3 POINT LIGHTING
Three point lighting is often the best way to create a flattering portrait, shoot a great headshot and make an interview on video look professional. Here is the essence of three point lighting:
Key Light – This is your primary light source.
Fill Light – This light adds illumination to the shadow side [...]

Last week I wrote a feature called Depth of Field 101. Taking those techniques a step further, you have what’s called hyperfocal distance. Hyperfocal distance is the focus setting where you will get the maximum depth of field on a lens. When using the hyperfocal setting, everything will be sharply focused from [...]

Yes, it’s true. Many new model point-and-shoot digital cameras are also movie cameras. Simply turn the dial on the top of your still camera to the movie camera icon. When you press the shutter release button, you will be shooting a movie with sound and everything. Granted, the quality of [...]

There are two kinds of hand-held light meters: incident meters and spot meters. An incident meter measures the light falling on a subject, while a spot meter (also called a reflective meter), measures the light reflecting back at you from the subject.

A standard tool in movie making is a fog machine. Fog adds atmosphere to a shot, reduces contrast, softens the image and can create shafts of light.
Fog machines are great for shooting night exteriors because a few small light units can illuminate a large area when fog is present. The light hits [...]

In moviemaking, there is a great prank often played on the newbie on the production crew. More often than not, this is the Production Assistant, fresh out of school, who knows next to nothing about filmmaking. The camera crew calls the PA in with an URGENT errand. “Quick, drive to the [...]

Many moons ago, I ran the film office at the International Film & Television Workshops in Rockport, Maine. It’s an amazing place offering one-week classes in photography or film/video. I can’t speak highly enough of The Workshops. In fact, it was there that I decided to go to film school and become a [...]