THE ACADEMY
Welcome to the PREP TO POST Academy, an online learning center for all things photography including lighting, retouching, and working in a studio environment. We hope you enjoy watching these tutorials as much as we enjoyed producing them for you.
HOW IT WAS LIT: KERI HILSON
In this installment of HOW IT WAS LIT, I will walk you through a shoot I did with Keri Hilson for a Wet Seal campaign.
We always enter into a shoot with an art direction in mind, and this time was no different. The creative director and myself collaborated via email a week or so before the day of the shoot; we sent each other some images that served as inspiration for the desired art direction. We agreed to shoot (more…)
PHOTO LAB: PAPER CHINESE LANTERN
Hey guys welcome to another installation of PHOTO LAB!
Today I show you how to make your own Chinese Lantern, or a lighting globe, out of tracing paper. Many of the major lighting brands have their own version, the most popular probably being the ProGlobe from Profoto.
A Chinese Lantern is used quite a bit in the filmmaking (more…)
HOW IT WAS LIT: Romancing the Stones
For this episode of HOW IT WAS LIT, we will dissect the lighting we used on THE ARTIST LABS live shoot we did a couple of weeks ago which was broadcasted live via Ustream.
Before the shoot, I had briefly discussed the concept with Roshar and Daven over email. We had sent each other some inspiration shots to provide visual aids for what it was we wanted to do. After a bit of back and forth we decided on doing jeweled or rhinestone encrusted pieces that would be placed over the face. Since those pieces would, by themselves (more…)
PHOTO LAB: USING TRACING PAPER TO DIFFUSE YOUR LIGHT SOURCE
I love doing DIY lighting modifications, especially when it’s on the cheap and gives great results. In this episode of PHOTO LAB, I demonstrate how tracing paper can be used as diffusion material.
Tracing paper is a great source of diffusion because it’s cheap, readily available, and results in virtually no loss of light output. You can also purchase tracing paper in various sizes, including huge sheets. It’s a great alternative to buying photographic diffusion (more…)
POINTS OF CONTACT
As freelancers, one of the most important characteristics to have is the ability for potential clients to contact you with the greatest ease possible. Freelance artists are absolutely dependent on having at least a cell phone with email functionality. Aside from word of mouth referrals, our web presence is our primary point of contact, because it is the most convenient way for clients to view our work. (more…)
PHOTO LAB: HOW TO KEEP SEAMLESS ROLLED TIGHT
One of the things I hate most about using and storing seamless is how sloppy they end up looking once they start getting tears and when they are rolled up improperly.
In this episode of the PHOTO LAB I show you an easy little trick to keep your seamless rolled super tight.
PHOTO LAB: PERFECTLY FLAT SEAMLESS
I personally am not a fan of using seamless paper backdrops, but they are a necessity. Older rolls of seamless will usually curl around the edges and exhibit waviness. In today’s session of the PHOTO LAB, I show you a little trick to getting your seamless to lie perfectly flat.
HOW IT WAS LIT: NAILPRO COVER SHOT
In an ideal world, we would have pre-production meetings, be able to scout every location before the day of the shoot, and people really would serve martinis when doing the last shot of the day. Realistically, however, photographers are often times thrown into situations and expected to perform magic. The majority of clients do not understand the physics of photography and lighting, leading to near-impossible expectations. Going into a job as a photographer (more…)
HOW IT WAS LIT: JULIE MINTZ
Welcome to HOW IT WAS LIT, a new section on Prep To Post where I give you a lighting diagram and an explanation of how a certain shot was lit.
For these shots of Julie Mintz, I wanted to use a lighting scenario that would reflect the personality of her music. I decided it would be great to see her bathed in indirect light to give that sense of purity and innocence.
I have an all-white studio with a built-in cyc. It makes it pretty easy for me to (more…)
PHOTO LAB: BACKGROUND STAND USING C-STANDS
Sometimes it’s more work for me to dig out a background stand kit than it is to have a couple of C-Stands ready to go. In this tutorial, I show you how easy it is to set up a 9 foot roll of seamless background paper using two C-Stands with arms. The key is to leave the arm and grip head loose, to allow for movement.
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