Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at SXSW in Austin at an event sponsored by Photoshelter. At the end of the seminar, we did a quick lighting demo with a local Austin musician, and we’ll share those photos, the planning, and the thought process that went into the demo this Wednesday night, March 31 from 6-7pm Central Time during a live webinar at Photoshelter.com. I hope you can join us.
Taylor Jones, a fabulous Austin digital tech (and owner of Texas Grip) provided support with live capture during the event, and provided most of the lighting equipment from his magically awesome grip truck. We were assisted by good friends Nathan Lindstrom, Todd Spoth, Will Rutledge, and Andrew Loehman. Profoto also helped out by loaning us some additional equipment for the event.
We thought it would be interesting to show a scenario that happens all too often in our business: How to deal with a subject with limited time in a single location. Planning and choreographing your shoot ahead of time and utilizing different lighting tools can make all the difference and can give your art director more setups to choose from.
We really lucked out by landing a great musician and artist to be our muse for the shoot: Michael Scott Parker, of Creature Rock. Michael used to live in San Francisco, and has been photographed numerous times by the trinity of rock and roll photographers: Michael Zagaris, Baron Wolman, and the late, great, Jim Marshall. She was great to work with, and I hope to shoot with her again soon.
I’ve been asked to participate in an exciting event coming up on Saturday, March 13 in Austin, Texas. Photoshelter, the premier company helping photographers with websites, sales and marketing tools, file delivery and secure image archiving is putting together an exciting photo workshop in conjunction with the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference.
Allen Murabayashi, the CEO of Photoshelter will be presenting a program on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for photography websites. Allen and his colleague Grover Sanschagrin have studied photo websites and SEO more than anyone on the planet. (They are also two of the smartest people I know). If you haven’t checked out their FREE pdf reports on SEO, social media, and photography websites, then you’re just plain nuts. This will be a great presentation.
I’ll deliver a talk/slideshow showing a wide-ranging body of work, and talk about transitioning through different phases of a photography career. I started in newspapers, migrated to a magazine staff job, and then went out on my own as a commercial photographer. I’ll talk about each phase, the challenges of a changing marketplace, and (of course) show lots of photographs.
After a quick lunch break, there will be a panel discussion with my two of my good friends: stellar photographer, and BBQ buddy Darren Carroll (probably the best golf photographer in the world, and a helluva portrait shooter, too), and Taylor Jones (a fellow photographer who has made a name for himself as a super high-end digital tech, who works all over the country for some of the biggest names in the advertising world). Local photogs (who I don’t know personally – but am looking forward to meeting) Eric Hegwer, and Jack Hollingsworth will also be on hand to complete the panel. Together we’ll discuss both the art and business of photography.
At the end of the day, we’ll have a live photo shoot/lighting workshop. I’ll answer some lighting questions, talk about portrait concepts, research and planning. I’ll show you how to pull off a quick portrait shoot with a variety of looks in one location. Taylor will be on hand to demonstrate how a great digital tech operates. It should be a lot of fun, and I’m excited that they’ve asked me to participate.
The event will be from 11-4, at The Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 West Riverside, Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 13, 2010.
The cover shot from inside Kentucky’s Memorial Hall
I recently had the good fortune of a great assignment in Lexington, Kentucky. I was sent there a couple of days after Christmas to photograph one of the top college basketball players in the country, John Wall, for Sports Illustrated.
Portrait of Wall inside Kentucky’s Memorial Hall
My charge was to photograph Wall on the Kentucky campus in an iconic and easily recognizable setting. Lexington is an absolutely beautiful area, but the horse farms, race tracks (Bourbon distilleries?…..just kidding.) and the like were out due to the limited time we had with Wall, and oh yeah….it was about 24 degrees, completely overcast, snowing off and on, with 20-30 mph winds that day!
We couldn’t use Rupp Arena either, as the team was practicing throughout the day, and the women’s gym (the old coliseum) was being set up for a gymnastics event. I found a nice expanse of three large glass brick windows (the outside wall of an old swimming pool) on campus, but alas, it had been divided into classrooms/study halls for the athletic department tutoring program. Ugh! Most of the buildings with character on campus were closed for the holidays and we were quickly running out of options.
