27 Jul
Senior Sunset Portrait (When Things Don’t Go As Planned)
Yesterday’s session was good. Really good actually. But I’m still feeling a little frustrated because I know it could have been better.
I’m not sure if it’s me, or the equipment, but yet again I’m left wondering why anyone would want to deal with the frustrations of off-camera-lighting on a regular basis. I understand the basics for where the light should go, and I do my test runs to figure out how it all works together, but it feels like every time I get out there, something don’t go as planned. I am starting to wonder if the solution is me buying my own equipment, setting a goal to use it once a week for a month, and by that time I assume I should be able to make it a much more seamless experience for my clients.
Lindy, the senior, was a dream. And the light too, the sunlight for the morning shoot was something I’d pay for if that was an option. It was the evening shoot that left me frustrated. I shot for about the same amount of time in the morning and the evening, but ended up with about 1/10 the number of images from the pm shoot because I spent so much time wrestling with the Pocket Wizards and beauty dish and flashes to come up with a working combination.
I feel better when I look at this portrait though (beauty dish to camera right for those who are wondering). There is just something about painting with light that I’m really drawn to. I just need to find the right combination of equipment that won’t leave me banging my head against the wall.
Just for fun, a combination of the before/after. I don’t usually use such a heavy hand in Photoshop, but I really wanted to make this image pop. I eliminated the power lines, and did a few other things to make the colors nice and rich.
I have a lot more to share in the next few weeks. Including some video of this session in action!
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
For some totally unsolicited advice, I’ve made good friends from a local studio that does a lot of convention speaking on off-camera flash and lighting, TriCoast Photography (specifically Mike and Suzy Fulton). They even offer a DVD that breaks it down. I haven’t watched it, as I’m not a photog (I just do some design for them in exchange for fabulous photos!) but seeing it in action when Suzy is shooting me blows my mind. The things they do with their lighting is spectacular. You can find TriCoast Photography on Facebook or at http://www.tricoastphoto.com/
1I hope you post more of the session! I love that one.
2My wife and I love your blog. I’m a photographer as well and I’ve found that keeping things simple more often than not gives better results than using lots of light modifiers. In my work 95% of jobs can be done with speedlights. Pocket Wizards are great but the iTTL systems built into both the Cannon and Nikon systems are so good you often don’t need the extra range and expense. The two best resources I’ve found for learning off camera lighting, especially for speedlights, are strobist http://strobist.blogspot.com/ and Joe McNally’s book The Hot Shoe Diaries. I’ve enjoyed seeing your photography. It is refreshing to see someone who relies more on skill and less on photoshop.
Jenna Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Thanks Kai! I actually ended up using the flashes the way you described and it worked out okay, but I still struggled a little bit. I’m learning slowly! I’m grateful to friends/models willing to stand in the cold/dark/mosqituo pits while I practice. I know about strobist but hadn’t heard of The Hot Shoe Diaries. I’ll check it out. Thank you!
Simply gorgeous!
4I love the colors, Jenna! For all your trouble, this shot really turned out well ; )
5You did a really fantastic job, Jenna!
To be honest, I still have my moments struggling with on-camera flash (I have somuch admiration for your improvements in that department!).
I really want to do OCF so I am doing a three month lighting course so that I can handle everything from studio lighting to speedlight OCF. Maybe a community college course might be an idea, if you have the time/inclination.
I have found that Pocket Wizards just don’t work for me. So frustrating and I feel like a course might help me overcome my issues with it.
Jenna Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 12:36 am
A 3 month lighting course? So jealous. You’ll come away able to do really amazing stuff.
I started using CyberSyncs after going to a workshop by JVS out of Dallas and I’ve mostly liked them so far. It’s still been a struggle, but I feel like they work better than the PWs. My mom, of course, used her PWs today and said they worked flawlessly. She did say that she switched them to channel 2, and I realized that of all the million things I tried to make them work (in the pitch dark no less) I think switching them all to channel 2 was something I didn’t do. Oh well.
I just want to whip out my equipment and not look like a dummy in front of my clients. I’d love to hear how your course went when it is over, I often hear that community college courses are kind of dated because the professors have a hard time keeping up with the changes? Hopefully that’s not the case for you!
Life On Mulberry Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
I have a friend who teaches photography at a community college in Dallas. I think you could find a good class if you identify the professor ahead of time, google to find their work, and email him/her to ask for the syllabus. The best professors won’t mind being emailed before you sign up, because they’ll want engaged students.
Could be worth it!
Lovely. It looks like an album cover.
7I did NOT know you could airbrush out power lines. I read this article today (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/28/airbrushed.advertisements.ban/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2) right before I read your post… amazing what the computer can do!
8