I’m starting a new workshop for those interested to learn studio work. Learn how to use studio equipment and communicate with your subject. You’ll get to practice on location too, which is useful if you just have a simple setup. A flash, umbrella, light stand and a sync chord or remote trigger will be all you need. It’s not going to cost you as much studio lights and your photography will improve by leaps and bounds.
Today marks the end of a 3-day project with Yellow Octopus to produce the Annual Report for the Salvation Army. The shoot brought us around most part of Singapore and as I remarked, gave me a new appreciation for their work. Most of us associate Salvation Army with the Thrift Store but there are so many things that they have done for the community, ranging from nursing homes, rehab centers, prison support, etc. This is not unlike the shoots I’ve done for the Community Chest. What I find unique about the Salvation Army was the range of community services available within an organisation.
These were the behind the scenes images taken by Liz and of her as the lighting model as I make adjustments to my settings, together with some commentary and my thoughts on the shoot. Have fun reading!
The Crest
Salvation Army Crest at the lobby of The Changi Corps
And here’s the picture taken by Liz on her iPhone of me trying to get a vertical as possible shot of the crest. We tried to get images unique to each center and I was so taken back by this crest as we entered Peacehaven Nursing Home. I had this thought of blasting a light outside and have a nurse with an elderly walking and casting shadows across this crest. Unfortunately we could not find the time and this image may not fit our portrait series. Well, I’ll shelve the idea for another time.
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 need some help in the Youth Olympic Games project I’m working on these few weeks. The project involves shooting athletes of various disciplines at their training location. It’s a good mix of sports and studio photography. Because of the nature of the shoot, assistants will only be informed at the very last minute due to the availability of the athletes and venues. Hence, a few are required.
Experience with studio equipment will be an advantage although not compulsory. Training will be provided of course. Great opportunity to learn since each location and each discipline presents a different challenge.
If you are interested or know any who might be, please let me know. I can be contacted at 97616405 or eulee@photographybyeulee.com. Thanks!
Ok so Cathay Photo had this incredible deal for their BX500Ri Elinchrom lights, a deal I was unable to resist. I had plans for other gadgets that’ll keep me busy this Christmas but instead, what do I get? A set of lights. But man, what an awesome set. So maybe I’m trying to console myself but the packaging reminds of any Apple product which would’ve been in my hands. I raved and ranted about the size and weight in my previous post and here’s a picture to compare. Mind you my Bowens set is more than 5 years old so this is more like a comparison between technology of old and current.
The old and the new
I think the greatest difference besides the size and weight is the EL-Skyport transmitter’s remote function. This is one function I’ll enjoy using the most, although a learning curve is required. It’s kind of like the Canon’s ST-E2 transmitter which can control 2 groups of lights but way more advanced because you have a lot more control, hence the learning curve. You can even determine the increments for the light output so you can have a refined adjustment for products and a faster adjustment for portraits. Very useful if the lights are inaccessible or you just don’t want to keep walking to manually adjust them. And you can have your assistant concentrate on other things. Or better still, work alone.
Here’s what I did with 3 X 580EX flashes, and no money for a model. Wanted to practice to get more consistent results for location portrait shoot so I rigged this setup. Key light comes from one flash on camera right shooting through an umbrella. Other 2 flashes at 45 deg and 135 deg behind ‘model’ to get the sharp rim light. Here’s what the setup looks like.
Lighting diagram
Took a shot without the key light to see the effect of the two lights behind. I adjusted the EVs and zooms to get the effect I wanted. When setting up lights for a complicated setup, you can fire one at a time to check what each light is doing, independent of the rest. Kind of ‘building’ the set. When satisfied, then fire them all. So here’s what the image without the key light:
What do I think of Joe McNally’s new book? Well, best $40 I’ve spent in recent months! You know once awhile, I’ll dream about lighting a subject with flashes and shaping the light with modifiers, throwing some light here and there. But it just remains there, just some thought in space. A thought experiment. But Joe’s done all those things! And he’s got the pics to prove it. So I got off my lazy bum, put some of my ideas in place and took my portrait. Inspired by Joe.