It’s tough trying to come back with nice pictures, when you have very little to work with in the background department, but it’s also the most common problem most photographers deal with. When pressed, I can take a 6-10 foot sliver of just about anything and make a passable shot. I was just about ready to stage the shoot in a practice gym, or a locker room hallway….hell, even a stretch of solid white concrete wall was looking pretty good to us at that point!
Fortunately, with the help of the Sports Information Director, we were able to convince a campus guard to let us access Memorial Hall, a grand old theater/church-like building on the campus. Anyone who is familiar with Kentucky knows this building, which is a memorial for soldiers killed in WW I, and dates back to 1929. During our scouting trip the night before, our plans were just to utilize the signature building in the background of some of the shots (although we knew we would have to work fast due to the weather conditions). When we got inside, it was obvious that the stage, with the cool arched windows in the background, could make a great and very graphic shot.
Black background, with the gridded Wafer 75 high on a boom, right in front of the subject
We had to make the most of our 35 minutes of alloted time, so SI assistant Andrew Loehman and I quickly went to work inside, setting up lighting gear in a central location around one spot, so that Wall would not need to move much at all. Since we originally planned to be outside on the campus, we brought Profoto 7B packs and heads for the assignment.
For the black background-tight shot we used a Plume Wafer 75 directly over and in front of the subject’s head on a boom, with a Lighttools 30 degree fabric grid to limit the spill. The rim-light was formed by two lights with regular reflectors and makeshift snoots from behind the subject on each side.. We intended for the background to go completely black, but since we were working in a white room with no black background, I placed a black reflector disc behind the subject’s head, in the event that background retouching was required (so there would be no issues with selecting hair).
Sepia shot from the middle of the hall
For the full length shot, we used a Plume Wafer 100 with a 30 degree grid, high and to the subject’s right, and a Wafer 75 with 30 degree grid from behind on the left side of the subject…slightly lower. This formed a simple crosslight effect, and the grids kept the white walls of the room in check. I would have preferred using a larger light source for both of these, but the smaller boxes with grids were really the only solution to preserve the effect of the dramatic window in the background. We added a full CTO gel to the strobes so we could shift the overall white balance cooler, making the subject a normal skin tone color, but the window light slightly blue. For this shot, we did tight and loose static poses, and then just before moving on, I asked Wall to do a few leaps for me. He obliged with a few dramatic spring-loaded jumps. One of these was eventually selected for the cover.
Next, we quickly moved forward in the seats (about 20 rows back) to create a higher-key portrait from the middle of the hall (which I converted to black and white). Then we had John change into his warm ups (not for sartorial reasons, but for warmth), and sprinted outside with one light and a Plume Wafer Hexoval 140 (Plume’s medium hexoval). There we photographed Wall for 4 minutes or so at two different spots with Memorial Hall, with and without tungsten white balance settings. On the tungsten shots we added a full + 1/4 CTO gel to bring the strobe back fairly close to daylight on camera.
Wall was a great kid to work with, and I’m hoping to photograph him again someday (probably soon), when he makes his next leap to the NBA.
Wall: outside in the elements with Memorial Hall in the background
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be giving a sports photography slide show presentation Tuesday, February 9th for the New England chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). My good friend and colleague, Damian Strohmeyer, a longtime Sports Illustrated staff photographer, will also be presenting that night, and I’m very proud to be on the same bill with him.
Damian will focus more on his sports action work, and I’ll be showing sports portrait work.
MOVES magazine did a story on my sports portrait photography work recently. It was published a few months ago, but they’ve recently revamped their website, and a good chunk of the 18-Page portfolio is now online on their website.
For those that are unfamiliar, you can’t walk into an NBA, MLB, or NFL locker room without seeing stacks of three magazines………..ESPN, Sporting News, and Sports Illustrated, perhaps? Uh, no……… The Robb Report, duPont Registry, and MOVES.
Not my work, just various covers from MOVES
MOVES (About Professional Athletes, For Professional Athletes) is a lifestyle magazine aimed at young sports star millionaires. It’s a big, thick, beautifully printed publication (think Cigar Afficionado or Communication Arts), and like the other two aforementioned mags, it’s chock full of of high-end advertising for corporate jets, nice cars, watches, etc.
They’ve featured two other photographers in large portfolio features: legendary Madison Square Garden photographer George Kalinsky, and the great Walter Iooss. How I got thrown into the mix with those two, I couldn’t tell you, but I’m grateful and very humbled all the same.
