Best of Lighting Studio

Lighting Studio is the most notorious of all the classes at Brooks.  Everyone has memories of sleepless nights, 24+ hour studio blocks, terrible group members, fighting for studio times and other horrors.  Thankfully my experience with LS was pretty good!  We did have some ridiculous hours in the studio for the infamous Black Glass 1&2 assignments, but my group was awesome.  In this class we learned how to light products and how to take more commercial/advertising photographs.  For example, an ad for something like perfume or a new book.  We used a digital large format camera and computers to capture all of the images this session so the only thing I have really taken with my D700 is set shots for assignments.  Time management was key for this class and I was planning weeks ahead of time to make sure everything was done.  I was even able to fit in a few day trips and a weekend in Vegas so I feel like I did well.

The first two weeks were the hardest of this class.  Black Glass 1&2 are technical assignments that teach you how to understand incident angles and how they can be used for lighting.  We probably spent 48 hours total in the studio for the first two weeks.  10 shots were due each week, and in one of our first studio blocks, a single shot took us 6 hours to finally reach.  Sound ridiculous yet?  Our teacher says that he could give this assignment to a 10 year advertising photographer veteran and they would have a difficult time.  Black Glass is notorious for any Brook's student, so much that some even have Black Glass related dreams.  Here is the only image I have from this assignment.  You are trying to reach assigned darkness/brightness in the tops and bottoms of each image.

After the first 2 weeks (of hell), you are pretty much left to shoot whatever your heart wants.

Black Glass 3

We used the same concept as the first two weeks to light products for an advertising look.

Copic Markers!  Initially I asked my friend if I could borrow some for the backgrounds assignment, but I did not expect to be sent all of his collection!  It worked out so well though because they look so awesome all together.  

The first shot I took in the studio for Black Glass 3.  I am incredibly proud of how it turned out. 

Gatsby hair wax.  I specifically had to go to LA to get this product.  I have been wanting to shoot Gatsby since the session began and I am very happy with how this one turned out.

Backgrounds is an assignment were you use a background other than Black Glass.  You keep the same product and just change the background.  My subject is a Nakamura Yusuke art book.  For those of you who don't know, he does the artwork for the Japanese rock band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation (one of my favorite Japanese bands).  His style is awesome, and I highly suggest you check him out.   http://www.digmeout.net/members_e/artist56.html

This picture I wanted to show some of his line of work as the background.  His style is so colorful I thought it would be a perfect backdrop for the book and would make you want to look inside.

For this one we had to make it an environmental picture.  This was supposed to be an artist desk (with the Copic markers) and someone using the book for reference or inspiration.

Themes

These photographs had to have at least 5 elements and look like an actual room or a conceptual piece.  My traditional theme was a lomography desk.  I am really into these lomo cameras and film and I have collected these cameras over the past few years.  I love using film still and I am always surprised with how my images turn out with the Holga and the Diana.  The second image is a Crushcake and some of the ingredients used to make one.  I actually wanted to get some vanilla beans, but when I was at the store I totally forgot, and then realized it was probably better not to buy them since they're expensive for just using in a photograph.  I'm not completely satisfied with either image, but I think they worked for the assignment.

January 2011 marks the 1 year anniversary of me starting at Brooks.  I have learned SO much in the past year and it all went by so quickly.  This LS class went by lightning fast, and pretty soon I'm going to be in the portfolio class!  Brooks has been life changing and I hope you guys are enjoying the work I have been producing.  Thanks for all your continued support.  :D