Family Snaps -oc flash
Following advice from Strobist, I recently bought a Nikon SB24 flash (£40) and some cheapy wireless trigger/receivers from ebay. Got myself a male to male pc lead for the sb24 and was ready to play.
Evie just learnt to push her trolley, I thought this would be a challenge so set up the un-diffused flash on the sofa to the right of the camera and adjusted the aperture as she got closer to me and the flash.
A cautious start
But soon there was no stopping her
Ez took her up to get dressed whilst I reviewed my pics, the light is very hard from the flash and the exposures were a bit hit & miss as she ran back & forth.
For my next attempt I thought I'd tried bouncing the light. Problem is, as you can see the walls in my lounge are red. So I tried bouncing off the radiator and cream chair whilst Evie read
I thought the light was much improved, but a 6' radiator is not exactly versatile so I got myself an umbrella and a stand for the following weekend when my other daughters and grandson were over too
Beth was off to a murder mystery birthday party, so wanted some pics in her costume
With the exception of the last 2 shots I haven't done much pp and realise they need some tidying up
Sorry about the length of the post and subjecting my family on you all, but they are the only models I have
Evie just learnt to push her trolley, I thought this would be a challenge so set up the un-diffused flash on the sofa to the right of the camera and adjusted the aperture as she got closer to me and the flash.
A cautious start
But soon there was no stopping her
Ez took her up to get dressed whilst I reviewed my pics, the light is very hard from the flash and the exposures were a bit hit & miss as she ran back & forth.
For my next attempt I thought I'd tried bouncing the light. Problem is, as you can see the walls in my lounge are red. So I tried bouncing off the radiator and cream chair whilst Evie read
I thought the light was much improved, but a 6' radiator is not exactly versatile so I got myself an umbrella and a stand for the following weekend when my other daughters and grandson were over too
Beth was off to a murder mystery birthday party, so wanted some pics in her costume
With the exception of the last 2 shots I haven't done much pp and realise they need some tidying up
Sorry about the length of the post and subjecting my family on you all, but they are the only models I have
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Comments
Glad to see you posting again.
Off camera flash is great, but as you pointed out, it is still a small, hard light source unless you bounce or soften it. I used Fong's LightSphere PJ II for my recent outdoor shots of my family.
The shot of your baby walking towards her mom is great, as was her reading the book. Shooting closer helps limit the visible background too. I like that you shot at or below her eye level. SO many kids pics are shot from the height of an adult viewpoint.
I think the lighting was better in the last 3 or 4 images, as I suspect you do too.
As Saurora says, it is hard shooting moving targets and that is what shooting kids is all about.
Gus had a post here on dgrin about a paper flash diffuser - Don't know if you saw this or not - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=47275
Pretty cool little gadget, and cheaper than a LightSphere!!
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Great shots mate...it's seriously scary how quick they grow up
Cheers,
David
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