Bruce Dorn

Bruce Dorn has been involved in the visual arts thirty-five years.

Bruce’s photographic career began in 1973 when Conde Nast publishing named him as a Guest Art Director of Mademoiselle Magazine. After opening a studio on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Bruce immediately began to shoot photo essays for a variety of fashion, business, and news magazines. He soon expanded his services to include both Annual Report and Advertising photography.

In 1976, Bruce was offered a position as a lecturer at the Fine Art campus of Indiana and Purdue University in Indianapolis where he taught all levels of Design and Photography. In 1980, Bruce moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he opened Studio B, a boutique studio specializing in advertising and visual problem solving. In 1983, an opportunity arose to act as the Director of Photography for series of thirty-second television commercials that took Bruce to the finals of the Clio Awards competition. One of the other finalists in the same category was the Hollywood visual effects powerhouse, Robert Able and Associates. Shortly after the competition, Robert Able interviewed Bruce and offered him the position of Creative Director at RAA.

After relocating to Hollywood, Bruce conceptualized and directed hundreds of national and international television commercials for RAA. In the process, Bruce was inducted into the Directors Guild of America and won numerous industry awards. These include multiple Art Directors Club Awards, Clios, Mobius Awards, and a Bronze Lion from the Cannes Commercial Film Festival.

In 1989 Bruce opened Bruce Dorn Films, a commercial production company specializing in both analogue and digital effects. As a director/cameraman, Bruce specialized in high-risk cinematography. His expertise in motorsport, underwater, and helicopter work was in constant demand until he retired from Hollywood in 2001.

Bruce currently lives in Prescott, Arizona where he and his wife - internationally-recognized digital painter Maura Dutra - operate iDC Photography, a Visual Arts studio. Bruce travels extensively as he serves his commercial clientele, guides digital safaris, and lectures on lighting, photography, and digital film-making technique. Bruce is a Canon Explorer of Light, a Canon Print Master, and a Corel Painter Master. He is also an unrepentant gadgeteer and enjoys inventing all manner of nifty gizmos in his Little Shop of Wonders…


Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 13, Lesson 11: Pre-Light, Then Refine

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Concept: “Rough-in” a general lighting scheme, then fine-tune for emerging opportunities.
Tools: Studio Strobes+Chinese Lantern+Scrim+Reflector

Action: This is a complex-looking solution which is really quite simple and extremely versatile. By lighting for the space, rather than to a specific pose, I was able to quickly bang-out everything from full-length gown shots to close-up details.

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Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 12, Lesson 10: Manage Intensity

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Concept: Control light fall-off to balance intensity.
Tools: Two Softboxes+Studio Strobe

Action: I love the figure in repose. Long and languid, it always inspires my subjects to a bit of theatricality. All I need is room to stretch out and a few proper tools…

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Environmental Portraiture Workshop - A Few Seats Left

Hosted in Sedona, Arizona

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I am really excited to say that the Environmental Portraiture workshop I am teaching at has sold out for Saturday, Mat 7th. There’s still a few seats left for Sunday, May 8th - we have beautiful landscapes and beautiful models to work with, so if you are in the area head to Canon’s site to find out more information and sign up: EOS Destination Workshops

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 11, Lesson 9: Embrace Serendipity

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Concept: Have a plan, but try to embrace the unexpected.
Tools: Fresnel Focusing Spot+Unexpected Sungun

Action: I suspected that this balcony and stairs could provide a tasty composition and felt that a single directional source should create a crisp and glamorous lighting pattern. After rigging a single undiffused Mole-Richardson “InBetweenie” Tungsten Solarspot, it was a snap to balance to the room and we were soon ready to shoot.

 

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Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Environmental Portraiture Workshop in Sedona, Arizona

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What’s better than springtime in one of the most beautiful places on earth? Well, the same location with professional models to photograph, plenty of nifty Canon gear to play with, and a generous instructor to lean on…

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 10, Lesson 8: Spotlight For Emphasis

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Concept: Cast a tight beam for theatrical emphasis.
Tools: Two 200w Mole InBetweenie SolarSpots

Action: This image was created within the tight confines of a tiny and ornate lavatory. The faux-painted walls and gilded accessories found in this space assured that uncontrolled reflections would abound if an unfocussed light source was introduced. Too much output from our supplemental source could wreak havoc as well…

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Friday, March 25, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 9, Lesson 7: Light from Within

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Concept: Supplemental light sources can be exceptionally effective when hidden within the scene.
Tools: Kino Flo Daylight Single

Action: This situation featured a mix of indirect-daylight and a handful of 10-watt incandescent “flame” globes controlled by a wall dimmer.  The juxtaposition of the two very different color balances sounded fun, but the broad disparity in candlepower was a challenge for both eye and sensor.

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Monday, March 14, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 8, Lesson 6: Considering Color

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Concept: Carefully consider your color palette when mixing light sources.
Tools: Daylight Fluorescent+Softbox+Natural Reflector

Action: This scenario was a perfect opportunity to work with one of my favorite new lighting instruments, the Westcott Spiderlite TD5 in a matching Westcott 36” x 48” softbox.  Although the Spiderlite may be fitted with Edison-based AC-powered strobes or 3200K tungsten globes, I chose the third option and installed a full set of Westcott’s daylight-balanced fluorescent lamps.

