Barndoors - A Creative Tool

This past summer, I spent 2 weeks conducting workshops throughout Austria. At one of those workshops, I demonstrated the creative use of a really cool modifier. I carry a set of barndoors in my lighting kit at all times. I use a set of speedlight modifiers produced by Gadget Brando out of Hong Kong. I wrote a post about these modifiers back in 09.

This is a photograph of Wolfgang at one of those workshops. I used a Lumiquest Softbox LPT for the main light and one SB-800 with a set of barndoors for the background. Barndoors allow you to shape the hard light coming from your speedlight to almost any shape within the square to rectangle shape. Barndoors are very flexible in that they allows you to create more interesting backgrounds and also focus your view attention to specific areas of the photograph.

In my lighting kit I usually carry 2 sets of barndoors. Their light weight and take no space in my bag. I'll also use barndoors on lights that are place facing towards my camera position. I can use the adjustable blades of the doors to help prevent flare in my lens. You can see here in the photo below how that might be used.


I have a Small Strobes, Big Results workshop coming up on the 25th of Feb. here in Denver. If your interested in attending, you can learn more about that HERE. The full website for Small Strobes, Big Results is HERE. DT

Gulf Photo Plus 2012

March 5-10th, 2012 in Dubai! The schedule is out and it is going to be a great one! I'm very excited to be teaching once again at Gulf Photo Plus. This will be my 3rd year teaching and I'm looking forward to visiting with friends and teaching a few new courses.

I'll be teaching 2 of my Small Strobe Big Results workshops and two new course. One called "Corporate Photography & How to Build a Successful Business" and the other SSBR "The Next Step"

The instructors this year include David Hobby, Steve Simon, Bobbi Lane, Chris Hurtt, Joe McNally, David Nightingale, Martin Prihoda, Claire Rosen, Zack Arias, David Burnett, Greg Heisler and me.

For a complete run down of the workshops offered this year Click HERE

Which Direction Should I Light?

Ever ask yourself, "Which direction should I light from?" Paying attention to the existing light will give you your first clue. Lets take a look at the following photograph and I'll explain my process and choices for doing what I did. I have photographed in this same location several times, this time I remembered to shoot a set up to share with you.

When I look at the scene before me, I see a long bank of window which I can use as a out of focus as a design element as my backdrop. With the windows on the right side of the frame, it makes sense to me that I should light from the same direction. Doing so allows for a more natural looking light, basically duplicating the lighting pattern that exists.

Lighting choice are many here, I could place my subject in the hard light of an open window if that were the type of light I wanted. I could perhaps place a silk over the window and use the sun as my light source, the silk would act as a large softbox producing a soft quality light.

Space permitting, I could assemble a large softbox or just bounce my light. The day I was photographing, this company was having their board of directors meeting. There was a lot of traffic around the executive floor and the choice of a softbox would just impede movement through this narrow hallway. Bounce was the right choice, and as you can see, look quite natural.

In the photo below you can see the actual setup, I aimed the flash high on the wall about the same height I would have placed another modifier. Special notice should be taken when looking at this photograph. I have a flag or gobo on the far side of the flash, this prevents the light from the flash directly hitting the subject. I want all the light reaching my subject from the bounced subject. I bounced my light on a section of wall between two windows.


On this particular day, I had 3 additional lighting setups on the executive floor. You can see a small card taped to my flash reminding of the setting for this particular shot. I can walk over to the set, look at my note and set my camera to the proper setting.

The card actually serves two purposes, a note to keep me straight and it serves as a small flag preventing flare in my lens.

If you are interested in learning more about the world of corporate and annual report photography I have some great news. This summer, August 5-10th, 2012 I'll be teaching a workshop at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops titled "Corporate Photography & The Annual Report". If you think you might be interested, contact the workshops at Santa Fe to secure a spot.

