Building the Dramatic Portrait Sponsored by Westcott

FJ Westcott invites you to an inspirational lecture with Joel Grimes, a commercial advertising photographer, who has been working in the industry for over 30 years. Many consider Joel to be one of the leading instructors on lighting, He is an instructor with Kelby Training, and currently has a show on the FramedNetwork called 'Joel Grimes, LitUp'. Joel literally takes the mystery out of lighting, and the confusion that comes with it when choosing the right modifiers, lighting ratios, flash meters, histograms, etc..... "I am not surprised that for most of us we end up getting a migraine headache trying to figure this whole lighting thing out", says Joel.
In this lecture Joel will share the single greatest fundamental rule of lighting that will shatter your perception of how lighting really works. "I love setting people free from the technical burdens that bog us down and move forward into the creative process." Joel will also attempt to shatter the standard view of how we define a "Photographer" and present a new model that moves us toward viewing ourselves first and foremost as "Artist".
joelgrimes.com

[@barrie2504]

I have been a teacher a very long time and this is brilliant teaching from all perspectives: the photographic and lighting knowledge, the motivational points and the life lessons. Brilliant teacher and great photographer.

[@steve7015]

And still, after all these years, your enthusiasm and passion carry you and infects all those you coach. Bravo! What could be better!

[@RetroHoo]

Joel Grimes is one of the best trainers out there he "disarms" complicated elements when it comes to lighting and steers photographers towards the creative process instead of getting lost in the technical side of things.

[@nelsono4315]

B&H and Joel Grimes, what a fantastic combination!

[@nelsononofre4681]

in a short period of time I have become a huge Joel Grimes fan. Great communicator, great photographer. Very inspiring.

[@pictureeyecandy]

I loved when he figured out that he is an Artist instead of saying he is a photographer to stop the debate that you are an illustrator, not a photographer. If he was or said I am a Fine Art Photographer no other friends or photographers would have said anything about how he creates his finished photographs. Everything he said was so true... Awesome.

[@sparkypuc]

This Lecture by Joel is spot on, and is more relevant to the use of digital technology today than most other videos. ...very Inspiring!

[@motivator6977]

WOW, I have watched a ton of photo tutorials and this presentation is fantastic. For someone who believes Artistic Creativity is more than equipment, this is a great affirmation. Obviously some individuals do not agree with his technique or philosophy; however the images he has produced are beautiful, powerful, stunning….on and on. His advice of being your own person, following your own path works for photography and life. Being hung up on equipment and procedure causes you to lose sight of the fact that results are all that counts.

[@whitneywelshimer5383]

I really like the way he explains things. Thank you for this! Super helpful and enjoyable to watch.

[@RobertVinet]

I love this guy and his shooting methods. Joel's lecture is well worth your 2 hours.

[@tat2duck]

Outstanding! There is so much information in this video it's incredible to think it's free. Not only is all the info fantastic, but Joel's motivation and enthusiasm is intoxicating and contagious. This is definitely one video I'll be coming back to time and again to review. A big thanks to all involved in producing this video and a great big thanks to Joel for being so free with his talent. We're not worthy... :-)

[@yusuferoglu9345]

This is great! Even if I have no interest the type of photography Joel is doing it doen t matter. It is not a bout the type of his work. It is inspiring, make the things straight in your mind, so much valuable insight and information so rare to get a true professional is telling you. Thanks B&H and great teacher Joel!

[@julyborn73]

Joel Grimes is now the man in my books.

[@lindagil528]

I totally love you sharing your views on the uniqueness of the artist and his ability. Although not being in the business of photography, in many ways I operate with a similar view to yours as an artist. It's totally refreshing and encouraging for me to hear you state so bluntly what I as a professional almost try hide in public! I didn't think anyone worked that way... like your ratio on shooting versus retouching. How many times have I cursed myself through 30 years as a professional artist on just these ratios to see my work off. You stated why I do it: Because I'm an artist. Thankyou so much for the love you transpire, talking about what really matters 👍

[@BandH]

Most welcome. Thank you for watching.

