Pro secrets: All the small things that most pro photographers will never share
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- Join me as I reveal all the secrets behind successfully capturing 40 professional athletes in 8 lighting setups in just 10 minutes each! I’m going to share with you the strategies that I use in high-pressure commercial photography situations to always keep the shoot on track and to maintain my calm no matter what happens. My hope is that these examples from a recent basketball trading card photoshoot will help you make it through whatever life throws at you on set, wether you’re a family photographer or an advertising photographer!
There’s a saying I’m sure you’ve heard “if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.” As photographers, we're no strangers to the unpredictable - whether it's a late subject, gear hiccups, weather or our clients styling. Being a photographer isn't just about capturing moments; it's about mastering the art of problem-solving. Now, picture this scenario: your client entrusts you with the task of photographing 40 professional athletes and you only have 10 minutes with each player. The challenge intensifies as you navigate through multiple poses, various lighting setups, and the stringent demand for perfection. As you can imagine, failure is not an option. This daunting feat has been my reality year after year, and the key to my success lies in anticipating every conceivable problem, adapting swiftly to unforeseen challenges, and always having a reliable backup plan.
Click here for a full list of all the gear I use in the studio - shop.howl.me/JohnGress
If you liked this video you might also like learning from me on my members only platform, The Academy with John Gress johngress.com/academy/
set.a.light 3D Software www.elixxier.com/en/#v2=62cde...
Use Code JOHN-15 to save 15%
Assisting me on this shoot is: / anthonytoglife and / @anthonytoglife
Gear used during the shoot
Canon EOS R5
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWpm8UM
Amazon amzn.to/3vPGmeb
B&H bhpho.to/3VbPdUw
Canon BG-R10
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWADdkp
Amazon amzn.to/2OUmRQY
B&H bhpho.to/3niVtNI
Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWYcCHb
Amazon amzn.to/3tHbPxm
B&H bhpho.to/3L6f1Na
Elinchrom FIVE
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmUpjV1
Amazon amzn.to/3Um6V61
B&H bhpho.to/3LcypYZ
Elinchrom ELC Pro HD 500 monolight
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmNwUld
Amazon amzn.to/3rPBOmL
B&H bhpho.to/3HkLr5E
Elinchrom ELC 500 Studio Monolight
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmb4t6R
Amazon amzn.to/2PzMLGP
B&H bhpho.to/3oJXVx7
Elinchrom ONE
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmxwjA4
Amazon amzn.to/3pbNkvm
B&H bhpho.to/3VdWeUY
Elinchrom Indirect Litemotiv Strip Softbox (13 x 69”)
Adorama howl.me/cjCnml5FQG0
Amazon amzn.to/33NTasn
B&H bhpho.to/44b7B43
Elinchrom Rotalux 150cm Indirect Softbox
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmBqePP
Amazon amzn.to/44uSXVl
B&H bhpho.to/3M3NKwR
Elinchrom Rotalux Deep Octabox (70cm / 27.5”)
Adorama howl.me/cjCnv9WSyB2
Amazon amzn.to/3IxitgV
B&hbhpho.to/3AIN1uy
Elinchrom Rotalux Stripbox 35x90cm
Adorana howl.me/cjCnv9oDSZ6
Amazon amzn.to/3nUwD3M
B&H bhpho.to/40PXZbZ
Elinchrom Skyport Transmitter Pro - Canon Version
Adorama howl.me/cjCnv9bHPJN
Amazon amzn.to/3rPCubN
B&H bhpho.to/3nmfGlN
Tether Tools TetherPro Right Angle Adapter USB 3.0 to USB-C Pigtail Cable, 20", Orange
Adorama howl.me/cjFnO8ODuMQ
Amazon amzn.to/3lo6gj4
TetherPro USB-C to USB Female Adapter (Extender), 15' (4.6m) (High-Visibility Orange)
Adorama howl.me/cjFnQCwSGnF
Amazon amzn.to/33Eeca8
Westcott 6x6' Scrim Jim Cine Kit
Adorama howl.me/clygAWB3ABk
Amazon amzn.to/4bAQOeH
B&H bhpho.to/3HHZpOT
This video was shot with a
Canon Cinema EOS C70
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWADdkp
Amazon amzn.to/3vkvy7X
B&H bhpho.to/44dCV23
&
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.0
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWOwhRU
Amazon amzn.to/3vkEWbE
B&H bhpho.to/426bKEM
Evoto bit.ly/EvotoJohn01
Topaz Photo AI www.topazlabs.com
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
02:35 - First Trading Card Shoot
03:00 - Pocket Wizards
04:12 - Elinchrom Mobile App
04:39 - The Overall Stategy This Year
05:25 - Flash Duration
06:21 - Sekonic 858
06:57 - No Diffusion
09:28 - Breaking down the lighting
09:40 - Look 1
12:35 - Look 2
14:02 - Look 3
14:52 - Look 4
15:49 - Look 5
15:60 - Look 6
16:56 - Tether Tools Cables
18:09 - Look 7
19:07 - Look 8
20:06 - Adjustments in the Elicnhrom Mobile App
20:49 - Catching Mistakes
21:54 - Camaraderie
22:34 - Working with Art Directors
24:03 - Gear
24:16 - Reserve Heads
25:43 - Extra Triggers
26:07 - Battery Power
26:37 - Sand Bags
27:42 - Evoto AI
28:05 - Midjourney
28:32 - Topaz Photo AI
29:10 - Gray vs. Chroma Key?
