Adult Day

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Today in Japan,  I experienced a beautiful celebration called Coming-of Age-Day. The holiday is held to celebrate all those who have turned 20 years of age. Girls dress up in the beautiful intricate Kimonos. Some use the day to make their own personal statement by going against the norm but none-the-less it's a great day to take pictures and photographers were out in full force.

How did he light this picture?

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This January I'm devoting much of my time to teaching photographers the art of photographic lighting.

 

If you'd like to learn how this advertising image for Wells Fargo was created and much more, sign up now at www.MatthewJordanSmith.com/FREE and you'll be added to our list and be among the first to learn how to use photographic lighting to make incredible images.

Happy New Year!

Always dream big

Inspired by Elle

For the last three to four months I've been working on a new way to teach photographers about lighting and the art of photography. Every day I spend as much time as possible working on my material to teach photographers. Today as I was going over one section of my upcoming series, I remembered what inspired me to first start looking into working with large umbrella light modifiers.

 

In the late 80's and 90's I was hooked on Elle magazine and the amazing images that were produced each month.  As I studied the images, I was intrigued by the way the photographs were lit. They were just beautiful! Elle magazine and the work of Gilles Bensimon opened my eyes to working to seeing light in a brand new way. 

Always  keep your eyes open for new ways of seeing light. Your inspiration may come from a magazine or from your day-to-day activities, but stay alert to seeing and observing light each and every day and incorporating  what you see into your images.

Yesterday I was walking down the street when I passed an area as the sun came through two buildings. I was so taken with the quality of light that I had to pull out my iPhone and record the moment. 

Look for light every day and always dream big.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

 

This year, I am starting to work on a new series of images. This is the first image in the series and I'm excited to bring the other images in my mind to life.

We all have something different that inspires us and I've learned that being in a big city is what inspires me more than anything else. Maybe it's the energy or the people, but big cities seem to get my creative juices flowing more than anything else. That said, I believe my time living in Los Angeles is coming to an end. La La land has been coolt in terms of weather but I miss living in a city where I walk out the door and see 1000 people the first five minutes of the day.

More soon!

Always dream big. 

The way we see

This holiday season as you take your pictures remember that your camera does not see the same way  you see. Next month I will begin sharing FREE videos on how to learn photographic lighting.

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Happy holidays and stay warm.

Always dream big

Testing before shooting

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I have an idea for a new photo shoot, but the concept is only in my mind. To make sure the idea will work in reality, I need to test it. Testing has always been a major part of my photo life and it still is. Everytime I test an idea it leads to creating something amazing. Hopefully that pattern ocntinues with my upcoming images

This past week a good friend came to town and helped me work out the kinks in my ideas and helped to make them better. These two images are shot back-to-back but one requires a lot more patience.

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Photographed with the Nikon 810 camera using the Nikon 35mm 1.4 mm lens.

I'll share more on these image over the holidays but for now. always dream big.

 

 

Do you see what I see?

About ten years ago Vanessa Williams releases a Christmas album titled "Star Bright." There was a broadway special that year and I attended the opening to watch my friend perform and it was incredible. Every Christmas season since then I hear songs from that album and it takes me back to that night in New York City when I first heard her sing songs from the album live.

Yesterday, while trapped in L. A. Traffic, I heard those words "do you see what I see" from my car radio and it made me think of what makes a photographer stand out from other photographers?

The answer is the way we see. No one will ever see the world exactly as you do so keep that in mind as you take pictures this holiday season. Take pictures the way you see the world and share your special unique vision!

Always dream big! 

An incredible lens

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My good friend Peter came to town yesterday and we spent the day talking photography and meeting up with another photographer friend of mine to eat sushi. After lunch Peter helped me by posing as my subject on a project I'm working on that will help photographers around the world learn lighting techniques.

At the end of the day we went to the beach and did a little experimenting with filters and different lenses and I feel in love with a lens that he owes, the Nikkor 14-24mm lens. Photographer, Joe McNally swears by this lens and now I know why. It's now on my MUST HAVE list and I can't wait to add it to my arsenal. 

Here's one of my first images with it.


   

 

 

 

Happy holidays and always dream big.

Should you use a tripod?

A few weeks ago I was shooting in Japan and using a tripod to support my Nikon D810 when two young guys walked up to me speaking English.  I learned they were visiting Japan for the first time and just happened to be from Los Angeles. They asked me why I was using a tripod and I told them I had an idea that needed a tripod to make my idea come to life. They both had iPhones and asked if my images were better from a camera and I explained that the images from their phones looked great on a phone but were limited outside being seen on a phone or on the web. They asked if I was a professional photographer and I handed them my American business card before saying goodby and wishing them a great time durng the rest of their stay in Japan.