[@olanzoni01]

What can I say? Oustanding!. This is not just photography. It´s a lesson about attitude in life. Thank you very much B&H and Joel Grimes.

[@eskility]

Great, Joel Grimes is the best!

[@ygao988]

Great video, Thanks to Joel Grimes, I love him.

[@daveintokyo]

Fantastic! Thanks so much. It is hard to believe that such a master class is ABSOLUTELY FREE. Thanks to Joel Grimes and thanks to B&H.

[@BandH]

@Michael Tiedtke Thank you so much for watching the B&H Photo KZbin Channel and for your participation. We are very pleased that you derive value from and find our presentations useful and informative.

[@jkennedy96]

What a fantastic inspirational and enthusiastic presentation. Thanks to Joel Grimes and B&H for sharing.

[@BandH]

@Charles Unitas Thank you so much for watching the B&H Photo KZbin Channel and for your participation. We are very pleased that you derive value from and find our presentations useful and informative.

[@mkhaliphilanga6784]

Wow wow wow, Value Packed lecture, Mind renewing knowledge [especially for me as a Newbie Photographer]. Thank you B&H🙏[ from South Africa]

[@DrewSocia]

Thanks Joel! You are a true inspiration to me and my art.

[@AutoFOCUSED.]

It's Joel Grimes so thumbs up before I even watch this. AWESOME!

[@GabrielOlude]

awesome video. thanks BH and Joel grimes. you have set us free. free to be real artists and not just technicians.i am eternally grateful for this presentation and to joel grimes for all the interviews he has revealed how he creates his fantastic works.

[@EntropiaMusic]

One of the best BEST presentations! Thank you so much for this!!!

[@vladartov2817]

A lot of inspiration, tips and unique know-how. Thank you!

[@DhrubaYT]

This is one of the best talks on photography!

[@MarkYager]

Thank you for overlaying the questions onto the video!!!!

[@BandH]

@oceandrew Thank you for watching the B&H Photo KZbin Channel and for your participation. We are very pleased that you derive value from and find our presentations useful and informative.

[@NickPearsonMD]

this guy is great. thanks B/H!!!

[@tiedtkeio]

Thanks! Seriously, huge thank you. I needed this. :) Joel, you are brilliant.

[@romiemiller2485]

A very good video. A flash meter pointed at the source, such as window light, will give a reading where the highlights are on a zone 5. Over expose in manual exposure by one stop and the highlights will be on zone six,, or zone 7 for two stops over exposed, where they should be: Normal skin tones are usually a zone 6. Adjust the midtones and shadows where you want them with the same method. Skin tones will vary according to suntan and ethnic group.

[@BandH]

@olanzoni01 Thank you so much for watching the B&H Photo KZbin Channel and for your participation. We are very pleased that you derive value from and find our presentations useful and informative.

[@pualux]

this is the only video from this series that i've watched straight for 2 hours... Joel Grimes is a genius. Other photographers featured in this channel bored me in the first five minutes.

[@AtlanticPicture]

Joel, This was great. Thank you!

[@oceandrew]

Awesome vid/presentation. Thank you so much for this series, it is instructive and inspiring at the same time.

[@Hendrarphotography]

Thank you Joel Grimes. Very educational stuffs, been always a fan of yours because I am color blind as well. You inspire me :) And thanks to BHPhoto for the excellent series of videos!!!

[@RayValdezPhotography]

You gotta love this guy.

[@JeffWatchesYoutube]

Terrific seminar, I learned a lot and I really enjoyed it. Thanks!

[@Camerasoul]

wow joel grimes!! one of my heroes!!!!! way to go B&H!!!!!

[@marcohordijk]

Loved the lecture, watched the full 2 hour (okay, 1 hour, 53 minutes and 51 seconds) right away! And Joel has absolutely amazing photo's. But those become amazing because of the photoshopping, too bad he didn't specify a bit more how he substracted his models to put them in the background. But besides that, loved every single minute of it!

