The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets From One of the World's Top Shooters

portrait session, as opposed to the photo equivalent of a root canal.

    How to Get This Type of Shot

    When lighting, especially women of a certain age, and especially an iconic, classic beauty like Sophia Loren, think soft. Think of your light as a soft blanket that needs to wrap the face gently, open up the eyes, and eliminate shadows and lines. This was an over and under combination that effectively became just one continuous light source because of the lack of ceiling height (we were shooting in a hotel conference room).

    There is a softbox above her face, camera left, and a smaller softbox below her face, but they are squished together so closely they really just become like a big, soft umbrella that embraces her face, allows her to move and express, and gives volume and depth to her hair. Occasionally, when I have the two sources so close to one another, I take a 12′ silk (or a bed sheet) and just

    “He broke down their defenses. He got up close and personal. They allowed him to touch them, the beginnings of trust.”

    drop the cloth over the entire lighting rig. Looks like you got a big version of Casper the Friendly Ghost on the set with you, but the whole thing just glows and radiates light at that point. You can still minimally control the direction and impact of the light, because you have two sources underneath the cover, and presumably, they are running out of two separate power packs.
     
    Which brings me to an important point. Though it may get pricey, the best lighting outfit you can sort out for your shooting needs should consist of one power pack per head. So, if you go out with three heads, you should have three power packs. That way, you have independent power and ratio control over each of your sources, and you are not compromised or hamstrung by running two heads out of one pack. It also gives you redundancy if a pack or a head goes down. I’ve been asked over time to light some really big stuff, so I have 14 power packs and 17 heads.

    But, of course, I am in desperate need of professional counseling.

     

    Sophia Loren
    Light, Color, Gesture
     

    “There’s nothing as sweet and simple as basic human interaction. It trumps everything.”

    Sometimes as photographers we almost insist on things being too complicated. We beat ourselves up because we think the simple solution isn’t good enough and the perfect photo is always out of our reach. When you’re in a tight spot (that would be most of the time), remember there’s nothing as sweet and simple as basic human interaction. It trumps everything.
     
    Here’s an example: I was assigned by Life to do a story on alternative medicine. One of the stars of that show at the time was Mehmet Oz, a doctor from New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital who employed alternative and New Age medical techniques.

    The famous Dr. Oz gave Yankees Manager Joe Torre’s brother, Frank, a heart transplant and got even more famous. My job was to get a picture of these three guys at Yankee Stadium. I was on the ball field at high noon. Far from ideal.
     
    What do you do in five minutes with three pleasantly lumpy guys who are looking to you to tell ‘em to do something interesting?

    As friend and mentor, Jay Maisel, always says, “Look for light, color, and gesture.” They’re the holy trinity of photography. In this situation, I went for gesture. It was all I had. I put Dr. Oz in between Frank and Joe. Then I smiled at them and said, “How ‘bout you guys give the doc a big Brooklyn smooch?”

    Without hesitation, Frank and Joe planted wet ones on the doc’s cheeks and Oz lit up like crazy. I quickly dropped another roll in the camera.

    My excuse to get people to do things again has been the standard: “You know, just in case the boys in the lab have a bad day, let’s just get a couple of frames on a different roll.” Always works. Face it, nobody wants to do this all over again, including me.
     
    Another smooch. The doc beams. We’re done.

    “That’s it? We’re done?” asked the Life reporter.
     
    I was already packing up. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be hard.

    How to Get This Type of Shot

    One method I often use to overcome harsh available light is to use a full-power strobe through a really big umbrella. It fills the faces nicely and opens up the shadows in a really even way. That’s what I set up here, off camera right.

     

    Frank Torre, Mehmet Oz, Joe Torre
    Get Your Subjects Involved
     

    “I gave flashes to these