Small Strobes, Big Results 2011 European Tour

I am very pleased to announce the 2011 European Tour of Small Strobes Big Results Lighting Workshops. We are planning 12 European stops during the tour: Lisbon, Portugal, Porto, Portugal, Madrid, Spain, Barcelona, Spain, Aix en Provence, France, Milan, Italy, Zurich, Switzerland, Munich, Germany, Berlin, Germany, Dusseldorf, Germany, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Paris, France.

I am being hosted by PhotoPress Production and I am very much looking forward to this tour. If you are in any of those cities, I hope you will join me for one of these workshops. I had a wonderful time this past July teaching in Vienna and London.

Update: I have cancel this tour for the time being. My apologies to those that have pre-registered for this series. You can contact PhotoPress with your concerns... I hope to reschedule at sometime in the future.

Thank You Seattle and Urban Light Studios

It has been a busy few weeks around here. As you know, I was in Seattle recently for two functions. One was a SSBR lighting workshop as well as my nephews wedding not far from the Seattle area. For those of you living in the Seattle area or those of you traveling to the area, you need to check out Urban Light Studios! This was the location where I held my workshop, what a great place.

The studio is more like a really cool house in a sense. Kevin Law, the owner of this place actually has two studios on site. The main floor has all sorts of neat places to photograph, room decorated in various themes as well as a full kitchen. The studio downstairs is more of your typical type of shooting space. By the way, they not only rent the place out to photographers, they rent there space out for all sorts of functions. Check out there space HERE.

On Wednesday evening, the 18th, we had a social meeting and slide presentation at Kevin's studio. Thanks Kevin for all the snacks and wine your provide for the evening, your very kind. We had about 45 folks there for my presentation, it was nice meeting so many wonderful people.





The next we had a nice group of participants at the workshop and a very nice young lady to model for us. Simone, you were charming and thanks for participating in the workshop.



Here is the set up for the following photo. I used a single SB-800 in my FourSquare and a reflector place just below the frame. I shifted my color balance to tungsten and than placed a full CTO on the flash for a normal skin tone. I might add, I always have an 1/8 CTO on each of my strobes. That 1/8 CTO is placed on everyone of my flashes, I feel that this 1/8th CTO brings my flash to a normal looking light. So, with that said, I actually have 1 and 1/8 CTO on the flash in this picture.

















Here is another image of Simone using this same shift in white balance to tungsten and CTO combination. I used a sliding plastic door as my light source. The SB-800 was place behind the door and was fired using a Pocket Wizard.




In this next photo, I placed a single SB-800 outside with a full CTO and aimed it through the window. Once again, it is actually 1 1/8 CTO on the flash. My white balance was daylight.


In a later post, I'll show you some of the images I took at my nephews wedding. DT

First Day in Newport Rhode Island "Mentor Series"

Having a wonderful time in Newport Rhode Island on my my 5th Mentor Series. The weather was a bit wet today but we still managed to squeeze out a few shots.

This photo of skipper John was lit using a single SB-800 held by a Mentor Series participant. The flash only had the diffusion dome on it, it was held as close to our subject without showing in the frame. When I'm doing shots similar to these, I always meter for the background or ambient and then lit up the strobe.

The frame below, shows the ambient portion of the exposure prior to adding the strobe. Your shutter speed controls the ambient and your aperture controls your flash exposure.


Just a quick mention, we still have a few spaces available for the Egypt Mentor Series Trek. If you would like to join us, please contact them HERE. DT

Driving Down the Ambiet

This past April I held one of my Small Strobes, Big Results workshops here in Denver. We had the opportunity to photograph outside in open shade with our model Gwen. I found a section of wall that had a corrugated metal siding next to a bright yellowish wall and thought it would make for a nice background surface.
For this particular photo, I used only one SB-800 strobe fitted with a set of barndoors. Let me go through my process here on how I shot this image.

My first step was to shot the scene as my camera would have indicated. That result is seen below.

