Planning ahead is a good thing, and I always try to pre-think a job before I head out. It gives me ideas to fall back on if nothing jumps out at me at the location.But you can pre-plan things too far. So much that they blind you to better ideas and leave you banging your head against the front windshield even as you drive away from the assignment. That's exactly what happened to me last week when I was assigned to shoot one of the coolest pieces of tech I have ever seen.__________You are looking...

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Any time Gregory Heisler gives one of his iconic photos the BTS treatment we pretty much pre-empt the regular programming and turn the joint over to him. And his photo of NYC mayor Rudy Guiliani for the 2001 Time Magazine Person of the Year cover certainly qualifies. I love this photo, and actually carry it around on my iPhone in my inspiration folder. Before you make the jump to the very cool video inside, take a moment to reverse what he did with the lighting. And more important, why he did wh...

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For those of you who are Canon shooters and use optical remote flash, you may want to look at Yongnuo's version of the ST-E2 transmitter. Highlights:• AA-powered (no more 2CR5s!)• Greater range -- like, a lot• Swivels 135 degrees• Thus, can control flashes behind the camera• About half the price (est. street, China)So what's the deal with the "John Snow" part? That's how Google machine-translates the name on the detailed review on our Chinese language partner site.So, Ca...

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Redux has a very cool video promo series where they have interviewed their photographers, allowing them to get into their philosophy while streaming a slide show of their work.You can see more of Welch's work (definitely worth a look) on his site.

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Terminally bored and trapped in your cubicle this afternoon?Ibarionex Perello and I were finally able to mesh our schedules to do a podcast interview for The Candid Frame. It's 45 mins, and covers the Strobist's early days, leaving the paper and what's next.If you are so inclined, you can find it here.-30-

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A couple people asked me about the small boom that was used for the key light in the photos of J.D. Roth.Here's the skinny, in seven words: Cheap, travels well; I really like it.Details, after the jump.__________Okay, here's he thing: It is not a boom at all. It's a reflector holder: That said, it is a pretty slick little boom for speedlight folks. But officially, it is the LumoPro LP621 Reflector Holder, and it is $45. (But until the end of the August, there is an instant rebate that takes it d...

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While I was in Portland last month I photographed J.D. Roth, the man behind the blog Get Rich Slowly, for my ongoing project on bloggers.J.D. had earlier escaped the shackles of a big wad of credit card debt, and has since created a career out of teaching others how to manage their money more sensibly. For the shoot, we did some standard headshots which would be useful to him for his public speaking appearances, etc. But I also wanted to do something a little more intense and/or cerebral, which ...

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Why endure yet another "strategic planning session" at work when you can secretly be shooting away in your studio instead?Remember to nod your head occasionally, and make eye contact with the speaker every few minutes as you appear to be inputting important notes from the meeting on your iPhone. Trust me, they don't want to be there any more than you do. They'll never notice.Oh, and for the record: I know this is a capabilities video, but that is way too damn many light sources for shooting a be...

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