[@romiemiller3093]

My go-to exposure is 1/250 @ f.8 with strobes, f.8-16 with available light if possible. And, i use incident, reflected and a 1-degree metering depending on what works best.; Sandbags keep stuff from blowing over. Silver does increase contrast a little, and it adds more specularity.

[@FiPhotographic]

Great presentation...Joel you are a wonderful teacher and thanks for sharing your work and knowledge with us! Hope to be at your workshop one day...

[@pooyakhalilifar2969]

very very very good... this is fantastic .

[@nickynunn]

1:10 class ,good teacher!!!!

[@naghshpoor1982]

Joel Grimes you are Amazing and Creative Photographer

[@agatasoda]

I don't really like his post processing style but lighting etc is awesome and definetely gave me some ideas for lighting :D The ability to have a photographer come in and get their brain picked and give insight into their process is invaluable even if it's not me style or don't like a specific item I find it fascinating to see how others work. Thank you very much BH please keep these coming :D

[@pinomercurio]

I Travel around the world but you are the BEST my Friend

[@BlackKaos7865]

thia was awesome

[@lgab]

Sandbagger mixes up softness and contrast, but still has a good point, for an image with a lot of depth, i.e different items at different distances to a light source, a closer and dimmer light will produce a bigger difference between objects. A stronger farther light will have a smaller fall-off within the same distance of the two objects. The fall-off curve is steeper closer to the light, if you will.

[@kipscott8150]

This guy looks like the Chris Meloni of photography! Great video! Thanks B&H

[@DrAudioBot]

bruce willis

[@RenePfluger]

Still a great video.Thanks.

[@leifbogeisler]

Good inspiration to learn photoshop

[@apofat]

very awesome, thinks for sharing

[@nikhilsrl]

good message in the first 10 to 15 minutes.

[@jmez927]

LONG....... but has very important GOODIES here. Come on....this is JOEL GRIMES!!!!

[@sandbagger15]

There's a lot of talk of distance/size of modifier rendering the same "quality of light", but what about falloff (inverse square law)? If enough light is thrown to get equivalent exposures, but at differing distances, won't the further light have a more even lighting, compared to the closer light which will have more contrasty lighting due to the falloff?

[@BandH]

@sandbagger15 You are mixing up two items. Quality of light refers to the hardness/softness of the light. Inverse Square Law refers to a lights intensity based on distance, with the output intensity staying consistent (often used to find light falloff or exposure). It does not refer to nor indicate the size of the light source, or its quality of light. You can keep the same quality of light by adjusting your modifiers size in relation to distance, but you have to adjust the lights output.

[@BoldtCave]

Thanks! 1. Joel Grimes sounds just like Jungle Jack Hanna. They even use some of the same hand gestures. 2. Tucson is a small town? They have like a million people in the city and greater area, don't they? If that is small, oh my. :)

[@DrAudioBot]

joel grimes is a cool guy

[@PrivateSnips]

Life Coaching, Sponsored by Westcott!

[@BobberRider91]

Mann i wish there was a B&H in the UK :(

[@epocketlsaml]

color blind? ow wow, that's a big curve ball. you sir, are great.

[@attilad66]

Hey, Thax for the Video..let me tell you your philosophy about being a artist etc. is just like mine...i like to break the rules as well... and i like Rule breakers... Na mean??? LOL..Nice one..Thanx ;)

[@romiemiller3093]

Take out the comma after "should". :-)

[@maxmartin2500]

A very inspirational speaker, but short on post processing info...need more. Perhaps He wants it paid for.

[@ddesoer]

The timing on this video is so frustrating. There are a quadrazillion tutorials out there on harsh vs. soft lighting ranging from the simple to the incredibly technical. The real meat of the presentation starts at about an hour and 20 minutes into it and gets unceremoniously cut short. I would have loved that last little bit to be expanded and kick out some of that middle bit covering the inverse square law (although not by name .. thankfully). Cheers, Dave

[@PaulRamen]

"mmmm'kay ?"

[@abby-i1i]

Stuck @ 1:29:36 >.

