workshop pictures

i went to a photography workshop on sunday, hosted by John LaVere, and got to play with all kinds of lights and modifiers and models. it was great fun, there were hot lights setup to burn in motion, strobes to freeze details, a makeup artist, and three different sets to work on.

it was really great getting into a real studio, and seeing how other people work. i mean, i know how i light, but i haven't had a lot of opportunity to see how other people light, and i think that's really valuable information to have. it at least shows you other possibilities, other potential ways of doing things that you might not have thought of, or don't currently have the equipment for, or whatever.

good times.

other pictures:

parabolic ring flash

i got an 86" silver parabolic umbrella the other day, and wanted to take her out and see how she performs. for this shot, i set the umbrella (it's really huge. i mean, really really huge....) behind the camera, so it sorta functioned as a really big, really weird ring flash.

the parabolic umbrella is unlike other umbrella i have..... because of it's parabolic nature, it has really strong focal points, points at which a lot of light is focused at a small area. kinda like a flashlight with an adjustable spot. it's crazy, you can see the whole umbrella light up when you stand at the foci with the modeling lamp on. you really know when you're on your mark.

so yeah. i'm still getting to know the parabolic.... i'd love to take it outside, but i'm afraid of what an even small bit of wind would do to it..... i mean, it's more than seven feet across, and built like a sail....... i'd be lucky to catch it before it crossed the wisconsin border.......

almost forgot the setup-ish shot (this is what my living room's looking like these days):

nick

i've been doing a lot of shooting against my white backdrop lately, and i got nick here to pose in front of it for a minute while i fired off a few rounds. i like the results, i've got to say. this is a four light setup, two light behind him, one just above and in front of him, barely out of frame, and one camera right, at low power to keep shadows from going too dark. i mean, drama is great and all, but if your subject's face is nothing but black hollow areas, that might be a problem.