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Update

It's been a while since I last posted but it's not because I've lost steam with the photography. I am shooting as much as ever and am busy enough with future plans that I just don't have much time to blog.

The first exciting piece of new is that I received a 3 month photography internship at a popular local alt-culture weekly called The Inlander (www.inlander.com). It's exciting and overwhelming. I've only been at it a week and I've already shot food, the installation of a new bishop, cyclists and more.

I've decided for the beginning of 2011 to pursue wedding photography as a business. Everything will be geared towards this end. I am shooting 4 or  5 weddings this fall but won't officially "open" for business until around January. My wife will be my business partner and second shooter. I am excited and super busy with all the planning. Hopefully it goes well.

Lightroom Develop Glossary

I am always going into the help section of Lightroom while I learn what everything is doing. It's a pain so I am going to copy some down here.

Saturation

Clarity

Adds depth to an image by increasing local contrast. When using this setting, it is best to zoom in to 100% or greater. To maximize the effect, increase the setting until you see halos near the edge details of the image, and then reduce the setting slightly.

Vibrance

Adjusts the saturation so that clipping is minimized as colors approach full saturation, changing the saturation of all lower-saturated colors with less effect on the higher-saturated colors. Vibrance also prevents skintones from becoming over saturated.

Saturation

Adjusts the saturation of all image colors equally from –100 (monochrome) to +100 (double the saturation).

Tone

Exposure

Sets the overall image brightness, with a greater effect in the high values. Adjust the slider until the photo looks good and the whites are at the right level. Use Recovery to bring highlight values down.Exposure values are in increments equivalent to f‑stops. An adjustment of +1.00 is similar to increasing the aperture 1 stop. Similarly, an adjustment of –1.00 is similar to reducing the aperture 1 stop.

Recovery

Reduces the tones of extreme highlights and attempts to recover highlight detail lost because of camera overexposure. Lightroom can recover detail in raw image files if one or two channels are clipped.

Fill Light

Lightens shadow to reveal more detail while maintaining blacks. Take care not to over apply the setting and reveal image noise.

Blacks

Specifies which image values map to black. Moving the slider to the right increases the areas that become black, sometimes creating the impression of increased image contrast. The greatest effect is in the shadows, with much less change in the midtones and highlights.

Brightness

Adjusts image brightness, mainly affecting midtones. Set the overall tonal scale by setting Exposure, Recovery, and Blacks. Then set the overall image brightness. Large brightness adjustments can affect shadow or highlight clipping, so you may want to readjust the Exposure, Recovery or Blacks slider after adjusting brightness.

Contrast

Increases or decreases image contrast, mainly affecting midtones. When you increase contrast, the middle-to-dark image areas become darker, and the middle-to-light image areas become lighter. The image tones are inversely affected as you decrease contrast.

Sharpening

Amount

Adjusts edge definition. Increase the Amount value to increase sharpening. A value of zero (0) turns off sharpening. In general, set Amount to a lower value for cleaner images. The adjustment locates pixels that differ from surrounding pixels based on the threshold you specify and increases the pixels’ contrast by the amount you specify.

Radius

Adjusts the size of the details that sharpening is applied to. Photos with very fine details may need a lower radius setting. Photos with larger details may be able to use a larger radius. Using too large a radius generally results in unnatural-looking results.

Detail

Adjusts how much high-frequency information is sharpened in the image and how much the sharpening process emphasizes edges. Lower settings primarily sharpen edges to remove blurring. Higher values are useful for making the textures in the image more pronounced.

Masking

Controls an edge mask. With a setting of zero (0), everything in the image receives the same amount of sharpening. With a setting of 100, sharpening is mostly restricted to those areas near the strongest edges.

Lighting Ratios

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-use-Lighting-Ratios-in-Photography-72416724

Upsampling Images

I lifted this from photo.net and have had success with it.

Step #1 Change printing resolution without changing actual pixels.

With your image open, go to Image|Image Size. Make sure that Constrain Proportions" is checked and that Resample Image utilizes Bicubic interpolation. Ignore the Pixel Dimensions panel entirely. For Document Size, enter a Width of 100, and change the measurement box from inches (or whatever) to Percent. On the next line, leave Height unchanged. Constrain Proportions will automatically calculate this--very important if you are going to save this as an action. Enter your desired printing resolution: e.g., 240, 300, 360, etc.--and click OK. What you have done is to change your print resolution settings without actually affecting the pixels within the image. (This can be recorded as an action if you are going to do it frequently.)

