Monday, October 19, 2009

Kevin Winzeler BTS vids: Big Lights, Small Lights



Got intro'd to Park City, Utah photographer Kevin Winzeler by a mutual friend last week and got a look at a couple of behind-the-scenes videos from his site.

Nothing heavy today, no tutorial stuff. (Hey, it is Monday.) Just good block-and-tackle examples of what every commercial shooter should be doing as standard marketing in 2009. (And, of course, a little lighting pr0n for us.)

The first one, above, is big-lights shoot of several MLS players in Salt Lake City. You have to pause the vid periodically to get an extended look at the results. But this high-dish/rimlight wrap really combines well with a little sweat-in-a-bottle for epic athlete stuff.

Hit the jump for a small-flash video, links to Kevin and results of these shoots.
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Speedlit Triathlete



In the second video, he works in close to a triathlete (in swim mode) with ziploc-baggied speedlights to up the drama from the hazy sunlit ambient.

Seriously, look at the difference between the ambient on the video and the final results.

Underexpose that ambient and it becomes dramatic. Your subject becomes a black hole, of course. But when you fix that with a pair of small flashes (plenty of power up close) it all comes together.


Here are links to the results, in Kevin's portfolio:

Soccer player
Triathlete


You can see more of Kevin's work via his website, and/or his blog.
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(Thanks much for the videos, Kevin!)

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27 Comments:

Blogger Jason Sheesley said...

I like the hand-held ring flash in the soccer video.

October 19, 2009 1:24 AM  
Blogger diegonyc said...

wow!

looks like tons of fun. thanks for the vid links david.

October 19, 2009 1:36 AM  
Blogger Meera said...

awesome...glad they aren't really sweating..that wud have been a BO shoot! :)

October 19, 2009 2:55 AM  
Blogger SS Buchanan said...

Yeah, what is that ring light? It looks like some kind of kitchen appliance.

October 19, 2009 3:25 AM  
Blogger Gregory said...

Hey guys, anyone know who sells or what those large white panels that he is using in the soccer video are called? Any large white panels of the nature if anyone knows leave an answer been looking for some for a while now.

October 19, 2009 3:47 AM  
Blogger Gregory said...

Hey guys, anyone know where I can get anything like those large white panels or what to look for? I've seen them used a couple of times and have been looking for something like those but have had a hard time finding them. I'm guessing a slap of dry wall or something might work!

October 19, 2009 3:48 AM  
Blogger JoeH said...

Anyone else get nervous about those guys kicking a ball around all the photo equipment?

Good videos!

JoeH

October 19, 2009 7:22 AM  
Blogger Rick Lohre | Photography said...

Nice to see others are using the ziplocks too. On a recent shoot I had several clients look at me like I was crazy using them to protect my speedlights! When it works, it works. :)

Good work Kevin and nice port!

Cheers,
Rick

October 19, 2009 8:07 AM  
Blogger Matt Wynne said...

Its always fun to see a new photographers work. From his blog it looks like he is working pretty hard at it. Best of luck to him and thanks for the post.

Boston Photographer | MWynne

October 19, 2009 9:58 AM  
Blogger Marianne said...

Good stuff. Always fascinating to see how others work.

October 19, 2009 10:15 AM  
Blogger bmillios said...

What's he using for the waterproof bag for the triathlete shoot?

October 19, 2009 12:31 PM  
Blogger Dapixara said...

So much fun!

October 19, 2009 1:33 PM  
Blogger charles said...

Isn't it interesting how easy it is to get great pix? All it takes is talent and the right tools for the job.

" ... looks like some kind of kitchen appliance." Actually, it's a Profoto ring w/reflector, as is all the lighting gear.

October 19, 2009 4:39 PM  
Blogger Rick Lohre | Photography said...

@Gregory
"...large white panels..."
Most likely not drywall...would be a bit heavy and make a mess.

A lot of us use foamcore. 4'x8' sheet at local craft shop ~$17.

Really nice to gaffer two into a bi-fold so it stands up on it's own. You can also bounce a light into an open V corner and kick back a sweet spread of light.

Hope I didn't mis-interpret what you were referring to.

October 19, 2009 4:48 PM  
Blogger Jeffn said...

So in the the first video how did he create the dragged shutter shot while using strobe?

October 19, 2009 6:37 PM  
Blogger Jeffn said...

So in the the first video how did he create the dragged shutter shot while using strobe?

October 19, 2009 6:37 PM  
Blogger Spencer said...

@Jeffn:

Looks like first curtain sync with long shutter time with the ambient high enough, but not too high...

October 19, 2009 8:56 PM  
Blogger Spencer said...

@Jeffn:

Looks like first curtain sync with longish shutter time with the ambient up high enough, but not too high...

October 19, 2009 8:57 PM  
Blogger Daniel said...

I'd be curious to know the shutter speed/ aperture settings for the Triathlete shoot.

October 20, 2009 12:08 PM  
Blogger mikemusic said...

@Jeffn:

Long shutter speed (say, 1/8th sec) and move the camera.

October 20, 2009 4:06 PM  
Blogger Kevin Winzeler Photography // said...

Thanks DH!
and everyone else for the positive comments as well.

@bmillios - EWA Marine bag/casing. It's like an oversized ziplock, but does the trick for these types of shoots. You can't dive with it really, due to the pressure created on the camera, but surface stuff is fine.

Spencer was right on with a bit of Ambient sneaking in to get the shutter drag effect. Was a long shutter speed, but not moving the camera as mikemusic suggested. I had a spare pocket wizard in my hand to fire the camera a several times during the exposure to create the multi-portrait look.

@Daniel - I'll have to check Aperture when I get back to the office, but Shutter would have been at max sync for the 5D - 1/200th.

October 21, 2009 10:19 AM  
Blogger Photo said...

Great to see him in action, if you want to learn more about 'quality of light' - check out this article on www.photoexpertguy.com

It has a great image and shows how it was created.

October 21, 2009 5:41 PM  
Blogger Jeff said...

I really appreciate all the information, but with all due respect you are starting to write like Mr. McNally.

We know you can do better than "Got intro'd to ...".

Subject, verb, object... it is a high quality blog, not a text message.

October 21, 2009 8:07 PM  
Blogger Charlie Thiel said...

You must be reading my mind! I am a photographer prepping for my first sprint triathlon at the end of this month. I spoke with my trainer the other day about... a triathlete photoshoot... and here it is! My goal now is to do half as good a job as Kevin did. Gorgeous work! I want to see more of the results. Great stuff, Kevin.

October 22, 2009 8:48 AM  
Blogger JasonG Photographer said...

Always good. Love animals hanging out with expensive gear.

October 23, 2009 11:18 AM  
Blogger John Hildebrand Photography said...

the final shots looks great. how much post production did he have to do

October 27, 2009 10:56 PM  
Blogger Timothy said...

Kevin, awesome stuff. Really loved the shoot with the MLS players. Very inspirational to see others work. My mind is always going and soaking up all it can from others experiences. Keep it up...

November 12, 2009 12:56 AM  

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