29:48 - Conclusion - Навчання та стиль
Hands down one of THE BEST instructors out there.. and I've been a DOP for 34 odd years..
You can NEVER stop learning and THAT'S I why I come back to this channel time and time again.
WOW! Thank you so much! Always learning new things has been the key to my success.
You're one of the best educators/photographers out there. Alot of great info to digest. Your work is great.
Wow, thank you!
I agree with this!!
I rarely comment but this definitely deserves praise and a comment for the algorithm. Not only were the results insanely good but you also managed to put this in a perfectly structured video. Many great insights! Cheers
Wow, thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing John!
My pleasure
One of the best presentations you've done! There is so much food for thought, even for non-professional/commercial photographers! Kudos!
Thank you so much!
this video is absolute gold, I’ve found myself in these shoots and couldn’t agree more on everything you shared.
Thank you so much!!
John, this is my first time watching your content and I can easily say that you have dropped some gems in this video! I shoot Senior portraits and since I've realized that athletes are my ideal Senior client, these type of sports portrait photo shoots are becoming essential for me. As complex of a setup you had for this, and me realizing that I'm not quite on this level, there is a lot to learn from this, so thanks, I appreciate it! I'm subbed...
Thanks Russell. I was probably doing more than most of the people shooting for other clients on this even because I just love anything that is complicated! I am sure you could pair it down to 2-3 look or at lest put into action a few of the ideas. Best of luck in your endeavors!
@@JohnGress Thank you. I can't say that you're wrong for being complicated, you seem to handle it well for sure!
Thanks!
Incredibly thorough and GENEROUS! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks Chris! I hope it was helpful.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your channel!!!
Wow, thank you!
Great video and great work. Thank you for the advices!!!
Thanks! I hope it was helpful.
Right on John! Great explanation on the set-ups. All yield truly amazing results. Thank you for sharing your knowledge my friend!
You bet! I hope to see you soon in the Valley of the Sun!
John! Hands down one of the best, most insightful and inspirational videos I’ve seen in a long time. Thank you for capturing this shoot & sharing it. I have so many questions and will go back to watch it over again. Really enjoyed this and great job!
Thank you so much Frank! LMK!
Fascinating workflow
Thankk you so much!
Impressive setup. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
This is gold!
Thanks! Glad to hear it!
Lots of helpful nuggets in this one John!
Thanks James!
I've been watching your channel for quite a while now, and this one is just amazingly over the top. All the photos look fantastic, and the process is beyond belief in how you met the needs of this very unique project. I guess what I really take away from this is if anyone thinks they can save money by not hiring an established professional for whatever their shoot requires, they are totally missed the boat. So many UA-cam videos talk about some super small detail about some amazing new camera or new lens, while it seems obvious that experience and willingness to learn from that experience is everything. Admittedly, I'm looking forward to the next lesson actually applicable for an amateur, enthusiast photographer, like how to shoot in ambient light with one reflector or one strobe and nothing else, but this lesson is filled with valuable advice for any situation, regardless. Very cool, and beautiful work.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Using a reflector in general will have to go on my list. 😊😊
This is a next level. RESPECT!!!
Thank you so much!
Now that’s a day in the life of life of a pro commercial photographer. Thank you so much for a lucid explanation of your shoot process.
Thanks Drew!
I should check more of your videos. Great ideas.
Thank you so much!
Good tips. Thanks for sharing.
No problem! Thank you!
Outstanding work. Looks beautiful
Thank you so much 😀
exemplary video John, so much respect for your ability to adapt and overcome
Thank you so much Darcy!
This is amazing, John! Thank you! I enjoyed seeing you helping out the presenter during the maternity session at Imaging USA 2024. You handled the technology great and made sure everything kept going smoothly.
