Photowalking Utah studio event 2011

This year I and Scott Smith hosted a setup for Photowalking Utah 2011 studio event (second year). I wanted to post a follow up of the lighting setup as well as some notes on the result from each light.

I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about technique (or my lack thereof), but rather just give a show and tell version of what each piece of lighting contributes to the overall image.

One of the things I like to do is to look at an image and try to dissect the light by looking at the highlights, shadows etc. If you are the same, the skip down to the bottom of the post to see the final result.

The image is the result of three strobes and one large reflector for fill (a very simple and common setup).

The light setup:



Images showing the progression of adding the different light sources. First off an image showing the result of the main Octabox (47") lighting the subject only:

Next the addition of the background light. A gridded strobe on a grey seamless roll of paper.

Next an image showing the result of adding the rim light. The gridded beauty dish adds that extra bit of light on the hair and the side of the face to separate the subject from the background.

Finally the addition of a large 48" X 96" reflector for fill.

Happy shooting!

Exploding lightbulb theme

A composite image from the light bulb shoot I did with Scott Smith. There are a few more in the works, but though I should share a photo before I go onto other things I feel I need to share.

Photowalking Utah studio event

This year I had the honor and privilege to give back a little to the photographic community, by hosting one of the many studio setups at the photowalking utah studio event this year.

There must have been around 200 photographers at the event. I wanted to share a quick little write up about the setup I used and a little of why. Hopefully this will be a helpful reminder of the setup for those who may want information for future reference.

First off a diagram of the setup:

The setup I used doesn't formally have a name, though I have seen it used by other photogs in a similar fashion. The setup is very specular with a 3D quality, and at the same time soft. The setup also changed ever so slightly during the shoot (the diagram above and result shown directly below is the light as it evolved to the final state). I would be remiss without thanking Scott O. Smith for helping with gear and setup!

The setup consisted of two rear lights modified by soft boxes (one octa and one square). These create the rim lighting or lighting that creates the highlights in the hair and the sides of the face. Above (represented by the grey see through circle above the model) was a gridded beauty dish and a small silver reflector below. The beauty dish above combined with the reflector lights the face in the opposite direction as lights from behind. The beauty dish is what creates the highlights on the nose and chin. The only light visible as a catch light is that of the small reflector from below which mainly acts as fill.

A tighter crop of the above. See the light patterns...

The photo below is the exact same setup, except the beauty dish was moved about one foot back toward the back drop (again the beauty dish is the grey circle in the diagram above). Big difference right?

The lighting technique used was very precise, and requires for the model to be placed just so in relation to the location of the lights. Movement of a couple of inches creates a different look. In general studio lighting is precise, when compared to natural light (though this setup was more so than most). Moving the model slightly will change the light. The power of the light is very dependent on the distance from the model to the light source. Generally larger sources and having your light source further away from the model allow for more freedom of movement, but also require much more power to use.

Wow that was a mouth full...

So that was the how, now to the why: The light setup was intended to be "edgy" and "specular". This isn't a setup for doing family portraits. I wouldn't want this setup for cute little kids. This setup would be awesome on a guy with lots of hard features and a cut figure (think James Bond, Daniel Craig who my wife thinks is the hottest guy on the planet). It would look good on Male or Female athletes.

But honestly that is what is so cool about studio lighting. You can change it in million little ways do get different looks. I could reconfigure (using the same equipment) the lights and bam, I am ready to baby portraits etc. I was asked by about every other person who came through the line to shoot at the setup I was hosting, why I had the lights where I had them. I tried to explain what I explained above. That first, I setup up the lights to get the edgy look you see above, and second, you learn how to setup your lights as you use them (experience). I knew this setup would be edgy because I've used it before.

Now for some fun shots:

The first is of Scott Jarvie(Hit the link to see learn more about the shots). Amazing the fun look you can get from a ring flash and a Ultra Wide Angle lens.

One more of Jeremy:

Big sister

I figure most people are like me when looking at photoblogs. The words appear as blah, blah, blah then time is spent looking at the pictures. Well here is a little eye candy, my wifes oldest sister...

Photo info: 1/250 sec; F 5.6; iso 100; 200mm

Kelly needed a headshot for the work she will be doing in the future (staging homes). She staged our home, she has a real eye and talent for doing so. Of all the wifes sisters, Kelly and my wife look the most similar (all the wife's sisters are beautiful, but mine is the most beautiful of all, hahahaha).

Same pose, different light (three light setup versus two)...

Photo info: 1/250 sec; F 5.6; iso 100; 200mm

Macro Studio on NO budget

I wanted to try out macro photography but needed to do so on the cheap, so I bought some close up filters (25 dollars at Ritz). One thing I quickly learned is that I wanted really small apertures to get everything in focus or at least as much as possible in focus. This meant using a lot of light or long shutter speeds. I of course opted for increased light. You put that strobe close enough to your subject and even at the lowest setting you have more light than you could ever ask for.

I had to come up with cheap way to create beautiful light and I was thinking green. So what did I do to save the environment and get that killer light I wanted? I used a left over gallon of milk.

Bonus; if you cut the carton right you can keep the handle. Another slick thing about these milk cartons is you have built in raised pedestal for whatever it is that you plan to take photos of. It is like the dairy industry knew that there are thousands of poor photographers out there looking for a simple solution to their macro studio needs.

Here is the setup…

You can see I am using a basic cross lighting technique but shooting through the milk carton. I plan on trying a whole array of lighting angles. It is so easy to make minor adjustments. Some of the shots I used a 1/2 CTO filter to warm things with a custom WB to get different lighting feel.

Once I cut the top off the milk carton and everything was all setup, I needed a subject. Lucky our home has a lot of flowers that are available for testing out the macro studio.


Manual F29, 1/40 of a second WB set to custom, ISO 200

Yup, F29 is the aperture and this was still blowing out. Strobes were set to about 1/32 power. Why such a slow shutter speed? No reason in particular. At this shutter speed without the strobes the pic would be a very dark grey.


Manual F25, 1/80 of a second WB set to custom, ISO 200

So simple a cave man could do it…

Photowalking Utah

This January I had the opportunity to meet with other photographers here in Utah at a photowalking Utah event organized by Rich Legg. It was a real eye opener in that I was able to "kick the tires" so to speak, and use other photographers lighting setups. The setups in most all but one case used the big studio strobes that are able to output mega-tons of power. It was a real eye opener as I am used to working with small dedicated flash units. My little camera never had seen so much power and well I think it liked it.

One of the coolest lighting tools I was able to try out was Kim's ring flash. The light rocked and well ever since I have been experimenting with making my own ring flash adapter using a small flash. Not the same but I am on a tight budget. This is a photo of Kim being lit by his ring flash (too cool)!



Laarni (Kim's wife) was there and was a very willing model. This photo was taken in a setup with two large softboxes. Very flattering.



This is Sarah, she is a cutie isn't she! She was a bit shy but she has a beautiful smile.



One of the things that each setup had was back drops. Ever since this photo meet I have been looking at setting up my own back drop of some sort. Definitely on my to get list.

This is one of the other photographers at the meet. Jeremy loves his work! Again this is lit by that uber sweet ring flash. Check out some of the great work Jeremy is kicking out here.



Of course one of the new things I have been trying to do is try a little more black and white photography. Love the look of black and white and well I feel that I just don't use it near enough. These are black and white photos of Jenna and Andrew who were kind enough to volunteer as models for the photogs running around.





One setup had a ladder with it so as to allow us to try out different perspectives. Clara is another cutie that was willing to allow us to grab her picture.



These last two photos were taken by Kim (he is in the first photo with the diesel hat). I am breaking the norm as these are photos I didn't take but hey these are of me! Kim has some wicked cool photos check out his photos here.

Photo taken by Joachim Guanzon used with permission

Hey the paparazzi is after me again! I had so much fun and well it was great getting to know other photographers and having the chance to bounce ideas off of more people with more experience.

Photo taken by Joachim Guanzon used with permission