Step #2 Perform a Stair Interpolation.

Perform exactly the same steps as above, but instead of 100% under width, enter 110%. Press Okay. What you have done is to increase your image size by 10%. (This can be recorded as an action if you are going to do it frequently.)

Step #3 Check the new dimensions of your image.

If you need to resize, repeat Step #2. Do this as many times as you need to get ALMOST to your final desired output. (If you commonly resize images by a given number of stairs, you can copy the action you made under #2 the required number of times, producing one action that takes all the stairs in progression.)

Step #4

When almost at your final desired dimension, either perform one last resize or do your final reinterpolation through the crop tool, setting the final desired dimensions in the dialogue box. Be careful to leave your resolution where you set it in step #1. Either way, you can make this part of the master action you created in Step #3.

Craigslist Shoot #4

I just got done with my fourth Craigslist "I'll shoot your photo for free" shoot and wanted to jot down some notes while it's still fresh. The shoot was with a girl wanting headshots for extras work at a local movie studio type place. The shoot was supposed to be at her house but once I arrived we had to change plans and come back to my house where I setup the studio in the living room.

• Flexibility is so huge in photography. I am not sure a single shoot has ever gone like I really planned. Today's shoot was no exception. Being flexible is good.


• Not sure I should be shooting women. I don't have a clue about makeup, hair etc. Honestly my wife saved me on the posing tonight.


• Still lacking in the posing department when people ask for direction. It's better than when I started but still not there yet.


• I really want to get out of the studio environment. Not only for a more well-rounded portfolio but it's not quite as much fun as being out and about.


• Today made me think even more that children's photography might be where I need to head. I relate well to them and it seems more of a natural fit.


• I sent out a little 10 question interview email to the girl and it definitely helped me understand a bit of who she was and what she wanted.


• Time to prepare is nice although not necessary. She emailed the questions back this morning and I didn't have time to really "plan" the shoot around the vintage theme she liked so much. It would have helped to have been able to research things so I had more to bring to the table.


• The process of actually shooting photos in a shoot is a progression with iterations from beginning to end with the end being a great shot. I see this in my web design work too but, for example. tonight we had a great vintage chair as a prop and did some tradition sitting in a chair and one thing led to another and in the end she was holding the chair in front of her face peaking through it and I think this is one of the best shots. I never would have thought of it without working with the chair in a more basic way and then progressing on from that. I suppose this occurence happens many times during a shoot (hopefully) and that the best photographers have gotten to a point where they might skip some of the iterations and be able to see past them to the good stuff.


• I don' t have much desire to shoot traditional portraiture. My favorite situations to shoot are people being spontaneous and interacting with their environment or props in off the wall ways.

Photos forthcoming.

My New Portfolio Website

www.simplesweet.com. Flickr is great for a lot of things but not for creating a nice looking photo portfolio. I really tried hard to come up with a somewhat original way to display and browse the photos. It's simple and sweet!

Canon 24-70mm Test Shots

Here's a couple test shots I just took during lunch with my new Canon 24-70mm lens.

I already love the quiet and super fast focus as well as the new perspectives and range afforded with a zoom lens (vs. my 50mm lens I've been using).

I am a bit disappointed in the sharpness of the lens vs my $90 50mm prime. I know primes are sharper generally speaking but I definitely thought this L series zoom would out perform in all categories vs my cheapo prime. It doesn't in the sharpness category and this seems ludicrous for the price. I want to give it time to grow on me but have already thought about just selling it and grabbing another prime for much less.

Craigslist Shoot #3

I just got back from my 3rd "I'll shoot your photos for free" Craigslist shoot. It's sunny today and the shoot was at 3:30pm so  that was kind of bummer photo-wise to have to shoot in such harsh lighting. I was shooting a single mom and her two young kids.

Things I need to improve or learn

• Pay more attention to background lighting and it's possible effects on metering. I shot for a while before realizing that the subjects were in the shade with a bright sky behind them which was causing them to be underexposed as the camera tried to balance out the lighting for the entire scene. Probably should have just switched metering modes.


• Come prepared with a list of shots I want (i.e. mom and daughter sitting, daughter alone etc.). I should have talked this through beforehand with the mom and come more prepared. It looks more professional and keeps me from forgetting anything.


