Photography

Field trip to Shutterstories Studio Spr 2014

This selfie was made by a radio remote. My camera was mounted on a tripod high above us. 3 Studio strobes were used for this.
This selfie was made by a radio remote. My camera was mounted on a tripod high above us. 3 Studio strobes were used for this.
One strobe into a gridded soft box on the left of my camera. 50mm lens Canon 5DMark2. ISO 100 1/125@ F8
One strobe into a gridded soft box on the left of my camera. 50mm lens Canon 5DMark2. ISO 100 1/125@ F8

I never stepped into a photography studio until I learned how to use my flash meter properly back when I shot film.

You couldn’t tell for sure what the studio strobes were going to give you even with modeling lights until you’ve learned to expose and meter consistently.

So shooting in a studio was expensive.

You could blow through a lot of film and still not get the results you want.

(clockwise left to right): Melody, Alexis, Sarah and Laurel hold a picture frame as a prop
(clockwise left to right): Melody, Alexis, Sarah and Laurel hold a picture frame as a prop

Back then the more fortunate students had access to Polaroid film backs to check on their lighting.

Thankfully digital cameras and its instant feedback, cheap radio slaves and hot shoes have made shooting in the studio a lot less intimidating.

I asked Laurel to spin around on the count of 3 to get her hair in motion for this capture.
I had Laurel face the background then I asked Laurel to spin around quickly on the count of 3 to get her hair in motion for this capture.

So every semester I bring a class to our local photography studio called Shutterstories for a visit and to ‘play’.

I use the word ‘play’ loosely because many of the students are absolute beginners.

I tell them the aperture, the ISO for each of the sets.

I also set up the strobes to give me f8 at ISO 100 so my students just concentrate on composition.

Jaclynn was lit by 1 strobe fitted with a beauty dish positioned on the right behind her. There was white foam core panel on the left to light her face.
Jaclynn was lit by 1 strobe fitted with a beauty dish positioned on the right behind her. There was white foam core panel on the left to light her face.

It’s a field trip and I don’t necessarily want it to be too technical.

I could have made the lesson more complicated but for the most part, I only used 1 studio strobe for each set.

I told my students to make these corrections if their images were over or under-exposed:

  • move the lights which were on casters closer or further or
  • open up or close down the aperture
  • use a reflector if the shadows are too harsh on 1 side of their subject
  • as a last resort, change their ISO from 100 to 200 or even 400.

bts-LakeAlice

Inside the Lake Alice Saloon and Eatery, we photographed 4 models in 1940s garb while we waited for temperatures outside to drop.
All photos by Marvin Sesuca.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Theory-of-Madness/197474008519

In case anyone was counting, this is my 500th blog post.

It’s a milestone to be sure especially since this blog crashed and I lost about 6 months’ worth of posts.