[@Guitarmfig]

I think as educator Joel Grimes is fantastic but unfortunately we never see the unprocessed results, we only see the final product, I'm not really one for photshop, no women or male (if it's highly processed) in the world has skin like that but that's just me

[@calvinweischeslischt]

LOL His pictures are two photographys. So maybe its more photography then yours :-) lg calvin

[@sleepgolfer77]

mmmkay... :-))))

[@tiedtkeio]

Haha :D

[@Lango126]

Jason Statham

[@RobertLeBlancPhoto]

As much as I enjoy his lectures, I'd rather see more of his images and less of him. I wish the editor knew that.

[@mammutit]

oh my god.....so frustrating , the real stuff never begins. I DONT CARE WHEN YOU DID YOUR FIRST PHOTO.............jesus

[@DynastyUK]

All those photographers you mention at the beginning I just haven't got the time of day for. It's just like back in the day when I was a musician and went over to digital music or different genres. THAT'S NOT REAL MUSIC. blah blah... BORING. It's all music as it's all art. There is such a thing where people like a photo or song not because of the image or notes themselves, but WHO made it and HOW or even WHEN. People will rave over a 80 year old because it's taken by a war vet, in france with no legs. Yet see the exact same picture taken today by Joe Bloggs and It's rubbish... funny.. I've even tested this with photos people haven't seen and they changed their mind about it when they knew the story. So do people like stories, or do people like art? Do stories make the art?

[@anz388]

The guy might be good at what he does, but he surely isn't good at explaining it all. Time and time again the audience goes, "say that again!" ... I lost interest in his jumble mumble after repeated but vain attempts. If you wanna see a good teacher, see Mark Wallace, Jared Polin, Fstoppers, Peter Hurley, etc

[@ForensicCats]

Computer Generated Images -- interesting but that is CGI and not photography

[@sealand000]

If you're more advanced, you might find this dragging.

[@photonephotography8596]

1- Oh no, what you see on the monitor at the back of your camera is deceptive (the image result varies depending on many things from screen resolution to your brightness settings). You could rely on a monitor view only if your camera is tethered and you use a pro-monitor that covers the DCI-P3 color space. 2- You can never guess the light unless you are an android or six-millions dollar man : ))) 3- You are a craftsman, not an artist. Please, be honest and stay down-to-earth. Yes, boosting people's egos (make them thing that everybody, who makes decisions on photographic settings and gear, is an artist) makes you gain some credit, for sure. Stop saying this, for goodness' sake. You are such a false prophet.

[@paulhaynes7522]

For a channel that doesn't have any content, you sure have said a lot here. I think his work speaks for itself. He doesn't just use the monitor , he uses the histogram too. The point he's making (which you've clearly missed) is that he works by feel and doesn't get bogged down by the technical aspects of photography as you do. In my opinion, that makes him an artist!

[@itsgussy]

Oh no don't use the monitor of your camera. LMAO Don't forget to mention that he's color blind and color blind people shouldn't be taking portraits. Some people live by the book others write the books. If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid. Also when are you putting up some content Photone Photography? I would love to see your work ;-)

[@shaolin95]

This is filled with so much HORRIBLE advice and misinformation its not even funny. His comments about the light meter are specially stupid and clueless. But the funniest part is his constant reminder about the only thing that matters is the size of the modifier, no shape no silver or white..just the size.. Well Joel let me ask you something...since you have your very own Joel Grimes 24" beauty dish by Westcott....does that mean that this is just a way overpriced $300 piece of gear when I can do the same OR better by getting for example a Fotodiox EZ -Pro beauty dish which at 24" and 32" cost between $99 and $119 dollars? I mean you just said the ONLY thing that matters is the size... ;) I would love to hear your answer to this....

[@itsgussy]

There's people that swear by the light meter others that don't know how to use it. Don't forget that he also did say, it doesn't matter what brand you use, the only thing I can say is that 1yr from now it'll be falling apart. You don't need all the "right" gear to take an amazing image, I've use my phone to get great images. TROLL