferences, even one's state of mind at the time of capturing the image - all can influence how the picture turns out. And every picture has a purpose, it's own story to tell.

On this occasion, I simply wanted to document the fact that my Grandad has reached such a great age. The caption would read nothing more than "Grandad in the garden on his 97th Birthday". In years to come, I will be able to look back on these photographs and remember the happy memories of that day and of the years that led up to it; the times we spent together in that place, the fun we had.

And therein lies photography's greatest strength - the ability to capture moments in time, no matter what content fills the frame. It is there to preserve those moments for the benefit of future generations. Technology is wonderful - but it is merely a tool which allows us to realise our visions.

When nature and technology meet

If you went down to my local woodland this last weekend, you would have seen me putting some equipment through its paces in this outdoor environment - specifically, I was playing around with wireless lighting. As many will know, I am a big fan of the countryside and when I get to combine this with photography and call it 'work', then all the better!

It's often nice to travel light, taking the minimum amount of equipment to a shoot, and modern technology really supports this approach. The picture above (view larger) was shot with a very simple set-up - one camera and two portable flash guns.

Thanks to nature lending a hand, only one lighting stand was required as I used what's known as a Super Clamp to attach the second flash unit to a branch. These things really are so versatile and I always keep them in my portable lighting kit; they will attach to virtually any surface, so long as there is some form of lip jutting out or an object which they can wrap around.

This kind of 2-light arrangement is a great way to add depth to pictures, and is ideal for profile and feature portraits in all manner of areas from corporate websites through to magazine features. And because there are no wires involved, there is much more freedom and versatility to be had in any given space. In fact, we are now able to remotely trigger our lights and cameras at ranges up to 1600 feet!

My somewhat basic diagram here should give you an idea of the setup as seen from above. As you can see, Flash 1 is the main light source (combined with the natural light) and Flash 2 creates a nice rim-light down the subject's left side (as viewed), which helps to distinguish him from the surroundings.

Using a complimentary or meaningful background adds colour and interest to pictures, at the same time holding the viewer's attention longer than if a dull backdrop or flat lighting were used. The whole idea of creating photographs is most often to show the subject in an exciting, compelling or distinct way - no matter whether it is a member of the family, your latest whizz-bang product or even a day-to-day object that you wouldn't ordinarily give a second glance to.

Photography - and photo shoots - should be fun. And by keeping on our toes with such matters as new technology and lighting techniques, we can ensure this is the case.