Matt: 2010 and 2012

Last week I had my second session with Matt.  My first session was in 2010 when I first started out.  I figured it'd be fun to look back at that session and see what has changed in my style of photography since then.  Let's just say: Lots and lots of GROWTH.

One thing I can tell you is.. lighting.  I was JUST starting to try off camera flash back then and this time around, we had a ton of fun using it to creatively light Matt, both during the day and also at night.

I had a lot of fun, and I thank Matt for choosing me for his headshot images.  Obviously, we had a little more fun than just headshots.  Our night session was at the Race Street Pier in Philly, where you can see the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Matt - I wish you the best in your acting career! :)

So let's do a little comparison of a few images from THEN and NOW.

I've seen significant improvement on my 'epic pics' LOL, but still a lot to learn!

2010:

2012:

As well as my composition and use of natural lighting.

2010:

2012:

Would you believe this was taken with Matt sitting down on the pavement of a parking lot?  The background is just the grey payment thrown out of focus lol.   I will try to remember to take an image of my setup in the future, but it was about to rain so I was scurrying hehe! 

Basically, one light off to camera right, with umbrella, and one flash close to the ground behind him camera left with grid to give his hair separation from the parking lot.

So yeah, here's to the future and ever continuous learning!

Okay, enjoy!! :)

Date Night? Photography Practice? Or both?!

So, Tuesdays are date nights for Fred and me, and lately our Tuesdays have been full.. but tonight we had some time to get dolled up and go out for our date night!

So what did we do?  We took pictures of each other HAHAHAHAHA!  It was nice to just go out and shoot for fun.. and try new things in our photography.  So much to learn and try, and Fred and I are just always striving to improve our skills.  Here's a few pics of us on our date night.

Good thing we brought the bug spray HAHAHA!

This first photo is my favorite of myself from the night - thank you Fred!  I just like how I'm in a spot light.. the flash is directly in front of me (the direction my head is facing).. and it's up pretty high and aimed down at me... giving this spotlight effect.

 This is one of my faves of Fred.. it's the same thing as above.. but now it's Fred HAHAHA!

I wanted to do a silhouette, so I exposed for the sky and didn't add flash..

Fred went for an unconventional crop, I like!

The street lamp was lighting the tree and I liked the gradient it made.. and I added flash on Fred.

This was a fluke.. the flash was right beside Fred and wasn't even set correctly (way too much power), but I decided to see if it would work.. and I guess b/c the flash was not facing Fred directly.. the spill is the part that hit him and wasn't overpowering.. so it ended up being just enough for him.  See how it falls off sharply though at his waist?  Yeah.. cuz the flash was not pointed at him, but somehow it worked out!

And there you have it, our date night! Yay!

How I Do: Using Flash Indoors (Chapel)

So... a couple of weeks ago I talked about giving your outdoor images more 'umph' by using flash.  This time let me talk about using flash inside of a chapel.  This isn't always going to be the case, but at least I can give you an idea of how I do it and the difference it can make.

Below is an image made with available light inside a chapel that has both flourescent and tungsten lighting.  It's decent, but it's hard to find WB in such a setting with multiple types of light lol.  I believe I went more with tungsten WB in camera and then played with it a bit more in post.

Decent image, but not a wow image right? Still, a good starting point and a solid image to deliver to a client :)

But look at what happens when you add flash in this situation.  It almost puts a spotlight on them.  I definitely prefer this to the first image.

So how was it done?  Same formula as for outside.  For the record, I don't use gels.  Maybe one day, but I like the warmth that the tungsten gives off when I set my camera to Flash White Balance.

1) Expose for the background. 
If you want it to be darker, speed up the shutter speed, just remember to account for your flash sync speed.  I was at f/4, with a shutter of 1/250, ISO 2000.