Thanks! If you can't help your friends what good are you! She helped m during my classes too.
Awesome, thanks for sharing
Thank you!
Wow, my hats off to you John Gress and to Anthony Toglife that was a complex Shoot! But thank you for sharing the process as well as the way you made it work for the time frame you had the Athlete's. For sure having the Art Director right there directing the Athletes made your life easier as you can concentrate on shooting. You standing on the apple box(although you are tall) made sense as well, I am short(5'4") and encounter the same when shooting Digitals for Models especially the Head Shot. Its better for them to stand up (posture wise)but then I have to stand up on something in order to be at eye level. Thank you Sir for your generosity of sharing so much in this great channel of yours!
Thank you so much! Another photographer was shooting in the same room for a different client and he had a step ladder!
Another great video! I really enjoyed watching the photoshoot for the cards last year and how you laid out multiple setups. It’s great to listen to how you planned out the shoot, and cover different aspects. At least rate your workshops will be filled up for two years out! Keep up this great content!
Thanks Travis! I hope to see you soon🙏🏼🙌🏼
Good video John. Thanks for the information! 🥰
My pleasure! Thank you!
This is the best free education from a true working professional. Thank you! 🤙
Wow, thanks!
This is an exceptional clip. Thank you for posting. Laymen do not understand the amount of work needed to create images of this quality. It is not like, "Your photos turned out good; what camera do you have?" Years of study, practice, and persistence.
My highest respects.
Thank you so much! I have a very nice camera too 😜
This is a very thoughtful and interesting video. Thank you!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
very informative, thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Great Video!
Thanks!
As a professional photographer myself who used to be a photo assistant, this is a fantastic explanation on how a commercial set is run from EQ and problem solving. Kudos.
Thank you so much! It’s a lot of fun building and running a factory!
wow! you are the best! photos looks great!
Wow, thank you!
thanks for this video sir
Most welcome!
fantastic!
Thanks!
As usual, I really enjoyed your presentation.
Thanks! Glad to hear it!
I am completely in love with all the images that you created. I aspire to be this good
Thanks! You can do it!
Wow. Really great video. Its speaks to volume shooting, effective studio management (can be used outside of photography), light management, and sound photography principles regarding flash power. In addition, discussing how you configure modifiers is powerful and provides clarity to the BTS content. Wow.
Wow! Thank you so much Bryce!
Thanks very very much for your video. I enjoyed it very much as many of your other videos. super impressive work. And as lightning is my weak spot its always interesting to watch someone who knows so much about it. I think are absolutlyl crazy reusing various lights in different setups but crazy in a cool way. I want to do that tooo. I will try to figure out how to control my flashes from an iPad or Mac. Sounds very smart although i usually only have 3 flashes..... I also understand the part of the flash duration (in case you were wondering). keep up the good work.....
Thank you so much Christian. I usually only use the APP when I am using 4+ lights because thats more than the trigger and my light meter can usually manage =)
Holy moly! What a shoot! I can’t believe you created 8 different lighting scenarios. 🤯Impressive! I love what you’re creating with AI too. Very inspiring work as always. Thanks for sharing the video!
Thank you so much! The whole process was a lot of fun!
Wonderful process to get nice images in the alloted amount of time. Good teamwork
Thank you very much! It was a pleasure!
Thank you! I'm a local sports photographer for some schools in my area. I will definitely take information from this video and use on my next session.
Awsome! I hope it will be helpful!
Very useful video (as usual)…Thank you from southwestern France
Merci beaucoup!
This was fascinating. Incredibly interesting shoot and methods. Thank you!🔥
Thank you so much !
Thanks for the informative video John! Always appreciate your concise explanations in all your videos. I had a shoot a couple of years ago with 38 athletes that I was making composite banners for. I shot each one in 16 different poses and got it done in about an hour and 15 minutes. Granted, I didn’t move any lights around like you did but it was a daunting shoot for me. I had an assistant that helped me, which is a must for a shoot of this size.
Thank you. It's sound like you were working in record time!
I honestly surprised myself, especially since I was working with Middle School aged kids. 😂 Thanks again for sharing. I really enjoy your photography and the level of technical detail that goes into each shoot. Hoping to attend a class of yours one day. @@JohnGress
Thank you so much! That would be great!
Great content John! It was great seeing you at Imaging and hanging out at the Late Night Lounge. Let me know when we can talk about coming to California.
Thanks Kevin! It was great seeing you too. I should have emailed you on the spot. Now I have to go through my pockets 🤦🏻♂️
Incredible breakdown of a cool shoot. I can only imagine how much time you spent planning this out in advance.
