alain_martinez

<p>Ellis, that's exactly the clip I was talking about. Thanks so much for finding this clip, looking at it revealed a lot. The most surprising is that they are using 35 mm Canon. Yes I did see the big Octa Light as the fill. That's what I thought, that it would be honey comb grids. What about what's moving around to focus on her face? Any idea what that can be? I'm thinking another grid with an assistant just moving it around.<br>

Do you think that all the lights have gels or only the rims?<br>

Thanks for your input on this.<br>

Alain</p>

<p>Hello All,<br>

Just a few days ago I was watching The Girls Next Door on E! while they were shooting for the center fold, and I saw how instead of using big softboxes, they were using 8 - 10 lights with small reflectors and some diffusing material in the front. Each light was aimed at a different part of the model's body. I thought this technique was fascinating. Does anyone know what kinds of lights they use for some thing like this? I also noticed a light in the model's face that someone was constantly moving around to put it right on her face to always have perfect light in the face and get that catch light in the eye. Does anyone know what kind of light that was?<br>

Thank you very much</p>

Hello,

I've been contemplating switching to continuous lighting for "some" of my

portrait work. Particularly for boudoir pictures where is very important to

hide, and show certain things. I'd like the WYSIWYG approach of continuous

lighting. My question for those of you who are shooting with these lights is

what ISOs are you shooting at? What apertures are shooting at? I just don't

want to get these lights and then having to shoot at ISO 1600 and 2.8. How

about gelling these lights, is it a mission warming up these lights with gels?

Any other good or bad experiences with these lights?

Thanks in advance

Well the good thing is that down here, if they just want to take the pic for the year book only, then it doesn't cost them anything (I'm not 100% sure), but if they want extra prints or a different setting, that's what costs extra. Indeed there are many ideas out there for seniors and I will start putting them in use soon. I don't do Senior photography now but it sounds like an interesting market to tap into.

My original question however was geared mostly to gage the level of interest from the seniors themselves. If I were to rate the interest level from 1 to 10 of the seniors here I would say it's a 5. But I don't know if that is a direct result of the ethnic melting pot that we live in, or a direct result of there being so much to do here that seniors don't give a crap about taking pictures. I'm interested in knowing about the NY market. NY is also a big city, and definitely a melting pot as well, so I wonder how this market behaves there.

Did you know that in China there's a tradition to take a picture with your elder when you turn 100 days old? Try bringing a tradition like that to your state and see how it works.

That's my point/question.

And thanks for your the response and for catching the glitch on the site. I redid the non-commercial site completely and forgot to update how to get to it from the Alain Martinez side...

The lifestyle photography side is called Expert Appeal, and the site is http://www.expertappeal.com/

I don't have any seniors there, but there's plenty of other work there.

Thanks again.

Hello All,

I have a big dilemma regarding senior photography that I'm trying to figure out

if it's a demographic issue or a culture thing. In Miami, where I live, all the

seniors of all schools in the county, and as far as I know all the adjacent

cities as well get their senior portraits done with FoxMart. Their pictures

while technically good, in my own opinion and without disrespecting any one,

have no art in them whatsoever. So I wonder what are the chances of getting a

senior away from surfing at the beach, or hanging out at his friends house on

the beach, or hitting that next hot spot, or playing football at the beach, to

come and take some unique pictures. I can't fathom over 1 million students

taking the same picture as their fellow students. So I wonder, do they just

don't give a crap because there's so much more to do, or is it a culture thing

down here in the south of the US. People from LA, NY, what's your experience

there. I hear the Larry Peters and Vickie Taufer's of the senior photography

world making millions but I can't compare Miami to those cities.

I don't want to make this post too long to read so I'll end it with the main

question.

Big city photographers, do seniors in your city give a crap?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Hello,

I recently shot a couple in a hotel where a flash would have totally killed the

mood of the hotel and would have have created a lot of glare. Thankfully I had

with a video light that saved my life. So I wonder, do they make anything for

photographers that's color balanced, soft, and powerful if you needed it to be.

