Bodie Bear

Went out with Kaili and her crew last week. "That is a sculpture of Bodie Bear...he was a family friend and the shop dog at my mother in law's business. He passed away last fall but will always be remebered in the community as a great friend."

Tunnel Time

Working with Majesta on her senior project.  She needs a few more hours and so we scoped out a new spot last night.  Hauled all the gear down to an irrigation tunnel.  As in, all the gear.  Battery back, bee, speedlights, lightstands and a leprechaun for good measure.  Not knowing what we were getting into, I figured might as well bring the kitchen sink in case we needed it.  Pretty tight quarters to work with and could have pulled the intire thing off with speedlights, which I plan on doing next time we go.  Already have a new plan of attack for this spot.  But I think we did it justice for our first time out.  Heres a few from the night.

Date Night

Went to a show with Jenn last night at the Country Mercantile.  Came home and talked her into taking a few photos.

Full CTO in a 28" westcott apallo softbox. And actually I'm not really sure what the power was. I just stuck my hand up in the box and turned it down till I got the aperture I wanted. Shutter speed was 1/30th to balance the room light.

Location Scouting

Went out to scout a few new locations with the girls this week.  Found some great spots and snapped a few.  Two light set up.  Softbox and bare SB.

Umbrella Vs Softbox

In an effort to update the lighting tutorials, I wanted to show the advantage of using a softbox vs a shoot through umbrella. An umbrella is usually the first modifier most people get when they are starting out. They are cheap, fold down easy, set up quick and always give a round catch light in the eye. Real gorgeous light to boot. I really like the shoot through version vs the reflective type because of how close you can use them. Remember, the closer the light source, the larger it appears. The larger it appears in relation to you subject, the softer it is.

So why go with a softbox that is slower to set up, cost 5 times as much and breaks just as easily?

Spill control.

Heres an example.

Softbox on the left, umbrella on the right. Light going through an umbrella can come back into the lens and cause flare. You have be aware of your shooting angles and flash to subject distance.

Heres another example of light spill. That flair can rob contrast and sap color.

So why not use a softbox all the time and skip the umbrella? Well 28" vs 42" for starters. Yes, they make softboxes in all sizes, but not for 20 bucks! Umbrellas work great for lighting large groups of people as well as environments. Maybe you want more of the foreground lit. That's where umbrellas excel. They are like any other piece of kit, when used correctly they give a great result!

(side note-the light should have been placed lower in the image above. That would have given us a bit more light in the eyes. You can tell the position of the light from the shadow under her chin)

Now get out there and shoot! Just dont spill any light on ya!

Sarah Session

 

Heres a few from Sarahs session the other night.

Darinwarnick.com

Is now live.  Its a work in progress but at least I finally got it up.  You can find more info on the lighting classes there as well as check out the latest work. 

I also put up a Facebook fan page, if you are into that!  Check it out: