Become Better Photographer: Top Three Tripod Tips with David Bergman

*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opens up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com

Have a tripod? Great! Know how to use it? Even better 🙂 In this episode with photographer David Bergman Adorama TV we will show you top three tripod tips!

Become Better Photographer: Top Three Tripod Tips with David Bergman -Tutorial, three tripod tips, Studio Photography, shot at FD Photo Studio, rental stages, quick tips, Photoshop, Photoshoot, Photography blog, paid photography, modeling, Los Angeles, How To, gear, gallery, FD photo studio, fashion photographer, DTLA, David Bergman, blog, Adorama TV

David’s first tip is “to always point one of the legs towards your subject, the reason is actually quite simple. By pointing one leg in the direction you’re shooting, you can safely stand between the other two legs without worrying about bumping your setup and messing everything up. “

David continues: “You can even put a little stepladder or stand on a hard case in between those legs. If you need to get some more height.”

David’s Tip 2 is “about extending the legs of the tripod. Keep in mind that the sections get thinner towards the bottom. If I don’t need the full height of the tripod I prefer to extend the higher sections first, which are thicker. “

“It makes me a bit nervous to put my heavy camera on top when the bottom is only being supported by the thinnest part of the legs. This is especially true if you’re using a less expensive tripod, that has very thin plastic legs. “

Lastly, David’s third tip is “to add some weight to your tripod to give it more stability. Sometimes the center post has a hook built in, or at least holes, so you can attach something. I keep a bungee cord in my bag, and like to hang my heavy roller case from the post. This pulls down from the center, and gives me a little more peace of mind that nothing is going to move while I’m shooting.

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – “Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting” Workshop!

will take place on April 10th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

Madison In The Rain By Oliver Lum

Photographer Oliver Lum about the shoot:

Given that Madison is based on the east coast, when we first started planning our shoot, we wanted to try shooting something that took advantage of the resources and opportunities available in LA. As we were discussing ideas, Madison sent a few inspiration images shot at the rain room (Hill 7). As luck would have it, I’d been meaning to try shooting there. The shoot got off to a rocky start, as technical issues trying to mix strobes from different manufacturers led to almost 30 minutes of lost time. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While I usually prefer to shoot natural light, I thought that due to the black walls shooting natural light would be out of the question. I obviously turned out to be completely wrong. All of the shots here used only the available light, and a single 3′ x 4′ reflector camera left to bounce some of the window light to lightly fill. Once we got started, the shoot could not have gone better; Hazel’s makeup withstood the water better than anyone expected, the light catching off the rain drops accentuated Madison’s incredible physique, and we made off with some great images!

Madison In The Rain By Oliver Lum -wrongron, Wrong Ron, wet photography, Studio Photography, shower stage, shot at FD Photo Studio, rental stages, rain room, rain photography, Photoshop, Photoshoot, photography services, photographer, Model, Madison In The Rain By Oliver Lum, Los Angeles, FD photo studio, DTLA, blog, blackout stage, beauty shoot, !Hill7, !done

About photographer:

Oliver Lum is a LA / San Diego-based photographer who recently moved from the east coast. His style mixes the lighting, composition and editorial color grading found primarily in fashion photography with the style, poses, and sets more emblematic of the glamour genre. An applied mathematician by day, the technical aspects of photography are what originally led him to start shooting. He credits @5twenty1, @jethroalaba, @dreamstatelive, and Khoa Bui as some of his biggest creative influences. To contact him for tests or collabs, reach out to him on his IG at @olphotographic.

About the stage:

Studio Hill 7 also known as a rain-room stage, offers unique experience for photographers to capture images in a wet environment”. Equipped with one of a kind shower system, now you can shoot models in the “rain” against white/black backdrops. For more information visit stage Hill 7 on our website.

Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting | WORKSHOP

Ready to learn how to shoot portraits? Then this workshop is for you! On April 10th, photographer Toma Kostygina will explain the patterns of the face , the separation from the background, distance and color tricks, planes of lighting, etc. One lovely model will be there to assist her demonstration and your practice! This class is open to any level, from professionals who could use a refresher to new photographers working on their skills.

Here are few details about workshop:

Who?

Toma Kostygina INSTAGRAM WEBSITE

Photographer Toma Kostygina is one of the best teachers we are proud to have at FD. Her experience in both photography and teaching photography has already touched 100s of students in Los Angeles.