Curtis Brown, makeup by Wendy Martin; photographed with the Canon EOS1Ds MkIII, 24-105/4L (at 70mm), 1/250 sec., F10.0, ISO 100.
I recently had the opportunity to test the new 24.39 megapixel Nikon D3X.I currently use the Canon EOS1Ds MkIII, which shoots a 21.1 megapixel file, but I’m always looking for the best equipment, and I try not to buy anything without testing it first. In addition to some lens tests and landscape shooting, where I compared the lenses I would most likely be using to my current Canon equipment, I also put together a studio shoot to compare systems.I figured it made sense to set up a shoot with people and interesting lighting, since that is the main focus of my business.I was anxious to see what the camera could do under controlled conditions, with light falling on a subject from highlight to shadow.
Top: Nikon D3X, 24-70/2.8G; Bottom: Canon EOS1Ds MkIII, 24-105/4L (Both photos taken at 70mm, 1/250, F10.0, ISO 100).
With my good friend and stellar makeup artist Wendy Martin, we came up with a couple of ideas.One of my favorite places on the planet is California’s El Mirage dry lake bed.Inspired by that location, I’ve always wanted to do a photo of someone covered in cracked earth makeup.
Wendy knew all of the tricks for making this happen, and was quickly able to research and buy all the right supplies and colors for the shoot.
Next, we needed the perfect model for the shoot.We were hoping for someone with a shaved head and really interesting eyes.We looked at a lot of models, but my favorite was Curtis Brown, of One Model Management.Curtis is a veteran model, and has been featured in Soloflex and REI ads.He has killer green/hazel eyes.He travels all the time for modeling work all over the country, but we were very fortunate to land him for a day and collaborate with him on our shoot.
We booked a rental photo studio with Holly McDonald, a fabulous producer from 808, Inc., and were all set for our shoot.Nathan Lindstrom was on board as an assistant to complete our small crew for the day.
Wendy spent quite a bit of time mixing the masque material with various airbrush colors and a powdery red makeup, that almost looked like dirt.After experimenting for a while, we discussed airbrushing the cracked masque in various colors, particularly earth-tones, but finally decided that the reddish color would be a great contrast to Curtis’ eye color.
Makeup artist Wendy Martin applies the mud makeup to Curtis Brown. (Photo by Nathan Lindstrom)
After mixing the makeup, it was time for Wendy to apply several thick coats to Curtis’ head and shoulders.She used a hair dryer to dry the makeup until it started cracking.Just the movement of Curtis’ facial muscles and skin caused the tight dry makeup to crack and give us the perfect look we were all after.
We had two different lighting schemes in mind, but eventually decided to stay with a very simple setup……one large Plume Wafer Hexoval, slightly to the right of the camera, equipped with a single Dyna-Lite 4040 head.
Everyone did a great job, particularly Curtis, who sat for hours with all sorts of gunk caked all over his face.He is a serious pro.
Both cameras produced great files, but in the case of this particular picture, I thought the camera I currently use, a Canon EOS1Ds MkIII, produced the best image.I shot several tests over a couple of weeks with the D3X, but this photo was instrumental in convincing me to stay with my current Canon system.
Another image from the shoot in black and white.
Read more about my Nikon D3X vs. Canon EOS1Ds MkIII test at Sportsshooter.com.
Robert Seale and Brad Mangin at the entrance to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
I recently visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where I was asked to speak with my good friend and colleague, Brad Mangin at the first annual “Baseball Photography Education Day.” Brad and I gave two different presentations during our visit to the museum: a presentation on the history of baseball photography through the years, and another program, delivered together, of our own work.
LEFT: One of my cover portraits of Roger Clemens from 2004. RIGHT: Me holding the actual glove from his April 29, 1986 20 strikeout game.
I worked at a national magazine, The Sporting News (the nation’s oldest sports magazine (founded in 1886), once known as the Bible of Baseball), for nearly 11 years, so I showed a selection of my portraits from my time there, and some of the work I’ve done for Sports Illustrated and ESPN since I left TSN in 2006.
Brad has worked for Sports Illustrated and MLB for over 20 years and has a fabulous body of action photography work. We’re good friends, covered many events together, and have talked a lot of baseball over the years, so we thought it would be interesting to present our program together, mixing up the sequencing of the images, and trading stories about players during the show.
