As a working photographer you’re essentially hired to solve problems. These can include any number of variables like the weather, location, deadline, budget, all the way down to the energy of everyone on set and in front of the lens. With that in mind, it is quite a dance some days to keep everything in a “controlled state of chaos” and still maintain the connection with your subject. This is probably why some of the most talented people photographers of all time kept their gear load light.

There is a great documentary on Helmut Newton that the guys over at Fstoppers.com shared recently. Helmut Newton: Portrait Of A Fashion Icon (NSFW). I’ve queued up a 30 second clip of it below. His approach to image making was technically simple most of the time, but everlastingly impactful, if not controversial. “Helmut Newton was a prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications.” *

I am still a tech guy at heart though, and I love new gear, especially when it makes my life easier. One of the great parts of my job is that these shiny new toys are also the tools I use to make a living. This dual purpose allows me to rationalize away some splurging on new toys, err tools, on occasion. That cool new iPad for instance is fun to play around with, but has also become a key component in marketing my photography. It allows me to share extended portfolios and video clips that previously would have been left at home.

There are also plenty of positive byproducts, of today’s intense manufacturing competition. We as consumers get better, lighter, faster gear and occasionally a new technology that really enhances our ability to do what we do. I am a people photographer and my rapport with the people I photograph is something that I pride myself on. At the same time I am a technical lighting photographer too. In the video Helmut stated that’d he rather limit the gear he used to focus on what was most important, the subject. Nowadays new products can dial in the exposures we need automatically some times, getting us back to our subjects, without the need to leave our lights behind.

I have been using various triggers from the company Pocketwizard for years now, to fire my flashes remotely and reliably when out shooting. Recently I got my hands on their latest line of triggers, the Mini TT1 & Flex TT5. These new triggers are just the kind of game changing technology I was talking about. I rely heavily on my speedlights for shooting on location, but once I take them off the camera they become as “dumb” as your average studio strobe. When I couple my speedlights with the Pocketwizard FlexTT5 all of a sudden they are talking to my camera again. This means that using the TTL metering from my camera they can automatically choose the proper output I need and do so wirelessly and without the need for a line of sight. This saves me precious time on set that would be usually spent metering, dialing in exposures and tweaking them. MOST importantly I am able to devote my attention back to the subject, working with them to produce the best possible image, rather than just a nicely lit image with no connection. When you are working with another human being, communication is key.

Now there are a ton of other great features built into these things, that have become indispensable over the last month or two of using them. While I was down in Orlando last month for Photoshop World I decided to really put them to the test. At past Tweetups I’ve kept things rather simple, running 2-3 light setups, just because of how crazy things can get. Well this year we had 300-400 people flood out onto the pool deck of the Rosen Center Hotel, and in front of my lens. On top of that I was using 6 different lights this time, all wirelessly triggered with a combination of Pocketizard MiniTT1, FlexTT5, and PlusII units. In the end I’m surprised only one person ended up in the pool, good times!

Last year I was fortunate enough to do a good bit of traveling, with my camera in hand, and this year looks like that time on road will only increase. I can’t wait! You’ve got to love that creative high that kicks in when you find yourself in a new place and I plan to feed on that all year long!

This weekend I head back down to Austin TX again! I can’t believe it was last year already that I visited for the first time to shoot the images for Sahara Smith’s debut album. Be sure to check out that video here: Sahara Smith | Playing in Traffic Records. While there I will be teaming up with Saberstrip.com to give a quick Seminar on Lighting and People Photography. I made sure to pencil in a few days afterwards to stop in and grab a beer with the crew over at Playing In Traffic Records, and put together an exciting portfolio shoot with a recent Project Runway model, that I’m looking forward to working with.

When that’s wrapped, and the winter coat comes back on, I’ve been asked to speak to a few more local Michigan Meetup and Photography groups around the area. Then it’s time to head off again to Orlando for Photoshop World already! This is where the education really kicks into high gear. I had such a blast after attending for my first time last year, that I went to both the East and West coast conferences. Here’s my earlier take on the experience Photoshop World | Orlando to Vegas.

Along with the usual heavy hitting roster of talented speakers and photographers, Scott Kelby and Co. have invited two new instructors that I cannot wait to see. Namely Frank Doorhof and Jeremy Cowart. Frank, I’ve had the privilege of working with first hand, and Jeremy I know through his founding of the Help Portrait movement which I am proud to be a part of. If you are planning on attending PSW make sure to drop in on these classes!

Now where to do I play into all of this? Well make sure to come out Tuesday night for the Official NAPP Tweetup Party! That is the 29th, Poolside at the Rosen Center – 7:30PM. I will be out there with Adobe Community Champion David A. Rogers demoing an awesome new lighting modifier from Westcott and showing off the sleek tethering capabilities of Lightroom 3! Oh and I’ll be taking fun portraits of everyone in the process! Here are a few images from Vegas last September.

(This is a Twitter event so make sure to follow me @ErikVPhoto as well as @NAPP_news and @iTwitThis )

Here is the wrap up video from last years expo, and somehow I snuck in there at the beginning. Enjoy and hopefully I’ll see some you in my travels this month!

This brought something to mind concerning experimentation and getting stuck in a stylistic rut. Looking back over some of my work and conversations I’ve had with fellow photographers I realized how easy it is to get attached to a certain lighting style or technique. We work so hard to perfect the technical side of your craft that sometimes we lose sight of why we light.

