Slow-Shutter Portrait Tricks

chrisdg

Hello,

Something a bit different for me... just having some fun shooting at the beach with my wife and 15-year-old son the other night. We were trying to capture some fun/edgy/cool facebook avatars for him. Location is Bean Hollow State Beach off of California's famous Pacific Coast Highway.

Please feel free to post your own slow-shutter portraiture effects in this thread!

My first attempt at single-strobe, off-camera, rear-curtain sync shots achieved via my awesome new PocketWizard ControlTL units (FlexTT5 and MiniTT1). All in-camera. Zero Photoshop. Canon 50D with 430EXII flash.

Keep in mind, this is intentional camera movement during exposure, not subject movement. Joey was still during these shots.

The rest of the series here:
http://chrisdg.smugmug.com/Photography/2010-Bean-Hollow-Sunset/11120164_kYpb2#779073498_2qCpb

C&C welcome.

#1



#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


and some "normal" shots to close out the series...
#9



#10



more here:
http://chrisdg.smugmug.com/Photography/2010-Bean-Hollow-Sunset/11120164_kYpb2#779073498_2qCpb

eL eSs Vee

Interesting! I like the outcome and think that number three would make a good avatar. I like these photos.

kidzmom

I LOVE 3, 6, 9 and 10. So fun. The colors are so vibrant and the effects are wonderful. I have been drooling over a PW now for some time now. How much did you get yours for? I also have the 430EXII so I'm curious about your experience. Is the PW really all what it is cracked up to be? I was thinking of going with the Cactus V4 to save some $$...mainly due to the fact that I'm not a pro who can make up for the cost in a shoot or two, lol! Also do you have a shoot thru umbrella or reflective? I'm debating whether to go the umbrella or softbox route..Thoughts anyone? Thanks for sharing your great shots!

Wil Davis

I like your shots; very creative and an interesting technique.

I do a similar type of thing for some of the Swing Dances where I have a regular sound-gig each week. If I have enough time, I'll also take a few pictures. So many dance pictures are very static as a result of using just flash for illumination, and the ones without flash are usually quite blurred. I've been playing around with using high ISO setting, with a slow shutter speed, and a wide aperture and just using just a little bit of flash to make things look less blurred, but still retain the idea of movement.

Here are a couple of examples:





Good to see your pictures!

Thanks for sharing!



- Wil

FlyNavy

Wow, Those pics are amazing!!! I can't wait to try some tonight. Did you rotate the camera as you pressed the shutter?

chrisdg

FlyNavy wrote:

Wow, Those pics are amazing!!! I can't wait to try some tonight. Did you rotate the camera as you pressed the shutter?

Thanks John. Yes, they are a combination of camera rotation or lens zooming in either direction. Be sure to come back and post your results.

chrisdg

kidzmom wrote:

I LOVE 3, 6, 9 and 10. So fun. The colors are so vibrant and the effects are wonderful. I have been drooling over a PW now for some time now. How much did you get yours for? I also have the 430EXII so I'm curious about your experience. Is the PW really all what it is cracked up to be? I was thinking of going with the Cactus V4 to save some $$...mainly due to the fact that I'm not a pro who can make up for the cost in a shoot or two, lol! Also do you have a shoot thru umbrella or reflective? I'm debating whether to go the umbrella or softbox route..Thoughts anyone? Thanks for sharing your great shots!

Hi Kelly. Thanks for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed them. It was a fun experimental shoot, and as a bonus - got the family involved and interested.

As to your PW question. Certainly many people are pleased with the money they saved on the Cactus system and similar triggers, and have found them to be reliable enough. Unfortunately for my pocketbook, I was specifically interested in two powerful features that only the new PocketWizard ControlTL units can provide: High-Speed Sync up to my camera's top shutter speed (1/8000th) and rear-curtain sync which is great for low-light events (parties, clubs, events, etc). So, I had to pay the large price of $220 for the FlexTT5 receiver (I have since bought a 2nd one), and $200 for the MiniTT1 transmitter. Prices on these are fixed/standard everywhere. If you don't foresee yourself getting in to high-speed sync (HSS) or rear-curtain stuff, then start with the cactus...but I know myself, and I would've ended up upgrading later.

Why High Speed Sync? Well, for me, when the sun is midday, harsh and bright, it's nice to have the option to kill all or some of that ambient light with a fast shutter and add an off-camera flash with perhaps a warming gel. Sorta like this outdoor midday shot:



I would avoid buying the Canon ST-E2 wireless trigger, since it's fairly costly and not as reliable as the other triggering methods, particularly outdoors. I still have mine and sometimes stick it on top of the MiniTT1 transmitter simply to use it's low-light focus assist beam!

