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 11/19/2007 09:23:53 AM · #151
Originally posted by surfdabbler:
If you ever see those B&H gels, you'll be lucky. From what I've heard, they are permanently backordered, and just never ship.

Looks like they all were shipped. I have 2 different tracking numbers because of the quantity I ordered. One shoudl show up today - the rest at the beginning of next week.
 11/19/2007 09:27:08 AM · #152
Aha, great! They look like a great set of gels, and I'm sure they will serve you well. :) Show us some gel-flash photos when you get them.
 11/19/2007 09:28:42 AM · #153
Originally posted by timfythetoo:
Originally posted by surfdabbler:
If you ever see those B&H gels, you'll be lucky. From what I've heard, they are permanently backordered, and just never ship.

Looks like they all were shipped. I have 2 different tracking numbers because of the quantity I ordered. One shoudl show up today - the rest at the beginning of next week.


Last time I ordered some they express overnighted them after my real order had shipped. About $20 of postage for a 1c order ;) (I know they get cheaper shipping, but still..)
 11/19/2007 12:33:29 PM · #154
Originally posted by bennettjamie:


[thumb]614157[/thumb]



I did these over the weekend. My personal best so far.


Those are very nice Jamie.

The one under the tree: I would have placed a reflector above her if possible. That would have kept the dappled light from making such harshly delineated lines. I would have also used fill flash to lighten up the shadows a bit. Just thinking out loud here - I am learning as I go.

Standing on tracks: The skin tone looks a little red to me. You might want to try the selective color tool or just reduce the opacity of reds a bit.

Sitting on tracks: The crop seems a little odd to me.

But nice work! The bokeh looks great!
 11/19/2007 12:44:41 PM · #155
11/19/2007 03:05:16 PM · #156
[thumb]614868[/thumb]
The Roscolux sample pack of gels came today. Ripped one out to try it on my flash. This is pretty exciting. There are a ton of different gels in this sample pack and they fit perfectly on the 420ex flash head. Gonna have fun with these.
 11/19/2007 03:50:04 PM · #157
Originally posted by timfythetoo:
[thumb]614868[/thumb]
The Roscolux sample pack of gels came today. Ripped one out to try it on my flash. This is pretty exciting. There are a ton of different gels in this sample pack and they fit perfectly on the 420ex flash head. Gonna have fun with these.


Which sample pack did you get?
 11/19/2007 04:35:04 PM · #158
Originally posted by rex:
Which sample pack did you get?

I got the Roscolux Swatchbook. It says they are backordered, but for some reason I did not notice that when placing the order. I ordered several of them. One got delivered today, the rest got shipped out today.
 11/19/2007 05:07:04 PM · #159




I had 2 family sessions this past weekend. This is from yesterday's. All of them were shot with my 580 flash diffused with GaryFong Whaletail and a reflector. Taylor, my daughter, played assistant and managed the reflector for me. :)

Edited spelling.

Message edited by author 2007-11-19 17:07:20.
 11/19/2007 08:09:57 PM · #160
Originally posted by latentflip:
I hope nobody minds me joining in:






I think these got overlooked in the discussion of timfy's gel problems. Left ya a comment on Andrea.
 11/20/2007 03:16:17 AM · #161
Originally posted by annpatt:
Originally posted by latentflip:
I hope nobody minds me joining in:






I think these got overlooked in the discussion of timfy's gel problems. Left ya a comment on Andrea.


Thanks! :)
 11/20/2007 09:23:59 AM · #162
Originally posted by Bernard_Marx:
This one is new


I love full-frame face shots. You might want to clean up all of the dust - especially behind the subject's left-side lens. Those are simple clones. There is also an odd reflection in the top corner of the other lens with some blue coloration - I'd clone that away as well.

I love the grungy chair and bg in the bottom pic - is that in studio?


yes, this is in our senior studio. the grungy old walls make girls look dainty and the boys look tough!

it's actuly in the basement of our studio, which is a house built in 1920!
 11/20/2007 10:50:26 AM · #163
[thumb]614955[/thumb]
 11/20/2007 12:22:38 PM · #164
The Roscolux sample pack of gels came today. Ripped one out to try it on my flash. This is pretty exciting. There are a ton of different gels in this sample pack and they fit perfectly on the 420ex flash head. Gonna have fun with these.

Excellent. I ordered some gels as well but they are not in.
 11/20/2007 12:24:37 PM · #165
Taylor, my daughter, played assistant and managed the reflector for me.



Cindi,
That looks like a big area for your reflector to cover. How big is the reflector, where is she holding it in relation to the subjects, and how much of an impact do you think it made?

Thanks in advance for filler info.
: )

Message edited by author 2007-11-20 12:25:20.
 11/20/2007 12:27:08 PM · #166
Originally posted by gwe21:
[thumb]614955[/thumb]


The tones are very pleasing and soft. The OOF area is also nice.
 11/20/2007 12:44:51 PM · #167
Originally posted by annpatt:
. . I think these got overlooked in the discussion of timfy's gel problems. . .


I know that feeling :- )
 11/20/2007 01:24:53 PM · #168
Originally posted by Bernard_Marx:
Taylor, my daughter, played assistant and managed the reflector for me.



Cindi,
That looks like a big area for your reflector to cover. How big is the reflector, where is she holding it in relation to the subjects, and how much of an impact do you think it made?

