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

work, deadlines, and subject availability, this first shot may be the only shot you get, so this initial set of internal queries is extremely important.)
Do Your Reshoot Now.
    When wrapped up in the euphoria (or agony) of the shoot, do a mental check on yourself. If you are working long lens, try to imagine the scene with a wide lens from the other side of the room. Or think about a high or low angle. Always remember the last thing most editors like to see is a couple hundred frames shot from exactly the same position and attitude. Move around. Think outside of the lens and light you are currently using. Remember, shooting two or three hundred frames with the same lens, the same light, and the same angle is, uh, let’s see, how shall I say this? Repetitive and lacking imagination?
Never shoot a locker room without a strobe. (Just kidding!)
Remember, as an assignment photographer, that one “aw shit” wipes out three “attaboys.”
Remember that the hardest thing about lighting is NOT lighting.
    The issue here is control. It takes effort and expertise to speak with the light and bring different qualities of shadow, color, and tone to different areas of the photo. Flags, cutters, honeycomb grids, barn doors, gels, or the dining room tablecloth gaffer-taped to your light source will help you control and wrangle the explosion of photons that occurs when you trip a strobe. If you work with all these elements, and practice with them, you will soon see that in the context of the same photo, you can light Jimmy differently from Sally.

    A good subset rule of this is: If you want something to look interesting, don’t light all of it.
A white wall can be your friend or your enemy.
    White walls are great if you are looking for bounce, fill, and open, airy results. They are deadly if you are trying to light someone in a dramatic or shadowy way. I carry in my grip bags some cut-up rolls of what I call black flocking paper (it goes by different names in the industry) that, when taped to walls, turns your average office into a black hole, allowing the light to be expressed in exactly the manner you intended.
Experiment! You should have either a written or mental Rolodex of what you have tried and what looks good.
    That is not to say that you should do the same thing all the time, quite the contrary. But, especially when you have to move fast, you must have the nuts and bolts and f-stops of your process down cold, so that your vision of the shot can dominate your thinking. All the fancy strobe heads, and packs, and C-stands, and softboxes you drag along with you should never interfere with your clarity of thought. All that stuff (and it is just stuff) is in service of how you want the photograph to feel, and what you are trying to say, picturewise.
Don’t light everything the same way!
    Boring! This would definitely be a close cousin to number nine. Clint Eastwood’s face requires a different lighting approach than, say, Pamela Anderson’s.
If you’re getting assignments to shoot people like this, you don’t need my advice.

    ‘Nuff said! Good luck!

Joe’s Camera Bag

     

     

    © Brad Moore Photo © Joe McNally

    Nikon has been a definitive force in my career, and in the creation of this book. Their cameras and lenses are the finest in the industry. Many of the photos in this book are a testament to the dependability and excellence of Nikon gear, and its ability to perform under pressure in adverse conditions. Nikon products, technology, and innovation remain critical to my success as a shooter. To learn more about photography and Nikon products, please visit www.nikonusa.com .
     
    Joe’s Camera Bag(s)
     

1. (2) WRP MP-1 Backpacks

2. WRP MP-3 Backpack

3. KATA WS-604 Waist Shoulder Bag
    Nikon Bodies
4. Nikon D2Xs (not pictured)

5. Nikon D2X

6. Nikon D3
    Lenses
7. AF-S VR Zoom NIKKOR 200–400mm f/4G IF-ED

8. AF-S VR NIKKOR 200mm f/2G IF-ED

9. AF-S VR Zoom NIKKOR 70–200mm f/2.8G IF-ED

10. AF-S VR Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

11. AF-S DX Zoom NIKKOR 17–55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

12. AF-S NIKKOR 24–70mm f/2.8G ED

13. AF-S NIKKOR 14–24mm f/2.8G ED

14. AF NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8D ED

15. AF-S DX Zoom NIKKOR 12–24mm f/4G IF-ED

16. AF DX Fisheye NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8G ED

17. AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II
    Nikon Flashes
18. (5) SB-800 AF Speedlight

19. SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander
    Camera Accessories
20. Nikon EN-EL4a Rechargeable Li-ion Batteries

21. Nikon MH-21 Quick Charger

22. Hoodman HoodLoupe