NOTE: finally, the new Canon 7D has a built-in wireless flash trigger, similar to the Nikon CLS system.

As to your umbrella question: I have a large 80" soft octabox which is great, but I rarely use it due to size, and I have a couple of umbrellas, which I mostly shoot-thru. But if you buy something like this $30 white satin umbrella with a black removable backing, then you have both reflective and shoot-thru options in one umbrella. The nature and fall-off of the light is different for both methods, so it's nice to have both options. It's a low cost, portable, and effective way of getting started with off-camera, diffused light. You'll add more gear later.

Your questions are good ones, but there are many options and opinions with regards to triggers and light modifiers. However, just now looking at your flickr stream, you seem to have a great feel for light as it is!!! Great stuff. I think you deserve a good set of PWs.

Hope that helps.

chrisdg

Wil Davis wrote:

I do a similar type of thing for some of the Swing Dances where I have a regular sound-gig each week. - Wil

Thanks for sharing Wil. Yes, I agree...dancing photos are often more interesting when they show motion.

kidzmom

chrisdg wrote:

Hi Kelly. Thanks for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed them. It was a fun experimental shoot, and as a bonus - got the family involved and interested.

As to your PW question. Certainly many people are pleased with the money they saved on the Cactus system and similar triggers, and have found them to be reliable enough. Unfortunately for my pocketbook, I was specifically interested in two powerful features that only the new PocketWizard ControlTL units can provide: High-Speed Sync up to my camera's top shutter speed (1/8000th) and rear-curtain sync which is great for low-light events (parties, clubs, events, etc). So, I had to pay the large price of $220 for the FlexTT5 receiver (I have since bought a 2nd one), and $200 for the MiniTT1 transmitter. Prices on these are fixed/standard everywhere. If you don't foresee yourself getting in to high-speed sync (HSS) or rear-curtain stuff, then start with the cactus...but I know myself, and I would've ended up upgrading later.

Why High Speed Sync? Well, for me, when the sun is midday, harsh and bright, it's nice to have the option to kill all or some of that ambient light with a fast shutter and add an off-camera flash with perhaps a warming gel. Sorta like this outdoor midday shot:



I would avoid buying the Canon ST-E2 wireless trigger, since it's fairly costly and not as reliable as the other triggering methods, particularly outdoors. I still have mine and sometimes stick it on top of the MiniTT1 transmitter simply to use it's low-light focus assist beam!

NOTE: finally, the new Canon 7D has a built-in wireless flash trigger, similar to the Nikon CLS system.

As to your umbrella question: I have a large 80" soft octabox which is great, but I rarely use it due to size, and I have a couple of umbrellas, which I mostly shoot-thru. But if you buy something like this $30 white satin umbrella with a black removable backing, then you have both reflective and shoot-thru options in one umbrella. The nature and fall-off of the light is different for both methods, so it's nice to have both options. It's a low cost, portable, and effective way of getting started with off-camera, diffused light. You'll add more gear later. (note: in my shots above, it was a single direct flash for a hard look).

Your questions are good ones, but there are many options and opinions with regards to triggers and light modifiers. However, just now looking at your flickr stream, you seem to have a great feel for light as it is!!! Great stuff. I think you deserve a good set of PWs.

Hope that helps.

Hey Chris,
I would LOVE a set of PWs!!! I'll tell my husband that they are "deserved", lol! but I just don't think I can justify their cost as well as you can. I have just heard that they are the best though---100% reliable, easy to use, consistent and chock full of features. It sounds like you will get your money worth with the HSS. Neat that you can get effects like that. You look like you are the master of your camera! Really amazing all of the looks you have learned to create. I'm impressed that you can take the mid-day look off photos this way. Very impressive. I am eons behind you (see sticky posted today with my people challenge interview)...but plan on catching up, lol! I know for a fact that when my kids grow up I'd still love to continue shooting babies and children. A home studio is definately in the future--even if it isn't for big bucks, I'll be happy to do this for friends and family. I live in Europe and the PW's are EVEN more expensive here. I think it is 433mhz compared to 350ish in the US. I have to comply with this too, as I don't want to get in any real trouble. I'm still mulling it over. I liked the BH umbrella you proposed and agree that reflector/diffuser is the best way to go. The softbox would really only give me the soft diffused light look and I agree that the reflector might also fill in for creating certain moods. I'm looking forward to getting my pseudo studio set up! Thanks again for your input and links. I may be back to you with more questions as I get closer to the purchase! Keep up the great shooting and keep posting your shots too. It is always an inspiration to see what one can do with enough practice!
Kelly

Macushla

I love #6 and #9. They are all cool though. #5 is my least favorite.

Cantfeelmyfingers

super neat set!

FlyNavy

Here are a few of mine.