Trying out a new lens in preparation for a friend’s wedding at the end of the month. Lovin’ it so far. A couple test shots of the kids to make sure it works.
Don’t forget, my “Adobe Lightroom Traveling Roadshow” is coming to Anaheim on Saturday, February 28. Only a few spots left. Click HERE for more info.
Not long ago, David Hobby of The Strobist had several posts singing the praises of ringlight flash as on-axis fill. Interesting, to be sure, but I didn’t think too much about it since I didn’t have a ringlight. Since then, I’ve built a ringlight modifier for my SB-800 speedlights based on a design by David Tejada, and have experimented with it a little by itself. Okay, but not a lot of application for the type of portraiture I usually do.
That changed last night. Over the weekend I built a new speedlight beauty dish, and while working with it a bit more last night, realized that I needed some type of fill to soften the shadows under the brim of Cat’s fedora. Ringlight to the rescue!
Anyway, here’s the result:
Needs a little practice, but I think I’m getting there…
Thanks for dropping by!
I’m a big fan of light modifiers for my SB-800 Speedlights. I’ve built a number of DIY modifiers including grids, ringlights, and beauty dishes, to name a few.
I recently came across a very professional-looking beauty dish modifier tutorial by Tom Seibert at of “Light and Pixels.” It’s made from a bamboo salad bowl (large diameter, and shallow…about $20 at my local Cost Plus World Market), a door dent preventer and plastic gutter adapter (couple bucks at the local home improvement center), and a piece of 1/2-inch aluminium to take the weight off the flash. All in all, under $30, took the weekend to build (mostly waiting for the paint to dry) and it works great.
I modified the design a little… got rid of the CD holder (unnecessary), and simplified the aluminum bracket. It very closely approximates the size and design of the professional beauty dish modifier I use on my studio heads.
Couple test images of my daughter… “Sweetie, can you just sit here for a second while I try out my new beauty dish…?” I love the look, but judge for yourself….
Thanks for looking! Feel free to leave a comment…
The first of my Adobe Lightroom Traveling Roadshow seminars is coming to Anaheim, CA on Saturday, February 28, 2009. It’s an opportunity to spend a day immersed in the program that will change the way you do image management and post-processing.
The day starts at 9:00 AM, and wraps at 4:00 PM. The agenda includes:
Configuring Lightroom / Getting your Images from Camera to Computer
We’ll start the day off with a live portrait shoot, and work with those images throughout the rest of the seminar. We’ll learn how to setup Lightroom’s preferences and workspace for optimum efficiency. Learn how to import images from your camera’s memory card to your computer and into Lightroom, adding keywords, organization, file naming, and more. We’ll explore Lightroom’s modules for organizing, selecting, reviewing your images. This is where it all begins.
Image Editing: Where the Magic Happens
Organization and management is a key feature of Lightroom. But the magic really happens in Lightroom’s Develop module. It’s a complete digital darkroom on your desktop! Learn what the various develop adjustments do and how to use them to enhance or repair images. Learn how to create develop presets or use those that you’ve found online as a starting point for image editing.
Lightroom and Photoshop: Working Together for a Complete Imaging Workflow
You may never need to leave Lightroom for your image editing needs. However, for those occasions that call for a little help from Photoshop, it’s good to know how the two applications work together to produce spectacular results. We’ll spend some time moving back and forth between Lightroom and Photoshop to show you how the two programs integrate seamlessly to speed your workflow and image editing process.
Presenting Your Images: Slideshows and Web Galleries the Lightroom Way
After you’ve processed your images, you’re going to want to share them. Lightroom offers a bunch of ways to do it, and they’re super slick! Slideshows that you can export as PDF files; Flash-based or HTML web galleries that you can upload to your website or burn to CD. It’s all easy with Lightroom.
Print: The Final Word
While most of our images are destined for some type of electronic display, there are times that call for a print. After all, you can’t hang a JPG on your living room wall! In this session, we’ll explore Lightroom’s color management, print templates, and some of the magic of getting images out of your computer and onto paper.
Click here for all the details and registration information. I’ve also pinned a permanent link to the info page in the sidebar of my blog.
Gonna be a great time! Hope to see you there!
Hi Friends,
In the summer of 2007, I had an opportunity to photograph Daniel and Michael: twin brothers who had just graduated from Annapolis Naval Academy. They were home for a few weeks before heading off to flight school in Pensacola. As they’ll tell you if you ask, “We want to fly jets.”
Well, the boys were back in town for Christmas, and their parents asked me to do some family portraits, which, of course I was happy to do. I also had an image in my head for some more formal portraits of the boys, and they were generous enough to indulge me (when I’m sure they’d have rather spent what time they had at home with their friends)!
Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite photos from the session. You can click the video above for additional portraits from our first portrait shoot at Los Alamitos Air Base.
Keep these young men in your prayers.
