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!

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.

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.

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!

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).

Since hosting my own site wasn’t an option, I started a 14-day trial of Smugmug and Zenfolio. Both hosting options were similar in a lot of ways and I’d heard some good things about both services. I liked the fact that I could upload RAW files directly from Lightroom 3 and it was easy to set up special galleries for clients and the general public. I also liked that I could upload as many high resolution photos as I want, without having to worry about file size.

I set up some public and private galleries on both and test a lot of the features that both offered. It was a difficult decision and both were really good products. But in the end I chose Zenfolio. What set them apart was the fact that I could get rid of the Zenfolio branding a lot easier than at Smugmug. For the annual price you pay, I just thought it was only right that I would have the option to hide their branding. Sure, if you’re familiar with their web templates you’ll be able to tell it’s hosted by Zenfolio, but with Smugmug it would have been too obvious. And despite how much I liked Smugmug, that wasn’t something I couldn’t overlook.

So “The Gallery” at theojohnson.net is open and ready for business (I might also start selling prints soon). Let me know what you think and leave comments. If you’ve used any of these services, let me know what you think of them. And if you’re looking for a place to host your photos and choose Zenfolio, use my referral code DYM-CAB-HB4 to get a discount.

http://thegallery.theojohnson.net

While he was shooting, I decided to get some shots of my own.

The two black & white photos are some I took while we were out for another day at the park. In these economic times, the park is a great way for them to have fun and stay out of my wallet at the same time.

The more photos I take outdoors, the more I see the need to use a flash to get rid of shadows. I still need a course on flash photography.

The pose I chose was due to the fact that I’ve spent a lot of time this past year in front of a computer. While this isn’t too uncommon of me, the projects I’ve been on have kept me in front of a PC more than usual. Fortunately, I enjoy what I do, so it doesn’t always seem like work. And as for the couch, I’ve spent many late nights in that exact spot, so I felt the need to include it in the shot.

Here’s to another year.