In my DVD drive: Drew Gardner

After a raving review on on Zack Arias’ blog, I had to place an order and add Drew Gardner’s Location Lighting DVD to my collection. Today, I rarely drop a dime on ANY DVD… thanks to the invention of youtube and DV-R, but this one got the nod from my bank account. For $24.95 on the Midwest Photo Exchange, it’s a bit pricey for an amateur behind-the-scenes DVD, but very worth the cost if you’re a location photographer.

Drew is very passionate about his work. For instance in the beginning, he stresses how important it is to be in the right mood for a photoshoot. Listening to the right music, eating breakfast at his favorite place, wearing the right clothes, all very important to the end product of his shoots. Maybe a little glorified, but I understand where he’s coming from. If I shoot on an empty stomach, or in a bad mood, it can ruin a shoot.

But that’s not all you learn! These aren’t your everyday photoshoots. When a photographer has a paid crew, a Mercedes station wagon full of gear (including a Phase One camera, Elinchrom lights, smoke machine, etc), and a water buffalo all under his command, you know things are serious! Drew goes in-depth on how his photos are pieced together. Rather than setting up all the lights at once, he sets them up one at a time. Place, fire, adjust, fire, rotate, fire… OK, next light. Very insightful.

These are the final images and trailer from the two shoots covered in the DVD:

I’m definitely a visual person. I fall asleep anytime I try to read a book. So watching Drew’s steps from the minute he wakes up, to the beer at the end of the day, is very educational for me. If you’re in SoCal I’ll let you take a peek, but otherwise, buy your own!