For the whole ceremony, I was at ISO 2000 b/c I wanted my shutter speed to be high enough to avoid camera shake using the available light.  So I just kept the same settings here for ease. I could have also lowered the ISO for these portraits, which would consequently slow down the shutter speed and have gotten the same result.  I would just have needed more flash power, which is not a problem with my trusty Quantum T5D-R or whatever it's called.

Do you see the relationship here between ISO, shutter speed, and flash power?  

Higher ISO = Faster Shutter speed (since camera becomes more sensitive to light) = Less Flash Power Needed.

Lower ISO = Slower Shutter Speed (camera less sensitive to the light, so gotta keep shutter open longer) = MORE Flash Power needed in that same situation.

Aperture is kind of arbitrary.. at least to me (omgosh, don't take my word as truth okay?).  It's at f/4 in this case b/c.. that's the aperture that accompanied my 1/250 shutter to get my background to be the way I wanted it to be...  I usually start at 1/250 and then adjust my aperture accordingly.  But honestly, it depends on the situation you are in.. how bright or dim the ambient light is... it's just something you get with time.  Sometimes I'm at 1/60th at like ISO 800.  It just really depends.  And I'm STILL figuring it out LOL.

Am I confusing?  If so, I apologize in advance, AND I suggest you no longer read my 'How To's" LOL.

2)  Light your subject!
Assuming you darken the environment a bit for more dramatics, your subjects will also be dark.  So.. now that it's time to add flash, I do it manually since I'm using off camera flash.  I don't care for TTL at this juncture, I just eyeball it.. and feel it's the easiest way to learn anyway.  I start at around 1/8 power on my flash and.. if it's too bright.. I'll lower it.. if it's too dark still, I'll raise it.  Simple as that!

 

Hope that helps ... someone out there.. somewhere! :)

How I Do: Using Flash to Give Your Image More "Umph"

So I'm going to blog really quickly since I would like to blog more regularly (I keep saying that, don't I?).  That doesn't explain why I need to blog quickly though.  Today is just a hectic Monday, several albums to design and stuff, but it's great to be busy, that's for sure!

I just wanted to give you an example of how adding flash can give your image more umph when used correctly.

Below is an available light image.  80mm, f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/400 sec.  This image never went to the client because to me, it's lacking something.  The background for one is overexposed and the subjects are too dark.  Sure, I could work some photoshop magic, but to me, that's an extra step I shouldn't have to take in the first place.  I strive very hard to get my images right in camera, so that when it's time to edit, all I have to do is 'enhance' and not to 'fix.'  It's been a long process getting to this point, but I think it's helped me to improve in my craft, and I still am striving to learn as much as I can :)

After taking the above image to assess the lighting (and we'll say that it was also for the purposes of this mini tutorial LOL) I knew that available light was not going to cut it.  I immediately set my shutter to sync speed for flash (1/250 on my D700), and went to work on exposing the background correctly.

Here's the next image I took, ISO 200, 112mm, f/5.6, 1/250.   First thing I did was set my shutter to 1/250 like I said above.  Then I adjusted the f-stop to a point where I got my background to be the way I liked (kind of on the darker side).  Then I added the flash on the couple and adjusted that until they were properly lit as well (I told my husband whether to raise or decrease the power).

So, first expose for the background to get it to look the way you want, then add the flash to light up the subject and adjust that until it's how you want as well.  Remember, assuming nothing is really in close proximity to your subject, the flash only affects your subject and the background is affected only by the ambient available light.   This isn't always the case (such as if the background is RIGHT behind the subject, etc...) but in general when doing environmental portraits, this is what I think of in my head when I do these shots.

Here's a pic behind the scenes (well, not in this exact location, but just to give you an idea where my assistant aka my husband stands).  Usually a 45 degree or so from my camera position, but sometimes less if I have to be careful about shadows.

I don't know about you, but to me, the one with flash looks 10xs better, at least in this type of situation!

Okay gotta go, sorry if this is semi repetitive, but I'll do some more intense how-to's in a bit, I promise!

