Fall is my favorite season, especially along the numerous trout rivers we have in Missouri. Earlier this week I took two days off and to photograph and trout fish in the Headwaters of the Current River located in Montauk State Park.

Monday I fished and quickly caught my limit of 4 rainbow trout, about a pound each. The four fish became dinner Monday evening along with a delicious fresh watercress salad.

Tuesday morning, just after sunrise, I spotted the three images below. I setup the panorama rig and shot the 35MP – 55MP stitches with a Nikon D7000 and 35mm lens.

Montauk State Park - Headwaters of the Current River Fall, 2011

Montauk State Park - Lagoon behind Current River, Fall 2011

Montauk State Park - Small tributary steam, Fall 2011

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

The purpose of the Zeroplusplus Lighting blog is to share my experiences as a commercial photographer. This field of photography is both challenging and rewarding. This blog discusses a few of my experiences and possible suggestions for the new photographer. I hope to share a few techniques as well as common mistakes to avoid. I do not claim to have all the answers, rather I discuss what has worked for me in the past 20 years.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Tim and I put together a candid 17 minute video of us discussing our photography backgrounds, how we find inspiration for images, and our thoughts on “breaking the rules”. We neglected to state when we began photographing full-time. Tim began photographing commercially about 15 years ago in Miami. My commercial photography career began in 1990 when I was based out of Los Angeles.

In the video, I mentioned several photography websites that we like for creative inspiration. The websites feature a few of the top fashion, portrait, and still-life photographers in the world. Don’t be intimidated by the images, study the composition and poses, and often simple one-light-setups.

Art-Dept.com – Fashion, Portraits, Still-life

JedRoot.com – Fashion, Portraits, Still-life

Workbook.com – Find what photographers are photographing in your region

Three great blogs for fashion and glamour images Calikartel and DesignScene and Fashiontography.

As you may notice from the video title, we are building a new website for Zeroplusplus.com. Over the next couple of weeks, Tim and I will move content over to the new site, TutorialForPhotography.com. The Zeroplusplus site will remain, however new content will be found on TutorialForPhotography.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

At first I was only going to write a reply, but after looking at the length of it, I realized that it was becoming more of a post than a reply, lol. Valters Preimanis of Photologs.net also had a question about the panels.

I first learned of the DIY Panel System after watching a Dean Collins video back in the winter semester of Brooks Institute of Photography in 1988. I constructed 4 panels and my lighting improved 1000% overnight. I still fondly recall my teachers and classmates looks of astonishment during Fashion Class critique. The all asked “how the hell did you light the model, the light, the shadows, and the skintones look amazing”.  My teacher Harry Liles, a 30 year LA advertising photography veteran, was especially amused by my simple and inexpensive lighting setup. That single image earned me early access to the expensive Comet strobes that were only available to the upper classman at the school.

In those days, lower division classmen were only allowed to light with Mole-Richardson tungsten lights for the first 1.5 years. I hated those lights with a passion. Imagine yourself photographing people with a 4×5 view camera, tungsten lights, a 1/30th of a second shutter speed, changing 4×5 film holders and cocking the shutter, directing and posing models…..all while wearing heavy Kevlar gloves because the Tungsten lights were so damn hot. Sweat just dripped off my forehead because of the heat. AND all this time I was nervous as hell shooting agency models because I had no idea how to pose or direct. The models probably thought I was a Guy-With-Camera and horny, LOL.

Photographer/Instructor Extrodinare Harry Liles by Chris Orwig

So I like to think that I played a small role in introducing Dean Collins to Brooks Institute, This panel lighting system was all new at the time and many of the instructors had only heard of it. As competitive as the students were at Brooks and Pasadena Art Center at the time, I only shared my lighting modifiers with my favorite teacher Harry Liles.

Looking back today, I should have shared this info with my classmates. But in those days at Brooks, students were extremely competitive towards each other. I was just caught up in it and naive. Creative competition is a good thing as it creates better images for all of us. The way student competition was handled and encouraged at Brooks in 1989 …….. and the other 4 top other top photography programs is not what I would consider as a creative learning process. Ahhh, the indiscretions and naive nature of youth. I do not miss being a 26 year old photography student again. Today,  I shoot 1000% better at 46 years of age, my life experiences create the images…..the gear I use today is not important nor does it create the images Tim and I shoot.

Art directors want great images that make them look good. Art directors want images that sell products. Art directors want to create art…..deep down inside. We all want to create beautiful images that our peers will admire…..and judge us by….big laugh. Now back to the article……

Later in 1990 when assisting the top LA fashion photographers, all I saw were panels and V-Banks. We shot ads for GAP, Guess, United Colors of Benetton, Italian Mode editorials, Vogue editorials, Elle editorials, and Harpers Bazaar. I remember how funny it was seeing $100 panels used for international ad campaigns…..and just a couple of mix matched Speedotron lights hooked up to a really beat-up Profoto 7 pack.

