C-47: The most useful tool you have in your laundry room.

Most people refer to it as a clothes pin; in Hollywood it’s referred to as a C-47. They were named that way because back in the day there were 47 pins in a pack. The C stands for clamp, hence C-47. We’ll take them and reverse the way they clamp so that they have more […]

Lighting with China Balls

Here is a great economical way to soften your light. They’re China Balls: These were used on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. You can buy these light diffusers from World Market or     Pier 1 Imports. Here’s a link to Filmtools. Filmtools is a great resource; however, on some items they are a bit pricey. They […]

“What’s that say?”

There’s a rule about having numbers or letters in a shot, “Your eyes will always go to the letters and numbers first to see what they say.” I was planning on a personal project to have Wonder Woman breaking some binding chains on a set with some graffiti behind her. So I talked to a […]

“What’s in Your Bag?” Stuff!

What’s in your bag? Do you really think that the cameras and lenses that are in my bag are going to get you my job? Stop! I’m not being arrogant, however, how you shoot and I shoot are so radically different it doesn’t matter if you use the same gear as I do. We are […]

Hot Hair Lights

I’m a huge advocate of creating depth in a photograph. One of the ways is to use a back light or at times referred to as a hair light when shooting talent. Some of the challenges I might have are when the talent has blonde or gray / silver colored hair. I’ll lose hair detail […]

Smoke and Mirrors

We have all used smoke machines on sets, they’re great, they create mood and help enhance lighting. We have all seen those amazing light beams.Smoke machines are handled on set by the Special Effects crew. Over the years I have seen them apply smoke several different ways. Allow me to share a few with you […]

Camouflaging Shadows

“Your greatest curse could be your greatest blessing” Shadows, at times they are such a curse, but with a bit of creative manipulating they can be a wonderful blessing. When working on a Hollywood set there are times I’ll will have the Grips (the guys who rig things, their name comes from old Hollywood “because […]

Pictage is Closing their Doors. What are Your Options?

If you’re a photo studio or photographer who uses Pictage to host and sell your photos, you likely have quite a shock this week.  On August 24th, Pictage posted the following message to their users: The Closing of Pictage https://discover.pictage.com/pictage-update-20150824 Please accept my sincere apologies for the Pictage web site being down since Thursday. The Pictage […]