Steven Joseph Photography | EXPO TRAFFIC
About
If you want to learn on-location lighting, or in-studio lighting, I can teach you. Rather than brag on myself I'll let my work speak for my abilities. If you want to learn to use off-camera lighting both on-location or in-studio, I have much to teach. I've been earning my living as a photographer since 2004 which is when I took my first Santa Fe Workshop. I've since studied with so many masterful photographers, including Joe McNally, Matthew Jordan Smith, Jerry Ghionis, Denis Reggie, and so many more, each of whom has upped my game.
Even though I no longer photograph weddings, my WeddingWire profile shows the fab reviews I've gotten from past clients, almost 50 5-star ratings, one of the highest in Vegas.
My style of on-location lighting is dramatic, magazine-style. I am unafraid of photographing clients at high noon or in total darkness, and any time in between. While I love shooting at magic hour and golden hour, I don't care what the light looks like outside or in, because I make my own light.
As Joe McNally has famously quipped "I shoot available light, whatever damn light is available." What he means is that no matter the situation he's in, he'll incorporate the lighting at hand into his photo as a key light, a fill light, a kicker light, or just a decorative background element.
You are very lucky in that we live in a golden age of studio lighting. Not long ago, high powered studio flashes were very cumbersome to bring on location. You needed large heavy lead-acid batteries for each light. You needed long power cords, and you needed long sync cords to trigger each light. It was cumbersome and slow.
Then there was infrared triggering that was very tricky and bad in bright light. Later small companies introduced wireless hacks that converted IR to Radio Frequency and then back to IR. Clever, but kludgey and often unreliable.
Now powerful off-camera studio strobes and speedlight flashes use light rechargeable lithium batteries, and wireless triggers, that allow you to control each light independently from the back of your camera. These lights come in all sizes and shapes, and they all talk to each other through your camera.
The number of modifiers available to shape the size and shape and softness of your light is kind of huge. I basically own everything. And for the DIY'er, I just made some really nice snoots for $0.67 each, and they are one of my favorite modifiers.
I can answer many questions about lighting gear and modifiers. I can demonstrate how to use High Speed Sync (HSS) on a bright day to get beautiful blurry background bokeh.
I can discuss the Iron Quadrangle of Aperture | Shutter Speed | ISO | Flash and how they all work together to deliver the results your client wants.
For example I was shooting a high-end restaurant food photography job the other day. I shoot tethered and broadcast to iPads so my clients can see the photos in real time in high resolution. The client wanted a deeper focus, a deeper depth of field, so that his food was in-focus from front to back. So without moving an inch, I was able to decrease my aperture (the size of the hole in your lens) to my lens' deepest setting of f/22 (a tiny hole), and either increase my flashes OR increase my ISO an equivalent amount to compensate for the reduced amount of light let in by the lens. Each choice has plusses and minuses.
I've been told I'm a good teacher. I enjoy sharing what I know and getting paid for it. If you want to learn to master off-camera photography lighting in-studio and on-location, we should talk.
Always different, always creative, often challenging, it demands that I am always learning.
Photos and videos
No reviews (yet)
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
I'll ask some questions to see what you want to learn, what you already know, what you hope to get out of our time together. If I'm not the right fit for you (because you already know enough, or I don't know what you want me to teach you) I'll tell you so.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have studied with (that is, I have paid money and traveled to learn from)
Joe McNally
Matthew Jordan Smith
Jerry Ghionis
Peter Hurley
Denis Reggie
Nate Kaiser
Jeff Newsom
David Beckstead
and many other photographers you will not have heard of, or who maybe were not so great.
Like you I have also invested lots of money into online training with folks like
Mike Kelley
Alex Koloskov
My college degree is in Geography and Chinese - quite useless. All of my photography learning has been on-demand. For the last 16 years I have noticed people whose photography skills or vision blow me away, I have reached out to them to see if I can hire them, and they always have said yes.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
No I don't.
But my pricing will scale, according to the time and commitment required from me.
If you want to email me some questions, or do a phone call or a zoom, that is the least expensive.
If you come to my walk-up studio in Chinatown, Las Vegas, where we use all of my gear, that is more expensive.
If we go out and about to do a photo shoot in downtown Las Vegas or out in the desert, that is most expensive.
How did you get started teaching?
I first taught formally at the University of Utah in their Continuing Education Department. I taught basic studio lighting in a classroom setting. It was fun. I got good reviews. I taught my students lots of things like about light meters and softboxes and other modifiers and the iron quadrangle of Aperture & Shutter Speed & ISO & Flash Power. Then I moved away.
What types of students have you worked with?
Adults. Often they are aspiring "available light" photographers wanting to expand their skills with lighting, and expand the hours in a day and night they feel comfortable photographing clients.
Other times they're more hobbyists just wanting to be better.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
Last summer I took my four sons and my wife around the world in 63 days. We went to japan, thailand, vietnam, hong kong, korea, india, london, ireland, italy, hungary, poland, greece, Israel. We scuba dived in Vietnam. We learned ancient western history in Athens and Rome and Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We used Google Flights to plan most of the trip. Whatever the least expensive next city was in our general direction is where we went. This is how we flew from Dublin, Ireland to Naples, Italy. It cost about $50 per person!
I am very, very fond of this event.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Look at their portfolio of work. If you really really want to be able to shoot like that, contact them. Tell them what your exact goals are. See if that person has time, interest, ability to teach you what you want to know.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Assume nothing. Be as explicit as possible about what you want and hope to learn. Assumptions lead to disappointment. Explicit questions are good, because they lead to understanding, they may lead to working together or they may lead to realizing that teacher and student are not a good fit for each other.
GREAT QUESTION
"Hi, I'm a Sony mirrorless shooter and I want to become unafraid of taking on clients no matter how light or dark it is inside or out. I want to learn to use off-camera lighting. I want to understand the when and why and how of choosing a given light, a given modifier, a given location."
NOT SO GREAT QUESTION
"Hi, I want to become a better photographer."
ASSUMPTION
[Thought bubble] "I'm a Nikon shooter, I want this guy to explain every item in my camera's menu system. I'm sure he'll be able to do that."
The example assumption above is not good because the teacher may not know Nikon or Canon or Sony in-depth and may think it's better for you to learn the specifics of your camera online at Youtube or the like.
If you explicitly ask your teacher if they're going to teach you every item in your menu system then they can give you a clear answer. I am not interested in doing that with you. But if you assume it, there will be disappointment.
BE AS CLEAR AND EXPLICIT WITH QUESTIONS & GOALS AS POSSIBLE