• When shooting young children (in this case the one year old boy) I need to bring something to steer their attention back to the camera.


• Avoid harsh lighting. I really need to be stronger willed with people so they agree to shoot when the lighting is better.


• Using focus lock with large apertures is a poor idea . It's also a bad idea to use large apertures when shooting group portraits that require some depth of field due to how people are situated. I lost a lot of shots to the trash bin because I would focus lock on an eye and then reframe the photo. During the short time between locking focus and releasing the shutter some small movement was made and because of the super shallow depth of field the photo is ruined. This happens a particular lot when shooting little kids who are always on the move. Not the best choice of apertures today for some of the shots. Bummer.

Overall it was a good shoot. I think one of my strengths is connecting with little kids and getting them to feel comfortable and have fun while shooting. This might be something I should pursue as a niche.

Frisbee and a Friend

A few various shots from the last week. No post-processing on the Frisbee photos and just a bit of sharpening and crop on the friend at the end.

Critique: I like the 3 Frisbee photos because they aren't zoomed in head shots but are still visually interesting. I am noticing that my default framing is in close. I am sure I do this because of years of trying to make nice photos with crappy cameras where the only way I knew to get a good shallow DoF look was to get in close. Admittedly it's easier to make a "nice" looking photo when you are in close to your subject. The background blurs over a wide range of apertures and you aren't forced to think much about the background. I want to be a better photographer then this though so I need to keep working on framing beyond what has been my comfort zone.

The Bee Hive Arrives

I bid on an eBay auction for 2 AB B800s, a B400 plus the hardshell carrying case. I wasn't expecting to win because I bid pretty low but...here they are.

My plan is to resell the B400 and the case. If I can get even close to what they are worth it will mean I get to keep the two B800s for way less than they sell used on eBay.

Lens Length Effect on Depth of Field

Here's a question that I can't find the answer to online...

Why do people say, for example, that a 100mm lens provides better shallow DoF blur than say a 50mm? I am under the impression that shooting a subject with either lens so that the subject fills the same amount of frame would equal the same DoF (i.e. 50mm at 10’ = the same DoF as 100mm at 20’).  Is it just the compressed perspective of the 100mm lens that makes the blur seem greater?

First Shoot with a Stranger

Strobist info: Shot with an on camera Speedlite with Stofen. Flash angled away from subject towards gold reflector camera left.

This last Saturday I did my first shoot with someone I didn't know previously. I posted an ad on Craigslist saying I would shoot portraits for free. Vickie was the first person to respond. She was great and I hope the experience was mutually beneficial. I've definitely learned some things from it.

What I Learned

• There's a huge difference between the static environment of a studio vs. being out in a public place using mostly natural light. The is sort of a duh thing but I've been shooting so much in my home studio that I kind of started taking the lighting and easy camera settings for granted.


• I need to learn more about posing my subjects in ways that are flattering to them. I had very little input for Vickie and I think she would have appreciated it if I could have told her what to do. Problem is I don't really know...yet.


• Focus issues. We were short on time because the sun was setting (we were in a glass sky bridge here in Spokane using natural light) and I think that pressure caused me to shoot too quickly rather than really paying attention when I use focus lock on the eyes and then recompose the shot. A lot of the photos were soft.


• Slow down, see the details. This has something to do with the last point about focusing but when I went back and reviewed the shots I realized that Vickie's hair was causing weird shadows across her face. It would have been easy to remedy with just a turn of the head or a reflector (compare the first shot in the blue coat where I used a reflector with the second and you will see what I call "hair fangs" across her face although I tried to soften them in PS).


• Part of being a good photographer must be knowing how to use what's available to you to create a compelling photograph. I kept trying to find a way to plug in my strobe light but would have been better off just accepting that I needed to use natural light or my on camera Speedlite.

Brooke

A good friend of mine who had just finished a 5 mile race (top two) and wearing a new coat. I was looking forward to printing a 3 piece set of the running photos but two of them couldn't be cropped to satisfaction so I am just going to print the top one (which is already cropped).

Processing

• Camera Raw: WB, exposure, shadows, brightness, contrast and saturation.


• Photoshop: sharpening and a tiny Healing Brush on the middle shot.

