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 […]
Over the last week or so, I have found myself working closely with my good friend Gavin Culbertson. It started when I told him how much better I could make his Web site. You see, Gavin is a cinematographer. When you work in a visual field, the presentation of your portfolio is just as important as its contents. He had a really poorly designed i-Web Web site with great content. After working for a few hours over the course of […]
I was in Louisville, KY a few weeks ago and again had the opportunity to photograph the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) state championship track meet. This is a huge day-and-a-half long event that allows for me to have creative flexibility. My job is to shoot a bunch of pictures for KHSAA so they can use a few in their program the following year. I have the luxury of not having to get athletes names or to focus on […]