Her teaching approach goes both ways

via online tutorials like this one
or cosy uniques workshops she teaches at FD.

What?

We will cover several topics to get you up the speed:

1 Introduction.

2 Portraiture Lighting.

3 Demonstration with Model

4 Practice with Model

Where and when?

FD Hill Studios (FD Photo Studio Hill Location), April 10th, 2019, 7pm – 9pm.

How much?

Tickets are only $35 and we have few spots left!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Bri Gisella In Pink

Undeniably vivid, striped pink, sensual and sexy, this photoshoot was definitely fun for Model/Styling/MUAH Bri Gisella and Photographer/Editor/Styling Denise Luce.

Few words about the photographer:

“Hi from behind the lens – I’m Denise! A big part of why I became a photographer is because I know all too well how it feels to hate every photo you’re in. It doesn’t have to be that way. My heart is passionate about making people, especially woman, feel extraordinary about themselves. (because, HINT: you ARE!) When I create images for you, I create them for YOU. You want to be remembered in beautiful, soft, silky boudoir? Let’s do it! You want a high-fashion, dramatic look? I’m your girl! You’d rather have dark, evil, fantasy images of yourself? Well, guess what – I love it! ”

This session’s crew comprised of:

photographer: Denise Luce | Instagram | Website model: Bri Gisella | Instagram | Website

At the location:

Studio Hill 5 is one of the best option we have for creative crews on the budget. This Romantic White Stage has its windows facing South, which provides plenty of natural light for photographers. Among studio’s unique props are Gold Bellman Cart, White Decor Frames Wall, “Victoria Secret” like pink striped wall section and a pink upright piano. As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already. For more information visit stage Hill 5 on our website.

Evan Carter and DiDi in NY Studio 3

Our “Exposed Brick” Studio in New York is known for its abundant natural light. This session with Evan Carter and DiDi was yet another evidence to that! Great work of this creative duo!

About the crew:

Photographer @evvster , evancarterphotography.com

Model: @di.viner

About the stage:

NY Studio 3 is one of our brightest stages. The theme of the stage is exposed brick and concrete wall for nice rustic look, As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already. For more information visit stage NY Studio 3 on our website.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHERS answer GOOGLE QUESTIONS about FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

Karina Dobra and Robert Tate at FD Studios answer most common questions about fashion photography, found online!

Without knowing what the next question might be, it was hilarious to watch the reaction of our beloved photographers, surprised by what people can possibly ask on the web about their profession!

The full interview is available of YOUTUBE. For your convenience, here is the transcript of it as well.

Robert Tate: How are you guys doing? My name is Robert Tate. I’m a fashion photographer based in LA.
Karina: My name is Karina, I’m a fashion and editorial photographer based in Los Angeles.
Robert Tate: Today we’re gonna answer some of the most googled questions about fashion photography.
Karina: Me? You? I’m confused.
Robert Tate: I have absolutely no idea.
Karina: I’m like going in a different direction.
Robert Tate: Why be a fashion photographer? Don’t. All right, here we go. Let’s get started. How does fashion photographers make money? That’s a tough one. The most common way is being hired by a brand. You have look books, you have just kind of general marketing content. There’s always the e-commerce photos that you have to shoot as well, which is essentially just the photos that kinda go up on their website and things like that, that they use to sell their clothing.
Karina: What is high fashion photography? To me high fashion photography is something very edgy, unique. It’s not about classy looking people, it’s something, someone who’s edgy. But again, it’s all very subjective because everybody has their own taste and interest. For me this will be a high fashion photography, for someone else it won’t be.
Robert Tate: How to do fashion photography at home. I mean, I think the good thing about fashion photography is that it is about the fashion. It really doesn’t matter where the setting is ’cause the focus of it is really the fashion. You have a fashion concept and you can kind of make the style of shooting fit to where you are.
Karina: How much do fashion photographers charge? Well, it all depends. If you’re shooting for a private client, for a company, for a brand, who is … you’re shooting for. Yeah, it can start from a few hundred to thousands of hundreds of dollars. I need to think about it.
Robert Tate: I’ll take it. You want me to take it first?
Karina: No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, I’m gonna do that one . Okay.
Robert Tate: You’re getting the whole history .
Do fashion photographers sleep with models? Wow, that’s awkward. If they want to. I don’t know. I mean, I think when it comes to photography, it’s just like any other industry. If you have a connection with somebody, you have a connection with somebody. If you don’t, you don’t. I mean, that’s … You could honestly ask that question about any industry, so yeah, I guess my answer is if they want to. Oh, man, it was just getting good, man.
Karina: What camera do fashion photographers use? Oh, there’s a huge number of cameras. There are like Nikon, Canon, Sony, Phase One, which is a very expensive camera, I’ve shot with it a few times. It’s good for the billboards. Yeah, I mean, but it costs like $50,000 just for the body, and plus lenses, it’s gonna cost you a fortune. But those cameras are used mostly for billboards and for production. But personally I prefer Nikon, that’s what I shoot with.
Robert Tate: What lens do fashion photographers use? The second most common question. Again, I would answer that with, it depends on the project. I personally like … I do kinda like a classic run and gun look, so when I’m outdoors I really prefer a 35 millimeter just because I kinda like the organic on the run, you know, to me it gives you the perfect amount of background and subject. Indoors, I would probably, 99% of the time I’d go with the 24 to 70. And if you’re doing portraits, I mean, the go to portrait lens for most of the photographers that I know are 50 millimeter or 85 millimeter.
If you guys have any more questions about fashion photography, feel free to send them, and we’ll do our best to give you guys an answer.

