The Master Lighting Course

We were asked by a photographer friend why we chose the Profoto D2 over so many other lights.  And I think what this photographer was really asking was - 'Why did you pick it over so many other less-expensive studio lights?"

The answer is simple, and oh-so-complex.  

We love the Profoto ecosystem of products.  They make good stuff.  Of course they aren't perfect - nothing is - but their products are as close to what we would design if we could. 

We were an early adopter of the Profoto B1, then the B2, and we are currently long-term testing B10s as well.  And while we love these battery-powered studio lights they have one painful drawback for our use case.

Kim and I are pet photographers. We are very-high end dog, cat, lamb, pig, what-ever-you-have pet photographers based in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.  

The problem with all battery-powered lights is frame rate - specifically - recycle time.  Batteries simply can't recycle as fast...

In December 2019, I gave a talk titled "Advanced Techniques in Exposure" to a local group in response to their questions about the popular "Expose to the Right" (ETTR) exposure strategy.  

ETTR is a contentious subject - the benefits may or may not make sense for you in your individual circumstance.  My point, ultimately, is that the more you understand your camera, exposure, and the options available to you, the better your chances of creating what you feel is a technically superior image.

This is a video created from a high-quality audio recording timed to the slides I was using/  There are a few simple edits to remove some of my tangents and side discussions. 

Members can find this video in The Studio Lighting Course, Module 7 - Bonus Materials.  

I am working on more of these "other" videos from some of my existing lectures.

I hope you find it helpful!

-Bud

We have just added our overview of the Godox AD400 PRo and AD600 Pro battery powered studio lights. 

Remember: the Godox brand of lights are foten re-labeled.  Adorama calls them "Flashpoint" and B&H Photo calls them "Wistro".  Our friends at Molights just call them Godox lights (logical, right?) which you can see here.

Current Master Lighting Course members can see our video buy logging in and navigating to The Studio Lighting Course, Module 6, Studio Lights.

We have just added our overview of the Godox XPro Transmitter. 

Current Master Lighting Course members can see it in The Studio Lighting Course, Module 6, Wireless Transmitters.

To view the video, you will need to be logged in!

We will have a great video on the AD400 Pro out tomorrow or perhaps the day after.  Stay tuned!

Our long time followers know that Kimberly and I run Kimberly Sarah Photography in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.  We are a specialty high-end dog and pet portrait studio serving a luxury clientele.  

If you are curious about who we are and what we do - and how we serve our clients - check out this video.  

Featured Podcast: The Profitable Photographer

If you would like to hear more about Kim and Bud and their work with Kimberly Sarah Photography and The Master Lighting Course, you can listen in on episode 24 of The Profitable Photographer with Luci Dumas.  There we talk about our philosophies and so much more!

Submit your image for a constructive critique!

The Master Lighting Course will be hold a monthly critique of selected images.

While we can't review every image submitted, we can sure try!

Check out the Review page for all the details!

For those with short attention spans: yes, there is a big difference.  But now onto to the real meat of the matter.

In the world of portraiture, especially outdoor portraiture, there is a strong following among those that really adore the bokeh of wide open apertures, and specifically the bokeh of 'fast' telephoto lenses like the Canon 200mm f/2 lens.

But we can't be alone in wondering this: is there that much of a difference between the 70-200 f/2.8 lens - a solid professional lens with fantastic performance, and the very heavy, very expensive 200mm f/2 lens.  

Not being the type of folks to rely on other's opinions of lenses, we decided to find out for ourselves.

We took the lenses out as part of a photographic "play date" of sorts - they kind where we film lots of content and snippets for the upcoming Outdoor Lighting course that will be released this Winter.  

And while we performed all sorts of hands on testing - testing that involved a running Belgian...

As you all know, we are physically located in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA and as such, we are in our peak fall foliage season right now!  The colors are splendid, the fall air is getting it's chill, and we all know that winter is coming up fast.

In preparation for the long dark cold winter, we are banking new video content as fast as we can create it!  We are creating the content we will need to release the new Outdoor Lighting course!  

So while you wait for that course to go live (Winter, 2019-2020), may we suggest you use this time NOW to get up to speed on your indoor studio lighting work?  Remember: the real key to understanding lighting outdoors is to understand lighting indoors first!

Starting today, you can now get access to all of the content of The Master Lighting Course with just one low monthly payment.  Yes, we have changed to a monthly subscription!

I know you will be pretty excited about this - now you can come check out what we have cooked up and see all that we have to offer you and your photographic work.

You CAN learn photographic lighting!

You CAN improve the quality of your work both in and out of the studio!

You CAN stop copying and start CREATING!

The Master Lighting Course, with over 100 videos (or is it 120?  Seriously - we have SO MUCH CONTENT!) - we have the solutions to the challenges you face.  We arm with all the tools you need to not only use studio lighting, but to use it confidently and effectively.

Want to know more?  Want to check us out?  Sign up for The Master Lighting Course.  You won't regret it.

Questions?  Please contact us!

Remember: The Outdoor Lighting class is in production NOW and will be...