tcalbaz

<p>Bob, Allen, Charles,<br /> Thank you so much for your responses! <br /> I read all of your comments several times to be sure I understood them. What I'm taking away are the following guidelines (Please feel free to correct or add to these guidelines as you see fit).:<br>

<br /> 1. Thou shalt set all of your camera settings: ISO, aperture, shutter to manual (In general if its Auto turn it off).<br>

2. Thou shalt Set your camera shutter speed to its maximum flash sync speed.<br>

3. When setting up your studio shoot try to visualize the end result. Think in terms of which ratio's you wish to work with.<br>

4. A typical setup: Main light at 45 deg. to the right or left of the subject. Fill Flash inline and above the camera. If both lights are set to the same power then the fill light can be adjusted to a 2:1 ratio by moving the fill light to 1.4 times the distance of the Main light away from the subject. (pretty cool). All other lights; Background, Hair Light, Kicker are to taste.<br>

5. Use light modifiers: Barn Doors, Grids, Snoots to control shadow, effects and spill over.<br>

6. Don't rely on modeling lights to give an accurate measure of ratios. (maybe they can help you from stumbling or tripping over stuff) Meter each light separately for accurate ratio calculations.<br>

7. Flash all of the lights together to get your cameras overall aperture setting.<br>

Many thanks,<br>

Ted</p>

<p> </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Dear Photo.Net Guru's,<br /> <br /> Still a newbie here.<br /> I'm trying to get some consistency in my studio work.<br /> Should one first decide what exposure settings one wishes to work with and then adjust the strobe lights to match? Would it be possible to then use my strobes modeling lights to visually get the ratio's I want at the targeted exposures? I have Alien Bee's.<br /> Bonus questions: Are studio lights accumulative? If my 100 iso exposure for Light A = F4 4 seconds and my Light B is F8 at 4 seconds. What exposure do I set my camera to? Is it better to with EV units?<br /> regards,<br /> Ted</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks for your responses. I did finally get in touch with the photographer who took the photo and here's his response:</p>

<p>... I have never used a ND filter but I am considering it seriously. I have only used so far a PLR filter to saturate the colors ...</p>

<p>William - I like your thought that the sun is actually far to the right of the photo and that essentially the camera was pointing towards a much darker portion of the sky. That combined with a Polarized filter mentioned by the original author to prevent burnout from the sky could help explain how the shot was accomplished. I will use the technique you advised of recreating the scene and post the results.</p>

<p>I think we've phanthomed out the mystery.</p>

<p>Thank you all,</p>

<p>Ted</p>

 

<p>William,<br>

Thanks for your input.<br>

My main interest are the effects of photographing seashores at long exposures.<br>

I have no idea if the photo is photoshopped. However what gets my attention is the fact that the shutter exposure time is showing at 25 seconds, at f5.6 iso: 100.<br>

I can the shot achieving a smooth silky look for the water but I would expect a condition of overexposer at 25 seconds and at that aperture rating. I would think using an ND filter would be necessary.<br>

Ted</p>

 

<p>Hi All,<br>

I love analyzing photo's. And I am trying to figure out if an ND filter was used on this photo. Also how many stops was it? I've included the image. Here is some of the exif information:</p>

<p>Camera Make: Canon<br /> Camera Model: Canon EOS 40D<br /> Image Date: 2009:05:03 19:07:14<br /> Flash Used: No<br /> Focal Length: 23.0mm<br /> CCD Width: 21.76mm<br /> Exposure Time: 25.000 s<br /> Aperture: f/5.6<br /> ISO equiv: 100<br /> Exposure Bias: -0.33<br /> White Balance: Auto<br /> Metering Mode: Matrix<br /> Exposure: aperture priority (semi-auto)</p>

<p>If you would like to see more of the work Rudolphe Deus please visit the PhotoBlog website at:<br>

http://www.photoblog.com/RodolpheDeus/2009/05/19/one-of-those-days.html</p>

<p>Thank you,</p>

<p>Ted</p><div></div>

<p>I love the answers!<br>

My friend does a lot of travel to exotic places: Himalaya mountain climbing, riding elephants, participating in Afghani polo matches. He loves going for the unusual angels and shots. It makes me wonder how many infractions he's burrowed from Mr. Budding's list : )</p>

<p>I like the suggestion of the G10 with the steel bodies and also the list offered by Mr. Bernhard; Olympus Tough 8000, the Panasonic TS1, the Canon D10, or the Panasonic W80. So I will forward this to him.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions!</p>

<p>Ted</p>

 

<p>Hi all,<br>

One of my friends is asking for help choosing a point and shoot pocket camera to buy. <br>

Here is his request:<br>

…I am looking to buy a digital camera again, mine broke once again…my 5^th camera now! I have always enjoyed Casio as it takes great pics, is very fast to reset for additional pics, and has many very nifty settings for different lightings, shutter speeds, etc. It is also not too expensive. This time I still want to keep fairly small but wish to have a bigger zoom, like at least 5 or 7X, maybe even 10x. ... <br>

My friend is a decent casual photographer. He likes to travel and appreciates having creative control of the aperature, shutter and iso. Even though he's a Casio fan he's not close minded to other brands.</p>

