Photography & Lighting

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

This is Eric. He will pop up now and again, as we have known each other for years, and he makes a great model! This is one of my earlier off camera flashed images that I created and still one of my top 3 of all time.

Eric is a guy who's in pretty physically fit shape, and has a rather intimidating tattoo that encompasses his entire back and creeps around to the front with these claw-like tentacles. His physique combined with his tattoo made me think this guy should look angry!

I told him to show me his war face! (Literally!) He came up with this while letting out a slight grunt that was stifled. This was one of the first exposures in this shoot. None of the others looked near as perfect as this one.

The set-up:

Two 285 HVs on either side of the model (and slightly behind) These were both grid-spotted, and rather close in (about 2.5 feet) 1/4 power

A third 285 HV was placed at the base of the tripod pointed towards the camera. Then I placed a small piece of foam-core board that bounced the light from the flash and lit the front part of Eric's face. 1/2 power

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 10D
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/160
f/13
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm

Flashes triggered with eBay radio remotes.
That's all there was to this shoot. I was in a dark brown room, but because the flashes overpowered any ambient light in the room, the background went completely black, which was good. Because anger is dark.

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

I lived in the same house my entire life until I was 20. My parents still live there. The man in this photograph has known me my entire life. He's lived 3 doors down from me for a large part of my life, and I've even worked for his landscaping company one year when I was 14. I was also very good friends with his son who is 8 years older than myself.

His name is Terry. His wife, Starr, passed away from cancer a few years ago. I believe this was his only love.

Since this photograph, Terry has had a laryngectomy and can not speak any longer. He has also since stopped smoking cigarettes.

I respect this man more than he will ever know.

The dog would be my 'neice', Lexi. She's a basenji. We think. She's sharp as a tack. Not much gets by her.

The set-up:

One 285 HV on a footstand camera right. The flash is being diffused by an omnibounce (see glossary) and is set to full power.

You can see the sun coming in over Terry's right shoulder, which is also highlighting the smoke from his cigarette. I used the off camera flash to cross-light my subjects and fill in any areas that would have rendered black had I not used it.

Camera Settings:

EOS Canon 5D
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/100
f/9
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 51mm

I have the full size of this file for anyone to download and print if they would like. Please feel free to share this image:

Download Lost Soul

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

Here is my sister's (Karla) bike. She never really rides it, so that must be why it looks so shiny. I took this picture late one night bored wandering around the house looking for an interesting subject to try my flash units on. This bike became my victim.

I thought the nice rich purple/blue color would contrast well with the browns in this room. I got a lucky bonus with the exercise ball in the background. I think it adds a neat element to the photograph. Also, you can see the relative flash placement in the reflections on the ball.

The set-up:

I had my camera mounted upside-down on my Bogen tripod so I could get this extreme angle.

I then took my 5-in-1 reflector (60" across) and placed it silver side up where the bike was going to be so it could fill in the underside of the two-wheeler.

One Vivitar 285hv on a mini stand camera left 1/16th power, in close, lighting the back-left side of the front tire

One Vivitar 285hv shot into the ceiling behind and to the right of the camera at 1/2 power.

Camera settings:

Canon EOS 10D
ISO: 100
Shutter: 3/10 second
f/2.8
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm

I think I got lucky and nailed the flash power settings, aperture and shutter in one shot. After a while this stuff actually does start to become intuitive. You have to be patient and keep practicing!

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

This is a silly image of the photographer, since he doesn't have a model for this shoot. I was scouting locations for a heavy metal band shoot and came across this old warehouse. I believe it used to be a cotton gin, but I could be wrong. When I found out the band did not want to shoot at this locale, I decided to head back for a shoot with myself. Since this warehouse had a very industrial feel, I wore one of my dad's old Mustang/CAT blue-collar shirts, and some other clothing I felt fit the part of a laborer.

I found this large piece of machinery (one of the few things left behind, probably because of obsolescence, and sheer weight) and decided it would be a good backdrop for the shoot.

I set up my lights and adjusted them, then went through a series of shots where I would change up positions. In one out-take, I made it look like I was struggling to turn the wheel, which in theory would be better than this shot, but I did not get a good version of that vision, haha. I captured the pics of myself using a remote switch that has a timer, and number of shots it will take consecutively.

You may also notice that this is not a very 'technically sound' image, as I blew out several parts of the photo with too much light. This was also one of my very early shoots, and it's only when you make mistakes that you learn!

