Chuck Gloman

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Newsletter
Custom Color Balance For Portraits: Match The Light, Enhance The Mood
Chuck Gloman  |  Mar 15, 2012
When shooting portraits, just setting the color balance on Automatic or one of the Temperature “modes” is not the most efficient way of capturing natural skins tones. Instead, take a manual white balance reading of your subject in the environment and then make adjustments from there.

With all of the portraits I shoot, there are a few constants: low ISO (200–400), mid range f/stop for more lens clarity (f/5.6–f/9), telephoto lens for narrow depth of field (70–120mm) and the sharpest part of the image being the subjects’s eyes. The last “given” when I shoot is to always capture the image in Raw—knowing I can easily manipulate it in editing if needed.

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Portraiture
Fall Portraits Outdoors; Working In Autumnal Light
Chuck Gloman  |  Nov 01, 2010

Fall is one of the best times of the year to shoot outdoor portraits. This piece will focus on how to best utilize the autumnal light to bring a warm glow to your images and make your subjects look great. Choose your location and time of day with your subjects’ features in mind and explore this magical time of year.

Late Afternoon Light
Alyson is...

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Newsletter
Fill Flash Won’t Do?
Chuck Gloman  |  Apr 26, 2011

When fighting with the sun, your flash might not be powerful enough to fill in the deep shadows created by that large key light in the sky. Luckily, we have help in the form of reflectors which send almost all of the reflected light onto the subject. I will be referring to two types of reflectors here: the Flexfill (and its variations) and reflective (silver-sided) foam core.

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Newsletter
Getting The Sun Behind You
Chuck Gloman  |  May 31, 2011

Backlight is light that comes from behind the subject, whether it’s an artificial source or the sun. In the following examples, I decided to use the sun as my only light source, placed behind the subjects and guided by reflectors both natural and man-made.

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Outdoor Photography How ToPortrait Photography How To
How To Shoot Warm-Looking Winter Portraits Outdoors With Natural Lighting
Chuck Gloman  |  Mar 03, 2015

As a child, I clearly remember my father taking Kodachrome images of my sister and I in the snow. I always associated childhood winter 35mm slides with the blue cast they possessed. Not understanding color temperature, I assumed photos were always blue because it was cold outside. Summer images were understandably warmer looking.

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Newsletter
LEDs For The Portrait Photographer: Cool Lights For Fill And Key
Chuck Gloman  |  Sep 10, 2013
LED technology offers low power consumption, dimmable output with no color temperature loss and cool, long lasting lights. A number of different manufacturers sell LED units that fit on top of your camera as well as larger units that require a stand to safely mount the lights.
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Newsletter
Lights, Action… Camera: Stage Photography Without Flash
Chuck Gloman  |  Feb 21, 2012
There may be times when you need to capture the action in a performance for a local newspaper, publicity shots, a memory of a child’s concert or simply because you want to capture images of the event. The first step is to make sure you are allowed to photograph during the performance; that’s easy if you’re hired to do so, but always check and find out the ground rules. Shooting during the actual performance has challenges so it is always a good idea to shoot the dress rehearsal—if you can. The shots here were mostly made during rehearsals of a dance recital, but the tips can apply to other types of performances as well.
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Nature Photography How ToOutdoor Photography How ToTravel Photography How ToWildlife Photography How To
Off the Grid: Photographing In Alaska’s Vast ANWR, The Largest Wildlife Refuge In North America
Chuck Gloman  |  Jun 30, 2015

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska consists of 19,286,722 acres along the Alaskan North Slope, and supports a greater diversity of flora and fauna than anywhere else in the Arctic Circle. It was established in 1960 and is governed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It receives only about 1,500 visitors a year.

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Newsletter
Skin Tone And Lighting Techniques: Fair & Balanced
Chuck Gloman  |  Aug 19, 2013
Lighting fair-skinned subjects can be a challenge, but when working outdoors or indoors, controlling the flash, managing external illumination or simply shading the areas you don’t want highlighted can yield great results. Here are some tips on lighting that also includes groups where skin tone varies. As we’ll see, fair-skinned people have a beauty all their own that can easily be brought out in correctly exposed portraits. Play around with the color temperature and see what can be done with a little extra warmth or coolness.
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Newsletter
Slightly Diffused: Controlling Point Source And Hot Light
Chuck Gloman  |  Jun 15, 2012
Sometimes the lighting in your environment is too strong, whether daylight or artificial, and you need to soften it slightly—that’s where diffusion comes into play. In the following examples, we’ll look at how diffusion can soften “direct” light.

Diffusion Disc
Ashleen is using a collapsible diffuser (26” Flexfill) to block the sunlight from falling on Anne Marie (#1). The semi-translucent fabric prevents the sun from falling on the subject, which can be seen by the shadow cast on Anne Marie. If we look at a medium close-up of Anne Marie we can see that the sunlight is filtered on her face casting an even, pleasant illumination (#2). Using this method is great if you want a one to one lighting ratio outdoors by just shading the sunlight falling on your subject. This method usually requires a helpful assistant to hold the diffuser, although some folks use a light stand and a C clamp to good advantage.
Nikon D700, Nikkor 24–120mm lens, f/9, 1/250th, ISO 250, daylight balanced 5600K.

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