Oooo I just realized I can do an indoor version of this too, that will probably be 'part two'. :)

Cliff Mautner's Bootcamp - Day 2 & 3 | Taking whatever comes my way

Wow, I'm so late!  Lot has been going on, which is great, but I'm finally going to finish talking about my workshop with Cliff Mautner.

Day 2 was great.  We ventured back out into the city for a couple of hours and were able to utilize natural light to create some dramatic images as well as off camera flash to make our subjects pop :)

Natural lighting..

Off-camera flash outdoors..

That evening, we got to sit in on an actual client meeting which was VERY enlightening!  All I can say is, Cliff is the man!

Day 3 we were able to learn more about the business side of photography.  It was so awesome that we could just pick Cliff's brain as well as the brain of his studio manager, Noelle who is a beast at post-production.  I learned so much, and I hope to streamline my workflow so I can do more in less time.

Going to this workshop was definitely worth it.  For me, I feel like it was a game changer.  I feel so much more confident about how to tackle harsh light and about how I can best utilize my flash.  It's made me examine how I do business and helped me to decide what direction I want to take this business in.

I have to say I really met such great and talented photographers who continue to be a support group that I can go to and I am so very thankful for that.  We all really formed a close bond and I hope that we will all be friends for many years to come!!

Hmm, what else?  That's what I get for not blogging right away, I think too many things go into and out of my head that I can't retain memories for very long hahahaha!

These past few weeks in general have been great.  I have been stepping out of my comfort zone and taking risks, and I'm glad that I am because I feel it has helped me to grow as a photographer, and more importantly, as a person in general.   I don't know what's ahead, but I'm ready to take whatever comes my way with a fresh and positive outlook.  As long as I get to continue doing what I love, I am happy.  And if I have the things that matter most to me in this life (God, love, family, friends, laughter, and good pho), then I know everything is going to be just fine.

Riding in a Small Airplane and Seamless Backgrounds

Last Saturday, Fred took Irene and me to a company picnic where they were giving out free small airplane rides.  Free? How could we refuse? So it was a first for all of us and it was really cool.  We flew above New Castle Delaware for a few minutes in a teeny weeny plane.  I thought turbulence on a big commercial plane was scary - let me tell you... in a small craft, you really cannot deny you are just a little fly in the big sky... and that any gust of wind could just send you out of control. But let's not dwell on that - the view was awesome.  I don't know if I'd do it again, but I know Fred really wants to be a pilot hahahaha.  Let's see if I will actually let that happen LOL lemme stop.

So they made us sit a certain way in order to 'balance' the weight on the craft.  Somehow that meant I needed to sit up front.  Eek!  I had to make sure I didn't touch anything hahaha.  Which was kind of hard since my legs are superlong and there are foot pedals I had to avoid so I wouldn't accidentally steer the plane hahaha.

But overall, a great experience.  Thank you to Fred's company :)

I decided to try something different with presenting my photos.  Instead of having each one individually framed with a watermark, I popped them all into a template... to kind of condense it.  I'm still working on it, but hope it's easier on the eyes.

CLICK TO ENLARGE!! (They get pretty big)

To see more pictures, here's my facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125096&id=1102932&l=d97dd73a1c

Also, we set up our studio on my parents' ever-so-spacious basement.  Wow.. so much space.  How did we manage to set up a studio in our teeny apartment in Cali?  Well, I guess where there's a will, there's a way.  At any rate, seamless paper is awesome.  We had to figure out how to make the background a bright white, so it took some tweaking.  But basically, we blanketed our background with light and then used another light for the foreground.  We are missing a light though so right now we're only working with 2 lights.  I think the plan is to get a continous light source for the background and then have 2 flashes in the front for our key light and our fill.  So these are the results of our first 'studio' session.  Really, we were just playing around.  But I'm excited to complete the set-up and start holding portrait sessions.  All our stuff is finally arriving on Wednesday so we'll be in full swing by May.  Let me know if you want a photoshoot - indoor or out or both!

