In my book Studio Lighting Anywhere I quote the late Richard Avedon who once said, “I think all art is about control—the encounter between control and the uncontrollable.” That’s what a dedicated studio, no matter what size it may be or where it may be located, can offer a photographer.

he definition of monochrome is an image displaying a single colour or different shades of a single color. Monochrome photography is photography in which the entire image is recorded and represented by differing amounts of light instead of different hues.

If few portrait subjects are perfect, no single pose if perfect either! That means compromises are inevitable and any “rules” you hear from me or anybody else should be considered suggestions to get you started.

When it was launched in late 2000, the 3.1-megapixel—I don’t think anybody called’em megapixels until Olympus started doing it—Canon EOS D30 cost $3,000, or about $5,300 in today’s dollars. Not surprisingly, even though I had several EOS film SLRs that was too expensive for me.

During July, we celebrate National Anti-Boredom Month to encourage everyone to identify what makes us bored and find ways to combat it. We often associate being bored with having nothing to do, but that’s not always the case. Many times, we have plenty to do or are even doing it, but the task at hand does not stimulate our minds. It may be repetitive or not challenging enough. When this happens, we can become irritable, tired, or begin to not care about how well we do a task. We may also seek out stimulation to relieve the boredom.