Self-Portrait
Took this portrait on a timer with two 580EX flashes, both at 105mm. One on camera left was gelled yellow to give the warm light, shooting through an umbrella with the reflective layer half opened, and with EV pushed down to -2EV. The other one, shooting at 2 studio lights, creating that shadow, with EV pushed down to -3EV and set at a distance to give a sharper shadow of the lights. You see many portraits of photographers with their cameras but I wanted to do something different. Here’s what the layout looks like.
Once awhile I’ll come across a unique book, one that is frank, open, balancing techie stuff with creative approach and importantly a no-holds barred sharing of information. The Hot Shoe Diaries is Joe McNally’s latest book and I’m already loving it after just reading the first few pages. Joe’s one of my favourite bloggers and in the preface he credits David Hobby of Strobist, Chase Jarvis and a few more who are so confident and intent on sharing their knowledge on the net. These are the guys who are gracious and confident enough to share their hard-earned knowledge.
Joe McNally is so good at lighting. But he uses mainly flash units, the speedlights, and modifiers. Not many big lights, but just something portable. The modifiers he uses promises to challenge your perception of what you can do with those flash units. Those small fellas can give awesome lighting! That’s what photography is about! Continue reading 'COOL BOOK: HOT SHOE DIARIES'»
During my recent workshop, there were some interest in shooting in low light. I don’t like using on-camera flash. At least on some occasions. And it’s usually if I want to preserve the ambient lighting and mood. But in most circumstances, there’ll be insufficient light to get a good image. Sure, camera manufacturers would love to have you believe that their cameras can shoot up to some ridiculous 5 figure number but in reality, you may not even want to shoot above ISO 1600. Basically, the higher the ISO, the ‘noisier’ the image is. Noise = bad.
You want to shoot at a shutter speed that freezes the motion so how do you determine what is a safe shutter speed, below which you’re almost guaranteed to have motion blur? The rule of thumb is, the lowest shutter speed is the reciprocal of the focal length you’re shooting at. Say you’re shooting at 200mm. Your safe shutter speed should then be anything faster than 1/250th of a second.
So what’s one to do in difficult lighting circumstances without using a tripod or monopod? Well, here’re a few things to keep in mind: Continue reading 'PREVENTING THE SHAKES'»
You can do your part! Calling all photographers, make-up artists, assistants, everyone who think they can be a part of this movement. Join us and be a part of a growing worldwide community.
Help Portrait is all about giving back to the community. Ever encountered a less fortunate person who would like to have his portrait taken but cannot afford a professional photographer? Well, it’s time we give them an opportunity.
Help Portrait is the brainchild of Jeremy Cowart, and you can read more about its mission in the blog. All around the world, people are participating and putting in their time and skills to do something for the less fortunate. Join us and sign up in this link. Look for Singapore and you’ll see us there.
I’m opening this up to anyone who would like to assist me when we start doing this. It’s totally FREE and you’ll have a chance to learn about studio photography. Learn valuable tips on lighting and posing people and also play a part in this movement. You can contact me on this blog:
I’m not usually a gear junkie but I must admit that the Elinchrom system is getting to me. I’ve been using the Bowens 500W lights for maybe 5 years now. While hardy and problem free, they’re not exactly the most convenient to bring around for location shoot. Especially if there’re loads of equipment to haul around.
Someone was selling an old Elinchrom system and I tested it a few days back. I was so impressed with the size, ease of use and the design of the lights and softbox. The thing that hit me most was the size and weight of the lights. For the same output, one light weigh almost half that of the Bowens (2kg vs 3.5kg), and is even nearly half the size (260mm vs 410mm). Perfect for location shoot. Pack two of these lights, umbrellas and stands in a bag and I can just sling it over the shoulder. That’s it, a mobile studio kit. You may not feel the difference when just carrying one light but you will when you have a few of them.
Had the privilege to shoot a group of employees at Google earlier. In my opinion, their culture rocks. Work hard and play hard. I think every company should have ping pong tables, bean bags, games room, etc, and let the folks there use them anytime they want. Which is exactly what happened during the shoot. The shoot was pretty straight forward but Google being Google, wanted to have the prints in black and white, and with a black frame. Awesome! I was more than happy to accommodate. It’s not often a corporate giant wants black and white prints.
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