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Articles written by Patrick Hall

[DIY Video] How To Build And Light A Set For A Product Campaign
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Yesterday we got an interesting email from our friend Pye Jirsa over at SLRLounge.com. Pye recently helped film a video campaign for a friend's Kickstarter product launch called One and he decided to film a quick behind the scenes video on how he lit and filmed the different scenes. Pye is a big DIY guy and many of the lights he used on this production can be found for super cheap. We don't usually post a lot of Kickstarter proposals but the lighting tips from this one were simply too good to pass up. Watch the BTS video below and then click the full post to view the final video.
[Video] Fstoppers Original: The Tree Spirit Project, Nudes In Nature
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A week ago today, a friend of mine introduced me to environmental art photographer Jack Gescheidt. Minutes after talking with Jack about his Tree Spirit Project I knew I had to share his work with the Fstoppers community. Jack's photographs are unlike anything I've ever seen; yet even while they appear rather innocent, they still somehow strike up a bit of controversy. In a nutshell, the Tree Spirit Project is as much about bringing attention to ecological injustice as much as it is about evoking an almost spiritual experience for Jack and those posing in the photographs (yes he has posed in his own images). By allowing both groups and individuals to pose naked on and around trees that are involved in political and ecological debate, Jack has not only found a way to create amazing art but also unite communities together who value their natural surroundings. Recently Jack was in Charleston, South Carolina where he caused a huge media frenzy as he posed more than a dozen people naked around the Angel Oak (claimed to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi). Check out Jack Gescheidt's story below and click the full post to see a few images of his work. NOTE: while Jack's work doesn't always contain full frontal nudity, it still might be Not Safe For Work. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did and click here for many more photos of Jack's amazing work.

[BTS Video] Red Bull Gives Cameras Wings To Film 3D Motocross Commercial
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Red Bull no doubt has some of the best sports video work I've ever seen. In their latest sports commercial, the energy drink company takes to the skies as they film 2x Women's Motocross Association Champion Ashley Fiolek. Ashley, who has been deaf since birth, has been making a lot of noise on the women's circuit, and she has become an inspiration to fans of the sport world wide. The video features some interesting camera angles with much of the footage coming from cable suspended camera. Everything was filmed in 3D to give the POV shots a bit of kick as Ashley soars through the air. Check out the behind the scenes video below and then click on the full post to watch the final commercial.
[BTS Video] Victorinox Fragrances's 360 Degree Underwater Ad Campaign
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Now this is clever. Victorinox makes a few fragrances and wanted to create an interactive video that shows just how fresh their perfume makes you feel. So they sent a crew up to Cauma Lake in Flims/Laax, Switzerland to film a 360 degree video UNDERWATER! To capture 360 video footage they used the new Yellowbird camera which works a lot like the Google streetview car. After watching the behind the scenes video, click the full post to see the final interactive campaign and you yourself can smell like a clean lake from Switzerland.
[BTS Video] BYU Students Photograph Computer Hackers For FS Contest
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Jaren Wilkey is the manager of Brigham Young University's photography department (perhaps he helped on this shoot?). His Behind The Scenes Contest submission idea was to create a photoshoot that played off a news story there at the university. Jaren and his students set out to produce an editorial type image featuring computer hackers. These hackers weren't the malicious type you typically think of but rather the winners of a large computer science hacking competition. Check out what Jaren and his students came up with and they even used the Eye-fi to ipad tethering tip we exposed here. Congrats guys and good luck with the contest!
[BTS Video] Halloween Comes Late: The Ghostbusters Photoshoot
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I just realized that our Fstoppers Twitter account has tons of unread direct messages (we prefer you email us). One of them was from Douglas Sonders who had a crazy experience with one of the original Ghostbusters Ecto 1 Cadillacs. These caddies have so many lights on them that I can't make any sense of what is going on but it looks pretty cool. Douglas does a good job explaining how he plans on using a few long exposure shots to burn in the ambient light while using spot grids to pop in just the right amount of flash for specific areas of the photo. Does anyone know if the Roscoe Fog Machine in this video is made by the same company that makes Roscoe Speedlight Gels? Either way, nice touch on bringing the smoke machine to the shoot. Check out more details about this shoot over at Douglas Sonders's Blog.
