*** The Photography Thread ***

[deadline]

Thanks deadline!!

This shot is out of camera aside from some skin blemish touchups...

A speedlight gelled to all get out was down in the tunnel. By "all get out" I mean that I had to use a few sheets to get the color as deep as I wanted it to be. The backlight was another speedlight, gridded and stand mounted about 7' high - aimed down. The front fill is just reflection of the backlight off a concrete wall in front of the model.

I had a third speedlight setup as a main key with a shoot-thru umbrella (located just at camera left), but disabled it for this shot to get the low-key effect.

wow. quite a setup.... what sort of energy source did you use? I mean... are your lights portable or you had to jump through some gimmicks to make this much light work outside...

also... what's the location? I had been searching for an interesting background for a group shoot series I had been planning for this summer.

[JustSomeDude]

wow. quite a setup.... what sort of energy source did you use? I mean... are your lights portable or you had to jump through some gimmicks to make this much light work outside...

also... what's the location?

Most speedlights, such as the Canon 580EXII and the Vivitar 285HV, are battery operated (AA) with longer lasting external power pack accessory options available. Speedlights are an alternative to monolights. Monolights (typically) require AC power and are most often used for indoor studio work. However, a lot of higher-end monolights have optional power packs for outdoor use.

The advantage to monolights over speedlights, is that they typically have much higher power outputs, and far shorter recycling times (when provided adequate power). The higher power output provides greater flexibility with lighting options, especially outdoors when competing with the sun. The shorter recycling times help the photographer avoid missing that one great shot while also keeping exposures consistent shot-to-shot. On the down side, monolights suck for making a light, compact, and portable lighting rig.

For example, this setup is not something you're going to fit into one bag with your camera and lenses...



When starting out with off-camera lighting, I strongly recommend working with speedlights. I started with monolights, and in my experience they were a little overwhelming and provided limited opportunities for use due to the confined indoor space I have available to shoot in. Additionally, manually controlled (no ETTL) speedlights can be had for $70-$90 each, compared to hundreds of dollars for a good monolight.

To learn more about speedlight usage check out Strobist.com and their Lighting 101 tutorial. You can spend hours on that site learning techniques and getting ideas. And if you need any help - just rock out their forum here. There are a ton of friendly, dedicated strobists on there who can help answer almost any question you might have.

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In my shot posted earlier I used only speedlights. The location had no option for AC power, and the covert nature of the shoot did not allow for bulky equipment being lugged around. Everything had to be carried in by hand in a single trip while avoiding detection. The shoot occurred at 1am in a mostly underground location, so I had 100% control over my light. I'm not really comfortable posting the location on a public forum, for a variety of reasons. But if you want to drop me a PM, I'd be happy to show it to you some time if you're in an adventurous mood, and don't mind getting a little wet and dirty. You'll also get a better appreciation for what this (amazing) model had to deal with just to get this shot.

[spdu4ia]

^ +1 for strobist.com

spend many hours there reading and reading before getting my lighting setup as well. Tons, if not too much, information to be had on lighting.

[JustSomeDude]

One other thing I wanted to mention, deadline, and that is terminology. The terminology in the strobist world is attrocious, mainly because everyone uses different words, and a lot of the words now have different meanings from their original definition. When starting out, it can be confusing as heck.

Here are the basics:

Speedlight: This is the Nikon brand for a flashgun with a hotshoe mounting adapter. However, this is now the "Kleenex" of the flash world, and pretty much describes any battery powered flash with a hotshoe mount, such as the Canon 580EXII. The word "speedlite" (notice the spelling) is also used by Nikon's competitors to avoid trademark issues. (speedlight wiki)

Flashgun: Generic term for any flash with a hotshoe mount. Same as speedlight.

Monolight: Studio flash designed around a constant power source (such as AC). (monolight wiki)

Strobe: Completely generic term used to describe almost any kind of flash. On its own, "strobe" usually refers to speedlights, although "studio-strobe" will refer to a monolight. However, it depends entirely on the context. Someone could say "strobe" in a studio when referring to their monolights - but the next day when shooting out in the field they'll be referring to speedlights. Due to this ambiguity I'm not a big fan of the word "strobe", since it can lead to a lot of confusion.

Hope this helps!

[sfarson]

Waited around, and waited around, for the sun and clouds to cooperate with some lighting. Then stirred in some tone mapping...



Blended the white of the bike, with the white of the peaks, with the white in the sky...

[JustSomeDude]

Waited around, and waited around, for the sun and clouds to cooperate with some lighting. Then stirred in some tone mapping...

Nice work, Farson. Keep it comin'!

[JustSomeDude]

Guanella Pass // June 5, 2011 - 03:16

[spdu4ia]

Wife's new cat


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[Ghost]

Wife's new cat


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I think she misunderstood when you asked her to shave her ...

[green_zx7r]

Little twist on some Round 1 pictures.

Man, you take insanely good pics John... Wish I could take beautiful action shots like that.

[mtnairlover]

I've been hesitating posting a photo in here, because of....well, because.

Anyway, I'm going to post a photo anyway, because I love where I live and like telling a story with photos. This is one place that I can ask for advice. I've also signed up for a Flickr account and will begin using the forums there to get some advice.

So, here's one of my pix that I am drawn to....

[JustSomeDude]

So, here's one of my pix that I am drawn to....

Great shot - I really dig the dof.

[JustSomeDude]

Travis - this is sweet. Dig the detail and low-key approach. Aside from the watermark and brush strokes (probably only visible because of my INSANELY bright screen), this would make for a great poster.

word!

[hcr25]

So i have zero experience and no knowledge of what it takes to be anything close to a photographer as you guys are. Some really amazing pictures so far.
Here is one of Sete i took in our back yard.

[mtnairlover]

Great shot - I really dig the dof.

Thanks!

dof = depth of field. Yep, looked it up.

I had taken photography classes while in college = about 25 years ago, so tech jargon is lost on me (unless I look it up ), but I do understand and seem to remember why some pictures mean more to me than others. The way they are framed, or the contrast stands out, or the subject matter is the focus of the photo, etc. And, I had aspirations of becoming a photojournalist as I was working in video production at the time, too. A really dumb decision on my part kept me from taking that path when I graduated, but I still have this desire to be creative. It's good to know that my eye hasn't changed.

[JustSomeDude]

Very early morning - July 4, 2011

While You Were Sleeping

[mforza]

About 3 years old but I think you guys might like it
I hope JB will not kick my ass for posting it here

[Mother Goose]

Nothing like some bald pussy...... cat.


Here's a couple from Sunday.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.

[Zach929rr]

^^ want poster

[JustSomeDude]

Dude.... did you take that???

Talk about patience waiting for perfect light.

[spdu4ia]

yea if you took that it was either lucky timing or tons of patience

[Mother Goose]

Badassery.

[JustSomeDude]

Not anywhere close to finishing my sorts from HPR this weekend, but I loved how this dude's black/green outfit photographed... so I bailed on sorting and did a quick edit...

[asp_125]

Nice..

As usual the start of Nov U was fast and furious: