MINIMALIST LIGHTING Pr o f e s s i o n a l Te c h n i q u e s f o r L o c a t i o n P h o t o g r ap h y KIRK TUCK Amherst Media® PUBLISHER OF PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS DEDICATION It’s so much fun to be able to dedicate something. Of course, the dedication has to be to my wife, partner, critic, and the queen of calm, Belinda. Without her, nothing would ever get done. If everyone had a partner like her, there would be no war, no hunger, and lots of great art in the world. She and our son Benjamin are the constant source of light in my world. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’ve been blessed to work with some of the most talented advertising and design professionals in the world during my career, but few have been as helpful to me personally and as instrumental in my growth as an artist than my friends, Mike Hicks and Greg Barton. They’ve guided me in both business and visual growth. I must also acknowledge the work of writer/photographer David Hobby. His Strobist web site provided the gen- esis for this work. He is a gifted person and quite the futurist where our profession is concerned. One day I hope to meet him in person. Any business acumen I have at all is the result of my long friendship with Deborah Kobelan. She is the last word on business, negotiation, and workplace ethics, and I value her judgment above all others. Copyright © 2008 by Kirk Tuck. All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Published by: Amherst Media, Inc. P.O. Box 586 Buffalo, N.Y. 14226 Fax: 716-874-4508 www.AmherstMedia.com Publisher: Craig Alesse Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt Editorial Assistants: Carey Maines, John S. Loder ISBN-13: 978-1-58428-230-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007926862 Printed in Korea. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechani- cal, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher. Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience and opinions. The au- thor and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book. CONTENTS About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 The Heroes: The Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 How to Choose the Right System . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Whoa! Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Turn on the Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Untethered Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Why Go Minimalist? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 The Optical Illusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 The Basic Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Tethered to the Camera of Your Choice . . . . . . . . . .39 A Worst-Case Scenario with Mix and Match . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 the “Old School” Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Hauling Around the Photon Generators: Going on an Equipment Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 From Caravan to Carry-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Who Benefits from Minimalist Lighting? . . . . . . . . .10 Getting Your Lights to Stay Breaking Old Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Where You Need Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Hold Still Right There! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING . . .12 Going Beyond The Light Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Early Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Heavy-Duty Clamp Champ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 The Early 20th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 The Ultimate Portable Light Stand? . . . . . . . . . .48 The Late 20th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Two Final Vital Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 The Digital Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Gaffer’s Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Why Does Minimalist Lighting Work So Well? . . . . .14 Color Correction Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Changing Photographic Styles are Accelerating the Move 4. THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM to Minimalist Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 HITS THE ROAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Modifying the Photons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 2. EMBRACING THE PORTABLE APPROACH . . . . . . . . . .17 The Bounce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Almost Everything You All Strung Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Need to Know About Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Smooth as Silk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Singing in the Rain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 The Hard Facts About Softboxes . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Hard and Soft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Critical Attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 The Simplest Use of Minimal Lighting . . . . . . . . . . .63 3. PUTTING TOGETHER THE RIGHT STUFF . . . . . . . . . .26 The Next Step: Separation Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 The Right Equipment to Shoot Double Your Pleasure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Just About Anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 The Third Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Lighting in Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Case Study 7: Jessica Ortiz-Perez, Designing the Light is Your Main Job— Owner of Austin Deep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 Everything Else is Just Human Interaction . . .67 Case Study 8: Roger Brown, Abbott Spine . . . . . . .102 Take it Outside! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Case Study 9: Swim Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Case Study 10: Missy Ruthven, Triathlete . . . . . . .106 Lighting a Group in a Conference Room . . . . . .73 Case Study 11: Dave Brown, Shooting in Rugged or Messy Conditions . . . . . .73 Vice President of Dell, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 High-Magnification Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Case Study 12: Paul Froutan Energy Sources: Batteries and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . .76 for Accelerate Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Alkaline Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 Case Study 13: Project Breakthrough . . . . . . . . . . .114 Rechargeable Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Case Study 14: Superheroes for Periscope . . . . . . .116 External Power Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 Cheating: Blending the Minimalist Approach 6. THE WRAP-UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 with Higher Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 The Most Valuable Non-Light Tool Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 for Creating Flawless Photographs . . . . . . . . .84 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 Using Nikon SB-600s and 800s in the Remote Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 5. MINIMALIST LIGHTING CASE STUDIES . . . . . . . . . .88 Case Study 1: Kevin Rollins, CEO of Dell, Inc. . . . .88 Case Study 2: Pat Palta, AMD Employee . . . . . . . . .90 Case Study 3: Valerie Kane, AMD Employee . . . . . .92 Case Study 4: Dr. Elizabeth Moorehead, Radiologist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Case Study 5: Ribs and Slaw, Tribeza Magazine . . . .94 Case Study 6: Asti Trattoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kirk Tuck attended the University of Texas where he dabbled in electrical engineering and English literature before accepting a position as a specialist lecturer teaching photography in the University of Texas College of Fine Arts. Soon, he was lured into the world of advertising photography and served for seven years as the creative director for Avanti Advertising and Design, where he won awards for radio, television, and print campaigns. In the 1980s, he de- cided to become a freelance photographer, a career he has enjoyed ever since. Kirk’s clients include IBM, Tivoli Sys- tems, Dell Computer, Motorola, AMD, Freescale Semi- conductor, Elle magazine, Private Clubs magazine, Time Warner, Pharmaco, PPD, JSR, The Arts Council of Texas, Southwest Water Company, Adventure Tours, and many advertising agencies. He resides in Austin, TX. Taken during lighting tests for an advertising shoot at the Austin Lyric Opera. Suave and debonair, the author nevertheless forgot to shave and so ruined what could have been a perfect shot (humor intended). Photo by Kirk Tuck. 4 MINIMALIST LIGHTING PREFACE I have many friends and acquaintances who have taken hen I sat down to write this book I was working up professional or semiprofessional photography recently Wfrom the position I knew best, that of a working because of the new wave of digital SLRs, which are both professional with twenty some years of experience in powerful and inexpensive. Many are starting businesses lighting and shooting. My big struggle was to get rid of as portrait photographers and wedding photographers, the preconceived notions about lighting equipment I car- and they’ve approached me frequently looking for advice ried around and to refocus on the idea that I could get that will make their images better and more salable. Many more with less. are finding that brides and moms are getting more and I realize that many readers might be new to photog- more demanding about the way photos look and are raphy and have none of these prejudices. If that is you, pushing new photographers to learn how to light beyond then I hope you are interested in reading about the steps just sticking a flash on the camera. This book is really of my conversion to a minimalist style in order to under- aimed at them and all photographers who want to get stand the way photography has evolved. You needn’t have great results from lighting without a huge hit to their wal- the experience of working with last-generation studio lets and without too much complexity and encumbrance. flash equipment to get a lot out of the concepts we’ll Photography is one of the most popular hobbies in cover in the book. In fact, I envy you if you are coming the world. Tens of millions of cameras are sold each year. to photography in general, and lighting specifically, with Paying more attention to lighting is a way to rise above a clean slate. That means you won’t have to unlearn bad the routine and do something special. The