Ask me anything about Photography!
Recent Responses
-
-
If you've planning to move into full frame digital in the near future the CZ 24-70/2.8 is a great lens to build around. If I had to choose just one lens that would be it.
Sony's new 16-50/2.8 is the equivalent focal range for APS size sensor like the a77 and it's both lighter around you neck and on your wallet. I've used it with the a77 on a trip to India and I like that combination a lot.
Thanks for the kind words about the book. Glad you enjoyed it! -
Sure Amber, The X Factor finalists all got a SONY NEX-5N. It's the same camera I used to shoot these portraits of them:
http://briansmith.com/#/PROJECTS/X%20Factor/1/thumbs -
My workhorse camera is the Sony a900, I'll tether on big shoots so the clients can see, but most of the time shoot to card. The whole point of the NEX-5 is it's small size, so I use it much more for street photography and travel than on big productions. I'm very impressed with the quality of the HD video from the NEX-5 and a55. They've both got big sensors so they blow the doors off traditional camcorders. Video won't replace the still photograph is just another tool for story telling.
-
Well, now that an iPhone is considered camera category, I'd have to say yes I do. Beyond that I tend to either take along a Cybershot or Sony's sweet little compact NEX-5 with me when I don't want to carry something bigger.
-
Only if I can be your official White House Photographer. Ladies and Gentleman, meet my dear friend, former councilman Jason Grow and soon to be the junior Senator from Massachusetts...
-
I might have just the thing if you can wait until October: http://amzn.to/saveart
-
Hello Paratha, Indoors or out, always start with a single light and don't add another until you've gotten every drop of beauty out of that one light.
-
Yes Dany, I'm using PocketWizard Plus II Transceivers with my Sony a900. All you need is an adapter like the Sony FA-HS1AM Hot Shoe Adapter to convert the Sony shoe to standard. Many of the Profoto strobe packs I use have built in PocketWizard circuitry . I trigger the packs that don't using a PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver with PocketWizard Miniphone to Monoplug cord.
-
What's not to love about Anne Hathaway? She's a dream to photograph and she has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen. The lighting was quite simple. The key light was a Profoto Beauty Dish from the left with a touch of fill directly behind the camera. I rarely fill from below because I want the chin to fall into shadow. Instead, I try to get the key light in just the right spot. The great thing about simple lighting is that you can forget about the light and just concentrate on interacting with the person in front of your lens and when that person you've photographing is Anne, that's a VERY good thing...
-
A: There are a lot of great choices on the market. I've used Profoto for years mostly because of their vast array of light modifiers (reflectors, grids and umbrellas) allow you to really shape the light. The Profoto D1 might not be the best portable choice. Profoto Acutes are smaller, cheaper and lighter and I love the Acute B packs when there is no place to plug in. That said, Bowens offers quite a bang for the buck. You might also check out Paul Bluff's Einstein 640 strobes that made the list of American Photo's '12 Tools that Changed the Rules.'
-
Thank you for that. I started off as a newspaper photographer, so the first portfolios I showed to the magazines had a few celebrities and athletes in them, but mostly regular not-so-famous people. Most editors are more impressed if you can pull off a great, compelling portrait that speaks about your subject's personality.
-
Brian Smith’s Bio
Miami Beach
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith is the luckiest guy on the planet. He's had an exhibit at the Library of Congress, dined with the President, had cupcakes with Anne Hathaway and married the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on...
