I’ve started using the 580EX II after one of 580 EX died on me. It was about time anyway, after 5 plus years and I don’t even know how many thousand flashes. Served me well. So the EX II is a recent addition to my arsenal but some things irritate me. In particular the missing wireless switch to toggle between master/slave shooting. Sure I understand the need to be weather resistant, hence the possible omission of the switch but it’s such a pain to not access this function easily. I’m sure other photographers use this a lot.
I came across this website with points on a wishlist I fully agree with. Right down to getting rid of the penguin in the manual (point 16). I’d love to know the reason behind the penguin in the first place. I’d also really love a built-in RF trigger so that I can place the ‘slaves’ anywhere I want. I have resorted to bouncing off the infra-red signal off a mirror to fire off a flash in the background before when there was no line of sight. With RF, I can leave the flashed in a softbox, behind the subject, heck in anywhere that makes a good image. And for goodness sake, allow me to trigger my studio strobes! Ok, maybe Canon may not sell that many other speedlites if that happens but photographers would love them for it.
I had a laugh when I saw this picture. Once awhile, we’re allowed to be dissatisfied with how things are going at a shoot. Lighting’s off, angle’s off, things are not working as I’ve envisioned it. And so on and so forth. Liz took a picture of me at this particular instance when I felt that. I like this portrait..it’s emotional. Deep in thought and sulking a bit, I looked straight into the camera looking for answers and she took this picture. What was not working was the tight angle at this spa and beauty center, which had a lot of reflective surfaces where my lights could be seen everywhere.
The place was beautiful, so I wanted to bring out the character and the intrinsic designs so thoughtfully incorporated here. We were shooting a series of portraits of four employees for an advertisement. So in this place, the employee would pose with the different chemicals that are mixed for each customer. Pretty neat stuff considering it’s open for everyone to see and admire. In this shot, I used one key light to camera right, with a softbox, and one highlight to camera right also but behind the subject. Of course it didn’t work out. In the final shot, the highlight was left outside the room shooting through the glass. The final shot really worked.
We had a few rooms to shoot the portraits and one of them was a room designed to serve the guests tea. Liz was of course the lighting model of the day and here’s the test shot. One key light in a softbox and one highlight behind shooting through and umbrella, and making sure the vertical strips of wood had enough light to differentiate it from the back while throwing a bit of light on her. The final image was from a slightly different angle but an even stronger image.
What’s that blurry thing in front? This is what it looks like under the same lighting, taken by Liz
Check out this footage of me in action…..all 3s of it courtesy of Liz who assisted me in this shoot. This happened yesterday as we were wrapping up the last bit of photography for the YOG. You should’ve seen me telling the gymnast to go as slow as possible so my 5D Mk2 and lights can catch up. If only she could defy gravity and the laws of momentum…my life would be so much easier.
The idea was to get a series of shots to superimpose them onto a life-sized panel. I don’t know how that will turn out. We’ll have to wait and see when the YOG exhibition opens.
I’ve been asked this question many times and to be perfectly honest I think a good image surpasses the basic techniques like composition, lighting, contrast, colour, etc. Sure, every photographer and aspiring ones, need to know all this. Instructional photo books flood the market with these basics. So what makes a good image? Continue reading 'What makes a good image?'»
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