28" Westcott Appollo Softbox

I just received my 28" Westcott Apollo Softbox late last week, and aside from a brief use on Thursday night, actually got to practice in a more natural situation today with my favorite model. Set up couldn't be any easier, as it is an "umbrella style" softbox, meaning it opens up just like an umbrella. The softbox attaches to your stand via the umbrella holder on the flash bracket, or through the umbrella hole on your studio strobes. As the flash unit mounts inside the softbox, TTL communication is impossible, and requires the use of radio triggers like Pocket Wizards or an inexpensive solution like those offered by CowboyStudios.

I tend to be an available light shooter, so when I use light modifiers, it is generally to "enhance" a portrait, so the image doesn't scream "FLASH". As you will see in the sample images below, the effect is subtle, basically just giving a little pop to the skin tones, and creating a nice catch light in the eyes. The images were shot between 10:30 and 11:30 am, with the sun directly overhead. I choose a spot in shade, and the available light was actually quite nice, and certainly usable, but then I wouldn't get to use my new toy. I was looking to balance the available light with flash, so I metered the area we would be shooting in. As I wanted to use flash, my determining factor was my shutter speed, I needed to keep it under 1/200 sec, and ideally for me, 1/125. With that consideration I was metering between f6.3 and f9.0 at ISO 200. I was shooting with the Canon 5D MKII and the Canon 135mm f2 L lens, a favorite lens I don't get to use much.

Gotta get out of my Comfort Zone

Sometimes I feel like I've been cruising on autopilot. Just doing things the way I always do them, getting the exact same results, not really pushing, not really stretching. Sometimes, it's just because I'm way to busy, with way to many commitments, other times, it's due to laziness. When that happens, it's time to give myself a challenge.

For those of you that are familiar with this blog, you know I am a huge fan of David duChemin, and of course his $5 ebooks, which are available here. His first 2 ebooks, "Ten" & "Ten More", are still my favorites. He provides exercises in them to stretch your skills without buying gear. And one of those exercises is to shoot for a day with only 1 lens, at 1 focal length.

The new Westcott Apollo Softbox

Those of you in my Thursday class know that I bought the new 28" Westcott Apollo Softbox. And you know that because we used it that night of course. Here are a couple of test shots that I took with it. It will take me a little time to get used to it, but I think I am really going to like this unit. We were just using 1 light, and obviously it was dark, so this wouldn't be my typical or ideal use for it, I would prefer to use it in open shade much earlier in the day, but again, I just got it about 2 hours before these shots were taken ;-) I will do a much more thorough review on Faded & Blurred very soon.

The first shot is  of Herman in the parking structure after the jump:

"Something to Believe In"

A week ago on my Facebook page I posted a video of Bret Michaels performing "Something to Believe In". The video used to be embeddable, but that functionality has been removed. It's a great song with a poignant message, but it never mentions anything to actually believe in, it's more about the search. So here's my list:
My daughter's "Proud Face", the sound of my son's laugh, the twinkle in
my wife's eyes, the power of photography, the small of a woman's back,
Apple products, dreams, goals, http://fadedandblurred.com/, that I
still haven't hit my peak, http://lifehacker.com/, the words "I'm
sorry", the Yardhouse, Newcastle beer, Dr. Pepper, the Coke at
McDonald's, wasabi, my children's future, my wife's shoulders, Christmas Eve, Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours", Plavix, the smell of wet concrete, fresh cut
grass, the Arboretum, Dodger Stadium on opening day, the Seahawk's
chances this year, the laughter when Beth, Laurie, and Sue are together,
my friend Tommy, spay & neuter, Star Wars, Kevin Smith, , Rolling Rock, the Thin Man series, my 40's, Metallica, the ability of a great song to transport you right back to a particular time or event in your life, the power of passion, and the list goes on. 

What are some of yours?

 If anyone from Thursday nights class is interested in the softboxes used in the video, here they are:

Westcott Apollo 28"

Westcott Apollo 50" 

Westcott 60" umbrella

 Coming up this week in school:  

Monday: "What do you give the client?"

Wednesday: Photographing the bride and groom. Please bring images of Craig on cd!

Thursday: We need models

Old Towne Orange photo walk

Hi Everyone!
Sorry this post didn't go up yesterday, but our Faded & Blurred group had a photo walk in Old Towne Orange yesterday. What? You didn't know about it? Well, why don't you head over there now and go sign up for a free profile, our news letter, check on future walks, and read some of the content!

