Every once in a rare while I get the opportunity to complete a little photography education of my own. Since my experience at Hoffshop I have realized that setting aside time for continued photography education is essential to staying on top of my game and advancing the skills I have and gaining new ones. The problem however exists in my schedule. Hoffshop renewed my focus on the need for this education so I called upon Shelby to assist me. I’m actually pretty picky about who I chose for projects like this because sometimes clients just don’t get it. Sure, it would be nice to pull aside one of my engagement couples and say “hey, I plan to work on some new techniques would you mind being my patient models in exchange for some free photos” but some fear exists there about will they truly understand the purpose and will I be able to turn off the “I know this works” part of my brain and really focus on trying something new. Previously working with Shelby on some modeling shoots for a local boutique made me confident she was the right choice. It actually isn’t easy to model for me when I’m testing out new lighting equipment and working on my technique from a lighting perspective because I’m constantly changing my mind, shifting direction, moving equipment, and being indecisive (something I usually am NOT when I shoot weddings). I feel I’m more deliberate when shooting weddings as I can envision exactly what I want and if I change anything its a minor shift in position, angle, or action. In this shoot, yes it did take me a good 10-15 minutes to capture one photo which is something I absolutely cannot do at a wedding. I learned a lot in this particular session and while these photos may not look entirely different from what I normally share as far as style is concerned and equipment used I can assure you there are subtle differences that make these unique at least to me.
The main goal for this shoot was to work on lighting with my Mag Mod equipment, specifically the Mag Grid, the Mag Gel, and the Mag Sphere (also called by just about everyone the Mag Boob). Although I do have some natural light work present in this blog I spent the majority of my time shifting between three different lights and utilizing multiple different light modifiers to study how the light impacts my shots. Since the majority of my photography is spent documenting weddings during the absolute worst times per day (can anyone say horrible noon light anyone?) utilizing flash is almost an absolute must. While I have also been concentrating my efforts on harnessing my natural light skills I have always found external lighting to be my friend in challenging light times. For you photography nerds, I’ll list out the equipment and details utilized in each shot. Another goal of mine is to not always be obvious in the shot that light was used externally. I spent a lot of time attempting to make each shot look like the light already existed and obviously that is more or less obvious in some of the photos more than others. I’m happy I was able to get in this project and shoot for me for once. Hopefully Shelby enjoyed the shoot as although she is already a graduated senior these came on the tail end of her senior year and allowed us to utilize her AMAZING prom dress for the shoot (which thankfully mimics a wedding dress so for me it worked out perfectly for my skill advancement). Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze more of these projects in in the future.
-Kate
Top photo: one light, mag sphere with mag gel (1/2 CTO) to the right
Bottom photo: three lights, mag sphere with mag gel (1/4 CTO) to right, mag grid to left, mag grid to right
Below photo: one light, mag grid, no gel
Below photo: single flash, mag grid 1/4 CTO gel
Below photo-natural light (shocker eh?)
Below Photo: three lights, mag sphere and mag grid right 1/4 CTO gel, grid left
Bottom Photo: natural light
Bottom Photo: natural light
Bottom Photo: three lights, mag sphere right with 1/4 CTO, mag grid left no gel, bare flash to barn
Bottom Photo-Mag sphere right (one flash) no gel (too much spill for me)
Bottom Photo: natural light
Bottom Photo: mag sphere left, 1/4 CTO single flash
Bottom Photo (Same as above)
Bottom Photo: Natural Light
Bottom Photo: three flashes, mag sphere no gel and mag grid left, mag grid right no gel
Bottom Photo: single flash, mag grid 1/4 CTO gel right
Bottom Photo: natural light
Bottom Photo: natural light (why re-create the wheel eh?)
Bottom Photo: Mag sphere, no gel, single flash
Bottom Photo: Natural Light
Bottom Photo: single flash, mag bounce, no gel
Bottom Photo (same as above, moved bounce more angled)