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Monday, February 28, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 7, Lesson 5: Optimize Architecture

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Concept: Utilize your set’s architectural opportunities.
Tools: Monolight+Large Softbox+Full-Length Reflector

Action: The framing in this situation was a gift.  The symmetry of the architecture - mixed with loads of interesting detail in the décor - presented an opportunity that was impossible to pass by.  The only available light was that which emitted from an ornate hanging fixture and the two small windows we’ve mentioned before.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 7, Lesson 4: Creating Depth

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Concept: Place pools of light to create a sense of depth.
Tools:  Monolight+Two Speedlites+Two Strobe Slippers+Softboxes

Action: The rather deep staging of this scene poses a specific challenge.  With one player in the immediate foreground and the other well back in the space, appropriate depth-of-field would be a primary consideration.

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Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Behind the Scenes with Tyler Stableford

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I recently traveled to Carbondale, Colorado (just outside of Aspen) to document one of my fellow Explorers at work.  Canon Explorer of Light, Tyler Stableford, an Action/Adventure shooter of considerable talent, recently shot some compelling ice climbing sequences for the outdoors clothing manufacturer, Patagonia.  Tyler has been named “One of the Seven World’s Best Adventure Photographers” by Men’s Journal Magazine and principally produces still imagery for his editorial and advertising clients.

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Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 6, Lesson 3: Guide the Viewer’s Eye

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Concept: Use lighting to direct the eye and create emphasis within the frame.
Tools:  Monolight+SoftBox+Speedlite+Strobe Slipper

Action: I was intrigued by the potential of creating a “long shot” in this location and that meant a bit of a lighting rethink would definitely be in order.  I wanted to add a male figure to the set-up, but knew that the viewer’s attention must continue to stay on the Bride.  We started by removing the aforementioned Softbox and Boom Arm from the Slipper.

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Friday, February 04, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 5, Lesson 2: Accommodate Action

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Concept: Use handheld flash for highly-mobile subjects.
Tools: Two SoftBoxes+Speedlite+Strobe Slipper+Monolight

Action: Simply turning 180 degrees revealed another potential composition.  I needed to include detail shots throughout the day, so I thought I would take this moment to document one of the elaborate hairstyles.

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Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Part 4, Lesson One: Don’t Overwhelm, Enhance!

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Concept: Tastefully supplement ambient light with the simplest of tools.

Tools: Sungun

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Photography: What’s real, what’s not and does it matter?

Matt Brandon | 05/08- 07:38 PM

Is there such a thing as integrity in a photograph?

Lowel Prime LED Lights

Richard Harrington | 05/02- 04:54 PM

New Location Lights

Free Photo Contest/Exhibit Clearing House

Sara Frances | 04/28- 08:37 AM

Discover show and grant opportunities on CaFÉ website.

Mamiya Leaf Introduces the Leaf Credo Medium Format Digital Camera Back Platform

Dan Carr | 04/22- 11:11 PM

80MP, 60MP and 40MP CCD Medium Format backs

HP Z1 Workstation Launches at NAB

Richard Harrington | 04/22- 11:17 AM

The PC All-In One for Video Editing, Motion Graphics, and Photo Editing

Adobe CS6 Announce Date Revealed

Richard Harrington | 04/22- 05:27 AM

The Adobe CS6 Public Announce Date is April 23, 2012.

Canon Confirms 5D Mark III and 1DX will NOT Get Clean HDMI Out

Richard Harrington | 04/21- 02:40 PM

Richard Harrington interviews Chuck Westfall of Canon about the next generation of Canon cameras.

A Mobile Tripod System from NAB 2012

Richard Harrington | 04/21- 01:50 PM

The Sachtler ACE M Tripod System Makes Going Mobile Easier

Post-NAB HDSLR Wrap Up

Dan Carr | 04/20- 07:15 PM

All the HDSLR news you need to know about from NAB 2012

Videos and photos from radio controlled helicopters

Sara Frances | 04/18- 06:36 AM

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s hexacopter!

Back again! Free Canvas Wrap Contest from The Giclee Factory

Sara Frances | 04/13- 06:45 AM

New Black and White canvas printing - contest info at end.

How to make money with really big portraits

Sara Frances | 04/13- 05:39 AM

You’ve got another chance at learning Profit Secrets from family portraiture.

Canon Announces The EOS-1D C - Packs 4K Video Into The EOS-1D X !

Dan Carr | 04/12- 09:48 AM

Is this the ultimate combo cam ?  18MP stills & 4K video

3-part Secret to Perfect Family Portraits

Sara Frances | 04/08- 11:10 AM

Is this disaster how some of your groups turn out! Great for comedic relief, but generally people want to see traditional smiling faces.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Smoke in the Woods with the Canon 5D

Art Adams | 04/06- 02:43 PM

Where there’s smoke there’s fire… or a production company shooting a PSA for a non-profit. This is how you create a high-end look on a budget.






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Photography: What’s real, what’s not and does it matter?

Matt Brandon | 05/08- 07:38 PM

Is there such a thing as integrity in a photograph?

I got some flack on Facebook about a past post on my blog . I received a comment from a reader or two stating they felt that what they saw in the produced images was not real. Meaning, after running through my workflow in Lightroom the images no longer represented reality. I have gotten this kind of feedback many times in the past. I think people are rather shocked at seeing a photo “undressed”. It’s a bit like seeing a high-fashion model on the streets without any makeup, it can be scary.

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Lowel Prime LED Lights

Richard Harrington | 05/02- 04:54 PM

New Location Lights

RHED Pixel producer Pamela Berry talks with Lowel about their location lighting solution.

To be considered for listing, contact pr (at) provideocoalition (dot) com