Thanks in advance for filler info.
: )


Hey Bernard.

Tay is standing just out of the scene on my left. There was good natural light hitting them on the right so she just needed to help fill the shadow side. The reflector is a car windshield reflector (I always keep one in the car) so isn't very big. I asked her to aim at their faces only.
Hope that helps.


11/20/2007 02:18:40 PM · #169


Comment by Jedusi:

* I like the idea, but the whole image comes over as just a little too dark on my screen.

* It might have been interesting to try and get him to do something with his hands - hold a trophy, or just have his gloves up in a defensive posture - to try and build more of a story around the image. At the moment he is just standing, but I think (for me at least) when people think of a Boxer, they think of movement, of purpose, of winners and losers (perhaps), and your lad doesn't visually seem to quite fit into any of these categories.

* with the chin strap blending into the background it effectively seperates his head from his body :- )

- Those were good points. I appreciate the thoughtful criticism Steve and thought I would share it with the group.
11/20/2007 02:29:01 PM · #170
Jedusi pics:



Dark black clothes against dark black backgrounds - that is a bit difficult. I would like a bit more light separating the subject from the background. Perhaps a reflector below her and a hair light behind her would do the trick. Anyone with more experience wanna answer that one?



This one is better separated. I would have left the guitar plugged in for the shot.

Overall I think they are sharp and communicative. I can't really explain why, but I think I would have preferred both of these against a white bg rather than black. Also, I think the light is a bit harsh. Are you using a brolly and placing the light close to the subjects?

Still, I think you are doing a nice job here. Of course the one I love is


Message edited by author 2007-11-20 14:29:14.
 11/20/2007 05:38:44 PM · #171
thanks to timfythetoo and Bernard_Marx for the comments.

Trying to use lights is a brand new experience for me, so there's a world of learning to do, including trying to work out how to adjust the flash heads to the right power. If anyone is an expert on Bowen Flash heads feel free to shout out :- )

I have to say that I quite like the stark simplicity of the B&W with darker clothes, but probably not too much of it.

This shot (below) was taken using only diffuse natural light and a single reflector - a much kinder medium : - )



Message edited by author 2007-11-20 17:39:54.
 11/20/2007 05:53:30 PM · #172
Originally posted by Bernard_Marx:

. . I would have left the guitar plugged in for the shot.


Good point :- )

Originally posted by Bernard_Marx:
I can't really explain why, but I think I would have preferred both of these against a white bg rather than black.


I was going to try them with a White bg, but I ran out of time - I might retry them.

Originally posted by Bernard_Marx:
Also, I think the light is a bit harsh. Are you using a brolly and placing the light close to the subjects?


I am using two Bowen 200 flash heads, bouncing the light out of Brollies. Am I too close? - no idea to tell the truth. The heads were probably 4- 6 feet away just , but as I say using bounced flash. Too close ? Is there a way of calculating ?
 11/20/2007 06:16:06 PM · #173
Originally posted by Jedusi:
Originally posted by Bernard_Marx:
Also, I think the light is a bit harsh. Are you using a brolly and placing the light close to the subjects?


I am using two Bowen 200 flash heads, bouncing the light out of Brollies. Am I too close? - no idea to tell the truth. The heads were probably 4- 6 feet away just , but as I say using bounced flash. Too close ? Is there a way of calculating ?


I don't think there is such a thing as too close. What Bernard is saying is that closer is better because the light is softer. :)
 11/21/2007 07:14:53 AM · #174
Originally posted by surfdabbler:

I don't think there is such a thing as too close. What Bernard is saying is that closer is better because the light is softer. :)


"I don't think there is such a thing as too close"

Really ? Are you thinking on Modelling lights or flash (or everything) ? I would have thought having lights too close would have given a much harsher light than further back - But I'm open to correction on this :- )

Anyone got an idea how far back should you put two 200w heads from a model to get the optimum light ?

11/21/2007 07:52:54 AM · #175
Well, if your light source is bigger than your subject (i.e. a brolly for a portrait), then the closer it is, the bigger it gets, as it gives a bigger angle of light. Put it twice as far away and you need four times the area to get the same light spread. Put it infinitely far away, and it becomes a point light source, equals hard light, and your shadow lines will be sharp. Put the brolly in closer, the light source becomes bigger and softer, and the shadow lines and edges become softer. Same reason you use an umbrella in the first place - to make it a larger light source.

However, if you are dealing with a point source, then OK, there is a point where bringing the light too close will result in light falloff over the size of the subject, which can cause problems of it's own. Maybe this is what you are calling harsh light? But for a portrait with a brolly, for nice soft light, go as close as you can without getting in the way. I get pretty nice results with the 70cm softbox face less than 1m from the subject. For a similar setup with an umbrella, the end of the umbrella stick will almost be touching their face! I've seen glamour portraits done with large softboxes and reflectors, all within 1-2 feet of the models face, and photographer standing outside, shooting through a gap in the equipment!

The only other consideration is that flash power falls off with distance, so if your subject is moving around, you can't go too close with a single light source, because if they move toward or away from the light, it changes your exposure. So, you might trade practicality for having slightly harder light by moving the light sources further back.

Hmm, hopefully this makes sense.

Edit to add that my experience comes from variable power little flash units. I don't know anything about real lights. duh, 200 whats? :)

Message edited by author 2007-11-21 07:55:02.
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