This guest post is by Olivier Lance, who with Pierre-Jean Quilleré launched Sylights in 2009, a wonderful web and mobile application for photographers that helps them document their lighting setups. Olivier, a full time IT engineer from Paris, France, develops MacOS X software for a living. He's also a passionate photographer. Please follow Olivier on Twitter.

Every now and then, when you post a photo to your blog or on a sharing platform, you get the common question: “how did you light it?”

That's a tricky one! How do you go explaining to somebody a full setup of light modifiers, gobos, flash settings, angles, etc.?

The short answer is: lighting diagrams.

Not everyone needs a lighting diagram to understand the lights behind a photography; experienced photographers can usually tell by looking at the shadows’ softness or shapes or at the catch light.

However, I'm not one of them. At least, not yet! So what do lighting diagrams have that can help me? Let's state the obvious first: lighting diagrams show the gear used to light a scene and how many lights were used. They show where the lights were set and how they were directed, relative to the subject.

“Relativity” is an important notion here. I think it's the key when working with lights. What I really see when I look at a lighting diagram is not “where” the main light is, but “how far” it is from the subject. And “how farther” (or closer, larger, etc.) the fill light has to be to do its job just as I see it in the resulting photo.

The same principle applies to flash power. This is a second set of information that's usually provided on or along with lighting diagrams. To correctly reproduce lighting, one has to know how powerful each light was. But it's really “the relationship between the different light levels that is important”, David Hobby tells us in his article Strobe/Ambient balance: A Shorthand Way of Thinking.

See, we're not used to describing amounts of light in an absolute manner. You'd rather say “this room is dark” – referring to what we usually consider a properly lit room – than “wow, it's barely 150 lux in here!”. Both are indicating a light level, but the former is relative whereas the latter is absolute. So a good lighting diagram could just use the main light as a reference and then say “this light is +1/3 of a stop, this other one -1 stop”.

That's why a lighting diagram is such a wonderful document to any photograph. No matter the kind of flash I use and no matter how powerful they are. By using that basic information – relative distances, angles, relative light levels – I can reproduce the lighting over and over again.

That's the main reason I see why photographers should use lighting diagrams: memory. Some photos are easy enough to remember; a lighting diagram will ensure the others are as easily reproducible. Besides the memory perspective, a document as complete as a lighting diagram is also a great way to share your knowledge … but more on that in a minute.

Another very simple reason is that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” If you’re working with one or several assistants, you’d rather be drawing what you have in mind than explaining it at great length several times! This leads me to the second main reason I think photographers should get used to lighting diagrams: teaching. There are so many people learning artificial lighting nowadays: amateur photographers, photography students and pros as well, who want to improve their technique.? To any of them, lighting diagrams are an incredible educational tool! By putting together a photo and its diagram, one can understand the role and effects of each light in a setup. So if you document your photos by using lighting diagrams, you can actually teach other photographers your lighting techniques and help them figure out very easily how you lit your shoots. Diagrams are also a perfect way to keep track of the setups that worked while testing and learning.

Finally, lighting diagrams allow any photographer to prepare a shoot beforehand. Just as I’m using a draft paper to prepare this post, a lighting diagram can easily be drawn to throw ideas, get the ball rolling and have some setups ready before a session. This is the third advantage of lighting diagrams: planning. You can of course use any other technique to prepare a shoot, but the completeness of a lighting diagram and its close representation of a real setup makes it a good choice to start with, before you can actually try your setups and make arrangements.

So, why should you use lighting diagrams as a photographer? Because it’s a great way to prepare your sessions, to document your photos afterwards and to keep track of your lighting setups as well as to share them with others and to teach beginners your techniques.

All those reasons pushed me to create Sylights, a service to photographers I launched a year ago with my friend Pierre-Jean Quilleré. Our idea is to make lighting diagrams easy to use and to base a complete sharing platform on them. Sylights’ goal is to accompany every photographers on their learning path and to store their lighting diagrams for them. We already offer a large range of tools for that purpose: an online diagram editor with a lighting diagram gallery accessible to anyone, an iPhone and an iPad app for when you’re on the go. Many features revolve around those three apps.

We’re still evolving and will gladly accept all your feedback to help us answer those three needs: memory, teaching and planning.

We’d also like to know: how do you use lighting diagrams, and why?

Today's guest blog is by Tony Urban, a photographer based in Western Pennsylvania. Tony specializes in High School Senior Portraiture. Please follow Tony on Twitter.

