Comments

Serena wrote on 6/16/2006, 5:46 PM
Agree. Also, the softlight construction instructions are great.
fldave wrote on 6/16/2006, 6:12 PM
Agree also. Kudos Vic. I'm only halfway thru the DVD, just got it recently from VASST.

Showing the detail of the slight changes in lighting on the subject is priceless.
Edward wrote on 6/17/2006, 3:17 AM
Sweet.
Priceless indeed. My interview shots are jumping outta my TV.
TeetimeNC wrote on 6/17/2006, 4:35 AM
Does this DVD apply equally well to still camera photography? Is there one lighting set I could buy that would work for both video and still studio photography? I currently use natural light for video and flash for still photography, but would like to take it up a level.

-jerry
Serena wrote on 6/17/2006, 6:17 AM
The examples and techniques are appropriate to all photography. That the lighting setups are simple with inexpensive lighting units adds to the value of the instruction. If you go to the VASST site I think you can look at the contents list (some time ago that I did that, so memory is a bit hazy).
vicmilt wrote on 6/17/2006, 8:43 AM
Thanks all for the kind words.

I started my career as a professional still photographer and we only used strobes in those days for three reasons:
1 - Lightweight with huge light output and minimal draw, compared to huge tungston units. Plus lack of heat.
2 - Color balance (exterior) for slide film which in those days was the only acceptable medium
3 - The high speed of the flash guaranteed sharp pictures, assuming you focused correctly.
(Aside note: The strobes in those days were HUGE - the condensors lined the walls. When they went off the noise was a huge BANG! - amazing to remember in light of todays tiny technology)

But the film we used (Kodachrome) was only ISO 25 !!! You needed the light of a bright sunny day to shoot at f5.6, and you needed the f5.6 to keep everything in focus on an 8x10 camera.

Today, you can get great results from a decent digi still camera with ISO 400 and I've gotten amazing results from my Canon 5D at ISO 1600 so the need for giant light units is not as important, plus the stobe units are tiny, in comparison.

While I prefer lighting with a continual light source so I can see and "paint" the image, I confess I've been shooting most of my still work with available light or strobes (old habits are hard to break).

So I can't speak for certain how the still cameras white balance to the nanolight. "Still photography" is way more demanding of technical excellence than video (in my estimation), because video has so many other things going on - action, sound, efx, cutaways, etc. You can save lots of stuff in video that you would have to throw away in still.

Easy enough to figure out, though.
But a couple of "curly florescent" bulbs, screw them in, white balance your camera and shoot - end of experiment.

RE: will the "Light It Right" video work for still photography - absolutely.
My video is NOT special "video" tricks or techniques. I want you to learn lighting principles and then apply them in your own way. My video is as much about the thought processes in lighting as the actual techniques. I do give precise lighting examples (to keep the wolves at bay) - but I hope that I inspire lighting experiments through a heightened understanding of the light, itself. (I've gotten scores of letters in the "you changed my life in lighting" category - if any of you satisfied people are lurking about, how about some testimonials here, - heh, heh).

Hope this helps,
v