Andy Greenwell Photography

Photographing on-air Talent

2011-05-18T04:33:00.000-04:00

Are we on the air???

Detroit is a huge media city. Our on air personalities are sometimes as well known as the sports and media stars they report about. And The Motor City has always been big on talk radio.

I have been photographing TV, radio, and print "stars" for many years - going back to the 80s. It can be challenging, but is always alot of fun! These guys are on the air they are because they are interesting, inquisitive, and charming. They also know what they want - and don't want! They are in the public eye and have seen themselves in good and bad light. They aren't bashful to tell you what their

"good side" is.

Here is a pic from a recent shoot of the very popular Mojo in the Morning show on 95.5 FM in Detroit. These guys were a blast to work with. There was alot of joking around on the set, but is the photog's job to always be ready. There is no room for error! They have been up since 4 a.m. and they want to get in and get out. They usually won't rush you like some national celebrity might, so I let them set the pace. I love to joke around too, but I do it with my eye to the camera and my finger on the trigger. Some of the best shots are often when they are clowning around, but you have to convey, there can only be one director - hopefully me : ) Of course there are always marketing and promotions people at the shoot and often the station manger... in other words, the guys footing the bill, so I always wear both my creative and businessman hats. The key to success is pre-planning and good communication with everyone invloved.

I usually start with the individual shots first so the makeup artist can can "do" them one at a time and send them to the set when finished. When the last talent is satisfied, I do the group shots then it's hasta la vista baby! I always show each person their shots, let them pic their faves, and take notes on what to retouch and what not to.

Technically speaking...

I don't use umbrellas much, but that was my modifier of the day for this shoot. There is a time for art. This isn't it. No fan is ever going to call them and complain their promo shots don't have a 2 to 1 lighting ratio! The publicity shots are to present them in a friendly approachable light that makes you want to tune in.

The staff and management was very happy - so, so am I : ) Tune these guys in on 95.5!!

"FORE!!!"

2010-12-10T03:28:00.005-05:00

Shooting golf clubs…

Photography really doesn’t get much harder than this. Of course it depends on the kind of club and the finish – but you really have to think of the clubs as big round mirrors - because many of them are. If you have to photograph a large putter with a “chrome” type finish, be prepared for a major challenge. The only thing harder is a whole bag of them that point in every direction!!

Think BIG.

The key to good lighting here is large, soft light sources. So put those umbrellas away! And your 3-foot softbox is going to look like a little, hot dot. I could get into the inverse square law here, but just know that everything in the studio, from every angle, is going to be reflected in that club… you, your clothes, the exit sign, your tripod, and that coffee cup across the room. Get the idea? So the answer is large, soft sources that will “milk” out the entire surfaces of the club(s).

I usually get out my 6’ and 8’ silks (on frames, stretched tight) and bang large sources through them. Move them in really close to the clubs. And I try to use the smooth white walls of the studio cove as well. You will also notice my 55” EZ Cube light tent. That will work for a few things, but the client wanted everything shot against black!! So the white tent just won’t work for most of these shots.

Fix it in Photoshop???

If you have large curving surfaces to light, you need large curving light sources to reflect in the shiny metal clubs. This is often impossible to do without having seams and blank spots. So inevitably, a substantial amount of retouching is going to be required. But our job as good photographers is to produce the best product possible in-camera. I usually take several exposures of each club, lit from multiple angles and blend them in Photoshop with layer masks. But that’s a blog for another day. Stay tuned. Happy shootin.’

"Photography with a Boom!"

2010-11-11T03:19:00.000-05:00

To Boom or Not To Boom - That is the Question.

I hate clutter! Having a clean studio helps me approach a shoot with a clear mind. The fewer light stands around me, the better. A telescoping boom arm allows me to work underneath my light and not have to work around it. And from a client’s perspective, they have a clear line of sight back to me. Many people are uncomfortable being photographed to begin with, and I find this open approach increases both comfort and communication.

But there are other reasons to “boom.” We all know lighting trends come and go: umbrella vs. soft box vs. light panel; high key vs. low key; hard light vs. soft. We like one style for a while, then tire of it and drift away, and back again. We’re supposed to, we’re quirky artists! Well, I’ve noticed another trend I have drifted away from and that is the standard key light / fill light approach to portraits.

