josh_thornton

If anyone is looking for a 2nd shooter or assistant in Chicago-land

please contact me. Experience with Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad,

Mamiya, 4x5, Profoto, Speedotron, etc. Much experience with

photojournalism, art, and commercial photography, less experience

with weddings (but that is what I'm interested in).

Josh

joshuadt (at) gte (dot) net

The first shot is a nice modeling type shot but not really 'fashion'. She looks attractive and nice in that shot with some nice lighting.

In shot #2 the model is in a really unflattering position and the lighting isn't helping.

I wasn't crazy about the last shot.

I think the best way to start is to find an image that you like (actually find a few) and then go through and try to make the lighting on your model look the same. Good luck.

Josh

I had heard some talk a few months ago about CDs that were

developing pinholes or other issues after 10-20 years. Is this

still true of todays CDs, and/or what is the archival life of them?

My reason for asking is related to wedding photography...preserving

the images for a long period of time for friends/family (50-70

years...maybe longer). Thanks.

Josh

Also, if you have film or lighting suggestions that'd be great too. Thanks.

Josh

I'm going to be doing a few headshots for a friend of mine soon and

was hoping to get some advice. She's African-American (dark

complexion) and has a flatter and wider nose than most of the other

models I've worked with. Typically I try to use a longer lens to

lessen the length of noses...but what should I do in this case? I

don't want the eyes to look deepset, but I don't want flatten the

nose too much either. Additionally she has a rounded face and very

dark complexion. I'd love to see some ideas/samples and hear any

input you might have. Thanks.

Josh

if you're metering with a handheld meter then I'd suggest 1/2 stop over...but if you're metering through the camera and not particularly adjusting dependant on the position of the sun or other light sources I'd go a full stop...then if you're shooting towards your light source you'll still have good saturation. You can overexpose by quite a bit and still have really nice results, but if you underexpose you can really lose saturation.

Josh

If you must shoot slide film you'll have to purchase tungsten balanced film. If you're shooting print film (c-41) you can remove the extra warmth when printing.

Josh

I'd shoot fuji astia or fuji provia if I were you. Velvia has a tendency to cause poor skin tones with awesome punch...astia provides the best skin tones but less 'punch'...provia is in the middle, good skin tones and good punch. Kodak EPN is a great film as well that provides very nice skin tones and good punch...but if you're just starting in a studio I'd shoot c-41 print film - Fuji NPS or Kodak Portra 160VC. Just my opinion.

Josh

I would check it if I were you. After waiting in a security line for over an hour I had to check mine, but since I had already checked all my luggage I had to purchase a box from them to have it checked in. They said I could use it to "club someone".

Josh

I'm hoping to shoot a few photographs in a similar style to the ones

posted below. How much power should I expect to need? Could it be

achieved without strobes (via reflectors & foamcore)? Any other

suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Josh

don't worry about the color shifts. It'll take a lot of color adjustments typically digitally or in hand-prints (RA-4). Lots of people that cross-process want the color shifts. I'd print without color correcting if I were you...that would give the person the best idea of what the effect was on their film.

Josh

I'm wondering what to do to make a photo look almost monochromatic

with very little color variation. I want the photo to look like it

was taken a long time ago without digital manipulation. Any

suggestions? Overexpose by 2 stops and underdevelop? Thanks!

Josh

I've got a shoot I'm planning for this weekend with limited

resources...so here's the deal.

I'm going to be doing a shoot in a real low light room, and to light

the room I'm going to use my flash. But since I don't want to have

the 'on camera flash' look, I'm going to fire it multiple times to

different parts of the room while the camera is on a long exposure

(perhaps 30 seconds or bulb). The items in the room won't be moving

and the camera will be on a tripod, so those aren't issues.

What I'm wondering is how to meter for a proper exposure when the

flashes won't all be simultaneous. I'll be using a sekonic L-508,

Canon Elan 7E, and 550EX flash.

Suppose I meter the amount of light that my flash emits and I get a

reading of (iso 100), f/8, 1/4 sec...if I fired the flash twice into

the same area what would the proper exposure be? What do I do if

the ambient light is say (iso 100) f/2.8, 1 sec and I want to

combine that light for 30 seconds with firing my flash.

Overal I'm wondering how to add/subtract light exposures. Any help

would be greatly appreciated.

Josh

I was hoping to get some advice as to how I should light a car shoot

when my only options for strobes are umbrellas on stands (no

boom/arm, no big softbox). Any suggestions? Examples/Samples would

be great. I'm planning on shooting it outdoors. It's an old T-Bird

by the way. Thanks.