[Contest Submission] Dramatic Portraits Of The University Of Indiana's Track And Field Team
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There are just less than 7 weeks left to submit your behind the scenes contest video. Submissions are starting to come in and it's amazing what our readers are doing through their photography. As the video submissions come in we are going to feature the standouts here on the front of Fstoppers. In Zach Hetrick's behind the scenes video, he shows how he created commercial sports portraits of The Hoosiers's track and field team. Zach takes some time at the beginning to talk a bit about the lighting setup he used and shows how you can give your group shots a punch with some nice light thanks to a few Alien Bee monoblocks. Leave your comments below if you have any questions about this shoot or simply want to give some friendly support to Zach. You can check out all the entries on the BTS Contest Forum Thread, and remember to get your submissions in early so we can share your work on the front of the site.
[BTS Video] Matthew Jordan Smith Explains Metering Your Subject Perfectly
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Some of my favorite behind the scenes videos we've featured on Fstoppers are of Matthew Jordan Smith. He speaks well and always articulates his lighting and setups in a way that both amateurs and pros can understand. In this video Matthew talks about exposing for a high key background, metering your subject's face for dramatic studio light, and balancing ambient backlight with a studio keylight. I'll be honest and say that I've never used a Sekonic Light Meter but I can see how useful they can be for more advanced studio lighting. I think Matthew might be the only professional I know of shooting on a Sony DSLR! I guess it goes to show that your camera brand makes little difference in producing great images. Check out more of Matthew's tutorials here.
[Humor] Photographers Vs Videographers: Epic Battle Of The Century
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This video has been sent to us so many times over the last 24 hours that I thought we should share it. It was filmed at After Dark Education based in Tucson, AZ and is a pretty funny look at how some videographers and photographers view each other on a wedding day. Just a good fair warning though, if you were offended by Lee's tongue in cheek take on fanny packs then you might be shocked to find out the situation is worse than you previous thought :) I guess we can all pick on the Star Wars fanatics instead this time!
[BTS Video] Jelly Bean Music Video Takes Over A Year To Produce
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It seems every week someone is producing a piece of art that pushes the limits of both technology and also creativity. One trend has been to create commercials and videos completely in camera with minimal post processing. The new music video for Kina Grannis completely blows my mind! Director Greg Jardin worked with Kina to produce a music video that features "jellybean art" in a stop motion sort of way. The video is not only incredibly entertaining but by creating such an interesting video, Kina has found a way to spread her talent to a much larger audience (almost 2 million people at the moment). Even if you may never create something that requires this much work, as a creative professional you should always be thinking of a clever way to share your work to a larger audience. Check out the video below and then click the full post to watch the making of video.
[Deals] Limited Time Save On Sandisk Memory Cards And Pocket Wizards
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We are heading into the holiday season which usually means manufacturers and retailers are looking to hook up buyers with some pretty sweet deals. Right now through BHvideo.com you can get some great discounts on Sandisk high speed flash memory cards which are great as newer cameras offer more megapixels and greater video capability. Pocket Wizard is also offering a rebate on their flagship Flex and Mini radio triggers. Check out our Nikon Pocket Wizard Flex and Mini Review to see how far the new line of triggers have come over the industry standard Plus IIs. Act fast because these units rarely go on sale and hold their value really well if you ever need to sell them down the road.
[BTS Video] Monte Isom Puts His Camera Dangerously Close To Hockey Players
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Some of our readers might have met up with Monte Isom at last month's Fstoppers NYC Meetup. His videos have been fan favorites on the site and this week he is sharing another one of his commercial shoots. In this behind the scenes video, Monte shows you how he photographed his latest Molson Export Ale ad campaign featuring hockey players as they slide in towards the camera. As always, Monte has a lot of fun on his shoots and hopefully you can gain some ideas for shoots of your own from this video.
How To Light A Semi-Truck Against The Los Angeles Skyline
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Jay P. Morgan is a commercial photographer based out in Los Angeles. His behind the scenes videos have been a hit with our readers because they always feature some useful lighting or photoshopping technique. In his latest video, Jay shuts down a highway ramp in order to light an 18 wheeler truck against the LA skyline. It's pretty interesting that an image like this is shot in camera and not completely photoshopped but that's what makes Jay P. Morgan a hero around the office. If you enjoy this video be sure to check out some of his other videos here.
