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Welcome to Chuck Gardner's photography and lighting tutorials which offer baseline concepts a beginner can use to evaluate and light any subject in any style.

My approach is unconventional because it is goal and strategy oriented. I want the reader to understand the cause and effect for each action before any action is taken. It starts with a baseline understanding of how the eye is attracted when it looks at a photograph. The reason is simple. If one does not know what will attract the viewer's eye on a basic instinctive level, how can one create a photograph which effectively leads to viewer to what is most important in it?

This is the conceptual foundation for everything I teach:

1. Contrast attracts the eye of the viewer.
   
   
2. What contrasts the most strongly against the overall background tone will attract the most attention.
   
   
3. Every photo should have a point of visual balance or center of interest (COI) for the viewer's eye to find and a tonal "roadmap" leading to it.
   
   
4. Making the COI the most compelling tonal area in the photo helps the viewer find it easily and delivers the message effectively.
   
   
5. If the COI is not the most compelling tonal area in the photo what is will distract and the message will be less effective.
   
   

From that baseline it becomes quite easy to develop a combined lighting, clothing and background strategy to accomplish the underlying goal of a photograph for any subject and any style; leading the viewer to what is most important in it.


In the example above, taken from a photo I critiqued, the lighting on the people and the dog remains contstant. Only the color of the clothing and background change. The goal here is to create a point of visual balance between the white dog and the faces of its owners so they appear to the eye as a tight knit group. A monochomatic strategy for the clothing and background hides the distracting dog in plain sight to a degree which varies with its contrast with the clothing and background.

The original photo actually looked similar the illustration below; a jumble of jarring color contrasts which make the dog the center of attention because it is the biggest, brightest thing in the photo:


WARNING: My approach is unconventional in that it relies mostly on words and diagrams rather than photographic examples. I do this on purpose because photographers are visually oriented. Given the choice they will look at a photo and jump to their own conclusions about what it means rather than reading the text which explains the concept the photo illustrates. My approach forces the reader to think rather than just react to what they see.

If the sample above doesn't intrique and make you want to know how to spot and solve problems like the distracting white dog, my approach is probably not the right one for you. Everyone else grab a comfortable chair and dig in...

Feedback is welcome. My goal is to appeal to as many different personal learning styles possible. If you read anything you don't understand or you think something is factually or technically incorrect please drop me a line via e-mail and let me know.

Lighting Concepts

The Canon EX Flash System

Using Hot Shoe Flash

Using a Flash Meter

Using a Histogram - Digtal Zone System

Tips on Technique

Selecting Equipment

Older Tutorials

Pontification

Contact Information

- Introduction (top of page) -

Sun Tzu and the Art of Lighting This was a new take on answering the question, "I just bought some lights, now what?" in one of the lighting forums. It received many favorable comments from readers so I've added it here at the beginning as an introductory overview. (Added 1-12-2007)

COI for THOU (The Hard of Understanding) This was done as a joke for a couple guys on the forum who said they didn't understand why a center of interest in a scene or portrait is important and that my entire "contrast attracts the eye" approach is a load of crap. But its a good place for you to start so you can decide after you read it if you agree. I don't want to waste your time.

Human Perception Exercise  The BIG SECRET about lighting is revealed: It's not the light, but rather contrast and relative brightness of areas in the photo which triggers the brain to react and move the eye in a photo. This concept is the foundation for my contrast-based approach for teaching lighting.

Seeing Photographically Basic photographic concepts for beginners. A quick "food for thought" outline of how a camera captures an image differently that we normally perceive with our eyes.

From Clueless to Competent A tutorial to give a cluless beginnner to lighting a technically sound baseline for growth.

Portraits by Window Light Diagrams showing set-up for short lit full-face, oblique, and profile views by window light. Used in conjuction with the Clueless to Competent tutorial for those who don't yet own studio lighting gear.

Visually Effective Portraits  Originally published in PBase magazine , this article will provide more conceptual background for the Clueless to Competent tutorial.

The Role of Fill The type of fill and where it is placed relative to the face of a subject has a significant impact on the appearance of the highlights and shadows. it is one of the most misunderstood aspects of studio lighting.

Analyzing Faces A portrait photographer needs to understand faces the way a sculptor does; in three dimensions. The first vital step, before the lighting lights are turned on is to find the most flattering camera angle and distance.

Backgrounds and Clothing for Portraits Examines factors which influence the choice of background for a portrait. Key light and fill reveals the face but it is the contrast of the face with the clothing and background which draws the eye of the veiwer to it.

Painting a Background... or as I fondly remember it "Channeling Jackson Pollack and becoming one with the paint." (Added 1-12-2007)

Metering a White Background Making a background white without "nuking" it and other common sense technical considerations.

Photographing Groups The goals for photographing groups are different from those of a solo portrait and so are the technical challenges. This PDF format tutorial provides some effective strategies. Added on 12-16-2006

Hot-shoe flash Primer Explains the function of camera mounted manual, thryistor, and TTL flashes.

When To Use a Flash Offers a simple checklist for deciding when to use ambient light, flash or a combination of both. (2-17-2007)

Do you want to light up a room or control the lighting on a face? An explaination of the benefits of flash brackets and dual-flash lighting vs the single flash plastic cap diffusers now in vogue.

