Richard Adkins
Chief Photographer

Courtney’s blog below brings up a great topic that anyone who is going to be on TV should know… it's all about the lighting.

If a TV crews calls you and wants an interview in your office, expect them to set up at least one light (and I’m not talking about the one on top of the camera) and hopefully 2 or more. If they don’t , then don’t expect to look good on TV.

Lighting for TV News is a lost art. Cameras that can shoot in low light have created a generation of TV news photographers who just don’t get the need for lights. Simply because a camera doesn’t need additional light to fulfill the technical needs of the camera, doesn’t mean the artistic need has gone away.


(Even in Bright Daylight, lighting is needed to eliminate shadows and bring out skin tones)

Lighting is intended to make the subject in front of the camera look the best they can be, not just meet an iris setting on the camera. If that were the case, then TV stations wouldn't bother to set up thousands of dollars worth of lights in the TV studio.


(The blue gel color corrects the light for daylight)

So if I were contacted by a local TV station wanting an interview in my office, I would demand they take the time to make me look the best I can be by using proper and professional lighting.