Basketball Never Stops: Filming A Nike Commercial With Only One Light
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If you were approached by a big client and asked to only shoot with one light, would you freak out or would you make the most of the situation? In Nike's latest basketball commercial Basketball Never Stops, they only used one single hard light to tell the story how the game and fans go on even after the court lights turn off. I think videos like this are a great reminder that sometimes less is more. Sometimes a simple setup can still produce dramatic results (even if you have you substitute a helicopter for a lightstand). Check out the video below and click the full post to see a short Behind The Scenes video on the making of this latest Nike Ad.
Composite Photographer Joel Grimes Explains HDR Portraits
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Joel Grimes is a commercial advertising photographer who is most known for his composite portraits. In his recent interview with [Framed], Joel discusses how he got started with his career, how he uses 16bit HDR images in his workflow, does a full photoshoot, and even shows off his musical talents. The video is long so take your time watching it because he gives a lot of useful tips. I'm trying to persuade Sean Armenta to create an Fstoppers Post Production Tutorial on this type of composite editing so if you have questions leave them in the comments below.

Novum Launches New BorrowLenses.com Website
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When someone turns us onto a product or service we really enjoy we like to spread the word. Our friends over at Novum Studios just recently launched the new site design for BorrowLenses.com and it looks great. The Novum team was responsible for the site design you see on Fstoppers.com, and since we are not web designers, they have been instrumental in helping us turn our ideas into working realities. I can't really say enough about Case Sandberg and his team so if you need any custom wordpress design work check them out. Also check out Borrow Lenses new site especially if you want to test or rent gear for an upcoming project.
The Greatest Photography Halloween Costume Ever!
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For some people, Halloween can be a stressful time as you panic to come up with that perfect costume that will impress all your friends and help you score big with the opposite sex. Photographer Tyler Card decide to one up everyone by creating his own lifesize working Nikon D3 which can capture all of his trick or treating fun. Check out the demo below and then head to the full post to see how Tyler made it in his BTS video.
Has iPhone Video Footage Actually Been Used In A Box Office Hit?
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In May 2012, Marvel will release the comic superhero movie The Avengers. Some apple fans are suggesting that footage actually in the movie was shot on an Apple Iphone. The Avengers cinematographer Seamus McGarvey was quoted saying, "The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand. On The Avengers, I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will effect the look of the film." It's pretty crazy to think footage from the older iPhone 4 (which only shoots 720) could ever be good enough to mix in with real footage taken on pro cinema cameras. With the amount of preplanning and the huge budgets allowed on these films, would they not just reproduce the scene again and capture it from all angles? I just can't imagine something happened spontaneously where the cinematographer's footage from his phone was the best possible footage. What do you guys think? Can anyone identify the footage in the trailer below?
Simple Tips On Getting Great Video Shots On A Slider
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Lee's wedding video A Moving Moment created a lot of discussion about how to get high production shots with minimal gear. The truth of the matter is Lee handheld 90% of the footage and used our favorite slider, The Atlas 10 Slider, for the remaining 10% of the shots. Olivia Tech has recently demoed a knock off slider called the Konova Slider and explains some simple techniques that can really up your video production easily and on a budget. Olivia is also using the main lens Lee used in his video, the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC, which has the best vibration compensation of any 2.8 lens in this range. If you want the quality of a true Cinevate Slider for a little less money, we have had awesome results using the Cinevate Atlas Pulley System as a fully functioning slider. Just make sure you put a solid ball head on it first!
Jay P Morgan Creates Composite Sports Photo With Rafael Marquez
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Jay P Morgan is a commercial photographer out of California who has a history of creating some of the best most educational behind the scenes videos out on the internet (click here to watch tons of them). In this video Jay explains how you can shoot athletes in a studio environment and composite them into any scene easily and effectively. I want you guys to take note of how Jay breaks down his photography approach and offers concise and detailed information about his shoot. If you are interested in winning our Behind The Scenes Contest (and instantly having a studio of your own), you are going to need to explain your process thoroughly and in an interesting manner. Also be sure to check out the full retouching video on Facebook to see how everything was pieced together in post.