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

anything else—yet another unpublished favorite.
     
    We played Sinatra all day in the studio and Tony was in a groove, as he always is. He loved the old prop microphone and he turned that wonderful face into the one light, and it was the picture of the day—and the cover, a rare twofer.

    How to Get This Type of Shot

    In a scene like this, you try to match the light to the mood. Tony’s very soulful, so the last thing I’m going to do is blast him with a whole bunch of brassy, hot light. I positioned a big Octabank [ 1 ] to my camera’s left and slightly behind him, so it starts to wrap around that famous Bennett profile. I asked Tony to look toward the light while cradling the 1950s prop microphone I had gotten him. Again—details. I had gotten the mic the day before from an L.A. prop shop. Imagine this picture if he had nothing to hold.

    [ 1 ] Octabank: A large softbox, slightly over 6′ wide. A source of very soft, reflected light. An industry standard for both studio and location portraiture.

     

    Tony Bennett

Chapter Three: The Logic of Light

     

     
     
     
    Make Light Available
     

    “Is the only good light available light? Yes.

    When I was in school, I wanted to be W. Eugene Smith. He was a legendary staffer at Life , a consummate photojournalist, and an architect of the photo essay. He was also kinda crazy.
     
    That was obvious when he came to lecture at Syracuse University and put a glass of milk and a glass of vodka on the lectern. Both were gone at the end of the talk. He was taking questions and I was in the front row, hanging on every word.

    “Mr. Smith, is the only good light available light?” came the question.
     
    He leaned into the microphone. “Yes,” he baritoned, and paused.

    A shudder ran through all of us. That was it! No more flash! God’s light or nothing!

    But then he leaned back into the mic, “By that, I mean, any &*%%@$ light that’s available.”

    Point taken.

    How to Get This Type of Shot

    This shot was taken outdoors at dusk in Jaipur, India, during the Festival of Lights using available light. It was taken with a 180mm lens at f/2.8. The soft glow through the veil was provided entirely by the candles.

    By that, I mean, any &*%%@$ light that’s available.”

     
    I Like to Shoot Weddings—Ireland
     

    For the
A Day in the Life of Ireland
book, I wanted to photograph Irish coal miners. I went to Kilkenny, a small village. Met my contact at the local pub (where else?) and asked him about the nearby mine. I was excited to check it out.

    He nodded and rubbed his chin. “Yah, yah, we got the mine for sure. Can take ye out there for sure. Thing is, it’s been closed for nigh on 20 year.” Welcome to “Day in the Life” research!

    I did go, and crawled down into a deep, black hole, just to be sure. I turned back, probably just before the sign, “No pictures here.”

    Okay. What to shoot? I love weddings, so I went and started to check out churches and schedules. The luck of the Irish prevailed and, quite literally, the farmer’s daughter was getting married on the day of the book shoot. Met the family. They said yes.
     
    What a wonderful day! Weddings are fun, ‘cause people let their hair down and, of course, in Ireland, they really let their hair down. Had a ball and made some fun pics.

    Almost at the end of the night, the father of the bride came up to me. He was a farmer—barrel-chested, silver hair, forearms like Popeye. He grabbed me by the shoulders. “I don’t give a $#!& about the photos,” he shouted over the music. “Are ye having a good time?”

    When the good times are rolling, you gotta roll with them, and show the frenzy, the fun, and the motion. How do you show things in motion when you are holding a still camera in your hands?

    How to Get This Type of Shot

    Rear curtain is the way to go. Always remember, no matter what the shutter speed of your camera, the hot shoe flash is firing at a much higher speed. That’s why flash freezes a moving subject. So the camera will expose a scene at a shutter speed of say,of a second, but the flash will hit the subject at maybeof a second, making them sharp. The crucial question is: when does that flash hit them?

    In front curtain, the flash goes off at the beginning of the exposure. Not good for motion. In this mode, the flash hits the subject first, and then they continue moving while the shutter stays open, and blur right through their sharp, flashed image.
     
    With rear