Tuesday, September 8, 2009

I hate Gary Fong

Ok, I don't hate Gary Fong, but I hate the inventions that he has made for the camera flash. There are two that are just horrible: the Lightsphere and the WhaleTail. If you don't know what these are, here is a picture:



Essentially they go on top of the flash to make the light softer so that you look prettier. I have no problem with diffusers as they really help, but these completely suck. Not for the photographer, not for the subjects, but for all the people around these monstrosities.

Let me get my first beef out of the way: They are both ugly. Who wants a freakin WhaleTail coming out of your camera. This isn't some rice rocket Civic cruising down the street; this is a wedding, an event. The photographer is not suppose to stand out. It isn't suppose to look like Shamu is breaching from an ocean of guests everytime the photographer gets up from their knees. We are at a wedding, not Marine World.

My second beef with these things are: They light up like a lightbulb. Seriously. The whole thing lights up like the sun. Not only do they light up the subjects, but they light up every one around it. They light up Mom to the left, Dad in the back, and Grandma up top. Every time the photographer takes a picture, you think it is distress beacon. You immediately look for a raft and life vest until you realize you are at a wedding. (Of course you are drunk, so this realization might take a minute or so.)

I have been to two weddings with photographers who use these beasts. The first one, I was just in awe because I have never seen anyone use it before. The 2nd, I was just plain annoyed. Mainly because I sat in front and sometimes the photographer would come in front of me and take pictures. After a while, I just had to close my eyes because it was getting some damn annoying. I started hallucinating and thought I was in a X-Files episode and the aliens were doing experiments on me.

In general, photographers don't use these products, but I would just inquire when you are interviewing them so your guests are not subjected to constant strobe light.

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