I'm an advertising photographer based in Los Angeles, California. My mission is to create striking advertising photography, corporate photography and editorial photography of people for major advertising agencies, fortune 500 corporations and major magazines. I shoot photography and video assignments throughout California including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego as well as the rest of the world. As a photo educator I am happy to share my unique vision and methods.
Posted: April 29th, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Education, photo lighting | Tags: advertising images, advertising photographer, california photographers, commercial photographers, editorial photographer, Lee White, lifestyle, location photographer, Los Angeles photographer, people photographer | No Comments »
California photographers are right in the middle of the country’s most health conscious region. Advertising photography of healthy food, year around outdoor activities and mind/body health are photographed here. Location photography is easy with endless sunny days, beautiful beaches and mountains.
Los Angeles photographer Lee White shoots healthy lifestyle - Yoga
Yoga studios and gyms seem to be on every block providing commercial photographers like me beautiful models for my advertising and editorial photography.
Photography hints: use cool pastel colors to make your subject’s skin tones standout. Cool colors also help present a calm quiet atmosphere.
Posted: April 19th, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Canon, Education | Tags: advertising photographer, CA, California, california photographers, canon G9, commercial photographers, editorial photographer, Lee White, Los Angeles photographer, people photographer, photography educator, Santa Barbara City College, Ventura College, video interview | No Comments »
Advertising, editorial, and corporate photography is the main stay of my Los Angeles advertising photography studio’s work. Since many of my assignments as a corporate and magazine photographer include a video interview, it was natural I would be asked to help out at Ventura College and Santa Barbara City College during video projects. Being involved with photography education, I always feel privileged to assist other educators.
ESL teacher Kari Tudman presenting at CATESOL conference
Los Angeles advertising photographer Lee White presenting at CATESOL conference.
The
CATESOL presentation was given by the well-known ESL teacher, Kari Tudman who used producing a video in class as a classroom community building project. During the class project, I assisted Kari and the students with technical advice and a second camera when needed. Kari and the students did the bulk of the work themselves and a good job at that. The two videos turned out very funny and the students really enjoyed working together. I then did a slight reedit, grading and sweetening of the projects at my Los Angeles photography studio to prepare the two videos for presentation in a large conference room. I also helped out at the presentation to make sure there were no technical problems and answer a few questions.
Photography hints: With over fifteen years of experience in photography education, I find I have benefited as much as I have contributed to any class. Take the opportunity to share your knowledge and give to your community.
Posted: April 4th, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Canon, Education, Lighting, Workflow, video | Tags: Add new tag, advertising photographer, California, Canon 5d, Los Angeles photographer, photography educator, postproduction, preproduction, Santa Monica College, video | No Comments »
Ready to expand from still photography to HD video? Before you take the plunge, sign up for a highly informative class at Santa Monica College designed to take the photographer through all the steps of preproduction, production and postproduction while building on the skills he already has given by Los Angeles advertising photographer Lee White. By the end of the class, an experienced photographer should be able to start producing short form videos.
The class will cover DSLRs with HD video capabilities as well as traditional video cameras , workflow, treatments, estimating, planning, digital formats, camera techniques, lighting equipment and techniques, sound equipment and techniques, narrative techniques, editing with Final Cut Pro and output. At the first class, equipment from Canon, Panasonic, Redrockmicro, Marshall monitors, and Bogen are scheduled for discussion and viewing.
Photographers are particularly well place to learn the video skills that will add value to their services and a new creative outlet.
You need to act fast as there is limited enrollment contact lee@leewhitephoto.com
Posted: April 2nd, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Canon, Green, photo lighting | Tags: CA, california photographers, Canon 580 EX, Canon 5d, classic airplane, commercial photographers, dramatic lighting, Joseph Campanella, Lee White, Los Angeles, Los Angeles photographer, portrait, Ryan PT22 airplane, video | No Comments »
Classic Ryan PT22
This is a location photo out of a quick edit of a recent advertising photo shoot I did, near Los Angeles, with a classic Ryan PT22 1935 airplane. The model is John Campanella, son of the well-known actor, Joseph Campanella and quite a good talent himself. I‘ll post a few from the final edit soon along with a video of the shoot.
Until then for you photo enthusiasts, I used a Canon 5d, along with a chimera soft box and Canon 580 EX strobes, with rechargeable batteries to stay green, connected by pocket wizards, again rechargeable. The sun was in and out all afternoon so this combination allowed me to move quickly and light the face beautifully just as the sun came out of the clouds. Location photography is an art in itself, so remember it is about the craft not the equipment.
