got side tracked

Ok, I promised that I would write about the softbox this past weekend, but I got side tracked a bit. This Sat. I picked up a Ducati 1098S, so for now, I'll throw up a couple pics for the gallery. :)





These were just real quick shots outside the house Sunday morning. Yea, was a bit excited the next morning. :) Both pics were post processed by Trish.

I will try and get the DIY softbox details this week...

DIY Heart Pillow

:) Took this shot as a quick test shot with the DIY softbox I made this past Saturday. I will post about the DIY softbox this coming weekend when I have more time. Thought I throw this up real quick for the Gallery


Here's different version processed by Trish

More from my trip to San Jose

A few more from my trip to San Jose last week for the Gallery :)

When there's good natural light, use it :)


Straight out of the camera, no post edit done:


Kylie sharing a moment with mom.


Some rim light.

Swings

Last Friday was awesome. Mid 70's. Took the kids out to the park for some relaxation and snapped a few.

SB-900 camera right, held by Kylie's auntie.


Chloe day dreaming. SB-900 camera left.


Flash not required. You don't always have to light up the faces :)

Thanksgiving

Some of the family came into town for a visit. Just some photos to share.

putting my budget flash to task

This past Friday, I did a portrait shoot at my kids dance studio. In fact, it was 5 separate sessions with 9 different subjects in a two hour span.

I packed my portable studio, comprising...
- backdrop setup
- three light stands
- my two budget Sunpak manual flashes
- my Flashpoint mono light

Everything easily fits in the trunk of my car. Off we went and it took about 15 min. to set every thing up once we got to the dance studio. This was great. It was an on the spot shoot, mostly with kids and a limited amount of time before the next session.

In the end, I was very pleased with the outcome, especially considering the ad hoc type of situation working with young kids in a short period of time. The one thing that really stood out in the end, is how my flash setup worked. Sure, I brought the Flashpoint, but it would have been just as fine if I had another budget Sunpak. If you follow my blog, then you know both of my Sunpak cost me a total of $55 used from ebay. I see them for $25 all the time. As you can see below, they work. You don't need to have $1500 worth of lighting equipment to get good shots. Sure, I can put the $1500 worth of lighting to good use if I had it, but the point is, you can do a lot with tight budget as well.

Some samples from the shoot:

Dance Performance

No photography talk today, just a few pictures to share from the kids dance performance from this past Saturday.