Played with it today during a shoot.



Did just a hint of Orton on this one. Not sure if I like it or not just yet.

I LOVE the way the dog is trying to fake a smile

LoL!


That's Sam. I took his first pictures when he came to the SPCA a couple years ago. He's been a frequent client of mine at holiday fundraisers and such since he was adopted almost two years ago, but today was the first day he brought his human along for the shoot.

So, explain how you shot this. Did you just use the Beauty Dish for your main light and another strobe for backdrop? Any fill? What was your setup?

Jim

I used the Beauty Dish (AB800) as main from the left and had the subjects facing it. I started with it at eye level and then moved it more to the middle and higher (watch out for the ceiling fan in the studio!). I used the Diffuser cover as well as the direct light blocking thingy (technical term).

To camera right, I had another 800 with the small brolly box as fill turned way down.

Then I had another 800 with just the 7" reflector BEHIND the vinyl. I had to crank it up to almost full power to punch through the Vinyl and turn it pure white. Looking back, I probably could have used the 1600 back there.

Here's the Exif:
Camera Make: NIKON CORPORATION

Camera Model: NIKON D3

Image Date: 2009:12:02 12:01:19

Flash Used: No

Focal Length: 70.0mm (35mm equivalent: 70mm)

Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)

Aperture: f/8.0

ISO equiv: 200

Exposure Bias: 0.50

White Balance: Auto

Metering Mode: Matrix

Exposure: Manual

Exposure Mode: Manual

Photographer: JIM_POOR

Copyright: © Jim Poor www.jimpoor.com

Comment: (C)JIM_POOR

So did you shoot this in RAW and use ACR to convert? Because auto WB makes no sense to me for studio flash.

Yes, I (almost) always shoot raw. Converted in Lightroom which is really ACR with nice trim.

Honestly, I hadn't even thought about setting manual WB. Just never occurred to me before this. (Smacking self in forehead!)

Exposure bias makes no sense either, but at least it has no effect in manual mode unless you have an on camera flash.

BTW, anyone want a D3? Santa came early today!

I dial in the Kelvin degrees in the studio and shoot RAW + JPG so I can show clients decent JPGs pretty quickly.

Yeah, I'd like a D3 if you'll throw some nice lenses in with it. I'll even pay for shipping.

New lights, new camera...no excuses, right?

You do know that every raw file has a JPG in it that can be accessed just as quickly as downloading a card of RAW+JPG files right? I suppose I could do immediate viewing once I get things set up completely, but I probably won't be there for a month or so.

Yeah. Kind of anti-climactic at the moment since I don't have a dark venue to shoot until the 12th and it is raining cats and dogs out.

Haven't even turned it on yet, but I've got a lot of other things to get done before I can play with the new toy.

I don't know about "throw in," but I'm still toying with selling the 600 f/4