Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Bluebonnets and the Family

Earlier this month, I finally got some pictures of the boys at a bluebonnet patch. I’d seen other Texas photographers do it and thought I’d give it a try also. It was a really nice day and the sun was about to set, so I had to get as many photos as I could before the sun got too low.

The biggest issue was the sun. No matter where I positioned them, the shadows were covering up their face. I tried using the flash for fill, but it didn’t do much to add light. I ended up facing them towards the sun (which explains the squinting). Getting both of them to participate and look at the camera was challenging, buy my oldest son, as usual, took to the camera and I got some good shots of him. As an added bonus I even got one of my wife.

Enjoy!

35 With the Boys

Two years ago, I started doing self-portraits to commemorate my birthday and increase in age. Since I don’t get to be in too many photos, it gives me a chance to be in a couple and try out some new techniques. This year I decided to do some self-portraits with my boys. We have a lot of fun together and are very special to me. They keep me very busy and at times add loads of stress in my life, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. They’re my sidekicks, my boys, my lil boos and I love them with all my heart (no matter how much they get on my nerves).

Now to the technical stuff. I used my SB600 flash with a stand and umbrella and a black sheet for the background. The flash was setup directly behind my Nikon D7000. The lighting was simple, but it worked. The only thing I’d change for next time would be to add another flash on the side. During post-processing I had to lighten up my face a little. Other than that, we had a good time.

Got Light???

Over the Christmas holiday, I decided to break down and get a strobe light setup with some extra Christmas money I’d acquired. I’d been searching around looking for decent, affordable setups and ran across the CowboyStudio 160W Pro Three Strobe Softbox Flash MonoLight Lighting Kit.

The kit comes with:

• Three (3) High Quality Tripod/Light stands
• Two (2) High Quality MonoLight (3 Options: 110 Watt/s, 160 Watt/s, 180 Watt/s)
• One (1) 40 Watt Flash Strobe
• One (1) AC Adapter/Light Socket
• One (1) 12 ft Sync Cord
• One (1) Wireless Trigger
• Two (2) 16″ x 24″ Softbox with Spring Ring
• One (1) 33″ Black/Gold Reflective Umbrella
• One (1) 33″ White Translucent Photo Umbrella
• One (1) 24″ 2-in-1 Gold/Silver Reflector
• One (1) Small Barndoor with Color Gels
• One (1) Snoot
• One (1) Huge Padded Carrying Case

I’m no pro and am new to studio lighting, so I didn’t want to go all out with an expensive setup. But after adding a couple of additional accessories, this one fell right in my price range. Plus it came in a nice compact bag that will help me keep everything organized.

I just purchased it last week, so I haven’t had the opportunity to use it much. But I was able to convince some of my favorite models to help me out before going to bed. We had a small area to work in and once again the main issue I had was focusing in low light situations. I posted some of my favorite poses below.

All in all, I’d have to say I like my new kit. I did have to buy two additional receivers because the main strobe wouldn’t trigger the slave strobe when the softbox was attached. And if I touched or moved a light the flash would sometimes misfire (not sure if it was the trigger’s fault), but it wasn’t a big deal to me because they produced more than enough light for me to photograph my subject.

As I get more photos, I’ll post them here. And as always I’d love any comments or tips you have for taking good studio photos. Shout out to Evan for letting me know about this store.

A Family Affair

When you’re the one taking the photos, you rarely get the opportunity to be on the other side of the camera. This year, my wife and I wanted some family photos for our Christmas cards, so we enlisted the help from a friend of mine. You might remember her from a previous post as the bride of my First Wedding Assignment.

Jaclyn is a photo enthusiast like me and was pleased to help us out. She would get a little experience in taking some outdoor family portraits and I would get some family photos (a win/win situation for the both of us). For it being a first time assignment, I think she did a good job. After doing some post-processing, I’m finally getting around to posting some of the pictures. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch Photos

I’m finally done editing the photos of my boys at the pumpkin patch. We missed last year, so I wanted to make sure to get them this year. My family was in town at the time, so I was able to get some photos of the boys with my brother. My youngest was not too keen on hanging out with the scarecrows, so I didn’t get as many shots as I wanted because I had to do a little consoling and wiping of tears.

I purchased Lightroom 3 a couple of weeks ago and decided to give some of my FREE presets from onOne Software a try. I think presets are great because they allow me to quickly create some nice photos and inspire me during those times when my creative juices aren’t flowing. While they’re a big help, I still feel it’s important to know how to use your post processing software because presets don’t work with every photo.

There was a lot of shade, so I used my SB600 flash to fill the area with more light. The one thing I need to watch out for next time is glare and shadows. A goal of mine within the next couple of months is to do a photo walk and class that focuses on getting the flash off the camera (strobist).

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