Aveqia | ©David Bicho

Each month we take a closer look at a certain item in Profoto’s assortment of Light Shaping Tools. We have previously covered the Umbrella XL, the HR Lantern, the Softlight Reflector, the Softbox 3×4’ RF, the ProRing 2, the Zoom Reflector, the Giant Silver and the Softbox 5’ Octa. This time we will take a closer look at the TeleZoom Reflector.

The TeleZoom Reflector is hardly the most well-known Light Shaping Tool out there but it has its devotees nevertheless. Swedish photographer and lighting instructor David Bicho is one of them.

“When I show images like these to my students, the first question I get is usually: how did you light that? When I tell them I did it with flash only, the second question is: how did you do that? What do I need to create such depth in the light? Now, the reason that they ask is that many photographers would use a couple of softboxes and put the lights right next to the subjects. But if you look more closely at these images, you can see that the people in the foreground are lit exactly the same way as the people in the background. The light covers much more distance than a softbox ever could. This is more like sunlight, right?” (more…)

Fuse Book Cover | ©Kevin Twomey

San Francisco photographer Kevin Twomey was recently hired to shoot the cover for Julianna Baggot’s post-apocalyptic novel Fuse. To illustrate the novel’s dark content, he was asked to photograph a water bird in a stressful environment, and Kevin, who wanted to keep it simple, decided to shoot just the bird’s wing, splashing water and stirring up feathers. He then brought animal trainer Joe Krathwohl, the one-year-old pelican Neptune and a couple of Profoto generators with him to his studio and got down to business.

The rest of the story can found on pdnonline.com. You should also check out Kevin’s website.

©Tim Wallace

We often talk about life changing moments. But if a photograph is a snapshot of a moment, should it not also be possible for a photograph to change our lives? Tim Wallace certainly thinks so.

“I distinctly remember one photograph that changed my life,” says Tim. “I was working as a press photographer at the time. The Prime Minister was giving a press conference, and all of us press guys were in front of him, as you would expect. But I couldn’t get a clear shot, so I ended up going behind the pulpit instead. I then noticed that he had his shoes and socks off and his hand was sort of shaking. He was obviously very agitated and hot! So above the pulpit, the guy looked as if he was composed and in control, but underneath, you could see he was very nervous. I took his picture like that, and it ended up in all kinds of places all over the world. That made me realize how important it is to look at things from a different point of view.” (more…)

©René Kramers

It is interesting how different answers you get when you ask photographers what it is that they like about photography. The art, the technique, the technology, the documentation, the interaction with people – there seem to be as many answers as there are photographers out there.

“I love to solve problems,” answers Dutch photographer René Kramers. “When a client or an ad agency comes to you with an idea, it’s up to you to turn that idea into a result. The challenge is of course to figure out how to do that. So in a sense, photographers are like problem solvers. And that is something that I really, really appreciate.

“This is connected to the fact that I enjoy working with people. Together you are almost like a football team. You find the right people for the right position, you have a common goal, and when the atmosphere is right and everybody is enjoying themselves, you might just be able to create something mind blowing.”

(more…)

©Benjamin Von Wong

Montreal based photographer Benjamin Von Wong was recently asked by medieval costume store Les Artisans D’azure to create a series of promotional images. Benjamin, who evidently got pretty psyched about the assignment, managed to find a medieval looking village, recruit 50 volunteers willing to dress up as orcs and knights, and convince Lozeau photo equipment to provide about 40,000$ worth of Profoto equipment. And all this in just two weeks!

As if that was not enough, Von Wong also managed to film a behind-the-scenes video and write articles about the entire process, including lighting diagrams and insightful tips on how to organize a massive shoot like this on a two week notice. You will find the video and more images below. If you like what you see, we highly recommend that you also check out Benjamin’s website, where he gives a more detailed description of how the images were created. His article on DIY photography regarding the actual organization is also well worth reading.