{"id":814,"date":"2009-07-19T14:19:06","date_gmt":"2009-07-19T12:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/?p=814"},"modified":"2009-07-19T14:19:06","modified_gmt":"2009-07-19T12:19:06","slug":"why-i-hate-umbrella-lighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/why-i-hate-umbrella-lighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I HATE Ummm…brella Lighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why I HATE Ummm…brella Lighting…<\/p>\n

If you want to get me to fall asleep, just show me some images shot with umbrella lighting.<\/a><\/em><\/strong> Now I am not talking Richard Avedon<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, because Richard Avedon did a lot more than capture images with a single\u00a0 umbrella, he captured a moment that is so his signature, that anyone else attempting to copy would be dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of what Avedon accomplished.<\/p>\n

Umbrella lighting is the ‘WalMart’ or the ‘Ford Pinto’ of lighting for me. It is the horrible gig at the Holiday Inn, where some dried up ex alcoholic is attempting to make a come back singing “I Will Survive” to a bunch of totally miserable accountants congregating for their annual convention.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Umbrella light is that really bad hair do or dress that can only be seen in some totally kitsch boutique in Boise, Idaho.\u00a0 It is that Wedding photo that we have all grown to, ah, hmmm, Love?<\/p>\n

It smacks of hey, I am now a photographer because I now own a couple of studio lights and have to have this because if I don’t I won’t be considered credible and it will impress anyone who doesn’t know any better and the bigger the better types…<\/p>\n

Ah, give me that umbrella to be very, very safe and to not upset the REAL serious photographers out there that believe that you have to have a reflector to kick in some light in to “THAT” shadow area, otherwise it is NOT a technically good image.<\/p>\n

What is even worse is that those who MUST HAVE an umbrella, will almost certainly have a…”Da Da Da Da\u00a0 Soft-box!<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!!”\u00a0 Now THAT is really impressive.\u00a0 Every time I see a set up with a soft-box and the “UMBRELLA” I pop the proverbial CHUBBY and have to sit down, as to not expose by excitement.<\/p>\n

Now, if somebody were to say to me, “Hey check out what I did with this umbrella!”\u00a0 that would totally blow me away, I would be so F’ing pleased. But at this point in time, I have seen nothing but flat, boring, pedestrian, predictable, unassuming, dull and flat out knock me out with a VALIUM the size of a HOCKEY PUCK images.<\/p>\n

Hey, but who knows.\u00a0 Given that surprises do happen, I’m open to the possibilities.<\/p>\n

Surprise me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why I HATE Ummm…brella Lighting… If you want to get me to fall asleep, just show me some images shot with umbrella lighting. Now I am not talking Richard Avedon, because Richard Avedon did a lot more than capture images with a single\u00a0 umbrella, he captured a moment that is so his signature, that anyone else attempting to copy would be dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of what Avedon accomplished. Umbrella lighting is the ‘WalMart’ or the ‘Ford Pinto’ of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[654],"tags":[661,36,653],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/flower-gothlolipurpleumbrella.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paG8MM-d8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3603,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/photography\/prelude-to-discussion-about-light-darkness-life-death-reincarnation-other-notions-stay-tuned\/","url_meta":{"origin":814,"position":0},"title":"A Prelude to a Discussion about Light, Darkness, Life, Death, Reincarnation and other Notions. Stay Tuned…","author":"Benjamin Kanarek","date":"December 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Richard Avedon Parts 2 through 9 below Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light, Dark Dark, Light Light,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/category\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IGP04772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IGP04772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IGP04772.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IGP04772.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3640,"url":"https:\/\/thebkmag.com\/rebuild\/technical-tips\/kinds-lighting-accessories-needed-sculpt-paint-light-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":814,"position":1},"title":"What Kinds of Lighting Accessories are Needed to Sculpt or Paint with Light? 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