At least twice a week someone who has just learned that I'm a photographer responds to that information by telling me that their uncle/coworker/neighbor/dog walker/classmate/etc. is a photographer too. So how is a working, professional portrait artist with a legitimate business supposed to compete with all of the new shooters who are, quite often, working for free just because they “really like to take pictures”? There are several options, but one of them is to stop “taking” pictures and to start “making” portraits.

The word photography, as most know, is based on the Greek words “photos” (meaning light) and “graphe” (meaning drawing) – drawing with light. Despite that, many senior photographers ignore lighting when it comes to creating their images and as a result, they produce a style that can easily be reproduced by anyone with a “fancy camera”. With the proliferation of natural light photographers, it's more important then ever to have a stye that will set your work apart.

I'm a full time senior portrait photographer and over the past 2 years I've transitioned from being a “natural light” shooter to a photographer who drags around lights on every senior photo shoot. It doesn't matter if we're hiking into the forest or wading into the lake – if I'm making the portrait, I'm lighting it too. We might be shooting in “God's Studio”, but we're using my light to create the image.

On one hand, my business has almost doubled from the time I changed from natural light to controlling the light.

I've spent way too much money on lighting equipment over the past few years. Small flashes, studio strobes, Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers, light stands, boom arms, sand bags, power packs, etc. Sometimes I carry my gear, others I use a modified golf cart. I use translucent umbrellas, soft boxes, octoboxes and beauty dishes all outside while shooting on location. Not only does this gear take the portraits to a level that is unattainable by the guy who just bought a D5000 and opened up his business, but it gives my clients more of a “model” experience and makes them more excited about the shoot.

Is lighting a big deal to my senior portrait clients? On one hand, my business has almost doubled from the time I changed from natural light to controlling the light. On the other, not a single client has ever looked at their photos and said, “Wow, that's some beautiful lighting!” To the average client, I suspect good light is appreciated on a subconscious level. It makes them enjoy and appreciate the photos more, even if they aren't sure why.

If you're a professional photographer you really should understand the basics of studio lighting and taking the knowledge and using it outdoors isn't as intimidating as it first appears. Basically, you just have to compensate for the sun/ambient light (a light meter comes in handy with this) and, you have to deal with wind, rain and whatever else Mother Nature decides to toss your way.

The Strobist website is a fantastic resource and you'll find exhaustive amounts of information there about lighting. I haven't even begun to read a fraction of what is discussed there because I usually prefer to learn by doing rather than studying, but it should still be the first stop for any photographer looking to take their lights into the great outdoors.

There's no magic bullet when it comes to lighting outside. Sometimes I use Nikon Speedlights and Radio Poppers. Sometimes I use White Lightning strobes and Pocket Wizards. Both have their pros and cons. Speedlights are lightweight and easily portable but might be lacking in power depending on what you want to do with them. Strobes have tons of power but can be bulky and you need to use portable power packs to run the lights.

Maybe even more important than the lights themselves is what you use to sculpt the light. I prefer Beauty Dishes as they typically give you the most “bang for your buck” in terms of power. I always use them with the diffusion sock on though to soft the light produced. I, personally, love soft light and find it flattering for most senior portrait clients. It's important that you don't get too caught up in “lighting” the portrait to remember all of the other technical areas which need to excel – the pose, the composition, the subject's expression, etc. You can create the most stunningly lit photo possible but your client isn't going to buy it if the pose makes them look chubby or if their smile is a little goofy. Portrait photography is about making your client look amazing and the lighting is just one part of that.

The best light you can use is simple – it's the one that gets the job done. Play with your lights, experiment, see what works best for you and your style of photography. Once you've mastered using one light outdoors, move on to 2 lights – or 3 or 4 – or go crazy like Joe McNally and use so many that you lose count. But when you're working with your seniors, remember that your goal is to make them look great. Use your lights to give them unique portraits that all of the weekend warriors wouldn't even try to create. Your lights can be another tool to take your work to the next level and to help your portrait business stand out amongst a rising sea of “shooters”.

Do you agree with Tony that lighting can be the biggest differentiator? Tell us how you distinguish your work from others? And if you enjoyed this post, please “Share The Knowledge” by clicking on one or more of the social media buttons you see below! Thank you.

A Japanese proverb goes something like this: “One written word is worth a thousand pieces of gold”

Granted this is a thinly veiled commercial for an online content marketing company, but this video is a must-see for all photographers.

a) It's for photographers who don't think blogging is all that useful
b) It's for photographers who have embraced blogging but only post images on their sites and don't express themselves in words as well
c) It's for photographers who spend their time only lurking on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and don't consistently engage with their audience/target market

Now that you know WHY words can make a difference I bet you are scratching your head about HOW to go about blogging for your photography business.

