Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

If there was one valuable thing about photography that I learned in college, it was the science behind lighting.  Understanding the inverse square law and how multiple lights can affect an image proved to be invaluable to me.

While I was at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I had an editor give me the idea of shooting a food set with multi-point lighting. The basic multi-point setup includes three lights. One each to the left and right and one from behind. The problem is I only have one light - my Canon 550EX Speedlight.

While I was realizing how impossible this was with my gear, my editor opened my eyes. Why not set the camera on a tripod and shoot a long exposure. During that time, I can walk around with my flash off of the camera and fire it manually multiple times from multiple angles.

Voila. Max’s quick and easy multi-point lighting was born.

The one problem with it is that it is very hard to replicate an image. You can never get the light exactly where it was before. This is one of those situations where you shoot a lot with a general idea and hope for the best.

The first time I attempted and accomplished this technique was exactly one year ago on location at a Brazilian restaurant in the Central West End of St. Louis called Coco Louco Brasil.

Monday February 16, 2009 Coco Louco Brasil Foreground: Espeto Misto - kabob with pricanah (brazilian steak), smoked sausage, shrimp, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, chicken wrapped in bacon, onions Background: Tostada de Camarão - shrimp sauteed in Bobo sauce served on toasted garlic bread. Max Gersh | Post-Dispatch ©2009

For that shot, the camera was set for a four second exposure at f/16 and ISO 100. If I remember accurately, I fired the flash three to four times.

Coincidentally, I used the same technique today.

I was given the last minute assignment to shoot a group of local high school wrestlers that have advanced to the state championships. I wanted to isolate them in the image. I turned off all of the lights in the room and fired the flash twice - once from each side.

New Castle wrestlers (left to right) Connor Mullins, Brenden Campbell, Alex Catron and Cody Fellers will compete Friday and possibly Saturday in the Indiana High School Athletic Association state championships. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

This time, the camera was set to a two second exposure at f/8 and ISO 400. I also was using the Gary Fong PowerSnoot on my flash.

With one light and forward thinking, any image is possible.

I got the chance to test my DIY beauty dish this morning. It worked like a charm!

I once again had my friend Gavin Culbertson stand in for a few quick portraits.

Gavin Culbertson lit by my DIY beauty dish.

He was standing in the shadow with a sun-lit wall behind him. This picture could be improved with a back light but I only have one Speedlight, a Canon 550EX.

I love the circular highlight that shows up in the eyes of the subject.

Gavin Culbertson lit by my DIY beauty dish with circular highlights.

I will need to play with it more but it certainly gives off a nice quality of light. Not bad for a $20 DIY light modifier.

Ever since I discovered what a beauty dish was, I’ve wanted one. The problem is that I don’t have any strobes to use one on. My lighting is limited to a single Canon Speedlight (shoe mounted flash).

How could I produce the look of a beauty dish with my one Speedlight?

Simple. Build a beauty dish to fit.

I’m not the most handy of the handymen. Therefore, instead of designing the dish on my own, I Googled other peoples designs and copied it. I ended up using the one I found on David Tejada’s blog. His looks better (and probably works better too but that is yet to be determined) but I gave it a good effort.

To get most of the parts, I visited Home Depot. The main “dish” is a plastic terracotta planter. I wanted to find a relatively shallow one that was 14″ across but they didn’t have any that size. I ended up getting a deeper one that is about 12″ across.

Next, I headed over to the gutter section. I was looking for what is called a drop out or outlet (I think). While David used a metal one, the only one that fit my Canon 550EX was a plastic one. It doesn’t really make much difference. If you are planning on doing this, bring your Speedlight with you to check the fit.

I then headed to the paint section. I bough a can of flat black spray paint and a can of glossy white spray paint. I figured the gloss might help the light reflect. Maybe not.

After leaving Home Depot, I went to the auto parts store and got a 3 3/4″ blind spot mirror.

When I got home, I began building. I traced the outline of the gutter outlet onto the bottom of the dish. I used a Dremel to cut it out because I could. I imagine a sharp knife would work just as well.

I then also cut the same shape out of the bottom of a CD spool. A little bit of hot glue later, and the dish, the bottom of the CD spool and the gutter outlet were one.

I then spray painted the inside of the dish white and the outside black. I didn’t want an orange dish.

I glued a CD to the inside top of the CD spool. On top of that, I placed that blind spot mirror.

The light will be firing through the back of the dish, which is also firing into the bottom of the CD spool. The light shoots straight at the mirror which spreads it back around the dish which in turn lights the subject.

The beauty dish as seen from the front.

A rear view showing the mount for the Speedlight and also the depth of the dish.

The interior of the dish with the reflector off and set to the side.

I haven’t had an opportunity to test it on a person yet. The one thing I am concerned about is the direction of the light. This is what I would describe as a “shotgun beauty dish.” Its depth makes it a directional light modifier. I am concerned that it wont wrap a subject with light as beauty dishes are known to do.

Just from popping off a few test frames, I have noticed that I do lose about two stops of light.

Hopefully this weekend I will have an opportunity to further test it and see if this is something worth keeping. As soon as I find a wider and shallower planter, I will probably build another one.

This entire build cost me just over $20 but I already had a CD spool.

I was in Louisville, KY a few weeks ago and again had the opportunity to photograph the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) state championship track meet. This is a huge day-and-a-half long event that allows for me to have creative flexibility.

My job is to shoot a bunch of pictures for KHSAA so they can use a few in their program the following year. I have the luxury of not having to get athletes names or to focus on specific schools.

Every year I try to shoot a little differently. I think of different ways to use lenses and light to craft a beautiful and clean image. This year was no different.

The first event I shot was discus. My goal was to achieve the right moment while framing it in a square of the protective netting.

Discus thrower - ©2009 Max Gersh

After shooting a bunch of races from track level, I carried all of my gear up a ladder on top of a press box. It is kind of difficult to climb these ladders one handed with a 400mm f/2.8 lens in the other hand. The elevated shooting position allows for the track to become a clean background for the runners.

Runners - ©2009 Max Gersh

While in the mindset of shooting with clean backgrounds, I got really low on the track to shoot the pole vault. I wanted to get a tight shot right at the top of the bar. Since my frame was so tight, I pre-focused on the bar and waited for the vaulter to enter my frame. The sky provided a clean background.

Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh

On the first frame, I partially cut off the athletes left arm. However, his body was spread in a pretty cool way. The second frame was also a cool moment as he was coming down on the other side, releasing the pole.

Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh

As night began to fall, the stadium lights came on giving a cool night time shadow look. The darker it got, the less I focused on action and the more on interesting framing and composition. This was runners at he starting blocks just before a race.

Runners at the blocks - ©2009 Max Gersh

For some of the races, athletes were corralled into these waiting areas track side. It gave me an opportunity to silhouette the runners against the sky.

Runners waiting - ©2009 Max Gersh

All of these images were shot on the first day of the meet. I haven’t even looked at the second days images yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have a few more images up.