The set-up:

Three 285HVs
One high on stand cam left snooted, 1/2 power
One full CTO (color temperature orange) camera right pointed toward the machinery behind me, 1/4 power
One flash with a blue gel far camera left, 1/16th power

Camera settings:

Canon EOS 10D
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/160 second
f/9
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

I've known Chef Richard since 2000. He really is a great guy who would give you the shirt off his back. But, I wouldn't let him. This culinary artisan has fed me way too many good meals, and I'd much rather him give me food instead.

This is one of his many fine dishes. A roasted duck entree, served over (Sauces and details soon to come! Hey we're talking about the light here, right? Not the food!) ...to be continued.

The set-up:

One 285HV shot through white umbrella camera left, 1/2 power

One 285hv snooted and shot from back camera right (towards the camera), 1/4 power

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 10D
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/15
f/4.5
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 38mm

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

I was out shooting an apartment community in the evening, and the light was dropping fast. I saw this heavily textured palm tree and thought that an element like that would really add the the environment if placed large in the frame. The only problem with my composition, is that the trunk of the tree was in complete shade, and zero texture was being revealed. So I run to my car (which is around the corner to the left in the back of the image) to grab a flash and my wireless trigger, plus one full color temperature orange (CTO) warming gel. I run back to my tripod and camera and get my ambient where I want it (which happens to be as bright as you can get the scene without blowing out the sky, so you can pull in the shaded areas with more quality later in post). I then pop a few test shots holding the flash in my hand, and letting the hard light from the flash rake across the fibers of the tree. Once I got a shot I'm happy with, I'm done.

The set-up:

Me hand-holding a flash camera left pointing it directly at the palm tree with a full CTO gel, full power

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 5D
ISO:50
Shutter: 1/25
f/8
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

I really don't like event shoots. I've never shot a wedding, but I can imagine they have similarities. Here people are, minding their own business, trying to get some free stuff, and there's you with the camera, either playing paparazzi or asking people to pose. Then if you put them around food and have someone shooting them, they immediately hate the photographer for maybe 'exposing his/her glutton'.

I'm not making this a bitch session, because all in all I had a really good time at the shoot. Chef Richard was serving up some crab-cake sliders, sesame seed crusted chicken with a peanut sauce (seen in foreground), goat cheese stuffed grape tomatoes, gazpacho filled cucumber slices -- the works.
Every piece of food was gone at the end of the evening. There was a lot of food.

These two unfortunate ladies misstepped into my frame and got caught in a very interesting picture. I love their expressions, overall color palette, the quality of the light, and the similarity in the textures of their blouses.

The Set-Up:

Two 285HVs perched on top of some cabinets camera left, 1/2 power each

This was a most convenient set up, as I only had to use my two footstands and bounce the light off the back corners of the room for fill. Luckily for me, there was a huge bay window that faced west and allowed the late evening sun to blaze through and create an amazing atmosphere.

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 5D
ISO: 250
Shutter: 1/160
f/7.1
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 65mm

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

Shaun Stockton, the Austin badass on lead guitar wherever he may roam. This guy can shred some metal licks you've never thought possible, or lay down a real harmonic melody with the care and precision of an old master. This man has truly mastered his art, and he does not stop. Watching this guy perform live could even make Slash shed a tear.

We were doing a photo shoot for the band and they scouted out this bar in downtown Austin, called the Boom Boom Room. It's near Katz's Deli. I really liked the wallpaper and color scheme. We tried different arrangements with group shots and solo shots, but this series is the one that sang.

The Set-Up:

The camera was placed on my tripod upside-down to get this extreme low angle. Since their album was called Rise, I wanted to be looking up at them, as if they were rising.
One 285HV camera right snooted 7 feet away, 1/4 power
One 285HV camera left snooted 7 feet away, 1/4 power
One Canon 420EX with an Omnibounce diffuser cap from the front and low for fill (auto power -- I just based my other exposures off this flash)

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 5D
ISO: 500
Shutter: 1/100
f/7.1
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 35mm

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

Here is yours truly again. This time I needed a picture for one of my other lenses.

I was wanting a shot that caught the eye and related to the content of my lens. I remembered when I first got my radio triggers, I was looking for something distant to light up, since I didn't need any cords. I chose my exercise ball, because of its translucency, and ran some tests. A year and a half later, those test ideas manifested themselves into a critical element in this shot.

Always play with light. You don't know when you'll draw on an old memory to help you solve a new problem.

