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 David Guy Maynard
David Guy Maynard continues to show why he was the winner of the first Digital Photo Pro Emerging Pro Competition five years ago. With a rare talent for distilling the challenges of lighting a scene to its core parts, Maynard then focuses on adding the appropriate tool to solve the lighting problem. The key to good lighting is simplicity. Use only as many lights and modifiers as are necessary, and no more. Maynard’s elegant high-key lighting adheres to this principle. Using compact Rogue modifiers and standard accessory flash units on small stands, he’s able to precisely sculpt his illumination for perfect results in the most challenging situations.
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Rogue FlashBenders
This compact system is ideal for today’s professional photographer. Maynard needs to be able to work fast on location. His entire lighting system fits into a single 12x12x36-inch bag, which he can fly with as easily as he can toss it into the car trunk. This formula of flash units, compact stands and Rogue FlashBenders and Rogue Grids saved him over $12,000 in shipping costs alone in the first year he used it.
To be a successful professional photographer today, you need to be able to work fast, while still getting the kind of top-quality images that the client expects. The demands are higher than ever. Rogue FlashBenders, Grids and Gels are the tools that give you an edge and allow you to light anything, anywhere, anytime. To learn more about the Rogue FlashBender Lighting System, go to www.expoimaging.com. |
This photograph is a perfect example of Maynard’s technique. To a layman, it’s simply a photograph of a beautiful model. To a professional photographer, it’s a nightmare of contrast—raven hair, a white textured garment, a pure white background and Mediterranean complexion. To solve the puzzle, Maynard placed a large Rogue FlashBender to the right and in front of the model. He used the FlashBender instead of an umbrella because it gave him smooth reflected light, and at the same time he could control the exact shape of that reflected light.
With the main light in place, he added a Rogue Grid on another flash as a hairlight to give dimension and bring out the sheen and texture of the jet-black hair. The high-key look needs a hairlight, but there’s always a danger of the hairlight spilling to some other area. The grid prevents that from happening, and because it’s so small, the Rogue Grid can be quickly adjusted to get it into the perfect place. With the main light and hairlight set, the last thing to do was to kick up the background to make sure it would be a pure white. A large FlashBender was the perfect tool. With the reflective side bouncing light on the background and the black side keeping it from spilling onto the model, the pure white was easily isolated and controlled.
You can see more of David Guy Maynard’s photography at his website: www.dmaynardphotography.com. |
