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Cucoloris for shadowed texture

So often someone will take the time to light the talent to look great but forget to light the background and give the image some depth: One method is to use a Cucoloris. Some will refer to it as a cookie cutter: As you can see in the above image

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I have eyes on you, with Lume Cube

When photographing surveillance, I kind of feel like a sniper. You have someone in your sight — they have no clue — and then you gently squeeze the shutter. Bang — you shot them. Well, kind of, with a camera of course. My name is Mike Kubeisy, and I’m a

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Getting Taped Up

Here’s a great tip I got from watching some grips quickly change gels on some frames. In the past, when you removed an old gel or diffusion material you always had the mess of the sticky material. Either the 2-sided tape, or the foam stuff from 3M double stick, which

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NCIS 300th Episode

Few television shows ever achieve the 300th episode milestone. On February 9, 2016 NCIS not only accomplished it, they did so while being the most viewed television show in the world 2 years in a row! I am humbly honored to have been the photographer for 301 of those episodes.

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C-Stands 101

One of the most used tools on a Hollywood set, oh heck on any set, is the C-Stand. C in Roman numerals representing the numeral 100 is how the C-Stand got its name, 100’s of uses. When closed it’s 53″ high, it can be extended to 10’6″, it usually is

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No Sippy Cups here, just Baby Plates

Some of the most used tools on a Hollywood set are C-Stands and Apple Boxes. Then there are these little babies, Baby Plates. What is a Baby Plate you ask? It’s a 5/8 stud, about 3″ tall, welded onto a 3.5″ x 6″ metal plate. It has many uses. Allow

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Scrim for Lighting Detail

Its a beautiful sunny day, you’re shooting indoors looking out to a sliding glass door or window and its brighter outside than on your set. Your talent is moving so HDR is not an option. You really don’t want a silhouette, if you expose for the talent then your sliding

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How I Got the Shot

I’m often asked… “How I got the shot?” I answered the phone. Nothing frustrates me more than when I ask someone “Why didn’t you call back?”, and the response is “My battery was dead” or “I left my phone in the car”. My next comment is “If you were the

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Shooting Personal Projects

A great way to challenge yourself and enhance your skills is to shoot some personal projects. Here is an opportunity to stretch your imagination. Building sets, buying props, coordinating wardrobe, scouting locations and casting talent are all part of the process of shooting your personal projects. When you apply all

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Lighting with China Balls

Here is a great economical way to soften your light. They’re China Balls: These were used on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. You can buy these light diffusers from World Market or Pier 1 Imports. Here’s a link to Filmtools. Filmtools is a great resource; however, on some items they

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