Old Towne Orange is a great location for a shoot. The town looks like a movie set from the 50's, with all the architecture. Great restaurants, great antique stores, and the place where I spent the majority of my time, Chapman University. I brought a long a model (who was willing MOST of the day) and had a blast. Take a look at the slideshow, and see what you missed.

Coming up in class this week:

Monday night: Shooting the reception

Wednesday night: Bring your images from last week on cd please so we can give them to Craig. We will also cover "off camera flash"

Thursday night: We need models! Let me know if you have anyone available for modeling. Also, please bring your images on cd. We need cd's for the models, and for the owners of the bikes.

Thank you!

iPhone snaps

Originally uploaded by fwisneski
While I was teaching my students a new on board flash technique, using their DSLR's, I happened to see a student shooting with her iPhone. Everyone knows how much I love shooting with my iPhone. Curious to see what she was getting, I asked her to show me. I liked what I saw, so I shot a few too. Here is my favorite.

Yes, it's grainy and dark, and it is obviously a very small file size. But it has feeling and motion, and tells a story. That's enough for me.

Processed in my iPhone with "Best Camera"

Rubber Ducky

Faded&Blurred_365_day_131
Originally uploaded by fwisneski

This is my rubber ducky. He has been in my cars since 1995. He is kind of like my own personal St Christopher, the Patron Saint of Travel. He also occasionally keeps my daughter entertained on car trips, and is the most excellent of travel companions. It wouldn't be right to go any where in my car without him. Do you have something like this in your car?

I realized today that I don't have a name for him...

A call for images

Attention students! If you shot on the Thursday night with the Corvette's and Harley's, the car owners would like images. I got some images for the models, so if you already provided those, can you create another cd with those same images for the car owners? They owners don't mind if models are in the pictures. It would be greatly appreciated, thank you! And if you haven't brought images in yet, please do so this week.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's hoping all the mom's out there had an amazing mother's day! My wife has been sick all weekend, but she had a great day relaxing in her jammies while playing with her new Dell laptop, a much needed tool replacing her 5 year old HP.

My wife is an amazing & beautiful woman that manages to maintain (for lack of a better word) a very chaotic household with a husband that has so many different jobs and responsibilities, it sometimes feels like I'm an absentee husband. She is caring and loving, and understanding that this thing I do, and most of you too, is a passion, it's in my blood. Thank you sweetheart!

So what can we do?

Hey everyone!

Let's call my last couple of blog posts "wake up calls". Some may have thought they were negative, many others took it as very constructive, which was my intention. Now the question is, "What can we do?"

Here is a short list:

Get out and shoot. And shoot. And then, shoot some more. Work on your craft, learn your equipment, try out some new techniques. Make mistakes. Figure out what those mistakes were, and work through them.

Post your work, but edit yourself very critically. Shoot hundreds of images at a shoot, but ONLY post the best few images. No one wants to figure out which of the 150 image of the model in last nights class was your best, we want YOU to tell us. If you post 150 images, and the best 1 is number 75, do you think we are going to scroll through 74 to get there? More likely, we will bail out before we get to 10.

Facebook fan pages

My thought for the day, and you may be offended, but if this irritates me, it probably also irritates others. And take this post for what it is, ideas to make your business stronger.

Do you have a fan page? And what are you doing with it? And if you have one, is it because you have over 5000 friends? If that is the case, then move along, as it is the only way to reach more then 5000 people. But if you have 225 friends on your personal page, and the same 225 friends on your fan page, please keep reading.

Are you posting exclusive content to your fan page? Or are you just copying and pasting info to 2 pages so all of your friends get that info duplicated? Remember that most fan pages are run by businesses, web sites, or PR/assistants for famous people. They have relevant info, that looks professional. Info that is geared towards their target market. Not stuff like "I'm going to Subway for lunch".

Rami & Khrys

I worked with Rami & Khrys this past weekend on their engagement shoot. I will be shooting their wedding next month, and I am so looking forward to that event. They are an amazing couple to work with, and their love for each other shines through.

For those of you that are in my wedding classes, I gave some Lightroom classes last week using these images, so I wanted to show you the finished products. (Read more after the jump)