Filed under: Equipment, Pregnancy & Maternity sessions, Strobist, Techtalk | Tags: diy, female, pregnant, striplights, studio
The problem
On location work is fun, you always need to improvise. On location studio work is a tad more difficult, you need space to work. In this instance I was at my step-sister-in-law’s place, a place I know. We wanted to make some portraits against a black backdrop. so we had to move some furniture around to make some room to get a ghetto studio in place. I ended up with a 2×3 meter area (tight).
With this limited amount of space, I knew I would be unable to properly control the light and keep it from falling onto the background (the problem).
Recognize a problem before you encounter it.
The gear
-Lencarta Studio Background support system, extends from 2 to 3 meter and can reach 3 meter in height, simple & cheap.
-Some simple black cloth that you can find in any “sleepstraat” near you + some hardware store uni-clamps.
-A couple of 24″ x 36″ softboxes.
-2 lightstands and of course a couple of flashes, in this case I used a Canon 580EX and an Olyumpus FL40.
The solution
One possible solution would have been to put flags/gobos between the softbox & the backdrop. But remember,we are on a very limited space here.
Instead, I tore off 2 slaps of black cloth so they each could cover half of a softbox, tadaah , instant strip lights (or does the fall under the flag category?) and control over the spill. But there is another important reason why I opted for the 2nd option, with a narrower strip of light, the light wouldn’t completely wrap around the model and leave some unlit parts.
The diagram
The left light was positioned low and horizontal, the right light was moved in as close as possible at a 45° down angle.
The result
I really like the outcome, super female lines, some shadowplay and an accent on the belly.
And of course a big thank you to the model for the portfolio addendum.
(note, I’m still struggling with getting sharp images online at 800px, a browser resize from flickr’s large size seems to work best. At least with Firefox, chrome or safari)
Filed under: Equipment, Portraits, Tips & Tricks | Tags: california sunbounce mini, fill, portrait, reflection panel, sunbounce
As one of my new year’s resolutions I want to use more available light in my pictures. Because I live in a country that isn’t always known for it’s best light (understatement) I thought it could use a little help and bought a California Sunbounce Mini. (thank you jobkorting)
These sunbounce systems have been tried, reviewed, marketed and approved by lots of other photographers than me so I’m just going to post one side-by-side picture to show you what this baby can do. This actually was my very first shot with it.
The scenario
1) All white nimbo stratus clouds.
2) Tom² being my guinea pig yet again (I wonder how he keeps it with me) holding the sunbounce at waist level with the ‘invisible’ sun behind him.
3) One picture with and one without the sunbounce, can you spot the difference ?
F4 – 1/125th – ISO200
W00t, 3rd post in a week, that must be some sort of personal record. And I didn’t stop there, on Sunday I’m attending the “capturing romance” workshop and I’ve already scheduled a mysteriously related post for early Sunday morning. And I’ve also prepared something “special” for whoever is attending the workshop. *g*
PS. Any of you that are reading this also attending ? Drop in by the comments and see you on sunday!
Filed under: Equipment, Tips & Tricks | Tags: bungee balls, diy, flash to softbox, softbox adapter
Recently Thomas asked me how I connect flashes to a softbox, while my solution is nothing as close to Pieter’s chimera solution it is a worthy alternative to get started.
A while ago I bought 2 24″x36″ softboxes on ebay. The package comes with a metal ring but without a solution to mount it on a lightstand and without a way to attach your hotshoe flashes. Time for a quick & cheap DIY hack.
My solution: nuts, bolts & bungee balls.
In any DIY store you can purchase a couple of long M8 bolts & suitable nuts. With that attached to the metal adapter you now have a way for mounting the softbox on a stand. Adding 2 more bungee balls and your flash head fits rights in as well. Bungee balls are a bit harder to obtain in Belgium but I did already find some in the bargain section at Gamma. Otherwise check ebay.
I’ve added more notes on flickr if you click through on the images.
Okay I’ll admit it. I’m abusing my blog to sell my 2 sigma lenses. But I am using that to share something with you as well, and it was a good excuse for me to play around with my new toys.
Business first, I’m selling my 24-70mm f2.8 EX and 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS, both lenses are in great shape and they perform as expected. More info on pricing can be found in this forumtopic.
The 24-70 has been my trusty companion for about 90% of my photos and as you can see from the last pictures I took, she is still in great shape. She comes with a sexy lens pouch, a UV-filter (82mm) and a sleek lens hood to accentuate her shape. The 18-200 OS is a nice walk-around lens for outdoor usage for the beginning photographer. *waves to uncle bob* He is a sturdy fellow equipped with a lens hood and as you can see from this picture, he can get pretty excited. He also features a OS stabilizing mode to reduce handshake. Both lenses are less than a year old.
Now on to the fun part !!!
So I needed product shots, our newly painted room would make for an excellent background color. I had a white unused shelf board in the basement, the board happened to have a varnished paint coating that brings out reflections so that was an added bonus. First I used just one flash through a medium softbox on camera left. I brought in the softbox very close to the subject to fill in the specular highlights as best as possible. I could have done a better job on the front of the lens. One simple solution would have been to set up a big white sheet and shoot trough that. Other options included moving my softbox to the other side to reduce reflections. (A different angle on the lens would have hidden the side with the focus ring) I didn’t plan on using the front shots anyway so I didn’t pay much attention to fixing this problem. (I still have a neck issue)
The background with just one light was okay but I wanted it to have something extra so I added another flash with a DIY gridsnoot (new word?) aimed at the background. I don’t remember the exact power settings on the flashes, I believe 1/16th for the main, and a bit more for the gridsnoot (it eats some light). Shutter speed kept at 1/250th, F stop between 4.5 & 8 (I played with the ISO to compensate, lazy me).
The setup
The complete set with the product shots can be found here.
From setup to cleanup it took less than an hour to complete the job. It doesn’t have to be more complicated to get results.
Even if you are not buying, I hope you find it helpful.
