Still here... just...

Hi everyone

Just a quick blog post to let you all know that I am still alive and kicking, but just taking a bit of a break after my wife and I had our second child a couple of weeks ago. Oh yeah, #1 is on an overseas holiday (the lucky thing) so it’s just me for now.

So what I thought I’d share is a couple of images I took a couple of weeks ago for Dani, a local model. Dani has been a friend for a few years now and has been a great support to us here at Timography. Whenever I want to try something new or simply have a spot in my calendar and wish to fill it with a shoot of some description, Dani is always willing to help out.

This particular shoot was organized with the intention of showing another photographer and friend how to use studio lighting, as my friend had not had the opportunity to shoot in a studio environment before.

Ok, to the lighting in these shots. It was really simple, just one light and a foam core panel. The lighting diagram template that I use to represent the studio set-ups does not have a foam core preset so I have used a circular reflector to represent it but I’m sure that you get the idea. The umbrella was actually by beloved Paul C. Buff 86” Parabolic umbrella. I love this thing. Like my other favorite; the beauty dish, it provides a nice soft(ish) light that is really easy to control. But unlike the beauty dish, it lights your model from head to toe – literally. These umbrellas are not available in Australia as yet, but I rang the company in the USA and placed my order, their customer service was great and I had my umbrella in my hands five days later! Oh yeah, the whole thing + shipping only cost $168AUD to get it to my front door. Sweet.

So there you go. A simple set-up that gives pretty cool results. Sure, it’s not the most complex lighting set-up that you have ever seen, but that’s not the point. In my opinion, photography is about presenting the subject in the best possible light (pun intended). If the viewer starts to decompose your set-up and spends 2o minutes trying to figure it out, have you really done your job? Shouldn’t they be more interested in the subject? Lighting is the tool that we as photographers use to our advantage, but it’s not the star of the show; the subject is – right? Subtly is the key; it’s not a contest to see who can set up the most lights and make the image look like one big and expensive drivers license photo. That’s what I think anyway. It’s all about the subject – the end.

Speaking of the parabolic umbrella, I have been wanting to try it out on location ever since I got it, but being such a huge “sail” in a strong breeze I have been reluctant to do so. Have a look at the image on the right, which I posted shortly after I received the umbrella, as an indication of its size. The top of the umbrella is about 4 inches from the roof and the bottom of the umbrella is only about 12 inches from the floor. I have recently purchased a couple of hefty sandbags but I still am unsure that they would be of much use. I usually work alone for these random modelling shoots like the one I have tomorrow afternoon otherwise an assistant or two holding it in place would do the trick. Tomorrow’s location however is up in the hills in a bit of a valley so hopefully there won’t be much breeze around. I will take it and the beauty dish but the weather will determine which one gets used for the shoot. I’ll post some images of that shoot in the next couple of days. Wish me luck!

Keep shooting what you love and I’ll talk to you soon. Hopefully #1 will be back by then too…