The top photo is exactly as I had envisioned the final photo. From the point where the camera indicated a correct exposure, I then shifted my WB on my camera to 3030*K and under exposed the image to my personal taste. That exposure is shown below. Shifting my WB caused any daylight to shift to the cool tones in the image. The corrugated metal siding was reflecting open sky or "daylight", which results in the blue you seen in the image.

I than had my nephew Ian, hand hold an SB-800 with a full cut CTO on the flash and the barndoors shaped in such a way to produce the angle of light I wanted.

You can view more workshop images created during various SSBR workshops HERE This link will take you to a new web site I created at SquarSpace, I hope you like it. As a reminder, I have space still available at the Denver July 31st workshop as well as the August 19th workshop in Seattle DT

2 More Spaces Available For London Workshop

I want to reach out to my friends in the U.K. There are 2 spaces remaining for the London "Small Strobes, Big Results" workshop. Learn how to get Studio Quality Light on Location from Small Strobes! The workshop well be held downtown London at the Plaza Hotel Westminster Bridge.

The London workshop will be held on July 14th, if you would like to join us click HERE for more information, I look forward to seeing you there. DT

SSBR Workshops- Denver & Seattle

Just announced! Small Strobes, Big Results DENVER: July 31, 2010 & SEATTLE: Aug 19, 2010

Dallas PPA Speaking Engagement & Workshop

I'll be in Dallas May 11th speaking to the Dallas chapter of the PPA and holding a special SSBR seminar & workshop on May 12th. If your in the Dallas area I would love to meet you and hope that you will have the opportunity to come to both events. For more information regarding my speaking engagement visit the PPA web site. To register for either the 1/2 day seminar or for the full day workshop click HERE.

Doorway Softbox

If you've attended a Small Strobes, Big Results workshop, you know that I carry a light modifier which is "light weight" and "inexpensive"and one that I feel is indispensable. It is a simple piece of ripstop nylon material that I can use in all sorts of cleaver ways.

I can tape this material on to a wall to achieve a more color neutral bounce, or I can place this nylon material over a window where RAW sunlight is pouring through a window, turning it into a soft light source. Another way I use this material is to tape it to a doorway and shoot a light through it.



I like using long hallway settings for shooting portraits, it allow me to throw the background out of focus which give a nice sense of depth to the photograph. A lot of times however, the hallways are to narrow to place a light modifier on a stand or perhaps placing an effective bounce for the lighting your subject. By taping my nylon sheet into the doorway and placing a strobe be hind it, I effectively have made a Doorway Softbox measuring 3 foot by 7 foot.

I bought my ripstop nylon at a local fabric store for less than $12 dollars, pretty cheap modifier if you ask me. Here is the final image shot for my client.

I wanted to draw you attention to a few up coming events I'll be attending. On May 11th, I'll be speaking to the Dallas Chapter of the Profession Photographers Association, and than follow up with a one day Small Strobes, Big Results Workshop on May 12th in Dallas, TX.

On May 14th & 15th, I'll be in the Bay Area, Oakland to be exact, teach a two day lighting workshop for the Nikonian's Organization. This workshop is for all those Nikon users that want to get the most of their CLS system. We'll be shooting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Union City, CA.

Nice To Be Home

To sleep in your own bed and to take a shower in your own shower is heavenly! I've had several days to relax and re-introduce myself to my family. I'm also very happy to be blogging once again, kinda missed it. Since January 27th, I've slept in my own bed 13 days. I have a lot of catching up to do, one thing is to clean my basement/studio. It seems every time I get home, I drop things on the floor, re-pack and head out again.

I want to revisit my Saudi Arabian workshop experience in this post. I going to discuss the set up and the execution of the following photo.

This photograph was taken in the late afternoon, but by no means was it even the slightest bit dark. This photograph was taken at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon in open shade. My intent was to create a "day of night" type feel to the photography.