First, I highly recommend Zach Prez's ebooks – Photography Blog Success AND Photography Web Marketing Guide. These two guides are filled with great information and you can't go wrong. I am plugging them here as affiliate only because I think it is worthy of being promoted because they are so useful.

Still not convinced you should write? Hit this blog post I wrote – Read, To Write. Then go read Juan Mireles' synopsis of Jasmine Star's approach and what makes her so successful.

Other awesome resources for you to consider:

Blog Topics by Chris Brogan and friends – a weekly email that will help you come up with a variety of posts if you start to suffer from writer's block. “For $9.97 a month, you get over 40 topics and tons of writing advice.”

I am a huge fan of Kristen Kalp. Her ebook, “Circus Circus” is like a laser guided missile that will hit its target – writing for your business. It's not just about blogging, though that is covered briefly. If you need help writing even a bio, an about me page, a manifesto about what you bring to your target market that is unique, then you've gotta get it.

I am just getting into this book now – Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life – but it came highly recommended, so I figured I would pass that recommendation along to you as well.

Today's guest blog is by Dan Watkins, a widely-published photographer based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a frequent contributor to the Improper Bostonian. Follow him on Twitter.

I was recently on-location at a Boston restaurant, photographing some food to accompany a magazine piece, when the manager struck up conversation. He reminded me that, when scheduling the shoot, I had mentioned only needing about twenty or thirty minutes to photograph. He then said he was ‘curious' to see what I would produce in such a short time.

The word curious appears in quotes because the tone in his voice led me to believe he actually meant ‘skeptical'. After talking with him more, it turned out most photographers the restaurant had worked with previously did produce great images, but either took a really long time doing so or used so much lighting equipment and modifiers that it became a serious disruption to the restaurant's customers and staff.

This conversation made me realize that there must be something to the adages ‘keep it simple' and ‘less is more' – even when applied to photography. So how can one keep it quick and simple on shoots?

Plan Ahead

My 20-30 minute estimate was based on the fact that we would only be shooting one or two dishes and that I was going to shoot predominantly with available light (adding just an off-camera speedlite if necessary). Since I knew the dishes would need to be prepped, cooked and plated, I also knew I could use that time to check out the location, look for a few good angles to use as backgrounds, and start setting my camera and flash accordingly. I was confident that a half hour would be more than enough time to get plenty of options for the magazine.

Minimize Lighting Gear and Utilize Available Light Instead

There are instances where shooting with ambient light rather than relying heavily on additional equipment is okay. Sure it's fun to see what sort of stylized images you can create with a four-light or more setup, but that might be something better suited for personal work instead of a client shoot in a public space. Just because you've grown an arsenal of lighting and modifiers doesn't mean there's anything wrong with leaving them home and going back to basics now and then. Less equipment also means less to go wrong, allowing you to focus more on making great photos!

Know How to Control The Available Light

Using ambient light as a main light source isn't enough if you aren't sure how to make it work for you. Pay attention to the quality, color and direction of the light on location and use it to your advantage. For example: using your aperture to control how warm or cool a space lit with tungsten appears on camera, or angling subjects so windows behind them or to the side provide a nice rim-light to separate them from the background.

Trust Yourself

Many photographers are far too critical of themselves. While this mentality might have its advantages while editing down a portfolio, for example, it usually doesn't help while on a shoot. Part of the reason a client hires a professional photographer is for their eye. They trust you have the confidence to portray their subject effectively, and so should you.

Know When You've Got The Shot and Move On

Gut feelings play a part in other aspects of professional photography – from what clients we choose to work with, to negotiating creative fees – so there's no reason to ignore them on a shoot. If it feels like you've got the shot, you probably do. It's easy to feel the pressure to over deliver and keep photographing a subject from every possible angle to ensure the client has many options. Most clients, however, prefer choosing between a few really strong images to narrowing down hundreds of minor variations.

While I hadn't even considered my minimal gear and fast-paced process on similar shoots before this conversation, the simple and quick nature of the session was not lost on the manager. In fact, as soon as I finished he asked about my availability and interest in coming back to photograph for the restaurant.

None of this is to say you should always rush through your shoots. Nor should you leave your strobe kit packed away long enough to gather dust. But knowing when and how to work quickly and simply to bring out a location's most flattering light, as well as having the confidence to know when you've got the shot and wrap things up, are definitely attributes that some clients will notice and appreciate.

Today's guest blog post is by Jocelyn Mathewes, a wedding and lifestyle photographer who works in both Boston and Baltimore. Given that it is a Monday and the start to your work-week, I figured her topic was highly appropriate. Follow her on Twitter and read her blog.

