Darren Spurgeon Photographer Blog » Gear

Poolside Portrait Retreat + Fill Flash

Darren — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:38:40 +0000

This post is a little techie, but I’m excited about it. I just finished watching Nikon’s Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting with Bob Krist and Joe McNally. These are two great, experienced photographers. Now, most of what was in the video was more refresher than anything else…and one long ad for the Nikon flash system. Still, it was great to watch Bob and Joe for inspiration.

So, as the family took our Sunday afternoon dip in the pool, I had a thought: I can play around with a little fill flash! (OK, you brides out there, if you’re still reading…well I love ya because you’ve hung around this far for a very “un-wedding” gear post.) Back to the story…

The concept of fill flash eluded me early on in my photography days, and it still gives me trouble from time to time, but not today. Today, it took me all of 3 minutes to set up and shoot what you see below. I called over Liam, soaking wet from the pool and perfect for the part of a poolside portrait. Thankfully, he was more than happy to oblige.

Shot 1: No flash. I exposed properly and then stopped down one stop because I wanted to saturate the color and enrich the background. I knew I was going to fill on the next frame. Settings for this and other frames: 1/6400 at f/2.0. Pay attention to the face here and on the next shot.

No Flash

Shot 2: Fill flash. SB-900 about 45-60 degrees from camera, with Honl 1/4″ grid set to manual and 1/4 power. I actually did two test shots prior before I found the “magic” power setting I wanted. I tested this before calling over my subject.

In the comparison, you should be able to tell an ever so slight difference, and that’s the point if you’re looking for credibility in your light. I didn’t want it to appear lit.

With Fill Flash

Comparison

Shot 2b: Correctly adjusted in Lightroom, at about +0.67 stops, black +1, brightness +40, contrast +45.

Adjusted in Lightroom

Finally: My artistic interpretation.

There you have it: a quick poolside portrait. Thanks again, Liam, for helping out! …very proud.

Fun with Flare

Darren — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:08:08 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve played around with my strobe lights. Most of my work and experience has been with available light. Nevertheless, I’ve been itching to try out a few things, especially flare lights, as seen here in this post. The setup: bare bulb behind her, grid spot camera right, and ring flash.

Fortunately, my lovely wife was patient enough to sit for a few minutes and humor her husband. You’ll see in the second pic her patience was starting to run out. I like making her smile, so the following frame was worth it. It was a blast!

I’ll be posting a series of lighting experiments over the coming weeks as I get back to the basics of studio lighting and learn a thing or two. Hopefully, I’ll get some good shots in the process. Of course, every shot with my wife is a winner, so as long as she helps, I’m destined for greatness!

Goodbye Alien Bees

Darren — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:34:11 +0000

OK, so you first have to understand that I’m a gadget hound. While I think most photographers are, I used to take it to extremes. At one time, I think I had more camera bags of different sizes than I had cameras…or lenses…or both combined. Sad.

Fortunately, for me, I’ve entered the first stage of rehabilitation by way of eBay. I no longer just buy, buy, buy. I occasionally sell old equipment to fund my habit for new gear. I suppose it’s sort of my way of finding financial equilibrium.

The latest parting of past paraphernalia was my two-light AlienBees lights. I basically sold the whole kit and kaboodle: 2 B800s, 2 stands, 1 octabox, 1 barndoor, 1 honeycomb grid set, 1 quick release speedring, and 1 vagabond battery. I was leary about the whole deal because I didn’t really expect to make anything off it. After all, AlienBees are relatively cheap for the quality you get and I figured anyone wanting an AlienBee flash unit would either spend the $200+ new or offer no more than dirt, dirt cheap for a used model.

Well, wouldn’t you know, I started each bid at $0.99 and ended up getting back 76% of my original investment two years ago! (…minus shipping, of course) I will say that as a seller, you must not underestimate the importance of proper packaging and shipping. Most eBayers appreciate it a great deal.

So, you may ask, “What are you doing for lighting?” Ah, my friend, can you say “Profoto“? That’s a whole other topic!!!