Obviously it needs to be battery powered, and mountable on a cold shoe. Can

someone recommend something nice?

Thanks in advance

Well I do want vivid colors so I don't want to kill those yellows, but I also don't want the image to have an ugly yellow cast. I want to capture abstract shapes (close ups) as the glass is shapped and it has those beautiful colors all around it.

forgive my questioning, but why would they blow glass at a laboratory. I'm talking about the people that make vases and scuptures and things like that. Is that what you are talking about as well?

thanks for your feedback

Hello,

I'll be photographing a glass-blowing session soon, and wanted to get some

recomendations from anyone who has tried this before. There are many factors to

consider, heat close to the camera, what kind of lens to use. I'll attempt to

do fine-art type of pictures, long eposures to catch the glass moving and the

bright colors. If you have done this before, can you share your experiences?

I'll be shooting with a 5D and L lenses. I'm thinking either a 24-70, or

70-200. Both L

Thanks in advance,

Hello,

I just had an idea yesterday to rig a photo booth with the red fabric in the

background to get some funny shots of people being silly. I'm wondering if

anyone has done anything like this before. I'm interested in seeing the set up.

I obviously don't want to do something that looks cheezy, and I also don't want

to carry 50 lbs of PVC Pipes. Does anybody have any ideas for a portable photo

booth?

Thanks in advance

Some details, I'll be shooting with a hansel porty 1200w/seconds with a 4x5 softbox and a 4x6 reflector on the other side. I'll be shooting with a 5D.

Thanks

Chriss,

I just want to say that just becuase you book the best model in the world doesn't mean your pictures will look like they do on a magazine. Every time you see Kate Moss in a picture rest assured that behind that picture there's a team of 20+ people just making that image happen. You need to add money for make up, hair, wardrobe, location, multiple assistants, equipment rental. You couldn't imagine the budget behind a single picture some times. It could be $50K without a doubt.

My question is what do you think a top model is going to offer that a local Very Good model couldn't offer you? Find a pretty girl who knows how to express herself infront of the camera and spend your money on the team/equipment/location behind the photo.

just my two cents

Hello,

I'm doing a family portrait soon for a family of color, and I have a few

concerns. I typically take portable lights for outdoor shoots because I like

pictures with contrast in the phases. I typically have my subjects side-lit

with a reflector on the other side to get a nice wrap-around light on the

phases. However this family I'm shooting (I hope I don't offend anybody) is

really really dark-colored, and I'm affraid this approach will not work. Have

you had any experience with this? Can you please share your expriences. Any

gells I should use?

thanks in advance for your help.

I have to say I'm no Anne Geddes, but I'm no rookie either. My bread and butter

is weddings and portraits, but I've certainly shot many children over my career.

My 3-month old niece however has me fustrated. I've tried 3 times to take

pictures of her and all 3 times it has been unsuccessful. She starts crying

right away and that's the end of it. The parents (my brother) get agitated, and

she doesn't stop crying until she's covered and back in her car-seat. The

temperature is on the hot side, rather than cold, I've waited for the mother to

breast feed before, hoping that she'll fall asleep after, but nothing.

Long story short, I'm fustrated, and I'm wondering if it's like this for every

one else. I even told my brother to take her to Baby'R Us where it's all set up

already, and it might have been quicker. Well she cried relentlessly there too

and they asked them to leave because the next appointment was already there, so

they left without pictures.

Do you have any experiences to share about this?

Thank you in advance

Hello,

I'm wondering when your clients take family portraits. Obviously they all want

it on Saturday, which is not good if you are a wedding photographer. How many

of your clients actually take an afternoon off from work and get all ready for a

family portrait, or take the kids after school for children's portraiture. In

general how much shooting do you do Monday through Friday, from 8 -5pm

(non-commercial photography)?

Thanks in advance

Sorry for the lack of detail....here it goes.

The place is indoors, with beautiful posibilities to go outdoors, but it's at 1pm. I'll be shooting digital with a 5D and the print size they want may vary. Hopefully they all get an 11x14 or bigger.

