Lazy Soho Sunday
Something a little different from me this time. This young lady expressed interest in shooting with me a couple times, but logistics and our schedules made it a bit last-minute. I also wanted a break from my "production" shoots. Instead of worrying about wardrobe, elaborate make-up, hairstyling, and various lighting setups, I wanted to do a more casual shoot. Quite frankly, I was tired of being tethered to my lights in one spot of my home. :giggle
Thankfully, Katherine was willing to play along. She arrived, changed in to jeans and a tank top, pulled her hair down from a ponytail, and that was it. We started shooting and moved around different rooms in my house, which I've been dying to do with a model for a while now. I focused more on trying to take photos instead of make them. It was a fun and interesting creative challenge for me.
I relied mostly on natural light (all shot between noon and 3pm), though she did let me try out my DIY ringflash for a few shots.
I asked her to pretend that she was spending a lazy Sunday in her flat in Soho (and that she could afford a flat in Soho :lol3), first with her best friend taking pictures then more relaxed and on her own, post-hangout time. This idea clicked with her surprisingly well as I learned she's an artsy sort, involved in photography, theatre, and dance. We got along swimmingly!
1 - I actually pulled out my old cameras for props befre I knew she was taking a photography course. She loved using them during the shoot.
2 - Ringflash
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7 - I told her I wanted to end up with a mix of color and B&W shots, and that I wanted to go for a Calvin Klein look for the B&Ws. She worked with me fabulously on these.
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...gah, sorry for posting so many. I just really loved working with her! :clap There are a few more here, and potentially more to come in that gallery as I haven't finished processing all the ones I like. And she hasn't even picked her choices yet.
Thanks for stopping by! :thumb
Thankfully, Katherine was willing to play along. She arrived, changed in to jeans and a tank top, pulled her hair down from a ponytail, and that was it. We started shooting and moved around different rooms in my house, which I've been dying to do with a model for a while now. I focused more on trying to take photos instead of make them. It was a fun and interesting creative challenge for me.
I relied mostly on natural light (all shot between noon and 3pm), though she did let me try out my DIY ringflash for a few shots.
I asked her to pretend that she was spending a lazy Sunday in her flat in Soho (and that she could afford a flat in Soho :lol3), first with her best friend taking pictures then more relaxed and on her own, post-hangout time. This idea clicked with her surprisingly well as I learned she's an artsy sort, involved in photography, theatre, and dance. We got along swimmingly!
1 - I actually pulled out my old cameras for props befre I knew she was taking a photography course. She loved using them during the shoot.
2 - Ringflash
3
4
5
6
7 - I told her I wanted to end up with a mix of color and B&W shots, and that I wanted to go for a Calvin Klein look for the B&Ws. She worked with me fabulously on these.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
...gah, sorry for posting so many. I just really loved working with her! :clap There are a few more here, and potentially more to come in that gallery as I haven't finished processing all the ones I like. And she hasn't even picked her choices yet.
Thanks for stopping by! :thumb
0
Comments
http://blog.timkphotography.com
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NIKON D700
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for putting up with such a long post!
Thank you, Diva. I had such a blast playing a shoot fast and loose for a change. I also like how #2 ended up. My DIY ringflash was started the night before the shoot, after I'd had a large glass of wine. :giggle I'd finally gotten so tired of saying, "Wish I had a ringflash to try out," I got right up and made one. Finished it the next morning, two hours before she showed up. I didn't have time to pretty up the outside of it, so the model got a kick out of my peach tupperware bowl contraption.
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Thank you! I'm glad the natural nature of it all shone through for you. That was definitely one of our goals.
So have not mastered it yet, that's just the one really good one out of a bunch of failed experiments.
Thanks, Nik! I really enjoyed this one, and I'm happy others seem to be enjoying it just as much.
My equiment: Nikon D50, Nikon D300, SB-600, 30mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, 70-200mm 2.8
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Tell us more about the ring flash.
www.brogen.com
Member: PPA , PPANE, PPAM & NAPP
The ringflash is something I jury-rigged together the night before the shoot...around 10pm after a big glass of wine. It isn't pretty, but it worked. I'd love to make another one some day with better materials, and a bigger bowl!