challenge is habits. You won’t find yourself hampered by the tyranny the fun! of too many choices, and you’ll be able to work on de- veloping a style that works well for you. PREFACE 5 INTRODUCTION pounds of equipment from my studio to my car and from ll good photographers eventually come to the con- my car to various offices, manufacturing plants, and other Aclusion that the quality of light is one of the single venues in order to make well-lit photographs for my most important “secrets” of great photography. Great clients. With all the advances in digital cameras, battery- landscapes depend on the combination of unique points powered flash units (now small and computerized), and of view and interesting natural light. Compelling portraits lightweight accessories, I became convinced that pho- depend on lighting that reveals the human face in a tographers could do many of the assignments we’d done unique way. Product photography is made alluring when in the past without having to employ heavy lighting imaginative lighting is used skillfully. In many instances, equipment originally designed to be used in studios. photographers need to add light to a photograph to make it pleasing. The methods photographers use to add light WHY GO MINIMALIST? to an image have evolved over the years, and that evolu- With each pound of equipment I’ve jettisoned, I’ve tion has accelerated over the past ten years. found that I arrive on locations with more energy and a When I started my career as a professional studio pho- better ability to focus on creative problem solving. When tographer, we needed to use lights for every single shot I go home at the end of the day, I’m not worn out from we created. Our days in the studio revolved around de- dragging around a cart filled with hundreds of pounds of signing lighting that emulated, and hopefully improved heavy equipment. And while I’m shooting I’m able to do upon, the light found in the real world. We accumulated many of the adjustments to my lights from the camera large collections of specialty lights, light modifying ac- position using a wireless controller. That helps overcome cessories, and yards and yards of various fabrics meant to the attitude of “good enough” that seeps into our cre- diffuse light rays. As my career progressed and changed, ative work when we’re physically tired. we started doing more and more photographs on location around the town and across the With each pound of equipment I’ve jettisoned, I’ve country. It was only natural to pack and carry found that I arrive on locations with more energy and all of the heavy-duty accessories we used in the studio out to these locations. After twenty a better ability to focus on creative problem solving. some years, my back was aching and I no longer looked forward to taking the show on the road. THE BASIC EQUIPMENT Photography had become more about packing and port- This new paradigm of lighting calls for replacing bulky, ing and less about designing beautiful light. plug-in-the-wall studio lights with the kind of portable Several years ago, I challenged myself to do more with electronic flash equipment made to fit in the hot shoe of less in my professional photography. I looked back over most professional digital cameras. Instead of using these years of shooting and realized that half the battle of lo- flashes on top of cameras, we can better leverage the ad- cation lighting was the logistics of dragging hundreds of vantages of their built-in electronics and wireless con- 6 MINIMALIST LIGHTING trollability by moving them off the cameras and into graphs will be portraits in interior locations, and she’s lighting situations that were once the exclusive preserve seen a lot of stuff in Bob’s portfolio that she likes. Bob’s of ponderous power packs and flash heads. mission will be to go to a huge, high-tech manufacturing Most of the location jobs I handle these days are done facility and photograph six or more key executives. The with a small kit of lights that include four Nikon shoe brief calls for “environmental portraits” that show inter- mount flash units, an infrared flash controller, a few small esting parts of the facility in the background. Each exec- stands and clamps, and two or three little light modifiers. utive should be photographed in a different location Everything I need for the typical location portrait or ed- within the facility. The budget and the deadline suggested itorial photo shoot, including my cameras and lenses, a one-day shoot. packs down into one wheeled case. On a more complex To complete his job, Bob is bringing a large carry-on job, I may also throw an extra camera bag on top of the case of digital cameras and lenses. All his other equipment wheeled case with some extra gadgets and rolls of tape. must be checked. Bob is “old school” in that he uses the studio electronic strobe flash units (packs and heads) he A WORST-CASE SCENARIO bought ten years ago when most of his work was shot in WITH THE “OLD SCHOOL” APPROACH his studio with Hasselblad medium-format cameras. Bob A few of my clients questioned my approach until they is a perfectionist, and he really trusts the heavy studio saw how much more quickly our projects went—and that lights he uses. They are an expensive European brand and we still delivered the same level of quality we had in the they’ve