Strobist

• Alien Bees B800 through 24 inch softbox

Costco Frames, A Great Deal

I've been buying my frames from Costco since the beginning of the year and wanted to let anyone out there looking for affordable quality frames know about the great deal. The above photo from my phone cam is of an 8x10 photo in their large frame. These come in a 2-pack for $19.99 which isn't a bad deal by itself. They come with the matte and nice backing. The frames definitely seem nicer than what you buy for the same price at Target or Walmart.

They get really affordable when you find the little coupon inside that gives you 100 4x6 prints for free. At Costco's .13 per photo that's $13 which means your frames now cost $3.50 each. Now that's cheap!

They also have 5x7 frames for $15.99 with a coupon for 50 free prints. There are 3 or 4 different styles of frames at my local Costco.

Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2 Book

One nice thing about using an older version of Photoshop is that all the training books are dirt cheap. I picked up a lightly used copy of Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2 by Bruce Fraser for $6 shipped (Amazon). The new versions are $40 so that's a nice chunk of change saved by being behind the curve.

The book is great so far. It's really in depth which is what I was looking for. I am more skimming the surface but I like that I know I can learn everything I need to learn about using Adobe Camera Raw from this book, even if it takes a while to get through it. Of course learning to apply it artistically to photos is a different story.

In a Photographic Rut

When I think back to the beginning of the year I can hardly believe how much I've learned in a couple months while still holding down a job and not totally neglecting the family. With that said, I seem to be in a bit of a rut. Not feeling real inspired or driven to press on.

My first inclination is to buy more lights and a battery pack so I can be free to shoot with strobe power wherever I want. I almost have but don't think this is the best solution. I have yet to master single strobe lighting so to move on from that seems silly.

Need to break out but how?

Maybe I'll list out what's frustrating me right now?

• Lack of human subjects to shoot. I've annoyed my family to no end and they are pretty much burnt out on me taking their pictures.


• Lack of good back drops. I've made a couple ok ones but when I see really nice photos it seems like they always have sweet backgrounds.


• Lack of lighting mobility. I am running an AB800 with a sync chord. I can't be more than 10 feet away from the light and the light can't be too far from a power outlet.


• Lack of excitement. I've given myself a project for the month but haven't been able to get excited about it yet. I wonder why?


• Lack. I guess I am lacking equipment, skill and heart! That's a lot to not have but I am determined to finish what I've started. Too many times in life I've given up at this exact point, I need to press through the dry spell to see what's on the other side.

Mother Dearest

For a single strobe shot with no reflector I can't complain. I would have liked to have noticed all the stray hairs on top but oh well. I started to PS them out but got tired of it.

Post Processing: Healing Brush, Burn on background and a bit on the hair camera right, slight High Pass Filter, Unsharp Mask, cropped to 8x10.

Two Portraits

Critique: The right ear just barely popping out is distracting but the icing and sprinkles look delicious!



A couple of portraits I decided to process because I am bored and it's the middle of a sunny day and too harsh to go shoot much outside. Hey! There's a positive spin on living in the Northwest - lot's of diffused light cloudy days to go shoot photos.

Processed to print at 5x7. Single AB800 on both. Softbox on the Candy Man and a shoot through umbrella on the second shot (I think).

March Goals

I think I met all of my February goals minus the 4th one. For March I want to ramp it up a bit:

• Using my laptop tethered to the camera (in order to immediately see detail) I want to take a bunch of shots using myself as the model. I want to experiment with all 4 light modifiers (umbrella, shoot through umbrella, grid and small lightbox) at different intensities and distances to really understand what the light is doing. I will take notes for future reference.


• Take at least 3 images through post processing. These images should not be of the same genre (i.e. landscape). Focus on understanding what all of the different options are in Photoshop RAW and use them to make a high-quality print.


• Shoot more outdoor portraits with the AlienBee.


• Decide whether to move my home studio upstairs where there's more space.


• Shoot on a particular theme throughout the month (not exclusively though). The theme for March will be "my neighborhood" and I'll try to capture the essense of the ghetto I live in.


• Hang my existing framed prints for inspiration.

Random Thoughts

• I've been considering buying some cheap radio triggers on eBay as a foray into the wireless without having to spend $150. Not sure if I'll do it but I am sure I hate being limited by the sync cord. Doesn't matter much in the studio but whenever I go outside I end up not being able to do what I want.


• I use Snapfish for printing but am trying out Walmart's 1-hour photo today because I want to get something printed by tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what they produce. The one drawback of Snapfish is that they take forever to arrive with the cheap shipping option.


