*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com
Composing the photo piece by piece is a meticulous yet very rewarding process. You, as a photographer, are in full control of lighting conditions, framing, and overall set environment. Famous NY based photographer David Bergman with AdoramaTV is going to talk about how he likes to build up an image one piece at a time.
“I very often I find myself using multiple flashes to make a portrait. I can place speed lights almost anywhere individually like small sections of the image. This allows me to create depth and texture on my subject or in the background. I’ll use an image from last year’s cover shoot for the Belikin calendar that I did here in Belize to show how I put that into practice. After I had my camera positioned and determined the image I wanted to make, I use a low ISO, and close down my aperture just enough to kill the ambient light completely. Without my flashes it’s a completely dark frame now I could begin to add light only where I wanted.”
“In this case I started by setting up one speed light off-camera right to light the jukebox, and move the light around until I got it exactly how I wanted it.”
“Then I turned off that flash and had someone stand in for the model. Setup a hair light, high above and behind him so I could separate him from the background. Once the hair light was set I added back in the jukebox light, to see how those two lights looked put together.”
“By the way one of the joys of using radio-controlled speed lights, is that I can turn the lights on and off and change their intensity right from the camera. I don’t need to physically get to that hair light every time I want to make a change. Once I confirm those two lights looks good together, I turn them off and repeated this process over and over.”
“Setting up the next light alone and then trying them all together to build up the image slowly but surely In the end I added in the light on my subject for that final piece of the puzzle once that one was set I could just shoot away knowing that all of my lights are doing exactly what I want. That allowed me to concentrate on getting the best out of my subject without having to worry about what my lights were doing. So break down your own images one piece at a time, and you won’t have to think about any of the tech stuff.”
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Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV: