Umbrella Jo - a new recruit.

It feels like I've been doing wedding photos forever, so I needed a quick assignment to keep me thinking creatively. Inspiration came from this, though it was very clear very quickly that I needed a big ass shade to diffuse the light as they have.

I got a moment with Umbrella Jo to try a bit of outdoor portraiture. I think I need to switch to shoot-thru brollies as I'm losing way too many light stops using bounce flash. Plus I think I need a bigger brollie to spread out the light and be able to get it further from the subject without it acting like a point light source. Also a reflector/shade wouldn't go astray in the midday conditions as was when we shot. In post, I opted for as different as possible rather than theme. I've been feeling and as Jo so rightly pointed out, I've been using post as a crutch for bad photography, so I'm on a mission to tighten my shot discipline.

I can see a limitation of the 80-200mm f2.8. At longer focal lengths and f-stops below 3.5, it's soft soft soft. But between 80-160mm at f3.5+ you could cut glass. Not too shabby for 20 year old tech.

A postscript to this entry is 3 days later Jo broke her nose at a game of full contact netball. In a conversation soon after the incident, she said what I was thinking "Thank god we got those photos before I broke my doze". Hey she said it! I was just thinking it!

One for the ladies... Poppies

Taking a break from wedding photo PP, thought I'd crack one out. Two flashes, one main, direct on the top flower with a tight beam focus on the SB900 and another secondary gridded snoot behind left of the two lower yellow flowers. Exposure care of Nikon CLS iTTL, 0.0 FEV on main and -0.3 FEV on secondary. would like a 3rd flash (maybe a ring) on front with -3.0 FEV for some slight fill, but didn't want to use onboard camera flash as working distance was too close and lens would cast a shadow.

FYI: 90mm macro, stop f32, note diffraction softening in exchange for DOF, brought back in post with sharpening to a limited degree. Black point raised to make sure background was black black and to add to contrast.

Claire and Richard - Shine Dome - ANU

Practise Practise Practise - 20 minute multiple flash setup and tear down coz it was sooo bloody cold. Thanks to Claire and Richard for being so game... hope it doesn't wear the big man down such that he succumbs to Claire hooping cough!








Look how cold the poor chickins are when they weren't posing

Kelly and Greg

Oh the nerves... important events coming up and having to shoot! Thanks guys for letting me practise.

The Running Man

Some ancillary shenanigans from the Wedding that could make it to Facebook so had to be published here

To crop or not to crop?

A pose and grab shot with only one frame exposed as we were on our way to greet guests

I'm of two minds about the head and shoulders crop, Therese suggested it and whilst it does lose the dangely hands... it also loses that 3rd layer of depth with the cottage in the background. I liked it with a more body and background, though I should have got the groom to fold his arms or put them in his pockets.

The Red Bucket Series

I took the opportunity to get outside in the freezing bleak Canberra weather to practise my DIY sunset lighting (which I failed miserably at, I should be at the top of the hill) and Miss T came out to do some composting/impromptu modelling. Instead we came back with a series of photos I wasn't expecting.

Also please complete the poll regarding your screen size resolution, coz on my new monitor every thing seems so small that it makes me want to upload bigger photos!

Cheers

Story
1) Cold and bored
2) Hmm Red Bucket
3 & 4) Ensuing craziness