• I've been in this experiment for two months and can say that my preference is for portrait and landscape photography in that order. People always seem more interesting to me than almost any other type of photo. I've been trying to take portraits that reflect something of who the person is. It's a basic idea but creatively rewarding to think about who someone is and try to capture it in a photo. Not sure how to do this with strangers?


• I've entered 3 photos in an art show at my church. I am excited to have them judged.


• I need to somehow network with some local photographers who are much better so I can continue learning. There's a pro who plays disc golf so maybe I'll try to hook up with him somehow.


• I am shooting almost exclusively in RAW now but don't like that I have to process each file just to get a JPG for the web. Probably need to set up a Photoshop action to handle this for me as I don't have Lightroom. It makes the photos less accessible but more flexible once I do get down to processing them. Trade off I suppose.

Candy Kid

Post Processing: Exposure +1, -30 saturation, shadows ramped up a bit and medium contrast curves.

Post Processing Attempt #2

Original


Final


Most of the time on this image was spent with the Healing Brush tool trying to remove the makeup cake and the deep line above her right eye caused by her hand on her cheek. I think it's passable as an 8x10 but much more than that and you could see my shoddy work.

Other than the Healing Brush I also cropped, adjusted the white balance and  added a bit of vignetting in RAW and then sharpened the final Photoshop file.

Still not enjoying the cropping that is forced on me when I want to print.

First Attempt at Post Processing

Generally my rule, up to this point, has been to avoid post processing. There are two reasons for this:

1. I already feel nearly overwhelmed by the amount of information I need to take in on the camera side of things.


2. I don't want to use Photoshop as a crutch for poor camera skills. I want to focus on capturing a strong initial image.

With that said I have jumped into the post processing waters by necessity. My church college group is sponsoring an art show and I wanted to enter something for judging.

A quick rundown of the process I went through:

• healing brush tool to remove blemishes on skin and some shine on sucker


• burned a tiny bit on the face (using this technique)


• high-pass enhancement from Strobist (80 on the filter, opacity at 25%)


• unsharpen mask (80, .5, 0)

The goal was for the image to be enhanced without it being obviously Photoshopped. For my novice eye I think I succeeded considering the print size of 8x10 and all.

I really liked how the Photoshopped image turned out. I was bummed that I had to crop so much off the top and bottom to print. In the original you can see the full gun on the bottom and full head on the top. I need to remember to account for this cropping when shooting something I am going to print.

Update: After stepping away from the image for a day and then looking at it again I see some things I don't like. Namely that the shirt looks over sharpened and the high-pass enhancement I did left the photo less color saturated than the original. I should have ramped up the saturation but didn't notice it.

The original


The final


Story behind the image

The title of the photo is "Fleeting Pleasure" and the concept came from my study of 1 Corinthians 6:18 whereas the name itself came more from Hebrews 11:25.

If you aren't a Christian the meaning might not be obvious? I am trying to convey the biblical concept that sin (the sucker) is enjoyable for a season but leads to death. Specifically, the Bible says that sexual sin is different than other sins because it's against your own body. I thought the idea of blowing your face off with a gun illustrated that well.

Photo Studio Equipment Explained

Single Strobe Photography

Single light setup with 3 variations

Spokane River Walk

It was a beautiful day in Spokane yesterday. So uncharacteristic for February that I took off in a t-shirt (yes, pants too.) to walk down by the river near my house. Here's my three favorite shots plus a few random pics from earlier in the week. The photos by the river were all taken with a circular polarizing filter.




Critique of above photo: I love the idea and the shot but it could have been just a bit better if the foreground was in focus instead of going from blurred to focused to blurred. I was focusing on a point near me, locking focus and then moving the point of view up but I didn't focus close enough to myself for the shot I really wanted.









Note: I'm not posting the EXIF data here anymore since it's a pain and you can just click the photo to visit it on Flickr where the EXIF is available (click the "more properties" link towards the bottom of the right-hand column).

John Keatley

On Monday I had the privilege of talking to photographer John Keatley on the phone for about half an hour. John and I grew up in the same town and he was friends with my younger brother. It was really gracious of him to agree to talk to me about photography after not seeing each other for over a decade. Thanks John!

Three things that came out of the conversation:

1. Shoot a ton of pictures. There's no end to theory and information about taking good photos but the best way to learn is to shoot a lot.


2. Ask other photographers to help you learn. John mentioned that there were a few people that really helped him out on his way up.


