Matthew Jordan Smith Diagrams Lighting for the Ray Allen Shoot
It doesn't make a bit of difference that this video is three years old because Matthew's skill set is timeless. That might be one of the things I love most about looking through the Profoto archives - it's their ability to pack a lot of educational information into a very short amount of time and the concepts their artists share NEVER expire!
Just trust me and enjoy the next two and a half minutes, then jump over to Amazon and check out Sepia Dreams. Matthew is an amazing artist, great writer and a good friend to so many of us in this industry and, oh yeah, a great speaker and instructor. If you find he's speaking at a venue on your list, run, don't walk to grab a seat!
A big thanks to Profoto USA and their never-ending quest to keep providing us with great educational material!
Skip Cohen
Just trust me and enjoy the next two and a half minutes, then jump over to Amazon and check out Sepia Dreams. Matthew is an amazing artist, great writer and a good friend to so many of us in this industry and, oh yeah, a great speaker and instructor. If you find he's speaking at a venue on your list, run, don't walk to grab a seat!
A big thanks to Profoto USA and their never-ending quest to keep providing us with great educational material!
Skip Cohen
Tyra Banks and a Classic Image from Matthew Jordan Smith
This short video is a classic from our Dean of Portraiture, Matthew Jordan Smith. I love his comment in the beginning, about people asking him "How did you shoot that?" NOT - what they were really asking is, "How did you light that?" Understanding lighting is critical to your growth as an artist, regardless of what your specialty might be. In this three minute video you're going to get some phenomenal tips to think about creating classic images like Matthew did with Tyra! A big thanks to Profoto, who spends almost as much time on education as they do on developing great products for photographers! Skip Cohen
Vanessa Williams and the cover of Working Mother Magazine
It's another gem from Profoto and Matthew Jordan Smith. It's only a two and a half minute video, but Matthew comments about the relationship with the subject bringing everything together. He's written about it and talks about it in every workshop he teaches. He also talked about it in the podcast we did together just a few months ago. (Just click on "Archives" and scroll down the page - you'll find it if you'd like to listen to it.) It's how you make your subjects feel that brings out the most beautiful images and natural expressions. The experience they have working with you will always trump most of your skill set!
Shaking It Up with Zendaya
I'm a huge fan of everything good buddy Matthew Jordan Smith does. What I love most is the simplicity in the way he teaches. Catch this new video from Profoto and how much information Matthew packs into less than three minutes. Yes, it's an infomercial and if that bothers you, my apologies, but it's time you got over it! LOL There are hundreds of great videos all produced by Profoto that can give you an incredible foundation in better understanding the art of lighting. With great artists like Matthew, who can teach as well, watching a video like this will never be a waste of your time!
In this new video, all done behind the scenes, Matthew takes you through his thought process when doing a portrait of Zendaya Coleman from Disney’s Shake It Up. He's using just one light, outdoors and powered with the Profoto Pro-7b. He uses his favorite light shaper, a beauty dish on a mini boom, giving him a beautiful quality flat light
If Matthew isn't on your radar it's time. Follow him on Twitter and keep tabs on his site for the latest announcements of what he's doing next. Check out his store for great videos at more than reasonable cost. Skip Cohen
In this new video, all done behind the scenes, Matthew takes you through his thought process when doing a portrait of Zendaya Coleman from Disney’s Shake It Up. He's using just one light, outdoors and powered with the Profoto Pro-7b. He uses his favorite light shaper, a beauty dish on a mini boom, giving him a beautiful quality flat light
If Matthew isn't on your radar it's time. Follow him on Twitter and keep tabs on his site for the latest announcements of what he's doing next. Check out his store for great videos at more than reasonable cost. Skip Cohen
Matthew Jordan Smith
In this new video Matthew Jordan Smith talks about the ingredients to create the perfect photo shoot. Check out his post by the same name and then listen to his newest podcast.
Matthew's Favorite Lighting Tool
In this video Matthew talks about one of his favorite tools, the Profoto Beauty Dish, technically known as the Profoto Softlight Reflector. It's only a two minute piece but he said two things that really hit me hard.
First, he tests all of his lights and accessories. Not just to see if they're working, but to make sure they give him what he wants with different distances to his subjects, different heights and angles of placement. He's looking for consistency from image to image and his lighting is one of his trademarks. How many of you understand your gear so well you can envision the shot with 100% accuracy before you click the shutter? Second was his comment about his lighting being his signature and all part of his style.
First, he tests all of his lights and accessories. Not just to see if they're working, but to make sure they give him what he wants with different distances to his subjects, different heights and angles of placement. He's looking for consistency from image to image and his lighting is one of his trademarks. How many of you understand your gear so well you can envision the shot with 100% accuracy before you click the shutter? Second was his comment about his lighting being his signature and all part of his style.