Newbies: What's your biggest challenge?

[Steven Pam]

If you're reasonably new to photography OR you've been shooting a while but are new to controlling the lighting or working in a studio environment (including your garage),
what are your biggest challenges (or your single biggest challenge)?

Maybe some of us who have been at it longer can give you some tips, and learn something ourselves in the process

 

[Frank Doorhof]

Not a newbie anymore but I can give you some pointers I find a lot in my students.

1.
Flat lighting.
Alot of beginners will start out with too much light and the result are pictures that are flat and not interesting.
Start out with one light and don't use it straight on the model but from an angle, this way you can get wonderful shadow sides and great depth.

2.
Start out with purely fashion, forget nudity for the first 1-2 years.
First master fashion than move on to the much harder nudity.

3.
To understand the light you have to see the light.
But to see the light you have to understand the light.

LEARN your modifiers and flashsystem by heart, know exactly what everything does.

4.
Have fun

 

[Steven Pam]

Great tips, Frank. Understanding the properties of light and learning how to work with one are both critical.

 

[nyschulte]

Just finished first year with (studio) photography

Biggest concerns/remedies not in order of relevance:

spill coming from walls/ceiling of small studio
. -> bigger studio under construction with painting walls and ceiling black and grey

cutting of fingers / arms / legs
. -> more carefull composition

coaching the model
. -> getting better with experience
. . --> more fun with each session

consistent lighting
. -> taking notes / diagrams , experimenting new lighting setup on a showcase doll

duration of session (sometimes more than 4 hours)
. -> as consistency of lighting improves and coaching the model becomes more effectif time required decreases dramatically
. . --> same models come back more often to profit from my improvments, so i get more experience . . .

hobby / passion / obscession
-> photography started as a hobby, became quickly a passion and now an obscession.
. . --> watch out when friends and family tell you that you are obscessed

Nicolas

PS: Many thanks again to Frank for his excellent teaching

 

[Kathy Rappaport]

Not enough room!

Yes, I answer to the photographically obsessed.

I bought some monolights and softboxes not too long ago and they are overpowering for my 13 ft x 13 foot room that is too small .

So now I am looking for a space that I can use ongoing as a studio. That means I have to earn enough to pay the rent on it, which means advertising and getting out there.

It's a vicious cycle. - I love it.