Fill Flash Concepts  How to use fill flash and sunlight to create visually effective low- and high-key backgrounds outdoors utilizing God's own hairlight.

Fill Flash Test  A baseline test to see how the 580ex flash performs in sunlight.

Building a DIY diffuser for hotshoe flash  There are dozens of flash modifiers on the market. You can build one which is better than nearly all of them in about 30 minutes with about $2 worth of materials. REVISED 07-18-2006

Metering 101   Metering exposure is really no more complicated than driving using the speedometer and keeping a eye on the side of the road for the cop with the radar. 1-16-2007

Lighting Ratios and Incident Metering Demystified  Explains the difference between incident and reflected ratios and how to set ratios with a Sekonic L-358 exposure meter.

Is a Hand Held Spot Meter Really Necessary?  It was for using the Zone System with B&W film, but not for digital. But if you own or want one I reveal the simplest way to use it with a digital camera (1-28-2007)

Using TTL metering  An explaination of how to use TTL metering effectively.

Interpreting a Histogram  More on how to evaluate a camera histogram and calibrate your brain to it in PDF format,

The White Towel Method for Perfect Exposure without a Flash Meter  An explaination of how to set studio lights using the camera histogram and a standard highlight reference object, a white terry towel. (PDF format)

Digtital and the Zone System  An explaination of why its not possible to use the Adams' zone system with digital but how range a digital camera can capture can be previsualized (PDF format)

Metering and Printmaking in the Adams Zone System  An explaination of printmaking for anyone who has never developed and printed Black and White film. (PDF format)

Understanding Digital Exposure   Digital exposures must be based on highlight detail to take maximum advantage of the dynmanic range (DR) of the camera. This tutorial explains my simple "White Towel" method for perfect exposure and how to determine the DR of a camera with just a gray card.

Understanding Digital Color   Digital cameras see the world in only three colors: red, green and blue. To record the color accurately the balance of those three colors must be set to match the color of the light.

How to use a Gray Card   A gray card is the most valuable tool a digital photographer can own and the only way to independently evaluate color.

Metering 101   Metering exposure is really no more complicated than driving using the speedometer and keeping a eye on the side of the road for the cop with the radar. (Added 1-16-2007)

Color Management 101   Explains why the real goal of color management is not perfect reproduction of the color, but rather predictable color from camera-to-printer within the limits of the equipment and materials .

Abobe RGB versus sRGB?   Explains the differences between the color spaces.

Using TTL metering  An explaination of how to use TTL metering effectively.

How to Hold a Camera  Camera shake is the number one cause of unsharp photos. Here I share the "human tripod" technique I use. (Added 1-12-2007)

Using "Inside-Out" Cropping to isolate the center of interest  Inside-Out cropping is a technique I use to remind myself to get past "tunnel vision" on the subject's face when shooting a phototo spot for and eliminate distractions. This tutorials explores composition and explains why the "rule of thirds" works; most of the time.

Panning to blur the backgound  This is an ambient light technique used to create an illusion of motion which isn't fully understood by most.This explains things you might not have considered when panning. (Added 1-12-2007)

USM unmasked Thirty years in the printing and publication business and actually making haftones and color separation the old fashioned way allow me to understand how unsharp masking actually works and what the name actually means (Added 1-14-2007)

Lighting Dogs and other Critters Lighting fur and feathers requires diffent strategies than lighting smooth skin. For a dog every light needs to be a hair light.

Butterfly Lighting Variables Explains all the variables which will affect the appearance of the butterfly lighting pattern - when key light is aligned with the center line of the nose.

Metering a White Background Making a background white without "nuking" it and other common sense technical considerations.

The Zeltsman/Zucker "Feet-Up" Posing Technique  Joe Zeltsman created a very simple posing technique which builds a pose from the feet up..

Posing Hands With Flowers  An explaination of how make a bride holding flowers look more graceful and elegant than a batter in the on-deck circle.

Equipment Primer for Beginners to Lighting  Explains the characteristics of various types of modifiers and accesories used in studio lightng.

What's in Chuck Gardner's Home Studio I'm not a professional photographer but I was trained by one of the best 35 years ago and learned my lessons well. My gear is similar to what a serious hobbiest might want for a well equipped home studio. My choices and rationale for purchasing are revealed here.

What is the best focal length for portraits?  It is the second question neophytes ask, right after "What lights should I buy?" This explains why question they should be asking is,"How far away should the camera be?" (Added 1-12-2007)

What is the best focal length for group portraits?  Two factors affect the choice of lens for group shots: perspective and edge distortion.

Is a Hand Held Spot Meter Really Necessary?  It was for using the Zone System with B&W film, but not for digital. But if you own or want one I reveal the simplest way to use it with a digital camera (1-28-2007)

Across the Digital Divide  An oldie which still has some useful parts. It was a hand-out for classes I taught in 2001 while I was working in the Philippines. Digital was new and expensive then and the target audience were people who had not yet made the jump to digital. It was expanded to cover reproduction topics because I presented it at a graphic arts show to graphic designers. I hadn't been using a digital camera very long myself at that point, so I didn't have a wide selection to photos to use for illustrations.

Essay on Criticism, Conventions and Creativity  Why learning technique doesn't stand in the way of creativity and why conventions and "rules-of-thumb" are benchmarks and vocabulary necessary for constructive critque.

Benchmarks  What are your goals in photography and how do you measure progress?

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