Read Online The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets From One of the World's Top Shooters by Joe Mcnally - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Joe Mcnally
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click. Ooh, ooh, ooh! Click, click, click. Ooh, ooh, ooh! That damn little LCD monitor’s like crack cocaine. Better than a Polaroid and I didn’t have to wait 90 seconds in the cold weather with the thing tucked under my armpit, hoping it would develop properly.
Man, it’s cool. But also dangerous. You can miss lots of moments with your head stuck in your LCD. Checking what just went on is a surefire ticket to missing what’s about to go on.
None of these pictures is huge just on its own. It is the sequence that works, the moment-to-moment agony and apprehension of having your test paper corrected. The sum is definitely greater than the parts and if you are checking the LCD, you are not putting together the parts.
Be disciplined. Keep your eye in the camera and your head in the game. Plenty of time later to moan, cheer, laugh, or cry.
Where Does the Light Come From?
“When I look at a window, I will often say, you know, ‘nice view.’ But in my head I’m saying, ‘light source.’”
Window washer Jan Demczur saved five people trapped with him in an elevator on 9/11 by using his squeegee blade to scrape through 6″ of sheetrock. That squeegee now resides in the Smithsonian.
I photographed Jan on the world’s only giant Polaroid camera [ 1 ] immediately after the World Trade Center attack. We got to know each other a bit. He’s a likable, simple guy. Like many, his life went on hold after 9/11.
[ 1 ] Giant Polaroid Camera: Referred to as “Moby C,” it is the world’s largest Polaroid camera, capable of making life-size images 40″ wide by 80″ tall. The interior chamber of the camera is the size of a one-car garage, and it was devised by Dr. Land and the engineers at Polaroid.
About a year later, I caught up to him at his home in New Jersey. At that time, he didn’t go out much. There was a sense of isolation—9/11 lingered.
When I look at a window, I will often say, you know, “nice view.” But in my head I’m saying, “light source.”
Where does most light come from anyway? The windows! Ever wonder why the cameras are moving and the actors are dialoguing and you’re seeing all over a room in a Hollywood movie but you never see the stands and the lights? They’re all outside, sometimes down the block.
Jan’s window was huge and on the first floor. Light source! I put a strobe on the front lawn, triggered with a pocket wizard. [ 2 ] The lacy curtains were perfect as an imperfect, irregular softbox. One pop and the room filled with light. He sat on the bed, alone with his thoughts.
[ 2 ] Pocket Wizard: A highly sophisticated radio-triggering device used for firing strobes and remote cameras. Think of it as a really fancy garage door opener. (Just kidding. These are seriously effective field units.)
How to Get This Type of Shot
When you do this, use one strobe head. If you put up two lights, you might have double shadows, which is something the sun does not do, it being a singular light source. If you have to use two heads and two packs for power reasons, make sure the second head is clamped to the same stand as the first and line it up exactly.
Jan Demczur
Make Your Day Longer
“You can extend your sunset working life dramatically by putting your subject next to a body of water.”
Make your day longer. Now that doesn’t sound desirable. But it is if you’re a photographer desperate for as much golden hour as you can get. One way to do that is to use water.
Ever notice how the streets in the movies are always wet? Did it always just rain?
Nope. But the water truck just went through. Streets glisten when they’re wet. They look cooler. You pick up f-stoppage.
When doing flash at the edge of sunset, you’re desperate to get that beautiful sky and face of your subject. Not too tough, actually. Hit him with some light, crank your strobe up at +2, underexpose the sky. No biggie.
But then, where is your subject standing?
Man, it’s cool. But also dangerous. You can miss lots of moments with your head stuck in your LCD. Checking what just went on is a surefire ticket to missing what’s about to go on.
None of these pictures is huge just on its own. It is the sequence that works, the moment-to-moment agony and apprehension of having your test paper corrected. The sum is definitely greater than the parts and if you are checking the LCD, you are not putting together the parts.
Be disciplined. Keep your eye in the camera and your head in the game. Plenty of time later to moan, cheer, laugh, or cry.
Where Does the Light Come From?
“When I look at a window, I will often say, you know, ‘nice view.’ But in my head I’m saying, ‘light source.’”
Window washer Jan Demczur saved five people trapped with him in an elevator on 9/11 by using his squeegee blade to scrape through 6″ of sheetrock. That squeegee now resides in the Smithsonian.
I photographed Jan on the world’s only giant Polaroid camera [ 1 ] immediately after the World Trade Center attack. We got to know each other a bit. He’s a likable, simple guy. Like many, his life went on hold after 9/11.
[ 1 ] Giant Polaroid Camera: Referred to as “Moby C,” it is the world’s largest Polaroid camera, capable of making life-size images 40″ wide by 80″ tall. The interior chamber of the camera is the size of a one-car garage, and it was devised by Dr. Land and the engineers at Polaroid.
About a year later, I caught up to him at his home in New Jersey. At that time, he didn’t go out much. There was a sense of isolation—9/11 lingered.
When I look at a window, I will often say, you know, “nice view.” But in my head I’m saying, “light source.”
Where does most light come from anyway? The windows! Ever wonder why the cameras are moving and the actors are dialoguing and you’re seeing all over a room in a Hollywood movie but you never see the stands and the lights? They’re all outside, sometimes down the block.
Jan’s window was huge and on the first floor. Light source! I put a strobe on the front lawn, triggered with a pocket wizard. [ 2 ] The lacy curtains were perfect as an imperfect, irregular softbox. One pop and the room filled with light. He sat on the bed, alone with his thoughts.
[ 2 ] Pocket Wizard: A highly sophisticated radio-triggering device used for firing strobes and remote cameras. Think of it as a really fancy garage door opener. (Just kidding. These are seriously effective field units.)
How to Get This Type of Shot
When you do this, use one strobe head. If you put up two lights, you might have double shadows, which is something the sun does not do, it being a singular light source. If you have to use two heads and two packs for power reasons, make sure the second head is clamped to the same stand as the first and line it up exactly.
Jan Demczur
Make Your Day Longer
“You can extend your sunset working life dramatically by putting your subject next to a body of water.”
Make your day longer. Now that doesn’t sound desirable. But it is if you’re a photographer desperate for as much golden hour as you can get. One way to do that is to use water.
Ever notice how the streets in the movies are always wet? Did it always just rain?
Nope. But the water truck just went through. Streets glisten when they’re wet. They look cooler. You pick up f-stoppage.
When doing flash at the edge of sunset, you’re desperate to get that beautiful sky and face of your subject. Not too tough, actually. Hit him with some light, crank your strobe up at +2, underexpose the sky. No biggie.
But then, where is your subject standing?
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