School of Tropico: Teacher Interview
During May we hosted an ‘Introduction to Studio Lighting’ workshop with experienced Tropico Photographers and Teacher and Lighting Expert, Tuscany Gray. We sat down with Tuscany and were able to appreciate an impressive resume through her lens, a commercial photographer with a spectrum of experience. Working most recently with Big Sky in London in operations across 7 studios, Tuscany is a commercial photographer and works across e-commerce, lifestyle and more recently, fashion and campaigns. Her history is diverse, spanning across assisting, BTS for film crews, photographing for major retailers like Priceline and Vicks, and more recently, DT work, and in-house photography for Studio Tropico. She is one of the most welcoming people you’ll ever meet, which makes sense when understanding her passions; working with people on briefs and bringing ideas to life.
What was it like managing Big Sky? Can you give us some insight into your everyday and how you successfully managed the studio?
Awesome. I loved it. It was a very different experience, and a huge job. I was responsible for the smooth operation of 7 studios, 10 or so studio assistants, coordinating deliveries, catering across all shoots, opening closing the building. Clients ranged from castings for fashion week, celebrities, Zara, Vogue shoots, with some of the worlds most well known photographers in the studios! My biggest day was an 18hr shift when Mert and Marcus were doing a shoot and ran into overtime.
Talk us briefly through one of your most interesting projects or moments on set or even elsewhere? Inspiration can come at any time and process isn't always linear.
I’ve done SO many different things in my photography career outside of shooting commercial clients, I feel like I have some random stories and have been a part of a few interesting things - from shooting festivals/live music and hanging with the artists, to shooting corporate events where they have really engaging speakers. One of the highlights that pops to mind was when I got to listen to Brian Cox speak about space and quantum physics at a technology event in London. (Anyone who knows me, knows how excited I was to learn I was going to shoot his talk - bit of a space nerd haha.)
Also, I think you learn a lot of interesting tips and tricks from assisting others - whether it’s a quick way to solve a problem or an idea for a lighting setup you might want to try for yourself. It’s a great way to get re-inspired and understand a set holistically.
Favourite piece of equipment to assist your shoots
Honestly, you cant go past the humble reflector!
Any valuable lessons or wisdoms to pass on to those aspiring?
Be willing and eager to learn, seek new experiences, always say YES to an opportunity even if you don’t feel like you are experienced enough! Oh, and start assisting photographers ASAP. You will learn more than anywhere else from just being in that context on set.
Tuscany is hosting our second ‘Introduction to Studio Lighting' workshop next Saturday the 19th of June, purcahse tickets below -
Introduction to Studio Lighting
19-06-21
Following on from our last sold out workshop, we are offering another weekend course ‘Introduction to Studio Lighting.’
This workshop is an inclusive, practical and functional workshop that introduces you to Studio Lighting 101, as hosted by Professional Photographer Tuscany Gray and the staff at Studio Tropico.
Using Profoto Lighting, shapers and modifiers (such as umbrellas, soft boxes, reflectors and more) you’ll learn how to understand and control studio light sources. Using a light meter we’ll run you through a mix of classic and new lighting techniques with 1, 2 + light set-ups that can be used on people or still life. You’ll learn the importance of key and fill lighting and how, when and why to use certain light modifiers and shapers and what settings create what style of photography. You’ll work with equipment in break-out style groups, and be provided with a discount code at the end of the workshop, so you can hire the equipment you've learnt with (and/or other!) to enjoy your new skills out in the wild.
Top Takeaways
Use a bare bulb for day-like lighting to achieve harsh shadows, add a light modifier to soften the light.
Add a fill light to reduce harshness again, or add a shaper to increase fill light, i.e. a white polyboard. Flip it around to black for more shadow.
Good Practice: Use a handheld light meter when working with light ratios so you can precisely measure the light on a face or a product. By taking a reading from the subject’s position, you can determine the correct exposure. Re-set lighting equipment accordingly.