We are featured in this months Mozi Magazine with an article on taking your biz up a notch for 2013!!

Check out the their Facebook Page HERE to purchase a copy of the article and enjoy the Wedding Issue!!

CONNECT 2013 was so amazing and such a blessing to be a part of, which leads us to this fabulous news we are excited to share with you…

(iPhone image by Zach Gray)

SAVE THE DATE: 

March 31st- April 3rd, 2014 (Mon-Thurs)

(There will be an add-on option for those who would like to stay through Friday).

The whole retreat center has been reserved  (Winshape in Rome, GA), so we can only take 86 couples, and we anticipate it to sell out fast!  Registration will open in a few weeks, so get the dates on your calendar and then SING UP for the Connect Newsletter HERE to have first dibs on reserving your spot!

Hope to see you there next year!

(Most of the 41 couples from Connect 2013! Image by Image by Allen Adams)

 To see even MORE images from the amazing retreat, check out the PASS Gallery from all the attendees!

Read about the Experiences of CONNECT 2013 Attendees: 

(for a full list of ALL the gear we use and why, get the FREE download HERE)

This image is from a video series I am creating called In The Raw where I take complicated lighting scenarios and break them down piece by piece and show you EXACTLY how it is done to the smallest detail.

Today, I am going to break down how this shot was done here on the blog and show you some of the tools used and needed in order to create something like this without having to be at this location praying for an awesome sunset.

Here is how it was done

This is the original image straight out of camera with no editing done to it. I shot the image in my garage on a grey colored seamless background. The reason I used the seamless, is because it gives me a clean consistent background that is easy to remove in Photoshop. The reason that it is gray, and not white (or any other color) is so that we don’t have lots of light bouncing off of it from the flashes and adding more light to the image that is unwanted.

Here, in this behind the scenes image, you can see the entire set up. We have a few things going on in this complex set-up which are broken down below.

Main Light head - Elinchrom Ranger AS Speed with S Head

The main light is powered by this head. It is 1,100 watt seconds and is portable so I can take it on location, use huge modifiers, and overpower the sun at any time of the day.

Main Light Modifier - Phototek Softlighter two 60 inch indirect umbrella

This modifier is amazing (and cheap) because it is indirect. The light points into the modifier, then bounces back which makes it softer since it comes back very evenly. Then, it has a diffusion panel to further spread the light and keep it soft. Then, to further soften the light (ultra soft!), I pointed the flash in front of the subjects (actually aiming it at the wall to my left – see the behind the scenes photo) so that they only catch the very edge of the light. This is called feathering. When you just catch the edge of the light, it gets more contrasty and ultra soft AND if done correctly, it will evenly light all three subjects even though they are all extremely close to the light source.

Kicker Lights – Elinchrom Style RX 600 Monolight

This light is set high and 45 degrees to the subjects back to mimic what real light would do as the sun begins to set.

Kicker Light Modifier - Elinchrom 7 inch Reflector with 25 degree grids

This is a reflector and grid that helps direct the light into one specific area so the light does not hit my camera and does not spread all over the place. I also placed a 1/2 CTO gel over the light to warm up the tones to further mimic late day sun.

The BACKGROUND light is a flash with a 27 inch silver beauty dish attached to it. That light is powered to 1 stop under the main light just to create separation between my subjects and the background so I can easily cut them out in Photoshop later on. It is not critical that the light look great or be of great quality, it just matters that it cuts them out. It does matter the direction of the light, because in Photoshop, I blend the seamless background with the sky image I took to make them look more organic.

There is ALSO a black seamless set up to camera left which is there to create negative fill (or reduce light bouncing off the wall and hitting the shadow side of their faces). I wanted extra contrast and if the light from the flashes bounced off the walls, then it would have filled in the shadow side. The black seamless soaked up the light and created the nice dark side of the face to camera left that I wanted.

This background was shot from my balcony. I waited until there was a night that had a rich warm sunset and photographed this image so I could use it in the final composite for the studio shots I took.

Final Image

Specs and settings:

Main light – f/11

Kicker Lights – f/8

Background Light – f/5.6 – f/8 (depending on the color of the seamless)

Camera – 5d Mark 3

Lens – Canon 85L 1.2

Composite created in Photoshop CS5

Color Adjustments in Adobe Lightroom 4

The hard things to show on a blog are some of the tweaks we did when shooting in real time and the way that I cut them out and put them into the background. I added some flair texture to make it look more real and as many of you know, I have shot lots of images that look very similar to the above (from a sky and contrast perspective) and this looks like it might have been shot on-location.

If you want to see the entire video of how this was done, PLUS the entire rest of this shoot with 4 other lighting set-ups, then sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when it launches!!

Jody and I are headed to Seaside Florida (where they filmed the Truman Show) for a little vacation for the week, but fret not! We still have some really cool blogs coming this week featuring some crazy lighting tutorials, news about a retreat, and more!

Seaside, Florida

We had the amazing privilege of shooting Bret & Jillian’s beautiful country wedding in Alabama this past weekend and can’t wait to share more from it! This is one of the very few weddings we will be photographing this year while we are on sabbatical, but this is one we could not say no to. These guys are so endearing and so sweet and their wedding was amazing. Congrats you two!!

Today we are reviewing a brand new ultra portable light modifier for your Speedlight that Westcott just came out with called the Rapid Box!

