Tag Archives: speedlite

More Senior Portraits

By Tim | Published 08/25/2012

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This shoot was a lot of fun because it was one of the first times I had no idea what the location would look like. I got to improvise a little during the shoot. Sam, the senior in these photos, had a few ideas of where to start. We initially went to a nearby park where we had a close encounter with a couple of deer. As we were talking during that shoot, we decided to go for a more urban or industrial looking atmosphere. Wandering around the small town of Marshfield, it wasn’t long before we found some buildings with the character we were looking for.

Some of these were shot with natural light, and for some I added flash. The flash really made his eyes stand out. Since his facial features looked great with hard light, I shot a few without the diffusion panel in my Wescott Apollo Orb. The flash faces backward in the Orb, so without the diffusion it acts almost like a beauty dish. I have noticed that this hard, punchy light is really popular right now for shooting males in commercial or fashion situations. You can see which photos were shot this way by looking for the crisp shadow in the background from the flash. Ordinarily I try to avoid making it too obvious that the photo is lit by flash, but for these I intentionally left the shadow in the frame. I did shoot a few where the light isn’t as hard and dramatic, just in case the family did not like that look.

Here is a picture of the deer that tried to photo bomb these senior portraits.

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Engagement Photos

By Tim | Published 07/31/2012

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These are the first engagement photos I have taken. When I woke up that morning, I could hear the rain coming down, and I was afraid we would have to cancel the shoot. Luckily, the couple decided they were up for shooting in the rain, and we made the best of it. I found a tunnel where we could stay dry. I worked with that for a bit, then decided to try something else. I had seen images online where a speedlight was placed inside a photography umbrella, and the umbrella was used as a prop in the shot. I wanted to try back-lighting the rain to make it show up in the picture, so I put my speedlight on a stand directly behind the couple. Then I pointed it up into the umbrella to light their faces. After that the rain let up, so we tried a few other locations. I like how the shots turned out, and I’m glad they decided to brave the rain.

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Senior Portraits

By Tim | Published 07/11/2012

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Here are some senior portraits I shot last weekend. Even though it was a sunny day, I stayed in the shade, and used my Westcott Apollo Orb for light. I had my 580EX II inside the softbox. I always like the nice, soft light I get this way. It’s much better than contrasty, late morning sun. It also allows me to underexpose the background a little for deep, rich colors and a sense of depth in the photo.
I converted some of them to a high contrast black and white inside Lightroom.

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Another Couple for Fashion and Glamour Photography Class

By Tim | Published 05/17/2012

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These are two students from UW-Stout that volunteered to model for my fashion and glamour portfolio project. Continue reading »

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More From My Fashion and Glamour Portfolio Project

By Tim | Published 04/19/2012

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Here are a few more images from my ongoing portfolio project for the Fashion and Glamour Photography class I’m taking at UW-Stout. I don’t have time to write much more than that because I actually have to go to class tonight. I will share one thing though. The day these photos were taken it was really windy outside. I was afraid that setting up a softbox or umbrella would cause my light stand to blow over. An hour before the shoot, I came up with a $5 DIY speedlite reflector that I could use if needed. I shared pictures of how it came together on Google+. Check out this link if you are interested. I haven’t tested it with a portrait yet, but it seemed to work ok with random objects around my house.

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Saylon Seven Photo Shoot

By Tim | Published 04/14/2012

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These two ladies, Sabrina and April, were kind enough to pose for some pictures after finishing work at the hair salon Saylon Seven. I am so grateful they did because I really like the way the photos turned out. Continue reading »

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Outdoor Fashion Photos

By Tim | Published 04/03/2012

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Here is a set of images that I shot for another assignment in my Fashion and Glamour Photography class at UW-Stout. I was aiming for more of a mainstream, retail fashion look. The assignment was a set of three fashion images shot outdoors.

These photos are also the first I have taken with my new 580 EX II Speedlite. I wanted to shoot during the golden hour before sunset, playing with fill flash and back-lighting with the sun. I didn’t have a light stand or anything to diffuse the flash with, so I had some mixed results. It was a good learning experience though. For instance, I learned that I want some Radio Poppers, a softbox, and a proper light stand (with sand bags, because it was really windy). Always more to buy…

I pushed these images pretty hard in post processing. I developed two copies in Lightroom. One with a cooler white balance, and one that was more yellow. Then I masked the shoes in with the cooler white balance, and kept the background warmer. I was hoping for some nice color contrast. I added quite bit of sharpening to the shoes too.

These photos turned out almost like what I imagined, but I am looking forward to having some better equipment, and trying again. I think learning to light with flash on location will really take my work up a notch. Look for more trials and errors posted here soon.

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