August was a busy month for photographers at the Rockford Register Star. We were brainstorming and shooting our annual Gridiron preview section. This special section releases on the day of the first high school game each season. Each team in the NIC-10 conference has a page featuring a portrait, a story and other related information. Each year has a theme. Two years ago, the portraits mimicked famous album covers. The layout was reminiscent of the Billboard Top 100 chart. Last […]
I went to the St. Louis Pride Fest in Tower Grove Park earlier today with the express purpose of taking quick portraits of attendees. From the moment that I started photographing each subject, I tried to spend no more than 30 seconds taking pictures of them. This was partially as a courtesy to them but more as a drill for myself. I wanted to see if I could light quickly with my beauty dish to an acceptable level. If you […]
I got the chance to test my DIY beauty dish this morning. It worked like a charm! I once again had my friend Gavin Culbertson stand in for a few quick portraits. He was standing in the shadow with a sun-lit wall behind him. This picture could be improved with a back light but I only have one Speedlight, a Canon 550EX. I love the circular highlight that shows up in the eyes of the subject. I will need to […]
Ever since I discovered what a beauty dish was, I’ve wanted one. The problem is that I don’t have any strobes to use one on. My lighting is limited to a single Canon Speedlight (shoe mounted flash). How could I produce the look of a beauty dish with my one Speedlight? Simple. Build a beauty dish to fit. I’m not the most handy of the handymen. Therefore, instead of designing the dish on my own, I Googled other peoples designs […]