So back in late March I finally had the chance I’ve been wanting for the past year and a half. To work with and learn from Eric and Amber Langlois of RAW Photo Design. You may be familiar with their work but if you aren’t, check them out. One of the things they are best known for is their ability to light any and every situation. Their images have a unique style that really stands out in the field of wedding photography. While many photographers have resisted using supplemental lighting and have struggled to master the use of natural or ‘found’ light, Eric and Amber dove in to experimenting with and mastering the use of off-camera lighting to own and control every situation and environment they find themselves shooting in. I have been researching and reading about off-camera lighting for some time and slowly accumulating new gear along the way. But some things are best learned in the field and with hands on practice. Eric and Amber keep their lighting workshops small so that they can provide lots of one-on-one attention and so attendees get lots of chances to practice throughout the day without having to compete for a chance to take pictures! (If you’ve been to a big workshop, you know what I mean!)
We met on a cold and wet day in March. Not exactly the weather we had hoped for but sometimes it’s good to be forced into a tricky situation. There was some freezing sleet that day so standing out in the open wasn’t a viable option. We headed to a nearby parking garage for some shelter that would still give us an “outdoor” feel. I loved seeing how the use of some really simple off-camera lights and modifiers could turn an ugly parking garage into a super cool, well-lit environment. Our model for the day was Desiree’. She was a trooper freezing her butt off for our cameras!
Here she is just standing against a concrete wall in a dimly lit parking garage. We were using just a simple flash and umbrella for this portion of the shoot:
For this next pair Amber reminded me to “walk around” the model and see if there were any other angles I want to grab before changing the set up. Good advice most of us “know” but sometimes forget in the moment. Voila–two of my favorite shots of the day–thanks, Amber!
Later we all crammed into the stairwell for a few minutes to see what we could come up with in a confined space. This is a perfect chance to illustrate how drastically some simple off-camera flashes can transform your shooting. Below is an untouched image grabbed with just ‘available light’–no flashes.
Desiree’ is still beautiful but the above image does nothing for me! Check out the same pose below with 2 off-camera flashes added. One behind her head (no modifier) and the other off-camera to the left with an umbrella. Bam!
We headed back outside to the roof level to play around with a softbox and some other lighting options. Love this shot of Amber in her super-hero-photographer-pose as we wait to get started:
We played a bit with gels to alter the color temperature of the “real” light we were seeing. Pretty cool!
Here is the “behind-the-scenes” set-up we had goin’ on for the next few:
So pretty!
Thanks so much to Amber and Eric for your ability to make this process so accessible and so less scary! And to Desiree for being such a good sport on such a crappy day and, of course, for being so photogenic! =)