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  • 1 Light Basics
  • 2 Grip Tools
  • 3 Real World
  • 4 Interviews
  • Reviews
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Why learn about C-stands and grip gear and Hollywood style lighting techniques

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Welcome to The Grip Geek.

This blog is about my journey to understand and learn to control light.  It’s been a love affair.  My wife will walk into a room and catch me staring at sunlight filtering through the curtains and hitting a wall; staring at light refracting through my scotch glass; staring at the catchlights in her eyes across the dinner table.

If you’re here, I’m guessing that you’re experiencing your own love affair with light.  Maybe it’s fresh and budding, maybe it’s been going on for years.  But we are grip geeks because we love light.

My love of light has led me to want to shape it and control it.  It’s like polishing a diamond to reveal its beauty.  With a little work, you can turn something mundane into something beautiful.

So, how do we polish our light?  We use grip tools and techniques!
Grip is all about control.  Grip gear gives us the tools to shape and craft the light with astounding versatility and precision.  It allows us to block the light, diffuse it, bend it, and break it up.  It gives us total control.  But I’ve found that grip gear and techniques are a bit of a secret – known to those in Hollywood or those who have attended film school, but hidden from the general public.  These are techniques you see everywhere on movie sets, but are virtually unknown to the vast majority of portrait and wedding photographers, indie filmmakers, and small production companies — people who could benefit immensely from learning the grip secrets.

The beauty of grip techniques is that it doesn’t matter what we’re lighting, or what sort of light we’re using — the techniques are the same.  They can be used to light a senior portrait just as well as a closeup on a movie set.  They can be used with a small flash just as well as a table lamp, the sun, a window, or an 18K fresnel.  The light source doesn’t matter – the light shaping techniques are what give beauty to the light.  Light is light.  These concepts are universal.

So, this blog is my attempt to learn alongside you.  I’ll share what I learn, and I hope to learn from you as well.  And together we can reveal the secrets of shaping light.  Because beautiful light is not just for multi-million dollar movies with huge teams – beautiful light is for anyone who dares to love it.

This blog is going to follow five distinct paths.  You can follow any path all the way through or you can jump around – and you’ll be able to use the drop down menus on the side to help you navigate.

1 – The Light Basics path

This series is all about understanding light itself.  Light can only be controlled in 7 ways, and by breaking these controls apart, it becomes very easy to understand light, create lighting plans, and problem solve.  If you don’t feel confident using window light, let alone a C-stand – this section is for you!  And even for advanced students of light, we’ll dive into topics like specular highlights to keep things from getting boring.

2 – The Grip Tools path

This series is the heart of this blog.  It will show you how to use simple grip tools like C-stands, Quacker Clamps and flags to shape and control light.  It will also cover a multitude of inexpensive DIY solutions that mimic Hollywood-level gear to get professional results on a budget.  We’ll start small and build slowly – and show you how even just a few tools can greatly improve your capabilities to shape light effectively.

3 – The Real World Experience path

This series is a collection of behind the scenes posts, as I go on assignment with my wife and we put these tools and techniques into practice.

4 – Interviews with Interesting People

This series will help us peek into the minds of professionals who use these tools in different ways – from high end photographers, to cinematographers and professional grips, to the people who work to design and produce grip and lighting equipment.  If you’re interested in being interviewed, please contact me here!

5 – Gear Reviews

This series will help you make informed purchasing decisions about the light stands, diffusion, clamps, and lights that are available to you.

 

If you’re excited to follow along this journey, please subscribe.
If you ever have questions or want to say hello, please write me.
And if you want to join this community in the social media world, you can follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube and use the hashtag #gripgeek.