On some occasions, you might wind up with a great looking subject who knows she’s gorgeous and blatantly displays her ego, making sure everyone knows she’s hot. These are the types who will also tell you how the light and shadows are supposed to fall on her body, insisting that she knows the right light, the right look, the right poses, etc.

Fortunately, I only get these types of subjects once in a blue moon. When this happens, I let the client do her thing–but I’ll also purposely ask her questions to send her mind off in a different direction. This works best when you ask open-ended questions that require more than a simple yes or no in response. For example, instead of asking her if she likes being photographed, ask her what motivated her to get in front of the camera. Ask her what she studied in college, not if she went to college. [Read more...]

When photographers discuss reflectors, most folks think of silver, white, gold and zebra colored reflectors, rarely do you hear of black reflectors, though you might hear of gobo’s, cutters, and black cards, which are usually black in color, and named more from the concept that they block light, rarely that they subtract and reflect light. While most photographers will call these black panels flags I still like to think of the them as reflectors too.

These black flags normally reflect about 10-percent of the light that hits them, thus absorbing 90-percent of the light that falls on it. This imbalance in percentages is why it’s often referred to as a flag, more than a reflector. It’s the absorption quality we often call, the subtraction of light. While this is true, the black material is also reflecting black-toned-light back onto the subject, which is a technique I like to use in my photography, especially when working with blonde hair, in addition to the natural subtraction of light that occurs with these flags. [Read more...]