At the Safwa sports facility where my workshops were held, there is a large soccer field with stadium seating. I used the stadium seats which were in the shade, to demonstrate this technique. Let's take a look at the progression of photographs below.



The first image on the left was my base exposure, basically doing exactly what my camera told me to do. My exposure was 1/250th @ f/4.5. and my color temperature was set to daylight. In the second image, I set my color temperature to a custom kelvin temperature of 3030*k. with the same exposure settings. The third and final image above is a deliberate under exposure
in order to place my shadow value. 1/250th @ f/9.0. Remember, any daylight contained in the photo will turn cool when the WB on the camera is set to a lower kelvin temperature than the actual source.

Next, I bring in my voice activated light stand (VALS). I used a single SB-800 with a full cut CTO (color temperature orange) gel on the flash. This CTO gel will render a neutral "normal" color light. I simply set the flash power to give me the f/9.0 that I had set on my camera.

I teach this and many other techniques at my workshops, whether it's a Small Strobes, Big Results workshop or teaching for other organizations.

I'll be teaching a two day workshop in the Bay Area for the Nikonian's Organization on May 14th & 15th. This workshop is designed for the Nikon user, I'll be teaching advanced lighting techniques using the Nikon CLS system. The workshop is being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Union City/Oakland, CA. More more information about the workshop and reserving your spot to attend, contact Nikonian's.

I think I'm going to take another well deserved nap! DT

I'm Back, Sort Of

I can't tell you how happy I am to be sleeping in my own bed once again. The lack of recent posts here at my blog should be a good indication how busy I've been. I've been on the road for about a month now, first Costa Rica than Saudi Arabia and finally, The Santa Fe Workshops.

Over the next several weeks I will be posting images from my adventures as well as lighting demonstrations and thoughts on my approach to making several of these up coming images.

Let's start with an image made during one of my workshop earlier this month. While conducting my Saudi Arabian workshop I produced the following image. I selected the location for two reasons. First, I liked the repeated pattern of the metal fence as well as the receding lines it offered. The second reason was to illustrate location assessment and the choice of lighting this scene.

When we look at the photo below, you will notice that sunlight is coming from the right side of the frame, you can see the shadow of the fence projected on the ground. In my mind, it would make sense to light our subject from the same direction where the sun is coming from.

I first made an exposure to place the background value where I wanted it, this in turn puts my subject in silhouette. We than added a single SB-800 shot through a Lastolite Tri-Grip diffusion panel.


It's very important that you think about your location and from where the existing light is coming from. I chose to light from the right side to duplicate the direction of the existing light. I think it would be unnatural to have my light coming from the opposite direction.

I'm headed out to Columbus, Ohio for The Arnold Sports Festival this weekend where I'll be conducting a shorten SSBR lighting workshop. If your in the area, I hope you can attend.

I'll try not to take so long in posting, sorry about that..... DT

Santa Fe Workshop - March 21 - 27th, 2010

For those of you that were unable to sign up for the sold out SSBR February 21, 2010 workshop, I have good news for you. We have just added an additional SSBR workshop!

The workshop will be held on March 21 - 27th in Santa Fe. I just love these workshops and I know you will too. Please contact the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops at (505) 983-1400 before they sell out again.

My VISA Has Arrived!

After several delays and a very frustrating process, I now have my VISA for Saudi Arabia. I'm headed out early next month shortly after returning from the Mentor Series Trek to Costa Rica.

I'll be teaching a series of private workshops for the Shadow & Light Photography Group. This will be my first time to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and I'm really looking forward to this experience.




I'll post more about this later. DT

Santa Fe Workshop - Sold Out sort of.

The Santa Fe Workshop I'm teaching on Feb 21, 2010 is sold out. I understand that their are at least 5 or 6 on a standby list and if we can get a few more interested folks, we will add an additional workshop. I have set aside the week of March 21st for this additional workshop should it happen. If your interested in a week long SSBR workshop in Santa Fe, please contact the workshop and get yourself on the list.

Returning to Indianapolis, IN

Small Strobes, Big Results will be returning to Indianapolis, IN in 2010! Back in November of 2008 we had a fantastic workshop there, hosted by Paulina Osherov at the beautiful Stutz building in downtown Indy. This is a fantastic location, one of my favorites location to shoot at. Endless hallways, antique cars, dining and other unusual areas to photograph throughout the building. Here are a few images from our past workshop in Indy.




We've scheduled the workshop for March 11th & 12th. This will be a special 2 day Small Strobes, Big Results workshop. Besides the usual shooting with small strobes, I'll also be discussing solid business practices marketing and work flow methods that will keep you organized.

The last time we were in Indianapolis we sold out, leaving several people on a waiting list. Please don't let that happen to you, reserve your spot early. This two day workshop is priced at $625, put a 50% deposit down before Dec. 31st and your price will drop to $600. The balance is due by Feb 15th, 2010. If you're interested in attending, please contact me directly.

I am also setting aside up to 5 one-on-one portfolio reviews for an additional cost of $50 each. These will be a assigned on a first come first serve.

San Diego Workshop!

If your a Nikon user, this workshop is for you! We have a few spaces left for the two day workshop in beautiful San Diego, CA December 1 & 2, 2009. This workshop is all about using your Nikon CLS system to it's fullest. I'll be teaching you how to create studio quality lighting on location. For more information and booking a spot for this workshop, contact Nikonian's.

Philly Nikonian's Lighting Workshop Results

What a busy week! I've been in Philadelphia for a week now and I looking forward to getting home. I started the week teaching a Popular Photography/America PHOTO "Mentor Series Trek", and the last 2 days of the week teaching a Nikonian's lighting workshop.

I must say, the Nikonian's workshops are a blast, we had a great group of people who left the workshop in full command of their flashes. During a two day workshop, you too can learn to master your flash!

I want to send a special thanks our model for the day, Diamandi! Thanks so much for your time and efforts during the workshop, you were a true delight.

The photo at the top of the post was the last image of the day. I used a small boom with a 43" shoot through umbrella with one SB-800. The background light was created using another SB-800 on a Justin Clamp and aimed at the back wall. You might think that I had a blue gel on this strobe in order to get the blue light on the background. Keep reading.

This photograph was taken way down in the basement of a fantastic studio in Philadelphia. I rented the Power Plant Productions Studios for the workshop, and if you ever need a studio in this past of the country give Jim Graham a call.

Rather then carrying all my gear down to the basement, we hand carried what we thought needed for the few shots we were doing. As I mentioned above, the main light was a 43" inch umbrella boomed over Diamandi. This flash had a full cut CTO gel placed over the flash head and my white balance was set to 3030* Kalvin (a bit lower than incandescent). With this combination, the light coming from the main light has a natural balanced look.

In order to get the blue cast on the wall, the strobe behind Diamandi had no gel on the strobe and therefore, turned blue due to the White Balance setting on the camera. One of the things that we did not carry down to the basement was a grid or some other light shaping tool for the background.

Out of pure desperation, I took the lens shade off of my 80-200 mm zoom lens, and placed it over the flash in order to shape the light on the back wall. You do what you need to do in order to make a shot.

Diamandi brought candles with here and they made for a nice effect in the photo. One of the students in the workshop, Roberta, took out here iPhone and played some music to set the mood. Here is a photo of the lens shade over the flash aimed at the back wall.


I'll post more from this workshop as well as from the Mentor Series portion of my week in the next several days. I have a busy schedule over the next few weeks and I will do my best to keep up the blog.... hang in there please. DT

Small Strobes, Big Results in Saudi Arabia!

I am very excited to be teaching two very special (2 day) Small Strobes, Big Results workshops in Saudi Arabia Dec 13-16, 2009. My host and friend Abdullah S. Al-Saeed has put this workshop together, for more information regarding it please contact Abdullah HERE.