Practice: Some Legs and Some Jumping!

Fred and I were trying to figure out what to practice tonight.  We ended up taking pictures of our legs HAHAHAHA.  We're still working on it though.  Here's what turned out alright:

NEW LENS! Let's Do a Product Shoot!!

Hi!

So today a new lens came in the mail - YAY! We now have a 17-35mm 2.8 wide zoom!  That plus our 80-200mm 2.8 and our 50mm 1.8 means we're fully equipped for weddings - yay!

We are still waiting for our 85mm 1.8 but our friend Brian, the photo dude who runs our Long Beach Photo Society thingy, lent us his to try out, as well as his 10.5mm 2.8 fisheye. Here's a few pics from the fisheye. Thanks Fred for bringing out my big head :)

I of course wanted to post pictures of the new lens, but I decided I would try something different.  I wanted to practice making 'product shots' or something.  So using a 3-flash set up, I embarked upon an attempt to bring out my new lens's 'best side' hahahaha.  I just wanted it to 'pop' persay.  You be the judge as to whether I was able to accomplish that.  I think it's a decent start, and it was fun to just play around with the lighting today.  I'm definitely gonna do more.  I want a cool reflective surface to work on.  So I'm sure I'll be getting one .. one day.. to add another dimension.

So first let me show you the set up in the apartment (using my new wide zoom lens hehe):

I put a flash w/ umbrella 45 degrees behind on camera right and 45 degrees in front on camera left.  I also added a flash w/ a grid on a boom above the table... sort of in front of my subject and tilted it back towards the subject so the shadow would go behind it a little bit..

I used the 85mm 1.8 that I borrowed from Brian, and stayed at 1/200th of a second and a f16 aperture.

Here's one of my earlier shots..

Eh.. It didn't really jump out at me though..  So I decided to take a different approach..

I started to like where it was going.. it seemed to come out a little more... Yah? Yah?? [nudge nudge] Hahaha...

Time to add the case...

Now to tilt it to the side..

What do you think? Does it pop? Maybe a little bit I hope? Hehe.. Like I said, I want a better surface, but I'm pretty happy with the result.  You do what you can with what you got, yeah?

So that was fun.  Hope you enjoyed!

Signal Hill and Ghosts

Hi!

Man, I STILL have to edit the pictures from the Golden Anniversary I told you about, but hopefully I will have more time in the next few days.  I just wanted to share with you some shots Fred and I took today at Signal Hill.  We wanted to do some night photography, so we did.  Good thing we had jackets because it was COLD.

Oh and I wanted to share with you the great news - I officially have my first wedding in June!  Thank You God!  I am excited!  So the next 2 months are dedicated to planning and preparing for this event.  Did I mention it's on the other side of the country?  I'm going to Maryland - yay!  I will get to also see a bunch of my friends over there so that's great.  Can NOT wait!

Anyway, my loving husband, Fred, was my male model for the day.  I made sure his outfit was matching today HAHAHAHA jk. He basically told me that he won't help me figure out what settings I need unless I really really ask him to.  So I basically spent some time figuring out what to do.  I'm more of the natural light photographer and he's my lighting consultant hahaha.  Eventually I think I figured it out a bit.  This is just using a 1-flash set up at 45 degree angles.  Especially when you're doing location photography, you wanna keep your load light and easy to set up and take down.  So right now we're just working on 1-flash outdoor techniques and once we're comfortable, then we'll probably incorporate one more flash at the most.

The last few pictures were us trying to figure out how to place me in two different spots during one exposure.  It would've worked except the background was emitting too much light and our flash wasn't recharging fast enough.  So, I look like a ghost, which is still a pretty cool effect hehe.

The last one is a slow shutter.  Do you see the car lights basically melded together?

 

The end :)
.. for now hehe

P. S. Next contest will be announced at some point on Monday!  So stay tuned!