never let him down. past. Bob figures he’ll need four flash heads to cover every Some of my fellow photographers still shake their possibility. He packs two strobe packs (the flash genera- heads when I talk about minimizing our lighting loads. tors) because, like a boy scout, he is “always prepared” They have methodologies that they believe work well for them, using equipment they’ve The turning point for me came when I heard a story already bought and amortized. For years, I from a frustrated professional photographer who had shared their viewpoint and kept a complete in- just returned from a job that had turned into a disaster. ventory of very expensive European flash sys- tems and their equally pricey accessories. The turning point for me came when I heard a story for problems. Each pack will power up to three flash from a very frustrated fellow professional photographer heads. Another reason to bring the extra strobe pack is to who had just returned from a job that had turned into a be able to position some lights farther away from the disaster. I’d like to share that story with you so that you’ll camera position than others. The cables linking the flash understand why I am more than happy with what I call heads to the strobe box need to be fairly short to limit “the minimalist approach.” power loss. If Bob wants to put a light 20, 30, or 50 feet I’ll call the intrepid photographer in this story “Bob.” away from the other lights, it will need its own strobe I’m leaving out Bob’s last name because, in reality, he pack. could be one of any number of respected photographers Bob also realizes that, for some strange reason (prob- who have been working steadily in the commercial pho- ably governed by Murphy’s Law), electrical outlets are tography sector for the last ten to fifteen years. Let’s usually situated farthest from the best-looking locations. follow our traditionally equipped photographer on an With this in mind, he packs several hundred feet of heavy- out-of-town job that takes place in 2003. duty extension cords. They fit in a rugged, well-worn Bob and his assistants are flying from Austin to hard case along with all the traditional accessories such as Phoenix. In Phoenix, they will rent a large SUV and head reflectors, connectors, sync cords, and lots of the white to their assignment in Scottsdale, AZ. Bob was hired by gaffer’s tape, which Bob’s assistants will use to tape ex- a designer in Austin, TX, who is working on an annual re- tension cords and cables to the floors at their locations port. Her deadline is pretty tight, but all of the photo- so that people don’t trip over them and get hurt. INTRODUCTION 7 Bob and his assistants also pack solid, heavy-duty light let. The inference: “Here’s a big tip to look the other way stands and the massive tripod he bought fifteen years ago and ignore the weight of the bags.” The skycap shakes to hold his large- and medium-format cameras stable dur- his head, “All the bags are reweighed when they get put ing long exposures. In all, Bob and his crew spend half a on the belt, sir. They’re going to get you one way or the day testing and packing five rugged hard cases of equip- other.” ment. The two-light cases tip the scales at seventy pounds Four of the five checked bags are overweight, which each. The tripod and stand case weighs in just shy of adds $500.00 to Bob’s transportation bill. It will also add eighty-five pounds. The accessory case, with 200 feet of $500.00 to the return trip. He gulps but figures he can heavy-duty extension cords, is right at ninety pounds. go back to his client and explain this cost overrun. He The hard-sided case for the softboxes and umbrellas that knows the overall budget is tight, but what else can he Bob might need isn’t as heavy, but it is bulky. With all do? this gear, Bob realizes he will also have to include, and Bob and his crew head on to check-in. He’s got his check, his heavy-duty transport cart. roller case of cameras, and each assistant has a small bag All the gear fits comfortably in Bob’s old Chevy Sub- with a change of clothes and their personal items. Bob urban. He wishes he could trade in his old gas guzzler realized he would be limited to one carry-on and packed for a new, more economical car, but today’s shoot re- his extra change of clothes, toothbrush, etc., in one of minds him of just how much gear he needs to carry and the lighting cases. how important the large cargo space of the Chevy is for Upon arrival at the Phoenix Skyport, Bob has the as- his business. sistants wait for their cases to come rolling off the bag- With the sheer amount of gear he’s packed and the gage claim carrousels while he goes to retrieve the Ford tight scheduling the assignment calls for, Bob decides Explorer SUV he has reserved. The second big glitch hits: that he will need two assistants instead of one. The three there are three conventions in town and all the SUVs are of them meet at Bob’s studio at 5:00AM to load the gear gone—even the one Bob carefully reserved weeks in ad- into the Suburban. It’s already a toasty August morning vance. Bob now needs to rent two full-sized (read “lux- in Austin, and last night’s low temperature of 85 degrees ury”) cars to haul all of the gear. Thank goodness his first has Bob and his two assistants feeling a bit sweaty as they assistant is over