Posted: March 22nd, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Canon, Lighting | Tags: advertising photo, assignment photography, CA, California advertising photographer, california photographers, Canon 5d, commercial photographers, Lee White, Los Angeles, Los Angeles photographer, people photo, portrait | No Comments »
It was dark and cold in the predawn hours as I left my studio in Los Angeles for an assignment to do a beauty shoot in San Diego in tandem with a TV Commercial shoot. I arrived just as the sun broke over the distant horizon and started to warm the crew that had gathered at the production studio entrance. I have done a number of these shoots and it is always interesting to see how the Director of Photography is going to light the same talent. Besides the fact, I love to light for video when I do web interview content in conjunction with my editorial photography. Undoubtedly, sometime during my part of the shoot, some of the production crew will come by to see what I’m doing and, when I get a chance, I get to do the same on their set. For these photos, I used my Canon 5d in raw mode to give the client options for both print and broadcast use.
This time the cinematographer was Stuart Asbjornsen, who has worked on a number of feature films and TV series such as Baywatch. I had to finish my portion of the shoot before the talent could move on to Stuart’s commercial set. This meant I had to wait until I was done to see just how he was going to handle the beauty lighting for film. Would it be similar to how I light my commercial photography or vastly different?
When I finally got a chance to get over to the other set, I was pleasantly surprised how much his set up was like the set up I often use to light women. A large soft light from the side to give contouring to the face, broad front fill to soften the skin, and rims to give sparkle to the hair and make the face glow. In this case, I was using strobes and the film crew hot lights but once again it brings up the fact that it is about the craft and not the equipment. The above shot is not from the San Diego shoot but uses the same type of lighting. The San Diego images have not been published yet, so I cannot release them in my blog.
Knowing how to make attractive lighting for women is useful in all types of commercial photography whether it is for an advertising photo, editorial photo or corporate photo.
Posted: March 4th, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Canon, Lighting | Tags: advertising photo, Canon 580 EX, Canon 5d, corporate photo, direct light, dramatic lighting, editorial photo, location photographer, Los Angeles photographer, portrait | No Comments »
Editorial portrait
This photograph could easily be used as an editorial photo, possibly an advertising photo, and the technique could be applied to corporate photos as well.
Again, this is location photography with direct light used for impact. I photographed this portrait on the beach at sunset with dramatic clouds in the background, so I wanted to keep the crisp outdoor feel to the picture using direct light. Photographing with direct light can be challenging, but in this case it makes the woman stand out nicely from the powerful background. The portable lighting system I use allows me to adjust to the quickly changing light at sunset and move about without dealing with generators or power cords. This time I used a Canon 5D and Canon EX580. I plan ahead and always think about keeping it simple, so I can concentrate on the picture.
Posted: February 24th, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Canon | Tags: advertising headshots, advertising images, advertising photo, advertising photographer, advertising photography, business headshots, California advertising photographer, Canon 5d, corporate photo, editorial photo, headshot, Lee White, lifestyle, Los Angeles photographer, people, people photo, portrait | No Comments »
I did this shot for a job but it looks like a real shot of a friend. There is a level of comfort the subject has that speaks to a certain level of intimacy. It’s the emotional connection between the subject and the viewer that I always strife for in my images. In reality, it is a model I had never met before this shoot, being photographed by me, a professional advertising photographer on set, but it looks like two people in a trusting relationship. You know this person, you like this person. The feeling is helped by the unusual angle.
A key element in an advertising photograph, trust.
Posted: January 23rd, 2009 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Lighting | Tags: advertising photo, advertising photographer, advertsing photo, CA, corporate photo, corporate pictures, editorial photo, editorial photographer, Lee White, location photographer, Los Angeles, Los Angeles photographer, people, people photo, people photographer, photography educator, portrait, web photography | No Comments »
I love photographing people on location with just a few small lights that can go outside at a moments notice. Now, coming from a advertising photography background and at times shooting multiple sets with 8X10 film view camera I have strobes and light modifiers enough to light up an office complex at night and have. My studio has dedicated outlets just for strobe packs.
Sometimes it is necessary to have tens of thousands of watts of light available but regardless of how much power you have it is always about crafting the light and getting the most from your subject. I can’t show the recent cover shot from the Comerica Bank photography yet but using the same portable light system I did this editorial photograph.
Sherry King with clouds
I used a single light to make this dramatic portrait Sherry King. Rather than just accepting the soft light created by a cloudy day, I was able to control the light. I could pick the light’s direction and so select the areas of clouds I wanted behind her. The light on her nicely defined her features and clothing. It equalized the brightness of the subject to the brightness of the background so I could keep good rich cloud detail. You can see I purposely let the light fall off quickly at her lower legs to hide the dirt and sticks. Not only does it hide an ugly foreground it gives a solid base to the picture while still showing she was outside. At times, you need to hide ugly details in plain sight and make them work for you.
With my portable lighting kit I can move about without worrying about plug-ins or generators. I can keep in rhythm with my subject and the energy up.
It is all about having and using the right tools at the right time.