Josh

I definitely enjoy photographing interesting faces...I'd say just get out there

and walk around on busy streets. Check out my portfolio...I most of those

faces by doing just that.

Josh

Let me suggest that you NOT pay people to photograph them as someone had suggested. If you wouldn't be willing to let someone take your photograph then why should they let you? isn't that a bit hypocritical? Just be polite and ask, you'll be surprised how often they'll oblige, but yes, it is a very intimidating task. check out my photos, many of them are of this type of street portraiture style.

Josh

I'm just beginning my search for a photographer for my wedding (May

22, 2005) and am overwhelmed by the sheer number of wedding

photographers in illinois (specifically the chicago area).

I'm on a somewhat limited budget, but not drastic...looking to spend

about $3,000 for 8 hours of coverage, proofs, and a small album with

a few prints. I'd also like to get the negatives or digital files

within a year following the wedding.

Looking for photojournalistic photos but want the standard family,

group, and detail shots as well.

Anybody either A) have experience with photographers who they felt

were particularly good for the money or B) are wedding photographers

in this price range/style or C) have ideas of how to narrow my

search from the huge professional photographers of america website.

Thanks!

Josh Thornton

I'm just beginning my search for a photographer for my wedding (May

2005) and am overwhelmed by the sheer number of wedding

photographers in illinois (specifically the chicago area).

I'm on a somewhat limited budget, but not drastic...looking to spend

about $3,000 for 8 hours of coverage, proofs, and a small album with

a few prints. I'd also like to get the negatives or digital files

within a year following the wedding.

Looking for mostly photojournalistic photos but want the standard

family shots and detail shots as well.

Anybody either A) have experience with photographers who they felt

were particularly good for the money or B) are wedding photographers

in this range/style or C) have ideas of how to narrow my search from

the huge professional photographers of america website.

Thanks!

Josh Thornton

i think one of the best options is to either use a large diffuser and/or a gold/silver/white reflector. Obviously that requires an assistant, but then you can take them out of the direct sun, soften those squints, and reduce the shadows. Then hand meter off the face with a incident light meter.

Josh

I was wondering if there is a feature available on any EOS bodies

that makes it possible to shoot 3 continuous frames (similar to

bracketing) but with the same exposure only altering the apeture and

shutter speed. Basically I want to shoot the same photo but want to

have 3 shots of varying Depth of Field but don't want to have to

manually adjust between each shot.

Is there a way to do this on ab Eos Elan 7E...how about other bodies?

Josh Thornton

#1 is a really nice shot overall, so I'll be a bit nitpicky to help you with a few details. The models looks much younger in this shot than the other 3 IMHO which can be good or bad depending on what you are going for. A few critiques...there is a small wrinkle of skin just below her jaw-line on her neck that is a tad distracting. by tipping her head a bit further down in the front, this line would not be seen. Also, I'm not particularly fond of the shirt she's wearing, from this angle her breasts look saggy though I highly doubt they are.

#2 is pretty darn good. I think eyes are a bit dark and her eyebrows might use a bit of trimming/plucking near the nose.

I think #3 is by far the strongest photo of the bunch. Her eyes aren't nearly as dark (in shadow) as they are in the rest of the photos. a really really superb shot. I'm not sure if you want her skin to look the same 'tone' throughout, but her legs are much darker than her arms, face, and chest. Personally I'd lighten them, but that's just my opinion.

#4 is by far the weakest in my opion. The model's eyes are very dark and her teeth are creeping through. I would suggest having her close her mouth completely and bouncing a bit of light up to hit those eyes.

Overally really nice work though. Well done!

Josh

I use the eye controlled focus about 95% of the time when I use the camera. I think it is great, really fast, accurate, and handy. I agree with the post about the batter pack's annoyance of not having the dial on it, but overall it is a pretty good camera. If I were to do it over again though, and had a big discount like it sounds you have, i might go for an Eos 3 instead. Honestly I don't think you'll see much benefit from stepping up from a rebel 2000 to an elan 7n. If you get the eye controlled focusing model the main difference is well...the color and the eye controlled focus. hope that helps.

Josh

Could someone explain the types of lighting used for shots similar

to the one i'll post with this. Oftentimes the light source is

somewhat overhead. Black or grey background. Mist (sweat) on

face. But what type of light source? Thanks.

Josh