Recent content by Dan R.

I'm sure many of you have seen this before but I thought it was an interesting visual. I had a quick and dirty shoot inside a small room at a YMCA (very low ceiling) where the backlight's (a Pro) low position was projecting a shadow from the Omni that I was using as a key. The shadow really...

It's that time of year again, and many of us here will be trudging our gear and vehicles out along slick highways this winter. I wanted to offer these safety items for fellow photogs - most of these might be common sense, but easy to forget in the heat of the moment: - "Secondary crashes" are...

I had a shoot today at a car dealership where the subject was walking in most of the shots. I ended up not using my light kit at all after the first scene. I tried lighting for the subject's final position, but there was too much difference between the lit/unlit areas for it to work. Most...

I'm in need of a better keying solution than Premiere's internal tool. I've heard good things about Primatte Keyer for After Effects, but was curious if there were any other good solutions.

I did an interview yesterday with a subject that was wearing eyeglasses. I had a considerably tough time getting the key/fill reflections to go away. To eliminate the reflections, I ended up having to place the key and fill (2 softboxes) at near 90-degrees on either side of the subject, which...

I have a new client that I will be doing on-site work for on a recurring, indefinite basis. They have even dedicated a room in their office building for the setup. All is well except that HVAC noise is present. Not so much the whoosh of air coming out of the ceiling vents, but the low 'roar'...

Does anyone else get the antivirus warning and the PDF popup on the B-Roll.net home page from the domain fstat.cn? I'm only getting this on b-roll, wondered if I was the only one. https://safeweb.norton.com/report/show?name=fstat.cn

These two have been bugging me - I've heard them both ways. Rifa - 'Ree-fa' or 'Ry-fa'? Arri - 'Air-ee' or 'Are -ee'? Edit - Answered my own question with a Youtube search: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWEhC2YXxYw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Ktaju4EE8

I'm curious to hear opinions on how long you should/shouldn't leave your lights on during 'downtime'. I figured this is a subjective question. The more power cycling that is done (in theory) would reduce the life of the bulbs faster than leaving then burning, but I'm nervous about leaving them...

I'm curious to hear any tips and tricks that you've found useful for calming your subject's nerves when they are doing a sit-down interview. It seems the more prep work the interview involves (lights, monitors, gadgets and cables everywhere) the more intimidated the subject gets, and they are...

I get to go through my first tax audit as a business owner next month. Not by the IRS or the state - but by my home city! The city (where I live) is auditing me for Business and Occupation taxes. Pretty straightforward stuff apparently - I've got all my records ready. I'm curious though, for...

I was wondering if any of you have been successful in going to an all-credit card billing policy. I'm getting tired of the late payment game and want to just start requiring that all invoices be paid on receipt via credit card. The transaction fees are a bummer but at least it's better than...

I know this sounds like a bizarre concept, so don't laugh - but I was wondering if some type of portable shelter existed for photogs who have to stand out in the elements with a camera for an extended period of time, away from the vehicle. Although I love being out in the winter, there are some...

Some great live video coming in now from Des Moines - but could someone tell the photogs to pull back wide? Huge explosions and fireballs happening but the shots are being kept so tight that you only see a tiny bit of what is happening.

We've been doing a few outdoor interviews at dusk - everything looks great, except for the thousands of bugs that are attracted to the lights. We tried turning the lights off right up until we start rolling, but they're instantly there when the lights come on. I can't think of a way to...