twenty-five and has a good driving haul the last boxes into the car. They are all in good spir- record! After more than an hour’s delay, all the gear is its as they head to the Austin-Bergstrom Airport. loaded into the two cars and the photo crew is off to meet up with the client’s contacts in Scottsdale. Parking around the high-tech facility With the sheer amount of gear he’s packed and they’ll be shooting in is tight and security is the tight scheduling the assignment calls for, Bob tighter. Bob’s team ends up on the top floor decides that he will need two assistants instead of one. of the parking garage, located a hundred yards from the facility entrance. By the time they’ve The faded silver Suburban arrives curbside right at unloaded the cars, navigated the elevators, negotiated the 6:00AM. This gives Bob and his crew the recommended ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) ramps, and two-hour cushion before their 8:00AM flight. They begin checked in with the facility’s security representatives they to off-load their equipment in front of the skycaps’ sta- are an hour-and-a-half late for their first shot. Now the tion for their chosen airline. Everything is nice and fun begins. friendly until the first case of gear hits the curbside scale. The first executive on the day’s schedule couldn’t wait “Sorry, sir,” says the muscular skycap, “this one’s over and will need to be rescheduled. Bob and his on-site con- the weight limit. We have to charge you the new over- tact, Greg, scout out the first location, and the crew gets weight charge. It’s $125.00 per overweight bag.” to work disgorging the gear from the cases. Ignoring the Bob tries the universal gambit that worked so well ten exceptionally well-designed and well-implemented ambi- years ago. He calmly pulls two $20.00 bills from his wal- ent lighting, they move quickly and set up their “usual” 8 MINIMALIST LIGHTING environmental portrait lighting configuration. This con- whelm all of the existing light with their heavy-duty sists of one flash head in a large softbox set to the left of strobes. the subject’s mark, two lights in umbrellas illuminating The bottom line? Bob and crew needed to add an the interesting architecture in the background 30 feet be- extra day on location to get the six shots his client hind the subject, and one more light directly behind the needed. Bob came home exhausted, frustrated, and over subject to act as a kicker light and give the impression of budget. added dimension. The total time elapsed with setup and test shots is one hour. Now they The bottom line? Bob and crew needed to add an extra wait for the harried, impatient vice president day on location to get the six shots his client needed. of manufacturing. Bob came home exhausted, frustrated, and over budget. After a bit of trial and error, the lights are set properly and Bob is ready to shoot. The images are good. Bob is in sync with the vice president, Far from being an isolated incident, shoots like this builds a good rapport, and the portraits are looking great. happen to photographers all the time. In my own busi- Then Greg, the company contact, sidles over to Bob and ness, we often had to go into overtime, keeping people asks, “Do you think we could move over 10 feet and get on locations until 8:00 or 9:00PM to finish a “day’s work” that shiny logo in the background?” Bob gives in and with our traditional equipment. There were always sur- they start the process of relighting. Fifteen minutes later, prises that slowed down the progress of our projects. We the vice president looks at his watch and announces that would start setting up equipment in one area only to find he can’t wait any longer, then he walks away. that the closest available wall socket was 50 feet away and Bob, his client, and the crew feel a bit deflated as they could only be accessed from across a busy hallway. Liable begin packing up and getting ready to move to their next for any accidents, we had to spend time taping the ex- location. Bob reminds the assistants to let the modeling tension cords to the floor so that no one would trip over lights in the flash heads cool before moving them. They them. At least once on nearly every annual report project set about pulling up the taped extension cords from the the client would insist on shooting in a location that was floor. In half an hour they’re packed and ready to move. only accessible by stairs or ladders, which meant pulling Greg, the company marketing guy, announces that they all of our equipment off our heavy-duty cart(s) and port- may as well break for lunch, as all the VPs are scheduled ing it up and back. When working with studio electronic for things other than photography during the lunch hour. flashes, nearly every light demanded its own power pack The assistants are happy with this plan as their last meal and attendant wall socket. And, remember, every setup was a bagel and coffee in the Austin airport. had to be tested and previewed with Polaroid test film. Bob is starting to get nervous. His original client an- ticipated getting six location portraits done during the GOING ON AN EQUIPMENT DIET day. Now it’s noon and they have completed just one. At first I couldn’t believe that I could switch to a much The next portrait is scheduled for 1:30PM. They would smaller and more portable