<p>Your input would be much appreciated.<br>

regards, <br>

Ted <br>

<br /> </p>

<p>Although I'm a Nikon dSLR kind of guy, an older model Canon SX100 IS is my travel P&S camera of choice. I wanted to be able to take discreet candid shots from a distance. This camera features an optical 10X zoom, 8 meg, LCD and image stabilization. Quality wise, its best used as a daytime use camera. The built in flash is adequate. For the creative it features Aperture or Shutter priority and Manual mode. I picked this camera up at a Best Buy a year ago for around 229$ and so far its done a good job. Be sure to keep plenty of Double AA batteries stocked. Here's a <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082004canonsx100is.asp">DP Review</a> .<br /> <img src="http://a.img-dpreview.com/news/0708/Canon/canon_sx100is_3q-001.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="427" /></p>

<p>Congratulations on surviving the gig! Pantomiming the models poses as an icebreaker is a wonderful solution. I am happy that the Nikon CLS Wireless flash worked outside in the bright sunlight. Adding another SB-600 as a fill light is definitely a good idea. <br>

I've found that although one might have enough external lights one can still also take advantage of the Nikon Body's on board flash at low power to put some sparkle in a model's eyes.<br>

Don't forget the vast assortment of light modifiers out there like scrims, gobos, cookies etc.<br>

good luck!</p>

 

<p>Besides flipping through some of the fashion magazines like Cosmos, GQ etc,<br /> I would also visit some of the model websites where models present their portfolios.</p>

<p>Model Mayhem http://modelmayhem.com<br /> <br /> One Model Place http://www.onemodelplace.com/<br /> <br /> For an immediate reference download these posing guides:<br /> <br /> Female model poses<br /> http://www.digital-savant.com/PosingGuide.pdf<br /> <br /> Male and Female Model Poses<br /> http://polisphotography.com/Documents/Imagesforweb/posing.pdf<br /> <br /> Sexy female model poses<br /> http://www.fotosearch.com/pdfs/UNZ378.pdf<br /> <br /> Guide to photo pose books<br /> http://www.katavila.com/articles/stpages/photoposebooks.pdf<br>

<br /> When I was first starting out working with models often all I would do is point to the pose I wanted. Now I am able to verbally guide my models which is better.<br>

<br /> For working with Flash photography run don't walk to David Hobby's The Strobist Web Site<br /> http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/<br /> <br /> Study tutorials 101 and 201<br /> <br /> Good luck!</p>

<p>Ted</p>

<p>Alvin,</p>

<p>For a manual approach, You must turn off 'Auto' on your ISO and go full bore manual. The ISO is trying to compensate for the flash and its a moving target. Find relief by setting the Manual settings on your D200 so that you get a good exposure on just the ambient light in the room. Take a test shot of your subject. Ideally the background is just a little brighter then your subject. If not adjust close up your aperture a little for a darker forefront.</p>

<p>Now its time to bring in your flash. Set it to manual control with a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second (your sync speed) and start off with just a little power say 1/8th power for fill flash. Take a shot. You should get a nicely lit subject.</p>

<p>One nice thing about this setup is that it will reduce the number of unpredictable results. And puts you more in control. The Nikon Creative Lighting System "CLS" can work wonders in different modes; Automatic, semi-automatic or manual. I've come to enjoy using manual mode the most.</p>

<p>For an ultimate authority in using flash navigate your browser to the meca of flash speedlight photography Dave Hobby's "The Strobist" website at http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ Go immediately to Lighting bootcamps 101 and 102. Be amazed at how fun and easy flash photography can really be.<br>

Have fun!</p>

<p>Ted</p>

<p>I might as well throw in my 2 cents in too : )</p>

<p>Perhaps you might want to just get your feet wet first before jumping into digital photography. I have several camera's; the D70s, D200 and the D700. I love them all for varying reasons. I do portraits, weddings and landscapes as a sideline.</p>

<p>You might want to just pick up an inexpensive 6 megapixel D70s and try it out to see if you like it. This way you can keep using your investment in prime lenses. If you find that you do like the Digital medium then by all means jump in, sell the D70s and go right to the top with a full frame FX format D700. If budgets a concern then the D200 or the D300 are both excellent camera's too in DX format.</p>

<p>Please let us know what you decide upon!</p>

<p>cheers!</p>

<p>check out Best Buy. I hear they have D700's for $599</p>

<p>A friend just suggested to me that since I already have a Nikon 30-70 f2.8 zoom I might consider aqquiring a Nikon 24mm f/2.8 prime and perhaps a 28mm f/2.8 prime. These lenses are available together for the price of a Nikon 18-35mm. I am thinking this might work too. Any comments?<br>

regards,<br>

Ted</p>

 

<p>Thank you all for your great comments and advice! <br /> <br /> It's really helping me to sort through the somewhat bewildering maze of choices in wide angle lenses in FX format. Right now I am following a lead pointing to a Nikon 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D ED-IF AF Zoom Lens on retailing for under $700.</p>

<p>Has anyone had some experiences with this lens?<br /> <br /> regards,<br /> <br /> Ted</p>