This modifier comes in 20 or 26 inch sizes and we currently have the 26 inch version. The light is really cool because it sets up like an umbrella (which means it’s easy) and it allows you to do indirect lighting with it. There is a small, optional deflector plate that you can add inside the box that reflects the direct light from your Speedlight, bounces it back into the rear of the box and the light then spreads back around very evenly when it exits the front. This mimics the effect of a beauty dish in that it creates a dead spot of light in the dead center of the box (instead of a hot spot like most do). If you use it in close, this will create a wrapping around effect of the light on the face for that painted on look. Awesome! When used further away, it simply produces very even lighting.

Check out the two review videos below that we created! Video 1 talks about the light itself, then video 2 showcases us on a shoot we did in Vegas demonstrating the light quality.

As you can see, the light quality is pretty amazing and we are excited to use this modifier for more upcoming shoots!

If you want to get access to this weeks Tuesday Tips and Tricks on balancing family life and business, then sign up for the newsletter HERE and get access now! See you on the other side!!

Today has been our first day back in the office since CONNECT Retreat (a marriage retreat for photographers) and what an amazing few days we had out in Rome, GA with 41 other fabulous couples.

(group photo taken by Allen Adams)

We can’t wait to blog and share more images about everything that transpired, but for now, if you are interested in a CONNECT 2014, make sure you’re signed up for the marriage newsletter to be the first to hear about it

(thanks to Matt & Ivy for this photo of us!)

The more we have decided to slow down and focus on relationships, normalcy and routine in our lives the better and better life in general has been. Jody and I love cooking together because it gives us a chance to talk, work together as a team and figure out how to not make our way the only way (or the highway!). It is a great team building opportunity and and best part is you get to eat at the end!

This night we cooked some Italian food with fresh sweet onions and an oil with balsamic vinegar sauce. Yum!

Guys: Find an awesome recipe, go shop it up and surprise your wife with a date night culinary delight!

Whenever you are trying to create something amazing (an experience for your clients, great images or a great management system), repetition becomes the key to accomplishment.

  Experiential Business Practices

Whenever you are setting out to create an awesome experience for your client, it does not matter how amazing it is IF the client is expecting something else.

Example: You want to under-promise and over-deliver on the turn-around time of your images. You know that if you turn them around WAY faster then they are EXPECTING, they will be on cloud nine and love you till the day you die (and promote your business until then). But, if they don’t have the correct EXPECTATIONS, then it will not matter one iota. If you turn the images around in 48 hours, but the client calls wondering where they are the next day (and they have called us the next day!), then you have already not met their expectations and you leave them feeling unfulfilled.

They key is REPETITION!

We tell the client when we book them it will be 90 days maximum before the images are done from the wedding. We tell them after the final details meeting it will be 90 days. We send them email the day after the wedding telling them it will be 90 days. We tell them, tell them again then remind them of what we told them. It seems like we tell them allot, but this ensures that they know what to expect, and then WHEN we turn the images around faster, they are guaranteed to be stoked! Repetition Creates Clarity.

Systemized Mangagement Practices

Having easily repeatable processes in the management of your business is another key to clarity. Do you ever feel overwhelmed and like you are not sure what to do next? You need some serious systems to solve that problem! Michael Gerber has an amazing book called the E-Myth that teaches you how to run your business like a franchise. Anything you do in the management of your business (blog posts, editing, finances, scheduling and so forth) that have more than ONE step in the process, NEEDS to have a specific written down system with a checklist. Once you do that, then ANYONE can come into your business, follow the directions of the next project and get it done efficiently. Confusion creates chaos and systems create clarity.

 Systemized Photography Practices? 

Yes! Photography is a combination of Science and Artistic Impression (science is art in and of itself). What that means is there are rules and the ability to break them. IF we use the rules to lay our foundation, then create our own artistic impression around that SYSTEM, we will have repeatable results. When we can repeat success over and over again and always create beautiful images each time we shoot, then we service our clients the way they should be serviced; with an amazing product!

An example of a Systemizing your Photography: Every time I give my camera 18% grey light that is also hitting my subject and insert that reading, I get natural color. The camera is designed to read 18% grey and when it gets that grey, it gives me the desired result. Now, in post, if I want to warm that tone up and CREATE my artistic impression with that look, I can do it each and every time. It is repeatable because of the system (or science) of photography and then gets even more creative with what I do next.

This allows me to please my clients by producing quality work each and every time by simply following the system, then being creative around that scientific process! Repetition of the process (the system) creates clarity for my images. They come out the way I want and I have complete confidence when I step out to shoot.

In the image above shot back in early 2008, I overpowered the sun by 2 stops and put my flash at 30 degrees camera right and got the above result. I have now done that thousands of times on other shoots and each time I get the repeatable results that I am looking for. The repetition of the system creates clarity in my work.

Your homework this week is to take one area of your business that frustrates you, and create a system that works to help you achieve clarity in your business. What is the area that is lacking the most?

Post a comment below and share with us what area of your business is in desperate need of a great system, OR what area of your business HAS a great system and why it WORKS for you! 20,000 photographers read this blog each and every month, so this is your chance to take advantage of this audience and become a leader by teaching us how you do what you do! We want to hear from you and so MANY others!

(photography tips and tricks)