The Set-Up:

Two 285HVs rimlighting me from either side, 1/2 power
One SB-800 behind the ball on a footstand, 1/64 power
There is a white wall directly behind the camera which bounced some of the light from the two rimlights and filled in the shadows.

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 5D
ISO: 800
Shutter: 1/160
f/5
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm

Set-up shot:


I had most of myself and the ball surrounded in black, and it only required minimal masking to make the rest of the background go black in the final image.

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

This image was taken in the late summer months of 2008. Theo (pictured here), her boyfriend, Gerald, and I decided we would head to the Congress bridge in Austin, Texas to see the largest urban bat colony in North America.

During the warmer months of the year, every night at dusk 750,000 to 1.5 million bats fly out over the Colorado River and disappear off into the sunset in a magnificent swirl that reminds you of smoke in the wind. Theo and Gerald didn't get to see this display, as we were too late getting down there. Bummed about their poor luck, Gerald and Theo needed a drink. Fortunately for us, 6th street and the rest of the Austin bar district was only a stone's throw away!

We started off at Club Pure, way underdressed. Yeah, we cared. I was packin' my Canon PowerShot G9 since I didn't feel like lugging my 5D around. People give you funny looks when you have a pro camera, and you're not on a pro shoot. Also stuffed into one of my pockets of my cargo shorts was an SB-800 flash by Nikon. This is a nifty flash because it has a built in optical sensor that detects the built-in flash of the G9.

The key here is to set the built-in flash to a low power setting and overpower it with your external flash. This way you don't have to carry any remote triggers around, and it makes off-camera shooting on-the-fly possible, and more incognito.

Theo got caught in my scope.

The Set-Up:

Adjusted the camera's settings until the blue background rendered at the brightness I desired.
One SB-800 handheld and bounced off a low ceiling camera left, 1/4 power

Camera Settings:

Canon PowerShot G9
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/13
f/4.5
9mm

Image © Adam Dolch & Dolch Photo

This was a food shoot for Carino's Italian. This shot (along with the others) will be loaded into a digital picture frame mounted on the hostess stand at their restaurants. The frame will cycle through the catering shots, in an attempt to boost outside sales.

Also being created will be 8"x8" photo books containing these images as a sales tool for all outside catering sales.

The Set-Up:

Key light was a SB-800 with barn doors closed to a vertical slit, and an added warming gel (rosco special effects gel, not CTO) 1/2 power
Fill from over left shoulder, 42" shoot through umbrella, 1/4 power on a 285HV.
One more 285HV camera left, table height adding just a kick of light at 1/16th power

Camera Settings:

Canon EOS 5D
ISO: 800
Shutter: 1/80
f/3.5
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro

Just a few of the more obscure terms you may find on this page:

285 HV- A rather powerful flash unit made by Vivitar. Can be found cheaply on eBay.

Barn Doors- Typically used in larger studio lighting, they can also be found for speedlites now. A light modifier with 4 flaps on hinges that helps create a narrow beam of light.

CTO- Color Temperature Orange. Amber colored 'warming gels' are pieces of transparent plastic placed over the head of a flash to change the color of the light. These can be used to color balance with tungsten lighting, or just for warming up a certain part of an image. They usually come in 1/4 CTO, 1/2 CTO, and Full CTO.

Gridspot- A very tight beam of light. Tighter than a snooted beam of light. A grid-like array of light modifiers work in unison to keep all the photons moving in the same general direction. A grid or a gridspot is also fitted on the end of your flash unit.

Hotshoe- The place you attach an external flash on the top of your camera

Light Spill- Light falling on an area that is undesired.

Monolight- A rather large, expensive, and bulky light used for studio work. These things can put out some serious light if that's what you're looking for. Best kept at home, or only for the high-paying jobs!

Omnibounce- A white frosted piece of plastic that fits over the end of most flash units. They tend to soften and scatter the light.

Snoot- An object fitted to the end of your flash to restrict the light to just one direction. The length of the snoot determines how tight a beam of light is created. Used to avoid 'light spill'.

Speedlite- Just an industry term for flash

Umbrella- Another light modifier used to soften light and reduce harsh shadows. Umbrellas come in 2 basic flavors: Reflective and Shoot Thru. With reflective umbrellas the flash is aimed away from the subject and bounced into an umbrella which showers your subject with diffused light. Reflective umbrellas come in silver or white. A shoot thru umbrella is usually a white umbrella that you put between your flash and subject. Shoot thru umbrellas usually produce softer light than a reflected umbrella that's the same size.