Lesson Info
44. Photographing Jack Nicholson
Lessons
Meet your Master
01:26 2Learn from the journey
15:24 3Using inspirations
08:43 4Photography is stopping time
09:27 5Albert's library of ideas
08:30 6Tips on preparing for a portrait shoot
12:10 7Setting up the studio
04:56 8Understanding studio collaboration
07:35The importance of casting and hair & make-up
08:59 10Foreground studio set up
08:46 11Studio session with a model - set up 1
11:23 12Studio session with a model - set up 2
05:55 13Studio session with a model - set up 3
08:01 14Picking the best shot
03:36 15Working with photoshop
13:14 16Creating a portrait of Alfred Hitchcock
04:18 17The gigantic question... Colour or black and white?
07:55 18One day with Kate Moss
05:06 19Learn to have your ideas ready
06:14 20Using Polariods
06:29 21Creating beautiful photographs of hands
04:45 22Controlling natural light
05:38 23Shooting a monkey with a gun
06:27 24Choosing your format
07:13 25Composition and lens
04:47 26Shooting landscapes. The Isle of Skye
15:18 27Planning and ideas for a landscape shoot
06:32 28Creating still life images
13:48 29Photographing the Lost Diary
10:53 30Shooting album covers
03:09 31The Strip Search Project
10:28 32Shooting Las Vegas landscapes
08:24 33Photographing Breaunna
07:21 34Balancing daylight, God bless America
03:45 35Creating the Maroc Project
10:21 36Creating the Maroc shoot
08:11 37Photographing sand dunes
04:09 38Photographing Moroccan children
10:42 39Advice on making portraits
10:12 40How to be alert to finding photographs
07:35 41Making a portrait of Mike Tyson
02:39 42Creating intense colour in a photograph
03:04 43Portraits of rap stars and a Golden Boy
08:40 44Photographing Jack Nicholson
04:20 45Creating a portrait of David Cronenberg
02:14 46How to light only using two $10 bulbs
07:29 47Studio fashion set up 4
10:47 48Studio session with a model. The geography of a face
13:05 49Look inside the picture
02:56 50Creating memorability in an image
02:54 51Combining nudes and landscapes
04:52 52A perfect print
07:50 53The business side of things
06:50 54Conclusion and farewell
03:55Lesson Info
Photographing Jack Nicholson
(uptempo music) So, this is another shot of mine from quite a few years ago of Jack Nicholson, and it's quite a funny story because I arrived at his house in Aspen. I was told to be there at 8:30 and we arrived right on time. This shooting was for Rolling Stone. And I arrived at 8:30 and nobody replied and I checked the address and so eventually he came to the door. And his hair was all over the place, he was still sleeping. And he said, "Who the hell are you?" So I said, "Well, we're here to photograph you for Rolling Stone." And he said, "Oh my God, I forgot all about it." He said, "Come in, come in." So, we went into the kitchen and he's halfway up a mountain there. And his kitchen had a big window looking outside to the mountains. And he looked outside and he said, "Oh my God," he said, "it's snowing." Now, this was wintertime in Aspen and they had not had any snow, so, of course, it was a disaster. Then the snow started really coming down, so, this was a little bit of luck that ...
I had this. So I did a couple of shots with him, and I said, "Let's do a shot in the garden in a chair." We went out there and he said, I was looking a little bit worried, and he said, "What's wrong?" I said, "Well, it's going to take a while for you there to just get covered in snow and I like the idea that you've been sitting in the snow for a long time." It was close to the time of the movie The Shining, so, I said, "It will take a little bit of time." He said, "Oh, that's fine, don't worry about it." He took me back into his kitchen and his maid arrived and he had the maid cook me and my assistant pancakes, bacon and eggs. So I actually sat in his kitchen having pancakes, bacon and eggs when he went out and sat in the garden for half an hour, just sitting still, not really moving at all, sitting in the snow, waiting for the snow to pile up on him. So of course, I wolfed down the breakfast and then went out with the camera, it was a Hasselblad shot. I remember it as being a 60mm lens and we got - we got the shot. And of course, he's a wonderful guy to shoot because he's a little bit magical, he's charismatic, and he just had that little smile and he was, of course, totally happy about the snow. So in this case here, of course, the lighting's natural, it's just what was there and of course by the time the snow fell, I had a beautiful fill, it just was white everywhere, so that made it very easy. There's no artificial lighting, there's no strobe in this or anything, it's just basically natural light. Sometimes you get a little bit of luck and here the luck that I had was that it was snowing, so not only did I get a nice breakfast, but I also got a good shot of Jack Nicholson. (uptempo music) Very often, you're faced with, "Are you going to do it in color or black and white?" Now, of course, it's really, for a young photographer now, that is a digital camera is not really a consideration because when I'm shooting now, I'm shooting all color files and keeping in mind I might want to go to black and white, but it's very easy to make that transition in digital between color and black and white. Now back then, when I did the Jack Nicholson shot, I simply shot two rolls of color and two rolls of black and white. And in the end, the magazine used the shot in color because it was for the cover of Rolling Stone and I covered the shot, more or less, for myself. I was pretty sure that they would use the color so I wanted to make sure that I had at least two rolls of film in black and white. And you say, "Well why not just convert the color?" Back then, converting color film to black and white shots was a little bit painful and there was definitely a loss, you would lose resolution if you did that. So back then, a lot of times, you shot color film and some black and white coverage or black and white and some color coverage. (uptempo music)
Ratings and Reviews
Richard A. Heckler
"Unless you're Mozart"...this course is an invaluable asset. I'm a pro, humanitarian/documentary photographer, & wilderness...and I've learned much from the 40+ sessions here. This is truly a Master Class...next best thing to being with Albert. And although I could watch studio sessions forever, this course offered a very balanced curriculum of technical information, artistic encouragement and guidance, and a open, generous window into the thinking of a gifted artist and photographer, sifted from decades of first class experience. Kudos to all involved. Excellent!
a Creativelive Student
I purchased my first CreativeLive class in 2011 and have continued to purchase many classes over the years. I have learned so much from the many great instructors. This one is not a technical class that will tell you to set your camera at f4, 1/60, ISO 400 and you can get this shot. If you are looking for that, there are many other options. If you have a solid working knowledge of photography, this class is so much more. The way it was filmed is like you are there with him in conversation or in the room with him watching him shoot. To see and understand the how and why he does what he does. Not to take anything away from other classes that have helped to give me a strong understanding of photography, this is my favorite CreativeLive class so far.
Student Work
Related Classes
Documentary