This weekend in Los Angeles I went to a bonfire and brought my tripod along. I thought it would be a beautiful sunset and wanted to photograph the bonfire with the afterglow of sunset in the background. While I was shooting my friends wondered what I was doing but once I placed a few of the images on Facebook then started contacting me and saying how much they loved the images. They were all using smartphones to take pictures but didn't understand the concept of how light works. No matter how technology advances in the future we will always have an upper hand if you understand how light works and use that knowledge to your advantage.

All images were photographed with a Nikon D810 with a 35mm 1.4 lens on a Gitzo tripod

If you're looking for a great tripod try to Gitzo tripod out.  I've had min for more than 25 years and it will last several life-times. 

So to answer the question of "should you use a tripod?" Well, it really depends on the images you are creating but having a good dependable tripod is a plus for sure. You don't want to get a cheap tripod to put your expensive camera on. I made this mistake as a kid and once you have a tripod break on you or fall over you'll understand the downfall of cheap tripods. A good tripod is well worth the money.

Link: Gitzo tripod

Have a great week and always dream big!

My First Magazine Cover

This week I've been speaking with past assistants and interns about what it was like for them when they first started out. I wanted to hear what they thought about being in a professional studio for the first time and how it felt to deal with lighting. As I guessed, it was a very scary thing for most. 

At the start of my career I too was intimidated by photographic lighitng and I learned by working with constant light sources. The first two covers of my career were both photographed uisng constand lights and I still use them today. Even yesterday I found myself using the exact light I used to take my first career cover and I still love that light.

For the last few months I've been compiling everything I know about lighting to create something just for you. I hope to release it soon. If you'd like to know more join my mailing list. You can sign up on the right side of this blog post or sign up to receive my FREE lighitng video by going to www.MatthewJordanSmith.com/FREE.

Happy Holidays and always dream big.

How to select the right light

This week on the Master Your Lens podcast I spoke about the story of creating this image. Often times we see picturess but don't know the story behind them. 

As photographers, we have to visualize how we'd like our final image to look. Deciding which light to use is  just as important as deciding on the lens. Listen to this weeks podcast to learn why I decided to use HMI lights to create this image for HBO.

Always dream big.

The Art of Photographic Lighting

Learning how to see light can open the door to many new and exciting opportunites as a photographer. I always end this blog by saying "always dream big" but I know how scary that can be do try something new, or try something that hasn't been done before. 

It's easy to just stick with speedlights and call it a day but you can't get the fruit unless you go out on a limb. If I'd stayed in my comfort zone I would never have been able to shoot jobs like the Olay assignment below. 

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, but I grew up in South Carolina and If I can create the career I have enjoyed then you can too. You must first learn to master working with all types of photographic lighting and over the next few months I will focus on helping you learn more.

To start, here is a FREE video to help you with photograhy lighting. You can get the FREE video by going to www.MatthewJordanSmith.com/free

Always dream big!

 

 

Happy Birthday Tyra

Last week my friend Tyra celebrated her bday and had the final episode of American Next Top Model.

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As I look over many of the images we've  created over the decades I noticed I've shot her using almost every type of light under the sun. If you'd like to know how I shot any of these images fill out the photographic lighting survey below and I'll make sure to answer your question in a future post.

Link: Lighting survey

Sometimes I've used hard lights, 

Or modified ring lights, 

or a combination of strobe and constant light sources. 

Always dream big!

"I only shoot with natural light"

At the start of my photo career, I was terrified of using strobe lights. To combat that I said, "I only shoot with natural light" to cover up my fear of using lighting. As I learned how to use strobes it became easier and easier, but it took a lot of time and effort (and years of working as a photo assistant) to learn the art of lighting. 

 

The first part of learning how to use strobes is learning how to SEE light. This took a while but by working under a few amazing photographers as a photo assistant and working with strobes every day I was able to start to see light and learned the rules of lighting and then how to BREAK the rules. 

The first part of learning how to use strobes is learning how to see the light but seeing strobe light is difficult. First start by using one light only. Using one light will help you start to see how light works.  

I remember when I first started using strobe lights and thought my light would look one way, but when the images came back they looked very different than I imagined. I'd add more light, thinking it would solve my problems, but it often made them worse. Then I discovered soft boxes and used them as an easy solution to make decent shots but I still wasn't happy with my images. They looked the same as everyone else. It wasn't until I starting breaking down the process and taking lights away that I began to understand how strobe lights work. 

Take your time and start by using only one light and discover all the different ways to use one light. Let me know specifically what you'd like to know about lighting by filling out this one-page survey on lighting. Just click the link below for the survey.

Survey Link: Lighting

 

Always dream big!