Tuesday found me at the Front studio in Redfern for an ACMP Trampoline event. These events are put on for photography students and emerging photographers (with less than 3 years' experience). Tonight's theme was lighting; looking back on the night now, there were very few technical lighting setups.

Below are the notes I took on the night, which I have typed out rather than posting my scanned notes below.

Ideas from Seeing the Light with Peter Collier

Peter Collier has been a self-employed Fashion and Portrait photographer since 1990, at which time he has reached up a very impressive client list, which includes Tag Heuer, l'oreal, FHM magazine, and Sony BMG Music, to name a few. He has been nominated for AIPP Photographer of the Year 3 times. You can find his work on his website http://www.petercollie.com/.

Peter discusses light at the end of the night.

• You have to be confident otherwise, the situation will get away from you

• Wow your clients with equipment with look and function. Even set up gear that you are not going to use to impress the client

• Tools should not impede you from shooting

• On location, have two of everything

• Make sure your model or talent is the best you can afford in terms of skills and beauty. Be critical.

• Make sure your client has signed off on the shoot before it starts; have a call sheet.

• Photos involve light; how it falls on the subject gives mood, and how your model moves in the light brings the shot alive

• It is all about observation, look at light all the time

• Direct sun, use a Naked Light

• Cloudy Day, use Diffusers

• Window Light, use softbox

• White wall, use a reflector

• Add and subtract light

• People with fairer skin work on shadows, while those for darker skin work on highlights

• You can seldom go wrong with shadows

• Reflections on eyes give away the lighting

• Attitude is the difference between fashion and a portrait.

• Find out what you like doing and what people like seeing

• Confidence and connections are how this business works

• If the model is not looking at the camera, the view is likelier to linger on them and check out their clothing, etc.

• Everyone's lighting is different, and there is no one correct way.

• To get better eyes, make sure the studio is not too dark so the pupil does not dilate too much 

Pre Shoot checklist

1. Subject

2. Location

3. Background

4. Mood

5. Realistic

6. Visualise the night before. 

Lighting Food with Penelope Beveridge

Penelope has over 17 years of experience in the commercial and advertising worlds. She has high-profile clientele, from companies such as Qantas and Coca-Cola to individuals ranging from prime ministers to chefs. Her main forte is food photography, but she has also made many highly imaginative fine art pieces. To view her work, please go to her website http://www.penelopephotography.com/

Penolope doing a live food shoot with her assistant.

• To get a new head on bear, just add some salt

• Table tops really are actually tables

• Changing the feel of food is lighting

Lighting should be at 10 or 2, and a reflector should be used to fill it when necessary. She also used the feathered light from the softbox

• Aerial shots mean using the floor as a tabletop

• Light from the camera is flat, food is better backlit, fill from the front.

• Tilt shift lenses are advantageous

• Find out the story for the lighting

• Chocolate is shot with blue

• Afternoon tea soft light

• When using colour, find your hero and ensure it is seen first. It is all about the food, not the props

• Texture need backlight, similar to shine

• Flat food is hard to shoot (eg pizza). Try to get in close and focus on the topping

• Use fake ice as it sinks

• If shooting in both portrait and landscape orientation set up takes twice as long as you need to recompose the table.

• Don’t touch the side of the plates; if you do use gloves, hold them from the bottom

• Turn off overhead lighting. It will show in bowls and spoons.

• You must shoot on a tripod

• Use smaller plates with smaller meals

• Editorial maybe 5 dishes a day

• Props give feel and scale

• Start at f8

• Always look through the camera and keep the same angle

• Gobos are there to block out hot spots

• Crumpled cellophane looks good in the background (bokeh)

• When shooting liquids, pour on the table. Never carry it.

• Table education is important; utensils must be in the right place and used correctly

• To have dark sides to bottles, add blackboards on the side

• Adding shine is done by brushing on extra virgin Olive oil

• To remove shine, use Krylon. Also, if you want water droplets, you can finely spray water on them.