“What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?
What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?
Unless it be to think that she is by
And feed upon the shadow of perfection
Except I be by Silvia in the night,
There is no music in the nightingale;
Unless I look on Silvia in the day,
There is no day for me to look upon;”

- Two Gentlemen of Verona (Act 3, Scene I)

Light is light. Don’t light for the sake of lighting, light for your subject. Love the techniques but don’t marry yourself to just one style. In the end they’re just tools in our belt.

Lighting diagrams and setup shots after the jump.

“Designed to help you boost your training and experience, Photoshop World offers three days of pulse-pounding training from renowned experts in the field and a once-in-a-lifetime experience guaranteed to enhance your skill set and help your work soar to new heights!

Along with more than 100 classes over the course of three days taught by noted Photoshop and photography professionals, Photoshop World includes a number of interactive pre-conference workshops and an Expo open all three days. The Expo is attended by some of the biggest brands in the world showcasing the latest & greatest technology, products and services, giving people the chance to check out the coolest Photography and Photoshop-related gadgets and gear.”

My friends over at NAPP insisted that I had to go and experience it myself. I took it on good authority, as they are the ones that produce this epic event, and seeing that it was just a short drive down the I4 corridor that splits our beautiful state I figured what better time to see what it was all about. I’m sure glad I did!

The night before everything kicked off the crew over at NAPP News started creating a buzz online about an official “tweetup”  out on the patio of the Rosen Center Resort, where everyone was staying. As I understand it a “tweetup” is a meet up that is organized on Twitter… and it works! We had a ton of people swing through for a drink and a hello, including a lot of the headliners like Scott Kelby and Joe McNally, who I quickly threw in front of the lens. You see just that morning Adobe had just released the latest Beta version of their new Lightroom 3 software and it had a cool new feature… Tethered Shooting! So that evening was the first time I had a chance to try it out and rather then taking a snapshot of my foot in the hotel room, I dragged some gear down to the Tweetup and decided to give it a trial run, in a real world setting. The program performed admirably and everyone quickly started hamming it up for the camera. Who knew so many photo industry people were just dying to get on the other side of the lens after a cocktail or two!

I couldn’t have asked for better assistance that night either as my Adobe Expert friend David Rogers was manning the laptop and not long after Tom Hogarty (Lightroom Product Manager) and Bryan O’Neil Hughes (Photoshop Senior Product Manager and Lightroom Product Evangelist) arrived on the scene and started fielding questions from the crowd. That is what’s great about Photoshop World, its an opportunity to go right to the source.

The best part of the whole experience though, came from meeting so many talented and great people in the industry. The energy was tangible and everyone so passionate about their path in life. To be a “professional” creative and find friends among like minded people really is a blessing.

- UPDATE – Apparently everyone at the Tweetup and the gang at Adobe had as much fun as I did that night! David and I have been asked back to photograph the event again and this time use the full version of Lightroom 3 as it has just been released. If you are planning on attending make sure to come out for the fun. See you in Las Vegas next week!

Join Adobe & The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) at the #PSW Tweetup! 8/31 7:30-11pm @ Mandalay Bay (Vegas)

If are not able to attend, keep an eye on the Tweetup Vegas – Flickr Group to see all the great photographs as we post them. Here is the link to everything from Orlando’s event earlier this year PSW 2010 Orlando too.

Here are a few shots from Orlando’s Tweetup:

In essence they saw that I live and breathe lighting and photography and love to share my knowledge and energy whenever I get the chance. Naturally when a fellow Westcott Top Pro called to say he would be in town recently we quickly got to work on organizing a workshop to do exactly that, share our knowledge.

With the help of Westcott and the Tampa Bay area’s large Meetup & Strobist communities we filled up all the available workshop slots in 24 hours! On top of that, local photographers Jim Sykes and Kathy Porupski let us use their studio, perfectly located in the Ybor City Art Community.

As people started to arrive the day of the workshop I was stoked to hear that 2 attendees, Michael and Mel, had driven from as far as Atlanta, GA and Jacksonville, FL to attend. It was an amazing opportunity to share my passion with people obviously eager to expand their own knowledge and create some awesome photographs along the way.

The images in the BTS (Behind the Scenes) video below were all made by the guys and girls that attended our workshop. Im not sure if it was the instruction, or just the raw talent everyone brought to the table, but they rock. Enjoy!

Westcott Top Pros Workshop – BTS – Tampa, FL from Erik Valind on Vimeo.

Also be sure to check out more great shots from this event at the Group Flickr Pool.

[miniflickr group_id="1451997@N23" per_page="200" sort="date-posted-desc" ]

“Westcott is proud to announce the addition of the following photographers into the elite group of Westcott Top Pros: Joey Wright, Ryan Gibson, Lindsay Adler, KC Gunn, Tri Huynh, George Simian, Michael Thompson, Erik Valind, Rafael Concepcion, Pete Wright and Dave Cross.”

The Top Westcott Endorsed Pros was developed for photographic education and inspiration. This elite group is comprised of talented photographers from around the world, each a master of his or her own creative specialty, including fashion, sports, wedding, nature, photojournalism, advertising, portraiture, food and travel photography. Most Top Pros share their photographic and technical expertise with eager audiences of photo professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts in a variety of workshops throughout the world.

For more information on Westcott, please visit them on the web at www.fjwestcott.com. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

lighten up and shoot

Check out their blog and videos for a few laughs and an inside look at their minimalist approach to stunning portrait photography.

Here are two shots I grabbed as we “adventured” around Vinoy Park in St Petersburg with a group of like minded photographers and models.

Taking a break from the laptop for a few minutes to wonder out back and recharge…