The Complete Commercial Photographer

Lesson 8: Page 21

The Corporate Officers This can be a fun trick no matter the subject, but also a little tricky. This works for products or any subject as long as they don’t…

Lesson 8: Page 20

On Assignment for First for Women This is a high profile magazine with a huge circulation and any assignments done here are high profile and good on your resume. The…

Lesson 8: Page 19

The first image is the straight photo with no ambient exposure mixed in, just my strobe effects. The key light was on camera right, fill above camera.

Lesson 8: Page 18

Computer screens Computer screens are something that you will be asked to shoot on many occasions. If someone is working on a computer you must show the screen as a…

Lesson 8: Page 17

Here you can see the light placement for the TV station group photo.

Lesson 8: Page 16

I also set umbrella 2’s power one stop higher/brighter than umbrella 1 and shoot a test to see if I need more or less power. If the people farthest from…

Lesson 8: Page 15

This light put some shape to their faces, and was my key light. The third light was another large white umbrella above the camera, set at -1 stop from the…

Lesson 8: Page 14

Directional and Bounced Light Here is a great example of using an umbrella for key light and a bounced light for room ambiance. On camera right is a large soft…

Lesson 8: Page 13

Location Office Portraits There is plenty of business shooting portrait head shots for businesses. I am not referring to the local insurance agent or 7/11 owner, rather companies with plenty…

Lesson 8: Page 12

So the first thing I did, was move-in the person who appears to be the computer operator.  I positioned him into the frame just enough to see his head, which…

Lesson 8: Page 10

Also shot for the tourism project, this wine shop was next on our list. You can see the sun is at high noon making the front of the store very…

Lesson 8: Page 11

The Dentist Office This next assignment was a series of photographs for a dentist office.  Dentists, Dr., and other professionals rarely spend money on professional photography.  However, if you can…

Lesson 8: Page 9

Tourism Project I was hired on a 5 day shoot to capture a variety of local business and recreational activities in a region to be used for tourism promotion of…

Lesson 8: Page 8

This photograph was taken for Sunset Magazine and this gentleman owns a guest ranch. The magazine asked that he be photographed in front of the beautifully carved front door.  So…

Lesson 8: Page 7

Strobe Key In the case of this photo I used the Norman 400B battery powered strobe just out of camera view for this annual report image. The client and I…

Lesson 8: Page 6

Shooting the Axmen TV Show on History Channel In the case of this image taken for a cover, the day was overcast and that was a good thing. I used…

Lesson 8: Page 5

Clothing Catalog Here is an excellent example of using the reflector in natural light. I once had the dream client; a manufacturer of outdoor apparel who wanted real people wearing…

Lesson 8: Page 4

Shape Magazine I have had the pleasure of shooting assignments for Shape Magazine over the years and here is an example.

Lesson 8: Page 3

Non strobe lighting Not all lighting you will use needs to be done with strobes. I have a duffel bag full of Lightform panels with shoot through, highly reflective white…

Lesson 8: Page 2

PEOPLE ON-LOCATION I have been asked to photograph people in a wide variety of locations ranging from large office facilities, industrial plants, underground, on bridges, in tiny offices, in an…

Lesson 8: Page 1