You’re in a creative profession, so think creatively! I was young and poor once,
too, but I didn’t let the fact that I didn’t have the money to buy certain equip-
ment stop me from building or creating what I needed. Today, I may buy a cer-
tain reflector, but that’s because in the hour I’d spend building one I can
generate a lot of money for my company. Long ago, however, the time I spent
building sets and painting backgrounds saved me more money than I was mak-
ing in photography, so building my own stuff made sense.
If I suggest a reflector that’s not in your budget, cover a piece of foam-core
board with mylar. If I explain that I use a certain light box and you don’t have
it, use a cheap umbrella with the same reflective interior material as the box I
use. With a little practice—okay, a lot of practice—you will create beautiful im-
ages that your clients will buy.
Camera Selection.
When photographing inside the studio, I use a digital camera tethered to a lap-
top computer. I do not select the digital camera I work with based on what the
advertisements say or what speakers at a seminar tell me I need. I buy cameras
based on the final output size I intend to produce. (Note:In the not-too-
distance future, we are going to be to at a point where the images from the lat-
est, greatest digital cameras will actually recordtoo muchinformation. As we
did in the days of medium-format fine-grain film, we will have to start diffus-
ing images with larger facial sizes—just to give clients a preview that isn’t scary!)
When I am in the market for a camera, I borrow or rent the cameras I am
interested in and take some test shots. Then, I test the files to see how much
they can be enlarged before they start to fall apart. Not all 10-megapixel cam-
eras produce the same image quality or enlargement possibility. In the tests I
have done, I found that the Canon digital SLRs, with their CMOS chips, typ-
ically allow a greater enlargement possibility than the other brands with CCD
chips of a similar size. Again, this is for the way I shoot—I don’t want you to
sell your brand new Nikon and buy a Canon because I prefer them. If the equip-
ment you have does the job, stick with it until it no longer works or no longer
does the job.
Camera Settings.
JPEG File Format in the Studio.In the studio, I shoot JPEGs, because we
show the client his or her images right after the session is over. If you know
how to control your lighting and color balance, there is no reason to shoot
RAW files. In fact, if you’re shooting with a 10+ megapixel camera, RAW files
just waste time and storage space in most sessions that have a final output size
under 20x24 inches.
Custom White Balance.To ensure consistent images and printable-quality
JPEGs, however, you need to do two things. First, you need to use a custom
16 JEFF SMITH’S GUIDE TO HEAD AND SHOULDERS PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHYIf the equipment
you have does the job,
stick with it.