It's happened so often now, I've finally taken the time to listen: when folks look over my shoulder and see me taking notes, or have a chance to glance at my work notebook, they all say the same two things: “My, you're organized!” and “I love your handwriting!”

Yes, it's important to be organized (and there are several wonderful resources you should make use of below), but I'm here to tell you one thing that will be utterly amazing if you don't do it already…

Keep Track of Your Time

Much like the way financial advisers tell you to track every penny so you know where you're spending your money, track every minute of your work so you know where you're spending your time.

When I worked as a graphic designer in-house at a non-profit, I had to keep detailed records of all my activities and projects we worked on. The design department didn't really have a budget on its own; all of our work was funded by other peoples' budgets. When the end of the week came, we had to enter every increment bit of time we spent on a project to keep the engine going. My timesheet was a patchwork quilt of craziness!

This sounds daunting, scary, and annoying as hell, doesn't it? I'm going to tell you why it's SO IMPORTANT that you do this in your own business.

As it turns out, knowing where your time goes is an incredibly valuable thing, because it gives you feedback on how your business functions, and what (and how much) activity it involves.

I'm a mom with small children, and this is my part-time full-passion business. I know many others are in this very situation, or similarly restrictive ones. The moment they step away from the computer or return home from a shoot, they're flooded with the patter of feet, the dishes in the sink, or some party or practice to get to.

Having that restriction is a huge motivator to know where my time is going. Every minute I get to spend on my business is absolutely precious, because there's no guarantee I can make up work later in a day without sacrificing some part of my personal life or leisure. (I mean this literally! Have you seen the cost of childcare lately?)

Tracking your time reveals:

– inefficient processes that need to be refined.
– large chunks of work that could possibly be outsourced.
– repeated tasks that could be batched together for more efficiently.

Tracking your time also:

– shows what percentage of your effort going in to each area of your business.
– lets you estimate future task lengths based on past experience.

How I Do It

I have a notebook that I keep by my desk. Each spread is a week in my work life. Early in the week I enter in my tasks and prioritize them. As I go day by day, I write down the times I worked on certain projects, and tally the hours. I have set categories of activities that I keep track of in a separate tally.

Every so often (and this isn't entirely regular), I take all these numbers and enter them into a simple Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet tracks number of hours worked on each of the days of the week, and the number of hours spent in particular categories I've determined are of interest to me. It then tallies the averages and spits out percentages: the heartbeat of my work.

The categories I'm interested in tracking are:

– shooting (time spent behind the camera or on my way to/from a shoot)
– editing (time spent in Lightroom or Photoshop, working on a shoot)
– correspondence (e-mail, phone calls, snail mail, and the like)
– marketing (social media time, designing marketing materials, distributing materials, and blogging)
– meetings (viewing sessions, prospective client meetings, conference calls)
– design (album designs as well as general in-house design work for my branding)
– administrative (filing, Quickbooks and accounting, analyzing my SEO, anything introspective)

Looking at all these tasks and percentages and numbers can make a person cross-eyed! But I'll tell you: it sure helps me to understand and the weeks where I worked hard and felt extra pressure, and where that pressure went (was I designing a lot, or was it a heavy shooting week?).

Also, knowing that particular kinds of activities take up a certain amount of time helps me designate days that I devote to that activity. Things that require minimal interruption (like editing and admin tasks) will happen on different days from more interruptive activities (like correspondence or social media tasks).

If you like, feel free to download my little hackneyed spreadsheet and re-purpose it to your liking.

Of course, there are plenty of other electronic-based time tracking resources out there, but I prefer the paper version, because it forces me to take time and examine my priorities in a deliberate way. I also prefer to keep my work tasks and personal tasks in separate physical places, so that when I'm off work, I'm off work (a tough thing to do when running a business out of your home!).

Make it Yours

My system won't work for everyone, of course. The important thing I want you to take away is this: find a way to track your time. Build a system that works for you, and that gives you the insight into your activities that you need! Your life will thank you.

Productivity Resources

Making Ideas Happen
Scott Belsky of Behance.net, writes in an inspiring and clear way about what makes creative people (or teams) productive and effective.

Getting Things Done
David Allen's classic is a must-read for anyone who wants to get a little more task-oriented. Read more about it here.

43 Folders
Merlin Mann has an amazing set of articles available. Be sure to read his treatise on how to set up a “tickler file”.

Moleskine
Beautiful planners and notebooks that are just hecka fun to use.

Freckle
Time-tracking software for the iPhone and internet, also with invoicing capability (seems super useful for graphic designers).

So, tell us … do you track your time like Jocelyn? Do you have another system? What has worked for you and why?