6 Questions: Ed Hidden
We’re kicking off a new series here on the MyersonPhoto blog. In the “6 Questions” interview series, you’re going to find out why I’m a photographer, and not a journalist. In my photographic and design career, I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet and work alongside some fantastic photographers. In my “6 Questions” series, I’ll do my best to bring some of these people to you.
First up, out of central Pennsylvania, is Ed Hidden. Ed is a commercial photographer, a fellow image inspector with iStockphoto.com, and one half of the podcasting duo that brings “the Lightsource Podcast” to these friendly tubes known as the Internet.
MyersonPhoto: You’ve got a ton of hot-selling images in your stock photography portfolio? Which is your favorite? Why?
Ed Hidden: That would be hard to pick one. Probably my highest selling image. [shown below]
It’s hard not to love a “hard worker”. Probably the other big reason was that it was such a surprise that it would sell so well. I had actually held off on uploading this image for a while because I wasn’t sure what I thought of it. It probably taught me to trust your gut and upload images you think will do well and not debate on it too much.
MP: This year saw you set up a studio in a rental space. What can you tell us about the studio? Now that you’re a few months into that studio space, is there anything you’d have done differently?
EH: I’d be in it more often! With inspection and other responsibilities, it’s difficult scheduling time to be in it. I hope to rectify that this winter when it’s not quite as nice to be outside.
MP: You’re something of a lighting guru. Do you have any stories about a particularly challenging lighting setup, and how you tackled it?
EH: The toughest challenges for me are usually the ones where I have the least time for, or conversely, the ones that I have the most time for and over think them.
A recent successful shoot was this one. Everything seemed to gel really well. The model was fantastic and we pretty much had to remind ourselves we were working. We did a few different locations, kept the lighting very basic and got wonderful shots.
In the big shot, I wanted to keep the lighting bright and pleasing for a strong commercial look. So I took two Alien Bee AB800s and bounced them into the corner of a ceiling and let it fall around like natural light. I was pleased because it looked very natural but it was totally artificial. The green elevator shot in the comp card was done with a large modifier that allowed for an easy setup and helped give the “Mens Health” style cover shot I was going for. And the image on the left of the comp card was a quick concept. We were done with the shoot and wanted to do a shot of “calling it a day”. I took the big modifier again and positioned it to camera left for some hard light even though I was using a very large modifier (4ft octobox). I removed the light that was bouncing around the room to fill it and that brought down the lights for the “closing time” effect and positioned it just over the cubicle wall with a grid to allow it to just hit the back of his neck to give him some separation from the background. This is the biggest thing I’ve been playing with lately is separating the subject from the background to give them more importance.
MP: Your podcast remains one of the few I’ll make time for in my listening week. Aside from the big bucks and fame that podcasting brings, what spurs you two on to bring us such great content?
EH: Bill (goCrawford on istock) will physically beat me if I don’t. Don’t let that nice guy persona fool you.
Actually, it’s the joy of getting to speak with all these guys first hand and get to know them. That’s the biggest thing I value in photography, getting to know your subject. I think the podcast is an extension of that for me. Another thing, helping educate people is an excellent way to focus on techniques you might not be conscious of that you are doing. It’s a way for me to further what I know as well.I’m just glad that someone actually listens to them. [MP: Don’t let his modesty fool you. They have a huge listening audience.]
MP: The Lightsource podcast has had an impressive array of interview subjects and guests. Any memorable stories or favorite interviews?
EH: There are so many great guests we’ve had. Clay Enos will always be one of my favorites for a few reasons. He’s such an easy going guy. He called us from a tattoo magazine premiere party to give us a few minutes of his time. One time I was in NYC and sent him and email about meeting up to say hello and he was doing a shoot for Full Throttle energy drinks and invited me to the studio to hang out for the afternoon. That was a lot of fun.
Christopher Grey will be a favorite of mine for the simple fact that he wrote the book on lighting that I studied for so long. He was such a nice guy and another guest I got to meet in person.
Mark Robert Halper is another favorite. He always shares so much when he comes on and is very easy to talk to. We have a great rapport with him and know when he says he wants to be on that we are going to get lots of ideas and techniques to play with.
Surprisingly, some of the interviews that Bill and I have said, “oh, that just didn’t go very well” and thought it was out weakest shows… have been some of the more heavily praised and commented on. So. What do we know, right?
MP: We did a lighting workshop at a recent Tucson Photography meetup. Do you have any advice or resources for people who are looking to make the plunge into artificial lighting?
EH: Start with one light. Focus on what that one light can do. Learn about the quality of the light and how to make that single light soft or hard, where to place it…etc. Always watch your nose shadows, they will make or break an image. If your nose shadows crosses the cheek line, it will look odd and less attractive. Watch your eyes so you don’t get too much shadow on them.
Use a modeling light. It’s for more then to help focus by, it help close the subjects pupil as well so you can get as much color in the eye.
And lastly.. practice, practice, practice, study, study, study. And don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Many thanks go out to Ed, for being the first to suffer through “6 Questions”. Ed’s website can be found at http://www.edhidden.com. His iStockphoto portfolio is available here.