Clamshell portrait

Tagged with 80/20, b&w, behind the scenes, bicycle, black and white, clamshell, depth-of-field, focus, handlebar, humidifier, lightstand, Lumiquest, Magic Arm, Manfrotto, manual focus, model, moody, portrait, portraits, reflector, self portrait, setup, shallow, smoke, softbox, softboxes, speedlight, speedlights, tri-grip, umbrella

I recently read in a magazine about a lighting setup called the “clamshell” where the subject is lit from the front by two softboxes (one larger one up high and a smaller one set lower to half power) and a reflector right above the subject.

Seemed simple enough. I didn’t have any softboxes, but eh, I improvised. Lending out some of my lightstands and gear to a friend for a shoot, I was pretty limited, but still had one lightstand with an umbrella, a Lumiquest 80/20, small tri-grip reflector, and two speedlights. Yeah, that should work…Read More

February 11, 2013

Portrait Outtakes

Posted in Musings

Tagged with diy, do-it-yourself, flash, garage, Max McDonald, mondayshift, Nikon, outtakes, portrait, portraits, ring flash, ringflash, self portrait, speedlight, strobe, studio

Portraiture is something I’m still relatively new at (as if that wasn’t evident), but it’s still a lot of fun goofing off.

Here are a few portrait outtakes from down in the garage studio. Thanks to Max for lending a hand (and sometimes a face).Read More

October 30, 2012

Remember the Alamo?

Posted in Musings

Tagged with Alamo, angel, battle, cenotaph, D90, dusk, flash, granite, monument, Nikon, San Antonio, speedlight, stone, sunset

Every time I visit San Antonio and have the opportunity to, I always make a point to visit the Alamo. Aside from the remains of the structure itself, I’ve always been fascinated by the monument across from the it (the Alamo Cenotaph, as it’s known). According to the San Antonio Ghost Tours, it’s one of the only monuments in the nation that features a spirit or ghost (and prominently, at that). The front of the monument features what appears to be a ghostly figure rising from the fire (the “Spirit of Sacrifice”).

On the other side is a sculpture of a woman (who I misinterpreted to be an angel) who is supposed to symbolize the state of Texas.Read More

July 10, 2011

Porch fun!

Posted in Musings

Tagged with 18-200, Before & After, CTO, D90, editing, edits, filter, flash, flashes, gel, Honl, HonlPhoto, Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe McNally, Lightroom, lubbock, Lumiquest, Magic Arm, Manfrotto, porch, portrait, portraits, Promax, Rembrandt, speedlight, speedlights, umbrella, VR, VRII

So I finally got around to buying Joe McNally’s book The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes and have been reading it religiously (that is to say, not often enough). Joe’s got a lot of experience, a great sense of humor, and tons of practical tips (if you’re lucky enough to be a Nikon user, that is). If you own a Nikon DSLR and a speedlight, buy his book today.Read More

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Clamshell portrait

Portrait Outtakes

Remember the Alamo?

Porch fun!

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