3. Stay true to your style. It may be useful to try to emulate a photo just to learn how it was done but in the end you have to find your own look and run with it. People may hate what you're doing now but love it in five years so just do what you love.

See John's work at http://www.keatleyphoto.com/

Self Portraits with the AlienBees B800

I bought a used AlienBees B800 and have been toying around with it for a few days in my basement/studio/laundry room. The light that it gives is truly beautiful. Good light makes all the difference.

The photos below aren't good per se, more just to document the beginning of working with strobes. They are self portraits so I had to pre-focus on an object and then replace it with myself (is there a better way?). The focus is not good and I was guessing where both vertical and horizontal center frame was.  I guess with strobe lighting and no handheld meter you are kind of guessing on the exposure. I was 2/3 to 1 stop dark on these.

The background is home made and in need of ironing (or less DoF). I think with a little more work it will look great. I made it out of white muslin and Rit dye. The link for the tutorial I read is in the blogroll.

And yes I do realize my zipper is half way down. I was in a hurry!















Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

Alien Bees around 1/4 power shooting through an umbrella.

February Goals

At the beginning of this process I decided  to make goals. Here are my January goals which I accomplished.

Here are my February goals:

1. Master my AlienBees B800 studio strobe (on it's way in the mail). I am the type of person who enjoys reading manuals and understanding the full capabilities of a piece of equipment even if I don't use it to it's full potential. Also a part of this would be shooting with a ton to put what I read into practice.


2. Take a studio quality portrait.


3. Enter photos in my church's visual art show. This will be a nice low-key way to enter into the world of presenting and being judged.


4. Depending on the quality of photo, consider submitting to the Communication Arts Photo Contest.

Note: photo not mine.

I'm Three!

Bounced built-in flash with a home made reflector (foil, matte side up,  covered piece of cardboard) to her left.

Exposure:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture:	f/3.2
Focal Length:	50 mm
ISO Speed:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired

Exposure:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture:	f/5.0
Focal Length:	50 mm
ISO Speed:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired

Action, Portraiture and the Completion of January's Shooting Goals

I made some goals at the beginning of January when I first got my new camera. Below are the fruits of my labor one day before the end of the month. This was the first time I had the opportunity to scout locations and have someone agree to pose for a while (thanks brother-in-law!). It was a lot of fun and I think we came away with some nice shots.

It was a nice overcast day. I didn't use a flash. The theme was rough urban backgrounds.





This shot screams senior portrait, lol.















Critique: I continually use too low of aperture (2 in this case) and end up with an eye out of focus (his right eye isn't very sharp). I need to be above 5.6 in a shot like this.

Mossy

200 ISO

Exposure:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture:	f/5.0
Focal Length:	43 mm
ISO Speed:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV

Critique: I think the composition and subject is interesting. Wish I'd had a graduated ND filter to keep the sky from blowing out so much.

Homemade Diffuser/Reflector for Built in Flash Use

Last night I was shooting indoors and had to use the built in Flash since I don't have anything else yet. It was really harsh so I took a 3x5 card, folded it in half (to double it's diffusing power) and held it in front of the Flash at a 45 degree angle so the light would simultaneously be diffused and bounced up to the roof. The resulting difference in quality was incredible and even more so considering it was done with a piece of paper.

Actually, on second thought, I am not sure that all of the light wasn't bounced. I would have to test to see if the Flash was getting through the 3x5 card at all. Either way I was happy with the results.

Impromptu Portraiture

The first two of these photo I took using the built in flash on my 30D along with a 3x5 card held in front of it at a 45 degree angle to serve as both diffuser and reflector. It's a hack but the photos turn out far nicer than just shooting with the naked flash.

Exposure:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture:	f/2.0
Focal Length:	50 mm
ISO Speed:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired

Critique: I like this shot a lot. One of my favorite portraits to date. I would crop out the small line from the window along the top.

Exposure:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:	f/2.0
Focal Length:	50 mm
ISO Speed:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired

Critique: The shadows on the right side of her face are distracting as is the chocolate on her lips.

Exposure:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture:	f/1.8
Focal Length:	50 mm
ISO Speed:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire

Critique: DoF is too shallow. Left eye is in good focus but right eye isn't. It was a low light situation and the shutter speed was already maxed out but I should have raised the ISO (100) to allow for changes to aperture.