Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

I decided to post this photo in the Lighting On Location section because location doesn’t just mean outdoors.  Many times I like to use the available light that is in the room.  In this instance it was a bathroom.  Now  this is something I learned from Helmut Newton.  When he first started shooting he couldn’t afford professional lighting.  He was very poor.  So he used the lamps in his house as his lighting source.  Of course back then he used film and did all his color correcting in the darkroom or used the correct film for such lighting conditions.  But I have come to like the warm color cast that results from NOT white balancing my camera.  This is the original shot.   I was on a tripod using

available indoor photography lighting

a very slow shutter speed and a high ISO.  The model has to keep very still OR even a little blur is ok.  It makes it more artistic.  Again, remember there is no right or wrong UNLESS the client doesn’t like it.  In this case my client, Deliverance Poker did like it.

Now I also wanted to try something else so I made the image black and white in Lightroom.  I also cropped it much tighter.  I like both versions.  I just want to show you how you don’t ALWAYS have to use additional lighting to capture a great shot.

This is the black and white cropped version.

black and white conversion photo

They both look great.  I would love to know your thoughts and opinions.

Shot this at Leo Carrillo beach. It was cold, windy and very treacherous. Set my camera on my tripod and shot away. Used a slow shutter speed and Fuji film , Velvia.

Shot this up in the mountains of Sacramento. Shot with my Canon 35mm film camera on Fuji Velvia. I set my camera on a tripod, got in the cold water and dragged the shutter. Used a wide lens, 28mm. What would have been cool was to use a fashion model in the shot.

Ok I want to share these shots with you because this is a great example of how one can achieve very nice lighting that looks like it was shot with a very expensive set up like Profoto or the likes thereof. The reality is that I used my Metz 55 mz-4 attached to my Canon off camera shoe cord. So let’s go over how I accomplished this look.

First of all I was alone. Yes I had a make up person but this was an experiment that I wanted to do and I purposely did not get an assistant. Many times we can’t afford an assistant when we are just starting out. So we are left with having to be resourceful, otherwise the shoot cannot happen.

1. Attach your off camera shoe cord to your hot shoe on your camera then attach the other end to your flash unit. The underside of the end that you attach your flash to will have a threaded hole that will screw onto either a light stand or tripod.

2. Now you place the flash where ever you like and adjust your exposure accordingly. With these shots I back lit the model with the sun and used my Metz as my key light. I wanted to achieve a bright crisp look so I over exposed with the flash. I did use my lens hood as I was pretty much shooting straight into the sun. My camera settings were: 250th @ F/11.

Ok so at this point I am going to split this post into two separate lessons. I am still feeling this whole instructional blog thing out. If you would like to learn more about this shoot please say so. Without your feedback I can’t give you what you want or need.

This was shot at Leo Carrillo beach in Southern California. The secret to getting this shot is HUMIDITY !  I shot this with 35mm Fuji Velvia on a Canon AE 1

I set my camera on a tripod and used a very slow shutter speed, I don’t remember as it was much too long ago to remember.  I could have and should have used a split neutral density filter but  I didn’t have one.