Dean Collins, Top Notch Education

Went to a friend's house for fried fish. Before she put the fish in the skillet, it was cut in half. “Why do you do that?” “My mom did it this way so I do it this way”. So we went to her mom's for a weekend and asked her. Well, my mom did it this way and now I do it the same way. So, on a trip to see her grandma, with her knocking on heaven's door, we asked. “Why do you cut the fish in half before you fry it in a skillet?” With her last breath, she explained, “All I have is a six-inch skillet."

This story was told by Dean Collins. If you know his name and his teachings then you are a better photographer for it. If you do not know it then you need to know it. The story is an illustration of how folks do much in photography and life by copying the “norm” without reason. Dean Collins is known for much in the technique of good photography but primarily for his theory of lighting which makes for a basis on which to grow. Three dimensional contrast is a creation of Dean’s to explain how light effects your subject. A good photographer is challenged by the limitations of the two dimensional workspace. Height and width. Making the image appear three dimensional is a task for photographers. Dimension is enhanced by S-curves, converging lines and other visual techniques, but one stands out needing some technical knowledge to make it the best. Lighting. It is the key to that third dimension and that is taught by Dean Collins like no one else. What follows is a snippet of what can be learned from this man.



St. Louis Missouri was the place for me to see Dean Collins. So a group from the Memphis Professional Photographers Guild went. It was to be a full day of learning. Mr. Collins started and he is known for talking very fast. This is my third time to witness this photo extravaganza, and it is even more of a production than before. He had so much to say and explain, it’s good that he was fast-talking. People from my area of the South would have taken at least double the time to teach that much material. It was awesome. The show is powered by multiple medium format Hasselblad projectors with very tight registration. This all predates PowerPoint. The images created for the show were produced by Dean Collins on 120 transparency film. He is standing on the stage lit by another projector off to camera left. The stage is 60ish feet wide with numerous rear projectors to visually support all that he has to give. I will not say that his lessons are over my head because I already was locked in to all he had to offer. I started listening when he was creating light-stands for Vivitar 283’s and P-22 panels and I never stopped listening. I had the printed Finelight Series and had seen his videos. Someone must have slowed him down for the videos because today he is going full tilt on material that he created and is himself fired-up about. The study of three dimensional contrast is illustrated by a white circle that becomes a ball and then a duck that goes from flat to 3D and numerous exceptional, fantastic photoshoots. The duck starts off flat with no dimension but it grows to a very dimensional 3D with the progressive changes in lighting. It was either a mid-morning break or lunch when I realized I was mentally exhausted.  There is so much to take in, I'll need the video. Learn from this legend of photography all that you can. Soak this in like a sponge and you will have a major foundation for anything that comes your way in lighting and photo technique.

Dean Collins On Lighting - Live at Brooks Institute of Photography: 1991 is available now at Amazon.com and Software Cinema. If you like the snippet and want more, you can add this to your collection. The updated version of 3-Dimensional Contrast is also available. This all-new DVD based on Dean Collin’s original 3-Dimensional Contrast covers lighting for photography and video production in the digital age. It is taught by two of the few people qualified to teach Dean's techniques - Tim Mantoani and Bill Holshevnikoff, two of Dean's closest friends and best students who have since developed highly successful careers.

3-Dimensional Contrast will teach you about the different qualities of light (Shadow, Diffused and Specular) and the many methods used to control it in the digital age. With this knowledge you will be able to “read” a photograph and see how it was lit, or how to set up your lights for a photo or video production.