VerveCast

I really like photographers who share… not just their images, but techniques behind how they create their images.

Alex Koloskov (who I first discovered on Google+) has a nice blog where he gets into detail of his shots, and shows some of the setups he uses.

He’s got a good post about Professional photography without professional equipment, that shows how you can get some good shots with cheapo stuff.

Oh no! He’s giving away all the secrets! :)

I’m mostly kidding… In reality though, it really is the person behind the camera, and their years of experience, that contribute to the photo more than the gear. Our studio is full of stuff like foamcore boards, DIY diffusers, aluminum foil, and even 50 year old barn wood, as well as expensive lighting gear. We mix it up, and come up with what works.

It’s the “what works” that is the real secret… or maybe it’s no secret at all. It takes a lot of practice, so if you’re wanting better photos, don’t worry about the gear that gets you there as much as you worry about the light, and creative ways to manipulate the light.

There are no photos involved like last time, but I still consider this a certain sort of a challenge.

In my years at Z2 Photo I’ve learned that being a photographer means being resourceful, and sometimes that means solving problems quickly–really quickly–like, before anyone else even realizes there is a problem.

So with that in mind, I tweeted the following question:

I had already thought of a few items I would use as a light diffuser, but was really interested to see what others might come up with.

I’m not convinced that every item listed would function as a “diffuser” but it was great to see the ingenuity of people. :)

Thanks to everyone who answered my question!

We all have what we consider the “tools of our trade” and while the people in our industry tend to use computers (software) more than power tools (hardware) they’re all still tools, and they help us get the job done.

(Disclaimer: Z2 probably has a workshop that rivals many people’s basements. We actually built our first three offices.)

I was thinking about tools recently when I was building a custom camera mount, and as I started to file something by hand, I remembered that I had a Dremel, which could probably do the job in about one tenth the time. Faster is always better right? (Well, not always…)

One thing I’ve noticed about Z2 Photo over the years is that Cory (being our main photographer) has continually refined his technique, and reinvented how we make photographs. We used to do almost everything with continuous lighting, which was great, because we used consistent techniques between photo and video. We eventually started using strobes more and more in our still photography, so now it’s a matter of how we want to control the light being the deciding factor in much of our shooting. We’ve also been working on some new techniques involving small lights set in motion, which allows for some amazing photos.

After thinking about these different techniques, it made me think about how we use the tools we have. While it’s been said that you need to have the right tool for the job, it’s also been said that when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. It’s a challenge to reinvent how you do things… to create new ways of using the basic tools, and to get used to using new tools… but that challenge is what makes it exciting, and hopefully what makes our work stand out.

Oh, I also wanted to mention that we’ll be revisiting our Z2 Photo Challenge. If you’re not familiar with it (as it’s been a while) you can check out Photo Challenge #1, Photo Challenge #2, and Photo Challenge #3. Photo Challenge #4 should see the light of day in a month or so.