The baseball history talk was a lot of fun to present. Brad did most of the work researching and gathering the photos, and it was great fun to help him put the show together, tell stories, and honor all the great photographers we respect so much. The show featured historic baseball photography, beginning with Charles Conlon’s iconic images, work from mid-century greats like Ron Kuntz, (who came from Cleveland to see the show!!!), Hy Peskin, and Louis Requena; some cool early Sports Illustrated work from the 60’s by Walter Iooss; photographs from the 70’s and 80’s by Michael Zagaris, Rich Pilling, V. J. Lovero, and Chuck Solomon, and modern work from Brad and myself. Stephen Light, from the Museum, was on hand to show off classic cameras, including an old 70mm Hulcher High-Speed Camera from the late 1950’s.
TOP: My photo of Mark McGwire's 62nd home run. BOTTOM: The cooresponding box in the BHOF basement, with McGwire's batting gloves from that night.
One of the coolest parts about visiting the Hall of Fame was the great “Behind the Scenes” tour arranged by librarian Jim Gates and archivist Sue Mackay, who showed us all sorts of artifacts and documents normally not on display to the public.
Former MLB Photo Editor (and Cooperstown native) Paul Cunningham, as well as my wife, Houston Chronicle photojournalist Karen Warren, joined us for the basement tour. We were able to see and hold in our (white gloved) hands great old artifacts, like the original lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the “Curse of the Bambino” canceled check that sent Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees, bats from Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner, and gloves, bats, balls, and uniforms from a host of other famous players. It was really neat to see items from games and players that we had both covered.
Brad, a lifelong Giants fan, was interested in seeing memorabilia from Mays and McCovey, while I actually got to hold and touch a wool 1930’s era Houston Buffs hat. It was a real treat, and Sue and Jim were very gracious to put the tour together for us.
If you’re really bored and have a few moments, check out a few more of my favorite baseball images in a simple slide show here.
I thought I would share a cool job I did for Under Armour a while back.Under Armour began as a small sports specialty clothing company based in Baltimore, Maryland.Legend has it that the founder, a Maryland football player named Kevin Plank, started the company after he was unsatisfied with the t-shirts and undergarments players wore under their football uniforms.His company was the first to develop the stretchy, moisture-wicking fabrics that are commonplace today.
The sequence composite
Anyway, Under Armour has grown into a gigantic company that makes all sorts of sports apparel and shoes.I was contacted by them to do an advertising shoot featuring their new line of products for lacrosse players.
We used real college lacrosse players as models, which was a huge help, since I’m a Texas guy.Football, basketball, baseball, track and field: no problem…..but I was not equipped to teach any models the finer points of lacrosse form.
Fortunately for all of us, the Art Director from Under Armour, Steve Grudzien, did a great job of imagining the final ad.His idea was to shoot a sequence of a player in action, and then combine the individual shots into a composite.Since we were shooting in the daytime on a lacrosse field, we had to really crank the strobes to overpower the ambient light and create the backlit “Under Armour Lighting” that the brand is known for in all their advertising.
The diving shot
Steve did a great job of seamlessly combining 5 separate shots into the finished ad.
We had two great models to work with, so after nailing down the sequence shot, we set up mats on the field and staged some diving shots.We slowed the shutter a little on these to create a bit of motion blur around the player.Another Under Armour designer, Megan Bolster did a great job of designing the diving shot into another cool ad.
The guys over at StudioLighting.net have compiled quite a list of interviews with photographers which are archived on their website in podcast form. The interviews, conducted with Bill Crawford and Ed Hidden, cover lighting techniques, stories and tips from top commercial photographers and others well known for their lighting prowess. These are great fun to listen to and are full of good information.
In addition to me (Episode 33), they have also featured the likes of Michael Grecco, Michael Muller, Chase Jarvis, Tim Tadder, Dave Hill, and David Hobby.
You can check out the entire list here, or by looking for Lightsource Studio Photography Podcast under “podcasts” in itunes.
I was recently contacted by software manufacturer Adobe to be featured on their website as an “Adobe Success Story” in the Customer Showcase section of the Adobe website.
Adobe Success Stories profile photographers, artists, and companies, their work, and the different Adobe products they use in their business. In my case, the article mostly involves the photography workflow program Lightroom, which I’ve used since it became available. Lightroom has greatly streamlined my workflow, client delivery, and archiving system.
I was recently contacted by software manufacturer