Curry - Painting with light: lighting & Photoshop techniques for photographers

Copyright 2012 by Eric Curry.

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc.

P.O. Box 586

Buffalo, N.Y. 14226

Fax: 716-874-4508

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

Editorial Assistance from: Carey A. Miller, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder

Business Manager: Adam Richards

Marketing, Sales, and Promotion Manager: Kate Neaverth

Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-504-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012936501

Printed in The United States of America.

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

Check out Amherst Medias blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/

http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/

E ric Curry was born in Los Angeles, vintage 1956. He was raised on sugary breakfast cereals and Saturday morning cartoonswith healthy doses of Gilligans Island reruns thrown in for good measure. Graduating the public schools system with a solid C grade-point average, he was clearly destined for greatness or at least a career in the visual arts.

After completing the curriculum from Art Center College of Design in 1980 with a BA in photography, Eric moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he ran his own advertising photography studio for over ten years. There, he worked with the largest agencies in the country, shooting brands such as Novo, Bang & Olufson, Pfizer, Maersk Line Shipping, LEGO, and Philips Electronics.

Upon returning to the States in 1992, Eric gradually transitioned to location industrial photography, because it afforded, as he comments, a much broader palette of avenues for creativity.

After thirty years of shooting as a professional, and an additional five years working on the series American Pride and Passion, Eric is now sharing the secrets of how some of his most effective shots were madeand how you can make similarly powerful photographs yourself.

Currently, Eric creates photographs exclusively on location for select clients and himself, taking full advantage of the depth and possibilities afforded by each and every new challenge.

To my dad. Your passing, while I was still just a kid starting high school, robbed us of the chance to know each other as men. That loss of your presence, so well-tempered now after these many years, has softened further in my hope that you would have been proud of your youngest son. The passion and creativity you brought to the world of industrial design has inspired me on my own journey of commercial photography and this art series specifically. I flatter myself further in thinking that even a quarter of your creativity could be coursing through my veins. Although we will never meet as men, father and son sharing together, please accept this gift I present as a statement of what your son has become.

To my step-dad, Myron. Joining our family over thirty-five years agoMom with her four rebellious teenage kidscould not have been easy. As a young person, your consistent encouragement and support meant the world to me. Taking on the added burden, both financially and emotionally, of supporting my decision to attend a very expensive private photography college was generous beyond measure. I will be eternally grateful. Our family is so much richer since the day you walked into our lives. It has been said before, but one more time for the record seems appropriate: thank you so much for a life-long career and the passion I am so fortunate to experience every day of my life. Love, your son Eric.

To my father-in-law, Kazuo Kaz Takahashi. My marriage to your daughter and the simultaneous discovery of your cancer diagnosis, followed less than a year later by your death, made for a sad and difficult experience with my new extended family. I cant really say I knew you well, but maybe I understood you to a small degree. Having been a farmer your whole full life, and coming from the older generation of Japanese Americans, among whom dignified silence is an appropriate expression of integrity, you demonstrated character and strength through quiet resolve. Lacking eloquence of speech, it was my feeble attempt to poetically chronicle your life well-lived by photographing the implements of your tradesixty years of used tractors scattered about the farmthat started me down this path, a visual journey that has been so rich and fulfilling. I intuitively understand, but cannot fully explain in words, this last gift you have given me. Maybe these photographs could speak for themselves.

T his book is a practical and inspirational resource demonstrating the photographic techniques and creative concepts of painting with light. Written in plain language, and with the inclusion of over 250 photos and illustrations, it will show photographers, from amateur to professional, how I created the works illustrated herein. You will see how you too can easily create your own amazing painting-with-light photos. This technique is not hard and only requires a short leap of imagination that has not been revealed previously. You will quickly grasp not only the mechanics of painting with light, but easily come to understand the philosophy I employ in order to create spectacular photographs from seemingly mundane subject matter.

This technique is not hard and only requires a short leap of imagination

I n this book, I will demonstrate the simple techniques and concepts involved in painting with light, as well as how to combine multiple light-painted exposures into a single wonderful photograph. More than that, it is my intention to open a door in your minds eye and allow you to truly seefor perhaps the first time. For those of you who are students, whether in school or in the broader sense of the word (people who want to expand their knowledge base and learn something new), this book will be a wild ride of cutting-edge photography concepts and techniques. Happily, these are now accessible to everybody, not just the elite few with ultra-expensive cameras and mountains of hardware. Anybody can do this!

This vintage Airstream trailer was photographed in Hesperia, CA, using my painting-with-light technique (over the course of four hours), multiple exposures, and several large flashlights. In the last chapter of this book, well review the whole sequence of images involved in creating this image.

As a photographer, it is up to you as a person with vision to reveal truths about our world, allowing others to finally see what you imagined before your photograph was created. I want to give you not only the tools to make amazing photographs but also an understanding of the philosophy involved in crafting your own master works of art. If I can inspire you in your own endeavors to create and share with viewers, then this book will have been successful.