My first real fashion assisting gig was for Dominick Guillemot. I have to say that this was the coolest crew to work with. Dominic shot Guess and GAP fashion ad campaigns all day long, 5 days a week….damn he was busy! 7 assistants, two guys just loading the Hasselblad backs and five of us lower human equivalents making coffee and moving lights. The 5 French assistants watched me unscrew a Gitzo tripod that had fallen into the ocean….and laughing at the new German assistant (me) trying to figure it out……I was stressed as hell as I wanted this job more than oxygen.

Are softboxes the true evil, absolutely no! They have a place in modern photography ever day. Many of our favorite shooters use them every day. Why is Thorsten such a badass about the panels……try them out and you will see. End of story.

Annie Leibovitz used to rent the 20′x20′ silk panels for her shoots, one of my roommates assisted her and told me all about her setups….but that is another post, lol.

In 1995 I assisted NYC portrait photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders on a shoot. We photographed sportscaster Bob Costas using all my lighting gear and panel modifiers. After the shoot, Timothy walked up to me and said “I would like to buy your nylon panels for my NYC studio…whats your price?”

So now, the really cool thing about the panels. With all the DSLR’s now capable of shooting HD video, Tim and I use the panels to light our video sets as well. After all, the movie industry is where we originally stole the panel lighting modifier from anyway.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

In this economy, you may find a few honest companies that have reduced budgets and need a professional photographer. Check out their website and do a bit of research. Most of all, approach with caution and do the math. How long will this job take and will I make any money?

Yesterday a local photographer friend emailed me a Craigslist Photographer Job Posting, and asked if this was a good prospect to pursue. Lets take a look at this ad and dissect it. My thoughts are in regular type, the ad is in bold.

Freelance Photographer (Seattle)

We are looking for an amazing freelance photographer to conduct informal editorial shoots featuring local businesses in the Seattle Area for our online publication. This is a great opportunity for college students and photographers looking to publish photos on a nationally recognized forum.

We are looking for a gullible & naive photographer whose parents are spending a small fortune on college education and gear and living expenses. Our office overhead is so expensive that we need a photographer to shoot for minimum wage or less. After all, we have to pay ourselves a livable wage, pay the office lease, utilities, so there is very little left for you, sorry sport.

We need you to be quick and effective with the shoot lasting roughly 30 minutes. We are looking for someone who takes incredible digital photos, has reliable transportation, familiar with the Seattle area and is able to process photos with Photoshop.

Quick & effective shoot with incredible images in 30 minutes???? It takes me 30 minutes just to unload, scout the location, speak with the business owner and staff, and set up a light. Reliable transportation and insurance is about $0.50 per mile at best, not considering the initial vehicle investment. Last time I checked, Photoshop and my computer cost about $3500 or about $9.60 per day. Student camera gear at maybe $6000. The skill level required to light and pose a business staff and shoot incredible images…in 30 minutes….not sure even Annie Leibovitz could pull that one off.

You will be initially compensated $50 dollars for each shoot at 3-5 photo shoots per week. The types of shots we need include one exterior shot, 2-3 interior shots and an action shot. These photos will be taken in a popular restaurants, spas, health and fitness centers, and clothing stores during business hours.

Holy shit Batman, during business hours! What is an action shot? Would this be the snapshot of the store manager yelling at me for asking a customer to keep her snotty kids from screwing around with my camera gear??? The exterior shot, let me just get the Windex out of my grip bag, I want to clean your windows first. Regarding the 2-3 interior shots, never have Tim and I not needed to move a chair or two, are the magazines orderly on the coffee table, do the lights have a dimmer…etc. Interiors need styling regardless of how great they may look to the store manager.

$50 wow! Lets break this down further. 45-60 minutes round trip travel and packing time, 30 minutes shooting (right!!), 2 hours editing and processing images (post processing will be a nightmare). Now we are at 3.5 hours before operating costs, travel expenses, and or creative usage fees. You probably have to sign away your image rights….unlimited usage for the client. OH, you will also get 1099′ed at the end of the year.

After all your expenses, no wait, your parents expenses, you just made $5 and produced zero portfolio work. Probably had a shitty time shooting the “job”. Later you show your photo instructor the images….and he/she decides to flunk you in the middle of the semester….or worse…begins sobbing and reconsiders their future in teaching.

If you fancy yourself a great freelance photographer in the Seattle area and are available immediately please send us an e-mail with examples of your previous work. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you are a complete moron, we will welcome you with open arms. We will even buy you a cup of ice water! Once you leave our office, the entire staff will slap each other on the back for finding another clueless “professional photographer” that just netted us $2000 or much much more….for $50 and zero benefits.

Friends, please also read these two great posts below about how the industry is taking advantage of photographers and artists. Know when you are being fooled and learn to say no.

