Smoke, A Creative Tool: A Lighting Tutorial

By Jay P. Morgan In this Slanted Lens lighting tutorial we take a look at using smoke as a creative tool. I’m going to concentrate on using smoke to create a silhouette and to show sun-rays. When I shoot I often have a smoke machine on hand. When I shoot on location I always have one. Smoke gets me out of trouble if I have a background that needs to be covered up because it is too busy, boring or the wrong time period. It helps me to separate a person from a dark night sky or dark building. Smoke adds atmosphere and texture to the image which brings it to life. This atmosphere and texture add production value to the image for a very reasonable price. Smoke is cheap so use it often and recklessly. The one problem you will encounter is getting the smoke where you want it in the shot. It is too hard to hide the machine in the shot and direct the smoke exactly where you want it unless you have some sort of ducting system. In this video we show you how to create a cheap ducting system that allows you to have the machine out of the image and duct the smoke right where you need it. Enough chit chat, let’s have some fun with smoke. Keep those cameras rolling and keep on click-in! PS. I say that we used a Beauty Dish with Grid but it has no grid. FYI www.kesslercrane.com www.tamron-usa.com www.niksoftware.com http ikancorp.com www.glidecam.com triplescoopmusic.com http

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Practical Photography – DSLR Skills 2010 Introduction

Welcome to DSLR Skills 2010, the free photography course from Practical Photography Magazine. For more details and to sign up to the course, visit www.photoanswers.co.uk.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

www.learningdslrvideo.com Pricing on the Roadrags: www.bhphotovideo.com I am not a grip or a gaffer nor do I pretend to play one on TV, or in this case YouTube. In fact I am just starting to learn about light. One of the things I am starting to learn is it is not some much the light fixture you use but how you modify it that makes the big difference. Just check out some of Shane Hurlbut’s Home Depot lighting series he has done. I have been using form core boards attached to tent poles using Gorilla Tape to create flags which I think is also called a gobo – see I told you am not a gaffer. These have worked well for blocking or reflecting light in my studio but not the most portable item when you go out on a shoot. That is why I wanted to take a look at the 18″x24″ Matthews RoadRags Kit, this kit is small and compact, so small and lightweight there is no reason not to bring it to every shoot. In this 3/4 back light test you can see how I modify this small 150LED light, here I’m not modifying at all and you can see that the blue light on my left jaw line is harsh and you lose the texture in the skin. First up is the Single Scrim, and you can see some of that texture appear on my jaw line. The double scrim diminish the light even more and you can see even more texture. The silk softens light which might be nice for a female, but for me I think that the double scrim works for best for me. Next I am using the gobo that blocks all the light, I’m seeing what it looks like to lose
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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