Hey Dee Dee,

Thank you for the comments. I was quite pleased that I was able to nail the exposures as well as I did. Chanthee came with me for the shoot and I used her as a test subject before bringing the dog in. I was amazed that on the first shot that I had zero shadow coming down on the backdrop.

The trick about shooting on location all of the time is that it is really hard to get the light perfect...different folks have different height cielings, some are sloped, etc. This worked out perfectly.

Based upon the feedback I have received, I have played with the contrast and kicked it up a bit. I agree that he looks better.

James

James, it is so darn hard to set up studio lights on the fly. I don't understand lighting well enough to wing it. Not knowing what you are going to be going to, then having to light it. That is hard!

Julie,
but that's the fun of it . I don't know, maybe it's just me but I set up my studio lights in 50 or 60 different places every year and I've never had a major problem with it. I always use umbrellas for bounce and I always set the lights up the same way: 45 degrees to the subject. And I calibrate exposure with a flash meter.

Regardless of where I shoot, it's always F8 or F9 at 1/200 sec. If the area I set up is reflective, I move the lights farther back; if it's absorbtive, I move them closer. I like it because I'm always shooting at my lens' sweet spot and the lighting is always the same in terms of color.

For me, the ring-to-ring shooting with the 580 on the camera and different subject to camera distances is more difficult not in terms of the exposure but in terms of back-end processing. Each image requires slightly different adjustments for fleshtones and color balance.

Give me a studio set-up any time.

Jim

Hey Guys,

Setting up the lights in different locations can definitely be tricky. I am always a bit self conscious when I am doing it as I don't want to spend 20 minutes in the home getting the light perfect.

" I always use umbrellas for bounce and I always set the lights up the same way: 45 degrees to the subject. And I calibrate exposure with a flash meter."

Jim - Essentially this is what I do...I find that I have gotten much better at getting the light even throughout the photograph.

James