Although I used both film and digital cameras for many years, and often used a medium format film-based camera for best quality images... this has now changed. After very careful evaluation and practical use of the newest professional digital equipment, I have found that the quality is finally as good as I could get with film. So, as of January 2006, I am shooting entirely digitally.

My camera of choice is the Nikon D200 digital SLR system. This superb camera is agile enough to be easily hand-held, yet is also comfortable affixed to a camera stand in the studio. The resolution is excellent, and I am able to easily produce huge wall portraits of exceptional quality.

(Read a great review of this camera here)

When working indoors I will generally use from one to three studio strobe lights to properly light the subject. I prefer the very popular professional White Lightning studio strobes for this purpose. Positioned on light stands, the lights are usually "softened" using devices such as studio "umbrellas" or "soft boxes" like my favorite, the Photek Softlighter II. These devices modify the light to give a softer, more natural look to the portrait. Studio lights are triggered by the wireless PocketWizard Plus system.

Indoors we have the choice of showing the home environment as a background or using a backdrop. When a backdrop is preferred I use one of a number of hand-painted muslin backdrops, most of which are 10' x 20' in size and hung from a bar suspended between two stands. I use backdrops from Backdrop Outlet, and select those that yield a pleasant color pattern without distracting the eye from the subject..

My preferered digital "film" is Lexar CompactFlash Pro memory cards, in the 1GB, 2GB and 4GB sizes.

After trying a number of labs, I finally found a professional lab that delivers consistent quality. H&H Color Labs, located in the Kansas City area, is one of the finest professional labs in the country. Not only do they do a great job on prints, mounting, and finishes, but they fully support the LabPrints digital proofing system and offer a full line of digital imaging solutions. As noted above, even though much of my older work is on film, 100% of our final prints are done digitally, to accomodate artwork and retouching. Unlike home digital printing, the lab uses very costly printers that expose normal photographic paper with light, resulting in a digital print that looks identical to an optical-only print.

OK, some of you probably want to know exactly what other equipment I use, so here goes!

Last updated: May 25, 2008