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.