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – “Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting” Workshop!

will take place on April 10th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch Full Episode On Our Youtube Channel

Griselda Violante in Art 1

Nice and simple photoshoot with a creative duo – model Griselda Violante and photographer Steve Sinzia – happened in stage Art 1.

About the crew:

Photographer: Steve Sinzia

Model: Griselda Violante

About the stage:

Stage Art 1, a long-time FD Photo Studio favorite, was used for this shoot. With the high-key white industrial design that FD is notorious for, Stage Art 1 is a clean setting that can be manipulated to fit all kinds of projects. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning. Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.

WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING TODAY? We Asked 4 Photographers Ep. 4

WHAT IS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE? WE ASKED 4 PROs

You might be a photographer if… Your eyesight from staring at the computer has gone from F11 to F1.8.
Naman Pokarna’s Photography

WATCH THE FIRST PART OF 4 PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES HERE .

In the 4th episode of quick photography surveys dedicated to artist’s vision we asked photographers Mila Zvereva, Joon Song, Dametreus Ward and Paul Roustan to describe their style.

The full interview is available of YOUTUBE. For your convenience, here is the transcript of it as well.

Mila Zvereva: I’m sexy, glamorous, and confidence boosting photography.
Joon Soon: I think it’s very intimate, and very close. I take a lot of inspiration from modernist photography, so a lot of sort of like, , or contrast, sort of out of focus. Also, you know, I’m really trying to explore unusual compositional elements, combined with … eventually I combined with more sort of Renaissance, sort of influences as well.
Paul Roustan: For my stuff, I think, you know, it’s on the side of gallery artwork. And a little bit more conceptual stuff that celebrates women and men.
Dametreus Ward: I would say what separates me, that I get a lot from clients, is my availability to not overedit. Sometimes clients run into people that overedit, and so it makes them not really look like the same person that they really are.
And then, skin details, I’m very big on, when it comes to editing and skin details, texture, that’s a thing for me, and that’s been getting me more work, as I come along, and the years are going. So, that I would say separates me from a lot of other photographers in the industry.

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – “Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting” Workshop!

will take place on April 10th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode om our Youtube channel:

VOIR’s Personal Project

Photographer Eric Gonzalez who goes by the artist name VOIR, (which means to see, in French), has visited us in stage Art 3 for his personal project dedicated to capture very lush, feminine and with fertility undertones.

About Photographer

I am an LA based photographer, born and raised in the valley. I enjoy shooting Fashion, Art and Lifestyle photography. This particular photoshoot was a personal project that I have been wanting to shoot for a while.

About the stage:

Stage Art 3
is one of our most popular stages. Featuring shot perfect props such as an elegant white-and-gold chair with a mirror as well as a luxurious bathtub, this stage is always on a high demand. Art 3 now also presents a gorgeous rose wall for your unrivaled, outstanding background setting. Besides, this studio is supplied with a seamless backdrop paper of black,grey and white color and studio lighting found in all of our spaces, promoting it as a very flexible creative space. For pictures and more information about stage Art 3 check out our WEBSITE.