Studio Diaries - Day 1

I've never spent much time in a studio. In fact, prior to yesterday, I had only shot in a studio once. Someone else set up the lights. Someone else provided the equipment. Someone else arranged everything. I just showed up and shot. So, when I decided to join a studio, I was a little intimidated. I wasn't sure how hard it would be to set everything up, to get all of the equipment working properly, and to get a photo that looked decent. Fortunately, once I stepped into the studio, those fears quickly disappeared and were replaced by a total enjoyment of the experience and anticipation of my next trip to the studio.

There are a few things that made the transition from shooting outdoors in natural light to shooting in a studio with strobes a little easier. First, Carl Marx at the North Denver Photography Studio (my studio!) was full of support. He made it very clear that if I had any questions, needed any help or just wanted some advice that I should feel free to ask him at any time. He also encouraged me to spend as much time at the studio as possible so that I could get comfortable with the equipment. It's a good feeling to have someone like him on your side. Studio shooting was also greatly simplified by using Pocket Wizards. I won't go into the details here, but expect to read more about them in an upcoming Tech Tuesday post. All I'll say for now is that everything should be as easy to operate as Pocket Wizards are!

So, what did I end up shooting? After seeing many recommendations, I bought a styrofoam head at a beauty supply store to practice with. They really are great. They don't move, look pretty neat (at least in my opinion), and are cheap! The only down side is that they're lousy at making small-talk. But seriously, it's nice to have something that shows how the light might fall on a person's face so that when it's a person sitting there, you're comfortable lighting them. I'd assume that if you practiced on something like an apple, a real person might be a little different to work with!

I've got more shoots lined up this week. Some of them are actually with real people, so we'll see how well my practice has paid off. Expect more Studio Diaries to come soon...