I photograph a lot of business people, as well as models. Lately, I really prefer the punch I get from a small soft box or even a beauty dish. By putting the key light on a boom over my head, (as well as the subject’s), the boom also affords me a healthy shadow under the subject’s chin, which I quite like. And if you like “butterfly” lighting, this is the best way to achieve it. With my light on a boom, I can keep it on the same axis as the lens, or place it just left or right of center, and get a good key / fill ratio… much like that from a standard two-light combo, but with a smaller studio footprint. If I need a little help on the fill side, I bring in a fill card or reflector from opposite the key side.

A boom arm is also great for backlights. I like my backlight to illuminate evenly over the top of the hair and across both shoulders. To accomplish this effect with floor stands will probably require two backlights on two stands, and you still never get light on the crown of the head. Not so when booming. My backlight gives me the “throw” I need. By the way, I take this rig on location, too.. One light for a backlight - right where I need it. It's perfect for dark suits.

Outdoor Photography.

My approach is the same outdoors. I like the same sculptured chin shadow look when shooting outside. So here my weapon of choice is a Profoto monolight on a Matthews boom. I also like my backlight to carry over the entire subject, just as I do indoors. To accomplish this, I often shoot directly into the sun, letting mother nature be my backlight. But obviously, this can cause problems like extreme lens flare and lack of contrast in the lens. To combat this, I use a Matthews or Bogen Avenger C-Stand with a large Matthews gobo / flag placed low and directly over the lens on an arm. That’s right, it’s like a mini-boom.

It is these same C stands that I recommend using to support your boom arms. The beefier, the better. How much are these booms? I always stress you get what you pay for. Expect to pay $150.00 or a little better for a good one. Put it on a good stand with a sand bag counter balance and away you go. I do want to point out, however, that this rig can be a little cumbersome to move, so I rarely use one that isn’t on a roller stand, as I’m using here to support an Elinchrom 1200 RX and a Chimera soft box.

Always use a safety chain when using a boom! You can make you own with some wire and snaps from Home Depot. Happy shootin'

Sparky Anderson R.I.P.

2010-11-07T05:07:00.001-05:00

These are some photos I took of Sparky, Ernie, Bo and Chuck. They were all great to work with!

They were photographed on 2 1/4 (120mm) film with a 150mm lens. I used Kodak TMAX 100 and Ektachrone EPP 100 film.

http://www.pbase.com/andygreenwell/image/130067424

"Give Me an M!!"

2010-09-12T12:14:00.009-04:00

Detroit Michigan Commercial Photographer: Andy Greenwell

You’d be hard pressed to find many shooting situations tougher than this one… shooting fast, live music in a low-light venue. There are many “priorities” fighting for top billing: proper exposure of course, fast shutter speeds for freezing the action, moving musicians that are hard to focus on, while hopefully rendering an image that isn’t too “noisy” from the required high ISO.

In my opinion, there was only one way to shoot this concert and that was the dreaded M. You got it… manual all the way, baby. You can kiss your Priority Modes goodbye. I knew they wouldn’t work, but just for grins, I tried using them after I had captured some good images in Manual. The result was as terrible as I knew it would be.

Priority Mode likes to try to shoot at 1/60^th of a second at ƒ5.6. Forgetaboutit!! That shutter speed is way too slow, and shooting at ƒ5.6 is a luxury that would require an extremely high ISO. In theory, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority should work, but the exposure was never close to correct. That leaves Manual.

To achieve these pics, I shot at either ƒ2.8 or ƒ3.2, depending where the subject was standing. My ISO varied between 1600 and 2000, and my shutter speed was 1/250^th or 1/320^th depending on the tempo of the song. Maggie Mae is slower than Hot Legs! And then there was color balance. There was virtually no white light in the place. Auto white balance was terrible - as was Incandescent mode. I found choosing 2500 K to be the closest if I cranked a whole lotta blue into it in custom settings.

I am normally a jpeg shooter, but this nite I chose RAW / NEF so I had more “tweakability” in PS CS5. My camera was a Nikon D3 with the 70-200 ƒ2.8 VR.

Rock on!