Author Archives: Brian McLernon

I am a commercial photographer, educator and author, based in Portland, Oregon, USA. Originally from New Jersey, I worked in Arizona, Philadelphia, & New York before moving to Oregon in 1996. I primarily shoot advertising, editorial and lifestyles; weddings, portraits, products, locations, seniors, sports, and special events, capturing moments and telling visual stories.

In addition, I’ve written books for Wiley Publishing’s Digital Field Guide series about the Canon 5D Mark II, PowerShot G11, and the Canon Speedlite System. My latest book, the Lighting Digital Field Guide debuted November 10th, 2010 on Amazon.com.

Often I’m asked to be a guest speaker for art associations, communication/business groups and I always enjoy speaking to student groups as well. When not photographing in the studio or on location, I have fun with my wife and daughter, family and friends, camping, traveling, rafting, cross-country & downhill skiing, and photographing nature & motorsports!

Nighttime Portraits, Canon Speedlite System…

November 20, 2009 – 12:36 pm

Nighttime portrait of a friend of mine on the roof of an office building in downtown Portland for my new book about the Canon Speedlite System, due out in January 2010. One 580EX II was used, triggered by PocketWizard Multi-Maxes, and fired through a small white umbrella on a stand camera-right.

Posted in Editorial, Portraits | Leave a Comment

Recharging the Batteries, Columbia River Gorge Trains…

November 5, 2009 – 12:21 pm

After spending the better part of two months using Canon Speedlites to shoot lots of images for my new Digital Field Guide about the Speedlite system, I felt like I needed a break from flash photography and the computers. My photographer friend Dave Lutz suggested a trip out to the Gorge to shoot some trains, [...]

Posted in Personal, Portraits, Scenics | Comments (1)

Strobist Contest Winner – Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2009 – 9:10 am

Here’s an image I created a few years ago for a Strobist contest “Shoot Your Jack-O-Lantern” that won the top prize. Click here for the original post. Happy Halloween!

Posted in Personal, Scenics | Leave a Comment

Adding a Second Speedlite to Your Macro Photography…

October 6, 2009 – 1:44 pm

This was shot in my backyard for the macro section of my new Canon Speedlite Digital Field Guide set for release February 2010. It shows the benefit of adding a second Speedlite for the background (triggered by PocketWizards) to counteract the tendency of the background to go black when shooting macro images at high f/numbers. [...]

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I So Believe in Karma…

September 3, 2009 – 4:21 pm

I am continually amazed at the good things that happen in life and today was one of those times. Without going into all the details, 29 years ago (1980), I paid a fine for a friend who was, let’s say, unable to do so. I was living in Arizona at the time, planning to move [...]

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Studio Portrait with A Twist…

August 28, 2009 – 3:17 pm

Had a floor covering client in the studio this week that wanted a variation over a standard studio portrait. He wanted something like a trade show/showroom feel that he could use for his marketing and web sites along with some social networking. After discussing a variety of ways to do it, we incorporated a banner [...]

Posted in Advertising, Portraits | Leave a Comment

Canon 5D Mark II Digital Field Guide…

August 12, 2009 – 2:31 pm

My book is finally out in the bookstores! As many of you know,  this spring I wrote a digital field guide for an exciting new Canon camera, the 5D Mark II, for Wiley Publishing. I hadn’t wanted to blog too much about the process while I was writing it because part of me wasn’t sure [...]

Posted in Editorial, Personal | Comments (3)

Jenna Fallon Make-up rocks…

August 4, 2009 – 11:55 am

I was reunited recently with a makeup artist I had worked with a year or so ago on a Nike shoot with distance runner, Kara Goucher. Jenna had called to reconnect and it was perfect timing because the scheduled makeup artist cancelled that day before my shoot for INUR magazine the next day. I quickly hooked her [...]

Posted in Commercial, Portraits | Leave a Comment

Bi-Mart 125 @ Portland International Raceway…

July 21, 2009 – 10:18 pm

NASCAR West came back to Portland this weekend, coming to PIR after many, many  years. I had gotten up early to finish staining the decks and hoped it would work out that I might be able to get to the track to do some shooting. Had a lot to do that day and finished up the staining about 9:30. [...]

Posted in Motorsports, Personal | Comments (1)

Family Portraits & Charity Auctions…

July 13, 2009 – 2:19 pm

Families are starting to call and book the portrait sessions they won in the charity auctions I contributed to this year. Donating the sessions to groups I care about is a great way to give back to the community, increase awareness of my brand and create some exposure about another style of photography I do. As much networking [...]

Posted in Portraits | Comments (1)
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