Job Postings Reveal That for Pro Photographers, the Squeeze Is On

Photographers, Don’t Fall for These Client Pick-Up Lines

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Markus Klinko, Indrani, and the entire crew come together to make this photoshoot happen. The videos begin with a short infomercial, just bear with it.

And here we have a Photo 101 lighting lesson for indoor photography.

And still another informative Photo 101 lesson for outdoor lighting.

Yes, I am poking fun at them, I expected to see more entertainment value than this. Even my Mom knows how to use fill-flash. Never the less, they do create some fantastic imagery for fashion campaigns.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Meanwhile, I thought that I would entertain you with 2 very humorous videos that were sent to me recently. I don’t have to provide any further introduction, other than photographers and artists pointing fun at cheap and unrealistic clients. We have all had those at some point in our careers.

The Vendor Client relationship – in real world situations

Harlan Ellison — Pay the Writer  “not safe for work” because of language.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Shooting ads for free costs you money and hurts the industry as a whole. This is different than testing with models for your portfolio to get paid work. Answering an ad on Craigslist for a free shoot is what concerns me. Just the other day I saw an ad from the largest local Lexus car dealership asking for free images for their website. Please, do they give free car tune-ups or anything away for free…nope.

Yes, I do shoot for free with models, but only when the image is for my book and is something that benefits my crew as well. For instance, I might want to do a few new headshots and need to test a new lighting technique. The idea is mentioned to the various talents I work with and those that need new images will respond. In return I give them the creative freedom to do as they wish and I handle the lighting and posing.

Then we contact several models that have specific or appropriate features. I do inform the models that we are only doing headshots and that they will have very little input in how we shoot it. The models are aware of our respective portfolios and know beforehand that they will get a great image. This is a mutual arrangement that benefits all involved.

When your shooting for a paid client, many times this is not the most creative work. I always say this, I shoot the creative work to get hired for the boring work. This theory applies to the models and crew as well. Clients want to see your level of creativity and skill. After all, your portfolio is about showing off your skill set and bragging rights.

Your portfolio needs to have updates every 3 – 6 months or it gets stale. Periodically, I send out 6 x 8 inch promos of new work every few months to current clients and new prospects. This keeps my name fresh in their mind and lets them know I am still breathing. Sometimes I get an email from the art director to have a coffee and discuss a project and how I might approach it. Its called networking.

Now for the devils advocate, Craigslist. I love this site for buying and selling stuff. From a creative perspective it is a nightmare for artists. Generally speaking, people post here to get free work or work for next to nothing. I say generally because I did get several very lucrative long term assignments, and that was a fluke in the galaxy and the planets must have been aligned just right.

My favorite ads fall under PHOTOGRAPHY GIGS. A couple is looking for a student photographer to shoot their wedding, stating that this will be a tremendous opportunity for the student to build a book. The student jumps at the opportunity, maybe even rents a few lights and lenses to do a great job. Now the student has very little experience with lighting or posing groups or what to even shoot, weddings have key points of interest. Or even worse, the student shows up at the venue only to find out that it is a very cheap location and all the photoshop in the world can’t fix the 70′s decor. Essentially a 100 things can go wrong both technically and esthetically. Chances are very good that your images will look like party pics and are not usable in a portfolio.

Years of experience have taught me that the cheapest client is also the worst client. Even your best intentions will not be appreciated and in the end one regrets the entire experience, a painful lesson. Not to mention that you have taken a paying client out of the market. That same wedding couple would have paid a professional photographer a large sum. After all, everyone else involved got paid. This would be the location, the caterers, the minister, the florist, the baker, etc….everyone else got paid and your the sucker holding nothing.

Small business and entrepreneurs love to pull this on students and beginning photographers as well. Typical ad is “new business seeking photographer, students encouraged to apply”. They offer a generous credit line. Honestly, this is complete BS and in 20 years of shooting I have never received a job from a credit line. What will happen is that you may get a call from one of their friends asking if you would shoot their ad for free as well.

If you want to build your book and get paid for it do this. Assist a professional photographer and learn how to work with clients. Become a second shooter/assistant for a established wedding photographer, you will learn so much more and have a nice book. Shooting a job is the easy part, getting the paid job is the real work.

Later when your on your own and shooting professionally, my comments will make more sense. Maybe you bid on a $1200 a day job and the client calls, “Hey, we love your book, but a student just offered to shoot it for free”. Now that is a client that has no respect for your work, skill level, nor any regard for the product they are advertising. This type of client has very little technical knowledge of what is needed to produce a quality image. Chances are, they will have a bad shoot with the inexperienced free photographer, and call you later to re-shoot or fix the images. This has happened to me on three occasions. In all three instances I stated that I will not retouch the other photographers images, instead we have to shoot fresh at my normal rates.

It is fine to shoot for free, only if the image benefits only you and your portfolio, gets you paid work or a Pulitzer.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer