watch the photographer, you learn a lot

Andy

yesterday, at the canon show in nyc, i had the good fortune to meet and spend some time with renowned fine art and portrait photographer douglas kirkland. i went back today, for a second helping :eat

douglas was shooting live, with a canon 5d, tethered wirelessly to an apple mac g5 running adobe ps cs2, adobe bridge. the in-camera processed jpgs would get displayed immediately on the big screens. it was fascinating to watch, listen, and learn.

• treat your models like you'd like to be treated
• use their name when addressing them - everyone likes to hear their name
• when asking them to turn, do so by saying "move your feet, too." reason being, 99% of the time when you ask this, models will simply pivot, and then ultimately get back into the same undesired pose
• douglas gets the best out of his assistants - he never met this crew before, but the lighting, props, makeup, posing, etc. was perfectly choreographed by him - all on the spur of the moment!
• great portraitists and fashion / glamour shots come from creativity - kirkland doesn't have a "standard style" that he draws from, he creates different and new, each shoot, each model. he does this by *looking* at the model, studying her, and within a few moments, he's got it. i supppose this comes from years and years of experience, but it was well worth noting.
• notice how low he's shooting from - why? 'to accentuate the gracefulness, the statuesque-ness, to make the models seem larger than life," says kirkland. i think it works....
• kirkland's lenses of choice: canon 85L, and for real flexibility, 70-200 f/2.8L

there was lots more, and we'll get a further chance to learn from kirkland, in the upcoming meet the photographer series.

hopefully, some of our members will sound off with more advice of their own, right here in this thread :ear







notice here, he's directing the model - he called her name (nikki) first, and asked her to re-position her hand, like so:








enjoy (watching the greats) photography,

Brian G

Regarding that model's name...
The model with the Canon SD30? her name is Heidi, not Nikki.

Address the models by name, certainly. But make sure you use the correct one.

(Don't feel bad- even Douglas was having a hard time remembering whether to use "Kate" or "Katie" for the model who followed Heidi in that shoot).

~Brian

Andy

Brian G wrote:

The model with the Canon SD30? her name is Heidi, not Nikki.

Address the models by name, certainly. But make sure you use the correct one.

(Don't feel bad- even Douglas was having a hard time remembering whether to use "Kate" or "Katie" for the model who followed Heidi in that shoot).

~Brian

it's too bad we didn't meet at the show.

rutt

What a good point! You made me feel bad about missing this show and gave me a reason not to miss the next one. I do like to watch the pros, but this would have been a special opportunity.

What camera is he using here, BTW?

Andy

rutt wrote:

What camera is he using here, BTW?

andy wrote:

douglas was shooting live, with a canon 5d, tethered wirelessly to an apple mac g5 running adobe ps cs2, adobe bridge. the in-camera processed jpgs would get displayed immediately on the big screens. it was fascinating to watch, listen, and learn.

Mitchell

Great tips already! Really looking forward to your interview. Thanks for orchestrating this.


On a side note, I can't seem to find my four assistants when I need them.

Khaos

Studio lighting techniques and why they work is what I'd be very interested in. Things like when reflectors like he's using in the one shot are a good idea and when, etc.

Does he talk much of that at all?

ian408

Some great tips.

I think shooting people (not that I'm any sort of an expert) requires one to
establish a rapport very quickly. For example; during my holiday party shoot,
those shots where I either knew or could establish rapport within a couple of
shots are clearly better than those I couldn't connect with.

I also notice Mr. Kirkland is dressed appropriately yet demonstrates a sense
of whimsy with the socks. By appropriately, I mean for the occassion.

Ian

Andy

Mitchell wrote:

On a side note, I can't seem to find my four assistants when I need them.

look behind the sofa

knov87

shooting tethered

andy wrote:

douglas was shooting live, with a canon 5d, tethered wirelessly to an apple mac g5 running adobe ps cs2, adobe bridge. the in-camera processed jpgs would get displayed immediately on the big screens. it was fascinating to watch, listen, and learn.

Could Andy or someone tell me how to do the tethered wirelessly?
I have 20D and getting the 5D. I have C1 Pro and PS CS2. I have Dell laptop with BlueTooth and Wireless capabilities. What hardware do I need to buy?
Is there a link where I can find out more about it.
Thanks,
Ken

Andy

WFT-E1A wireless transmitter for 20d, 1-series cameras

knov87 wrote:

Could Andy or someone tell me how to do the tethered wirelessly?
I have 20D and getting the 5D. I have C1 Pro and PS CS2. I have Dell laptop with BlueTooth and Wireless capabilities. What hardware do I need to buy?
Is there a link where I can find out more about it.
Thanks,
Ken

ken,

canon wi-fi transmitter WFT-E1A is what you need. and that's it.

linky 1

linky 2

lynnma

andy wrote:

ken,

canon wi-fi transmitter WFT-E1A is what you need. and that's it.

linky 1

linky 2

wow.. thanks for that Andy.. boy would I love to have been there..just look at those lights!!! sigh...oh well, have to make do with daylight...
thanks again, great thread.
Lynn

knov87

andy wrote:

ken,

canon wi-fi transmitter WFT-E1A is what you need. and that's it.

linky 1

linky 2

Andy,
Thanks for the info.
At $1000, I think I shoot tethered wired for now :D But It's definitely on my Wish list. B&H is out of stock now...
Ken

knov87

andy wrote:

OK, so the WFT-E1A goes on top of the camera.
What is it at the bottom of the 5D? It's not part of the WFT-E1A, is it?

John Mueller

I would say its on the bottom.Top looks like strobe trans.

Andy

John Mueller wrote:

I would say its on the bottom.Top looks like strobe trans.

Owen

Great thread. I love seeing lighting setups!

Owen