Today in class, Professor Schmidt took the class outside around campus with two Q-Flashes (one for a soft fill, and one as a hairlight) and a bunch of pocket wizards (so a lot of flashes ensued). Pictures were taken in various areas and students were swapped out as models. The main problem was getting the flash to show up in the pictures. Raise the flash, less recycles and more chances of missing the shot with so many people shooting.
Filed under Advanced Color Portrait 2011
Unlike the first two photoshoots I did of my free senior photo shoots, this one was two hours. Lisa and Heather are sisters, and decided to do both thier senior photo shoots at the same. This actually had a big advantage– while one did an outfit change, the other could be getting their pictures taken. Plus, with two hours, we made it into my preferred outdoor lighting, which allowed for more creativity on my part with thier pictures. That being said, I’m thinking of offering a special deal to seniors who want to pair up to have senior portraits done.
For the outdoor and library shots I used the Canon 580EX Flash to add light to the pictures. Backlighting the seniors against the sun then adding flash for fill works really well for emphasis and a neat lighting style. I’ve been using the school’s flash, but I’m thinking of picking up one for myself to use when I start up my senior portraits business.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157626247284825/
Filed under Client Work
Sometime a light doesn’t work. Or it comes with a missing screw when you go to attach it to the backstand. Or the chord’s too short, and you switch that chord out for the one in the bag with the non-working light. Either way, backups are useful, and when you don’t have two lights, it gets time to be creative with one light.
During class we worked in groups to take pictures of each other for a couple hours. We were supposed to use a hair light, but seeing as we didn’t have the second light, we tried positioning each other on ambient light and against windows and reflections.
I had a large part of my fun in the editing process– playing with harsh light versus soft light can have very different results.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157626415138428/show/
Filed under Advanced Color Portrait 2011
Chelcy’s pictures were the second shoot I did of my free senior pictures shoot for examples over Spring Break. This time it was easier to get everything set up, and my Canon Rebel XS cooperated with me this time. I set up in the large room downstairs in the library, and the size difference made a great deal of help. It kept me from fumbling into things or hitting the background stands against the ceiling, a major help in trying to get everything set up quickly. It still took a little time to sit up, but I was able to leave it there for my next shoot with Lisa and Heather afterwards.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157626244371747/show/
Filed under Client Work
I’m planning on starting up a senior portrait business in Warrensburg this summer, but that means I need more examples to create advertisements and show just what I can do. So over Spring Break I decided to try and photograph some seniors for free- they got a free one hour session and ten fully retouched photos on a CD that they can print themselves or order prints through me.
Since it’s been a while since I’ve been to my hometown, Mom talked to a few people she knew, contacting a homeschooling group that might want senior pictures.
Never underestimate the power of social networks and free sessions. I photographed Jennifer yesterday, and these are a few of the resulting pictures. I also have two photoshoots today, with a total of three people. Another tip worth noting is that it’s always good to have a backup camera and to start setting up early. For some reason my Rebel XS decided it didn’t want to trigger my studio flashes. Luckily the 30D did, and I was able to shoot with that.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157626340368366/show/
Filed under Client Work
Last weekend I asked Joe and Cherise if they were interested in being the couple for my assignment. Luckily it turned out that we had great weather on Saturday, and the lighting was perfect for what I wanted (long shadows, warm lights). We went out to the park on Holden and Lion’s Lake, starting around 4:30pm. I was particularly interested in the light I expected to come at around 5:10 pm, and it came as hoped.
I also brought along Isaac, my fiance, as photo-assistant, as well as a Canon 580ex Flash. (Which I had read the manual just before the shoot). I built a softbox out of white posterboard and wax paper (Isaac’s idea for the wax paper diffuser) and put that on the flash. While the flash worked, it was nice lighting. Unfortuanetly something caused the LCD to start flickering and it stopped firing, so I had to put it away after the first few poses. It was nice while it lasted. Over Spring Break I plan to learn more about how to use it.
Anyways, these are the resulting pictures, using Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157626280849202/show/
Filed under Advanced Color Portrait 2011
This week’s Material’s and Processing assignment was based on the idea of dyptics- using two images in one to create a story or concept. The first one I created I call Broken Nature, and the other I called Natural Magic. I played with Bokeh (the background out of focus but still present) and some texturing. I also employed the use of borders.
I’d be really interest in creating a portfolio using the concept of dyptics, but I’m not sure how I want to do that yet.
Filed under Materials and Processing 2011
For my Advanced Color Portrait class, we needed to use a beauty light. So I checked out a beauty dish from the photo checkout, and used my own alien bees and fabric backdrops (held up by ducttape, safety pins, and a curtain rod). I talked my friend Kel into being a model, and after the last face paint I did, decided to try something a bit more light hearted. I wanted to include some digital editing, so I used textures and a couple other techniques. In the meantime I had the song, “Butterfly” by Smile.dk stuck in my head the entire time I was working on these pictures.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157626069901626/show/
Song that inspired this shoot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_qwUS8Uqjg
Filed under Advanced Color Portrait 2011
For Advanced Color Portrait class, we were supposed to create hollywood lighting using butterfly lighting and Rembrandt lighting. I sided with doing two sets of people (though I did pull in Isaac for a couple shots after Katie’s shoot) and going from there.
Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157625881521301/show/
Filed under Advanced Color Portrait 2011
Recently I was working on articles for the company I freelance with, writing articles for a printer ink. Shortly afterwards I noticed that several of the advertisements online now showed that site- and the same happened with another site later. While I worked on novel writing information, self-publishing sites kept being advertised. During my Advertising Photography class, my teacher mentioned that a similar instance happened to him.
Apparently advertising is getting better at targeting computers and your recent searches, supplying more direct and useful information directly to the potential consumer. I would like to know what other people’s thoughts are- do you like having more direct ads? Or is this an invasion of privacy? What kind of problems can this bring up, and how does it help advertisers?
Filed under Life
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 