Michael Lopez Photography

Vote…

Today people are heading to the polls. They will make their decisions based on the issues at hand. They will also decide  whether or not to vote for a person based on what they have seen in the media. The media plays a big part in our decision making.

I have had the opportunity to help shape some of those images that you have seen. It is a big responsibility as a photographer to portray people in a positive light. The wrong angle or ill use of light can affect someones perception of that person.

Each of the candidates that I have photographed over the last couple of years have been very down to earth. They are just regular people who want some type of change to happen in our great country.

But it takes more than just them to make the change. It takes all of us. We have to be willing to stand for something. Sometimes we let the media have to much control over our decisions. We have to start thinking for ourselves. We have to all participate in order to make things better.

I will never tell anyone who to vote for, but instead tell them to participate  and choose based on their research of each candidate. If you want someone to lead you then you need to know who is leading you. Just because I make them look great does not mean that you should not learn more about them.

Go out and vote and make some change today!

Fran Florez. Make An Office and You Have A Photograph

As simple as this picture seems, it was not that way. This took moving some furniture and being creative with light.

So here is what I did with this photo. There was not enough light coming into the room to get a photo that was not dramatic. So, I decided to use the wall behind me as a huge light source. By using my ring light as a light source and having the ability to hold it in my hand, it gave me greater control to adjust the angle of the light. As you can see in the photo, she has a nice catch light in her eye. This is because the white wall behind me became like a huge soft box. I also used a reflector to add some light to the side of her face.

The other key to this photo is the depth of field. Because I shot at f2.8, I was able to get the limited depth of field. Also, placing items in front of her. This helps create the depth and dimension I was going for in the photo.

Here is another photo that I did but changed a few things.

Here is how I did it…

This was pretty much the same setup. This time I just did not power so much light from the Ring Light. I still exposed at f2.8, and the photo had an entirely different look. What I controlled here was the amount of light.

So whenever you are shooting and you have to work fast, just think about how you can create different looks with just adjusting the power of your strobes. I hope this helps.

If you want to see more of my work visit my web site.