<h1 ><br /> </h1>

<p>Mark Sirota,</p>

<p>Here are the lenses I use for my D200 and D70s:</p>

<p>Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens (for FX) - 75mm equivalent on DX<br /> Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens (for FX) - 127 mm equivalent on DX<br /> Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX AF (For DX) <br /> Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR (for DX)<br /> Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom (for FX) - 105 to 300mm equivalent on DX</p>

<p>All of these lenses were extensively researched before purchase. I've found that all of these lenses were superb performers for my DX cameras. My favorite walk around lens is the Nikon 18-200 VR zoom. It's light weight and decently fast on bright days.</p>

<p>As you can see I'm not very well covered for operating in wide angle for FX.</p>

<p>regards,</p>

<p>Ted</p>

 

<p>Hello<br>

After saving all of my nickels for a long, long time I recently purchased a Nikon D700 dSLR. It's an awesome bit of technology and I love it. Until yesterday most of my focus was in working with DX lenses (D70s, D200) but now I need lenses that fully exploit the FX capabilities of the D700.<br>

I'd appreciate some recommendations and suggestions for finding good FX class landscape lenses whether they are zoom or prime. Of course cost is a factor too so I am not biased about non-Nikon equipment from Tamron, Sigma or Tokina.<br>

Regards,</p>

<p>Ted</p>

 

I purchased the IR filter SG-31R for about 16$ and it works perfectly. Nice for studio work. Its very precise. Haven't tried it outside yet. I hope to give it a try out this weekend. I'm curious about what solution you finally settled on. Good luck.

After reading this post I went out and got a SG-31R IR accessory for my D200. It works like a champ for controlling my SB-800 and two SB-600's without the annoying pre-flashes ruining things.The results are very satisfying. I will be trying it soon with a new Macro lenses this coming week to see how that works too.

Chris,

Without giving personal information - What does your non-photographer card say on it? I was going to whip out my studio photographer card for the organizer but my gut hunch said it wouldn't be a good idea.

Help! I'm needing input.

Today I went to a public skating rink that featured an amatuer girl figure skating

competition. I had my Nikon D200 with me and a 18-200 VR lens. I began to take

photo's. As I took my shots I noticed another photographer standing at the rinks

edge who began to stare at me. He was an obvious professional with a Canon

camera and a big zoom lens. I was starting to get real strange vibes from this guy

and frankly he was beginning to creep me out. After about 15 minutes he came

up to me and told me that he was the official photographer for the skating

association and that I had better cease taking photographs and leave. I asked him

did he have a contract and to show it to me. He mentioned that he left it at home.

He then told me that this was my last warning and he stormed off.

 

Since this was a public rink I felt that no way was this guy going to make me

leave. But I did put down my camera. Obviously this guy was really upset

because he proceeded to spend as much time as possible glaring at me from the

rink edge to the point where he was obviously missing many shots. I feigned

indifference, of course.

 

I wanted to settle this matter once and for all and I could see that this

photographer was not the person to talk to. I sought out the judges stand and

found one of the organizers. I asked her what was the photographer policy for this

event? She told me that the photographer who approached me was indeed the

official photogapher of the event and that the images taken were then sold to

people attending the event. I mentioned that everybody in the stands had a camera

and that not all of them were adoring parents of the competitors. Nor were there

any signs posted about photo policy.

 

Once again I asked her what was the policy?

She told me that I brought forth issues they had never considered and

told me she would have a talk with the president of the association and left. A few

minutes later she came back and said they were concerned about security for the

younger participants and that they were concerned about professional

photographers taking photo's of the event. Specifically she said she'd feel funny

about strangers taking photo's of her daughter on the ice.

 

I told her I was just learning sports photographer and nothing more.

I decided not to belabor the point any more, and that I would respect her

associations wishes. I also suggested that they consider rethinking their photo

policy since this was a public facility paid by public tax dollars. Perhaps they

should consider banning camera's all together?

 

She invited me to speak with their president which I declined since I was out of

time and quietly left.

 

My question: Was I within my rights to take photographs at a public facility, that

was open to the public?

 

 

I'd be interested in hearing some advice or comments.

 

regards,

 

Ted

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the suggestions. It looks like you have a pretty good handle on low light situations. The girls are really looking terrific!

 

Yes, I was getting some very slow shutter speeds in that nightclub. One of my big mistakes was hand holding the camera in such conditions. However thanks to all of the good advice I've been getting from sites like Photo.Net my techniquess have been steadily improving. I now try to pay a lot of attention to the quality of my lenses. I try to use fast lenses (f2.8 aperature or better) with VR and built in low noise handling in the SLR. Here is a link featuring a stage performance I covered in very low light sitation:

 

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/3035556_aQ82d#165112366_Bxiw3

 

I've also attached one of the images.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

Ted<div></div>

Good luck with your new lens Bernard. We are looking forward to seeing some of the photo's

you take with it!

Rene,

I like the answer where you take photo's of the models in the chair and let the Professional

who is in a legally binding contract handle the 'show'. You will still gain valuable experience

and credit and you will still be free to take photo's at the 'show'. Good luck!