Since it was late and I was, uh, tipsy, I grabbed what was on hand:
1 large Tupperware bowl, about 8" in diameter, with translucent lid
1 small bowl, about 4.5" in diameter
1 small plastic cup, about 4" in diameter near the lip
Black tempura paint (no spray paint on hand)
Hot glue gun and glue
Cardboard box
Foil
Box cutter and scissors (I could not for the life of me find my little hacksaw)
I've read quite a few tutorials for DIY ringflashes, but this is the one I remember making the most sense to me, and it's the one that leapt to mind at 10 o'clock on a Saturday night.
My small plastic bowl wasn't tall/deep enough to get flush with the lip of the larger bowl, so I used the plastic cup to boost its height a little.
This is how it turned out (still awful looking because I haven't had time to paint the outside to eliminate its homebrew appeal
And here it is on my SB800 (that line inside the black area is where the plastic cup joins the small bowl):
Left shot is it firing without the lid "diffuser." Right shot has the lid on.
As for "setup," I just poked my lens through the center and shot. For some I tried moving the light above and once tried moving it off camera, but I'm going to need to play with it more to make it work that way.
I'm backing up my other computer right now and so can't upload the other samples I have, but here's at least one more where I used the ringflash during this session:
www.brogen.com
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Thank you. Hope it proves useful to you.
Thank you! I love her expression in that one.
Thank you, and you're welcome! Would love to see more DIY inventions from other people on here.
Thank you, Angie! Katherine had no idea how to play the guitar, so she would make this goofy face while bobbing her head as she strummed, which made us both crack up each time she did it. I was lucky enough to stop giggling long enough to capture her awesome laughter.
Very nice job you did here and with a beautiful young lady.
I like the ringflash, but the natural light is giving some really nice play to these as well.
...and of course....the processing!!!
Thanks for sharing:D
Jeff
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Thank you, Jeff. I adore the windows in my home and used them so much for lighting my daily project photos, I thought it was about time I tried them on a different subject.
The processing was a complete change from my usual. Most of these were cooked in Lightroom. I almost always drag my finals into Photoshop, and this time I only did it for sharpening. Did things all sorts of different for this one.
Thank you so much.
Curious why you don't sharpen in Lightroom......do you sharpen at all in lightroom?
I used to be the same way...still am to a degree, only because I didn't really...and still sort of don't like the way LR handles sharpening. I am trusting it a little more. I still like the High Pass method in PS best though. I really should web search for a good LR sharpening tute....using the masking...all that good stuff. If I find one Ill pass it on.
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
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I don't sharpen at all in LR. I just don't like the way it does it. I mainly use Manny Librodo's technique at the moment. I used High Pass for quite a while, but something about Manny's technique really floors me every time.
I have taken to doing localized exposure adjustments in LR using the brush tool, as I love the soft transition it provides. Don't do it for small, detailed areas, though.
If you do stumble across a good LR sharpening technique, please do share. I'd love to experiment, too.
Thank you.
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Sorry, I do lock that down just because I loathe pop-ups on other sites and refuse to visit them on others. :giggle All the DOF is SOOC, achieved using a 50/1.4 on my D700, shooting between 1.4 and 4 mostly. I also rarely crop in post now, unless it's to make a 5x7 from a 4x6, so the compositions are also as shot. I'll turn the EXIF on in that gallery for a short while for anyone else who's curious.
Thank you for the kind words!
#3) The lighting is nice & those eyes...
#11) Great comp, light & processing
Thanks for posting
What I came up with works quite well as far as the light goes, but it is heavy and a bit cumbersome. On the other hand it lets me get at my focus and zoom rings (at least on my Tamron 28-75 which was my primary portrait lens when I got it... using it with my 80-200 is a bit more challenging but the zoom ring is still available) which is what drove me crazy about the tupperware version I made.
Anyway if you want to check it out there's a thread here:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=122873&highlight=ringflash
http://blog.timkphotography.com
(no poetry this time!)
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