Thank you so much! Maybe half a day of thinking and a day of pre lighting and testing.
John!!! Thanks for this info!! You put out a lot of information especially how to stay on your toes and be quick to take each player photos within a small time. I also like the information about lowering your strobe power for fast recycling during action shots Of course I do not have all of the gear that you have, but I believe I can set this up in a smaller scale. Great video as always!!
Thanks Fred! I hope you had a great time at imaging. I am sure you know a thing or two about staying calm under pressure and backup plans.
@JohnGress I did have a great time at imaging! It was an awesome experience learning new things. It was also great meeting you! I hope to see you again soon!
Thanks! Likewise and that sounds great!
Like others have noticed, the minimum output of the Elinchrom flashes can still sometimes be too strong so I’ve not opted to buy ND gels from Lee Filters to cut down the output. Grabbing the 0.3 (1 stop) means it can be stacked easily enough but gives a lot more headroom and granular control of fill lights when 0.1 is still too hot.
Based on some WB tests I conducted, I would avoid going below 1.0 in action mode..
The apple box was just as important as your lights 😂
Ha! In addition to that, try getting up and down off the floor that many times per day!
Congratulations for mastering this challenge- regards Juergen
Danke Schone my friend!
Really nice video and great forward thinking setup. I love these kinds of "problem solving" shoots. Never found a use case for the pre-programmed setups in the Elinchrom software, but you just found the perfect way to use it. Also nice to see 4 Indirect Litemotiv strips at the same time. Kind of a dream setup to shoot competitive pole dancers.
Thank you so much! Now that they have been discontinued I feel pretty lucky to have access to them.
@@JohnGress Didn't even know they were discontinued!
Shooting must have been tedious, editing must have been an absolute nightmare.
I have done low budget shoots alone (difficult clients) but this shoot is on another level.🎉🎉.
I've learned something today.
On the contrary. The shoot was an absolute job and the editing was fun too. I’m glad you learned something.
@@JohnGress is it possible to just pay monthly for your lessons just for a few months
Talk about problem solving. I was stressing just thinking about managing that many lights, stands, and modifiers, let along repositioning them. Now I'm wondering how you balance all of the lights. If the ambient lights were on the whole time, but you wanted to shoot at lower power to ensure shorter flash duration, it must have been tough to ensure proper exposure. I know my lights take a while to recycle at high power which would have made shooting continuous photos difficult. Fantastic work as always. It's fascinating to see the behind the scenes on such an elaborate shoot and with only one assistant!
Oh damn, I forgot to put the time tapes in there at the end of us packing up!
Thank you so much. You just have to make sure that your ambient light isn't effecting your images. So the best way to check is to use manual exposure and set your camera up to the correct exposure setting for your flash units and then take a photo without flash. If it's eventually black or blank then you're good. If you can see stuff then you will need to power up the flashes so you can over power the light in the room.
Very insightful in terms of multiple portraits literally from one spot for the model (within reason). No doubt a LOT of thought has gone in to this to achieve all the images with such a quick turn around. You mention though the post was done by the client - are the files automatically uploaded to the cloud that the clients' post have access to?
Thanks! I handed a disc off to them on set.
Great! Stripscraper :D
John, hello from Scotland. I really like your style of communicating, such valuable content. Can I ask please if you gelled the lights? (e.g. CTG). It looks like no. If so, is this because you cut out the ambient light? Many thanks, Colin
Thanks Colin! I didn’t use any gels and I over powered the ambient light by about 3-4 stops.. 🥃🏴
Would love some more info on using the eos tethering with capture one to have files written both to the camera and the laptop. Can you elaborate on this workflow? Would it work with Capture One for iPad?
I can do more than Elaborate! Here is a video. I am not sure how the iPad tethering would work. ua-cam.com/video/nGlcO-Pb64E/v-deo.html
John you are brilliant in your work and explanations.May I ask what lens you used , aperture , and did you use eye detect for focus on Canon R5
Thank you so much, but you are too kind! I used eye detection and I shot at 5.6 with this lens:
Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWYcCHb
Amazon amzn.to/3tHbPxm
B&H bhpho.to/3L6f1Na
@@JohnGress Thank you =Vasili (South Africa)
I will be very interested in a video where you explain how to use and program the Elinchrom mobile app. Best regards
This video covers it.
ua-cam.com/video/BO3p0VjyKjU/v-deo.htmlsi=43pckweyem3oH1sM
Great video John. Can I suggest a different shirt as I got a lot of aliasing artifacts.
Thanks! I wasn't thinking about that when I bought it, but hopefully you wont see it again on camera!