lighting kit without compro- have to try to add the person they missed in the morning mising the technical quality my clients had come to ex- to the end of the afternoon schedule, if possible. Rather pect. The missing piece of the puzzle, the change that than break for lunch, Bob decides to go on to the next lo- made minimizing my lighting load possible, was the rad- cation at the facility. Once there, he’ll send one of the as- ical improvement in digital camera technology. Color bal- sistants to the cafeteria to get lunch for everyone. ance became simpler, and the clean performance at high The crew rolls the four-wheeled cart, piled high with ISO settings reduced the need for higher-powered lights. over four-hundred pounds of lighting gear on it, down Now, I turn to the small, portable lights first and think of the long hallways to the next location and goes through the ponderous studio flashes of yesterday as specialty the same process again—unpacking, assembling, adjust- equipment! I consider myself a lighting minimalist, and ing, taping down extension cords, and struggling to over- I’m committed to doing more with less. INTRODUCTION 9 When I talk about minimalism, I’m referring to a late strobe packs and all of the baggage that goes with them. 20th-century design movement that called for reducing If you’re an experienced professional and you have good elements in art work or interior design to the bare mini- preproduction meetings with your clients, you’ll know mum. In the art world it meant reducing a visual mes- when you can go in light and when it’s necessary to bring the “big guns.” But on any assignment that doesn’t call for massive infusions of light, On any assignment that doesn’t call for massive infu- you’ll be happy you decided to minimize your sions of light, you’ll be happy you decided to minimize load—and you may be a lot more productive. your load—and you may be a lot more productive. If you have the luxury of lighting and photo- graphing just for yourself, you’ll be happier sage to its elemental core. Our practice is to pare down to traveling unburdened. the essentials the lighting equipment necessary to make great photographs on location. I’ve changed my style, WHO BENEFITS FROM MINIMALIST LIGHTING? over time, to what I call a minimalist lighting style for The advantages of traveling light are obvious for profes- three critical reasons: sional photographers who work on multiple locations, es- pecially for those who travel frequently on airplanes. But 1. The new digital cameras and wirelessly control- the lighting well with smaller, less expensive gear also lable portable flashes have radically changed our opens the doors to many younger, aspiring photogra- profession, letting us work more quickly and with phers. Doing more with less levels the playing field by much more creative freedom. The reduction of lowering the financial barriers for a whole new genera- heavy, bulky equipment lets us save our energy tion. For interested amateur photographers, it is another for our real work: making images. way to achieve better results in their photography with- 2. The lighting style afforded by using just what we out breaking the bank. can pack in one case (plus a bag of lightweight If you are an editorial photographer doing environ- stands and modifiers) makes it easier to leverage mental portraits in lots of different locations, this ap- the existing light on a location and blend it with proach is made for you. With a few well-selected lights our miniature lights for a more natural and fluid and a handful of color-correction filters you’ll have the style that matches the look we’re all interested in freedom to create portraits that integrate existing light creating. with your added light to a degree that was difficult with 3. Most importantly, our clients are pushing us to conventional studio lights. change. Whether it’s in the field of advertising or From another point of view, my friends who are wed- weddings and portraits, clients don’t seem to ding photographers are very interested in getting away mind paying our creative fees—but all of the from using a flash directly on their cameras and are look- extra costs of unnecessarily large productions ing to use new, multi-light techniques to make images blow their budgets. This pushes them into using that will separate them from the pack. They are adapting more and more stock photography (or to curtail these techniques because brides are becoming more so- coverage in the case of weddings). Advertising phisticated customers and are no longer interested in the and corporate clients need photographers who concept of shooting everything with available light only. offer a new level of flexibility and creativity, with Portrait photographers will also do well with many of no compromises on quality. the minimalist lighting techniques, especially as more and more of their customers request moves from traditional Minimalist lighting isn’t the answer for every shoot, of studios to more interesting interior and exterior locations. course; there are still plenty of photography assignments They’ll be able to offer more variations, with less time in- that call for lots of light and traditional production tech- vested, than ever before. niques. In those situations, it makes sense to use bigger 10 MINIMALIST LIGHTING