And here I am struggling to put up an umbrella!😄
🤣🤣🤣
You mentioned occasionally missing shots from the shotlist, was that more a misfire, forgetting, or both? Did you have a printed checklist of shots for each player or was it a mental list?
It was a mental list of poses we needed
Are you using the term "motor drive" to be synonymous with "continuous shooting mode" as opposed to single frame drive mode? I hadn't heard the term before (had to look it up) and so at first thought it was referring to some external device as opposed to the camera setting.
Yes! That is what I meant. In olden times when I was a newbie motor drives were external devices so now I feel old 😂
Great tutorial, nicely done.. In the future please use a camera with an aa filter or change the shirt...
How are you changing the background?
Hers a step by step. Using AI to Make Composites : Firefly, MidJourney & Generative Fill in Photoshop Beta
ua-cam.com/video/aawE1ZFxl78/v-deo.html
Do you prefer Elinchrom strobes to Profoto?
I switched from Profoto to Elinchrom in 2019.
Thank you so much for the thorough and very informative video, John. Some feedback about the talking head segment: your skin colour temperature seems a bit warm/orange and the occasional moire pattern on your shirt is slightly distracting. Otherwise a great video!
Thanks. The shirt will be retired!
I am guessing that you did not unroll the background paper more (for a seamless look) because of the movement that would be happening? Great video.
It think it would have been unsafe and they would have likely ripped it
Thanks!
My question for you is the wattage of the lights and the distance How do you balance them, or calculate them, when mixing lights of different wattages?
I used a light meter to determine how to set the power of the lights. The watt second ratings of the lights indicates their maximum output. They can all be powered down in 1/10th stop increments so my choice of what to put where would be based on if I needed more than the maximum power of my weakest light, but I didn't exceed this amount on any of the lights in this shoot.
For example, if you have 2 lights, one 800 watt and one 400 watt, and the 800 watt is adjusted to 1/2, and the 400 watt is adjusted to 1/1, are they the same?-------------I still don't quite understand if it would be possible to do a member's course on these Thank you For example, power and distance, I've never been able to find the answer on the internet@@JohnGress
The watt seconds is the input power, not the brightness, but they might be the same in that scenario. If you need them to match you would want to use a light meter to adjust the power until they do.
You mean the watt-second output size only affects the intensity contrast and not the brightness, right? How can I understand the relationship between watt-second and brightness in a simple way, but in reality when I turn up the watt-second, the picture is really exposed, and I've spent a lot of time not being able to find the answer, thank you for helping me!@@JohnGress
What seconds is a measurement of how much energy the light consumes to output the flash burst. It's like how much gasoline your car uses. More gas may take your further, but it really matters what car you're putting the gas in. Light models from the same generation from the same brand are going to likely get the same mileage per gallon, but that is not always true. WS is simply an indication of potential output and not a measurement of brightness. So if you want two different models to output the same brightness, then you have to use a light meter to help you adjust their power settings to make sure the brightness is the same. On the other hand contrast is controlled by the materials, shape and size of the modifiers and has nothing to do with brightness or watt seconds.
Me: the what now...? There's an APP to save scenes/settings?! Gamechanger!
It’s pretty cool!
I really don’t understand why you say light warms up when a diffusion is placed.
We know blue light is hotter and energy of the same wavelength has similar effect whether red or blue
Now the second part light is not softened when another diffused material of same size is placed on top of another. What it does is rescatter light allowing light that was previously not allowed to pass through as its quantum probability has changed.
But at the same time cutting power.
Am I misunderstanding something?
Usually the color temperature in Kelvin of light is lower after it passes through fabric.
@@JohnGress so that’s why it goes toward red. The part of that question is then why do we make higher kelvin head toward yellow and lower kelvin towards blue. Isn’t that backwards? Of course like I mentioned that doesn’t change the similarity of energy of the “wavelength” yes more than likely the answer is perception of color. But is that really all there is to it
I get this a lot. The WB slider in editing programs iapplies a correction. It's blue on the left because you are adding blue, not because the light is blue.
@@JohnGress thanks for replying. I know the other questions I asked weren’t answered and I’m wondering if it’s because it new information (some of it) about light so it hasn’t been incorporated yet?
How much would you charge for something like this? I’m guessing no less than $10K
YOU SHOT WEMBY?!
😉
Where's the link to your assistant's Instagram account?
My bad! instagram.com/anthonytoglife/ and www.youtube.com/@AnthonyToglife
Ok, so I left a comment on a different video of yours, complaining about the prices of courses nowadays. I like you though I might have to save up and check you out.
Thanks. There is no subsitute for in person learning so I hope to see you at a workshop some day. Until then, I will be looking forward to your next comment.