Thanks for the tip on the ladder. That's how I do headshots. For some reason people look much better when they look at something higher, and the beauty is that in the picture it does not look elevated.

keep 'em coming, and thanks

Hello,

In a couple of weeks, I'll be taking a large family portrait at a 90th birthday

party. The challange is that she wants 30 people in the shot. I've taken

pictures like this before with a wide angle and it looks like crap. This time I

want to do something different where I can see more detail in their faces.

has anyone photographed a large group like this before? Can you share your

experiences?

has anyone attempted taking several pictures and merging them with photomerge?

How did it look?

Thank you in advance for your response.

I always have my camera to use only the center spot for focousing and then recompose the shot. I have the camera's metering mode on (.), and a lot of the time I use Time Priority. The cealing hieight can't be the issue, because remember a lot of times that this has happened to me has been on the same moment/place, just different orientation. I'm wondering if there's wear and tear on the flash since it needs to be rotated with the Light Sphere when shooting vertical.

I'll try to isolate the issue like you suggested by adding a component at a time.

Thank you

Hello,

For a while now I've noticed that when I'm shooting a wedding every time I shoot

horizontal/landscape the exposure is great, but if I shoot the same exact

picture but turn it vertically the picture ends up under-exposed by at least 1

full stop. I shoot with a 5D and a 580 flash with one of those Fong's

lightspheres attached on the flash. I thought I was not tightening the flash

enough to the hot shoe, but last time I squeezed it so hard I almost couldn't

loosen it up after, and still the same thing happen. I experience this with

Time Priority, and the Flash on ETTL

My assistant photographer who shoots with the same equipment as me experiences

the same thing. Has anybody else experienced this?

Thanks in advance.

Actually I have a small correction to make, the second flash I was using was a 550EX. Can that still be done? I have some of the new Pocket

Wizarards, but they don't work with TTL. I'll try it with the other 580, but I usually give my other 580 to my assistant photographer.

I do love that silver linning though, I think it makes all the difference in the world.

I couldn't agree more when saying that Table Shots are as boring as can be and never come out "flattering". First of all it'll take away an hour from your wedding if you go around and take pictures with every guest. Second, to get a flattering shot of 10 people plus the bride and groom, in a round table with an often big center piece, candles, purses, drinks, gifts all on top of the table is nearly impossible. If you stop to get all the details right, at the end of your wedding you'll have 1 flattering shot of each table and no shots of the things that really matter. In all the albums I have done, my clients have never selected one of those table shots for the final album (except the one for the parents). Thus, I stopped taking them. It's not my style and I hate taking those pictures. If you come see me and you are looking for a guys who loves to take flattering table shots, then you are in the wrong studio.

What I usually do is capture them from the distance as they go around the tables, laughing and kissing guests, but definitely not possed, looking at the camera.

If you picked this photographer I'm sure it was because you liked her style. I'm sure you'll be able to create a nice album, with pictures that really matter.

Hope this helps

Hello,

I was trying to experiment this past Saturday trying to create back light while

the bride was dancing with her husband for the first time. I had a dedicated

580EX on my camera, and I had an assistant holding another 580EX off to the

side-behind the bride. The problem is that I could not get the secondary flash

to fire 1 stop above what my TTL was reading at all. I had it juced up 1 1/2

stop over, and still nothing, it looked even all the way around. My TTL was

taking total control of the other Flash as well. I did not to go Manual on the

flash, I really like the 580's TTL. I tried putting the other 580 on M, but it

won't let you while on Slave.

so after this long story, do you have any solutions for this that does not

involve taking more powerful strobes light stands and the whole works.

In simple terms, is there a way of creating a back light with two 580's or one

580 and a 550EX, while shooting TTL?

Thank you very much

Sorry I wasn't clear with my question. What I meant is can something be projected so that the client can a have an exact idea of what a 16x20 would look like vs a 20x24 or 30x40. True size, meaning if I go up to the screen where the picture is projected and measure the sides, they'll be 16 in x 20 in if that is what I projected.

Thanks for your responses.

Hello,

I've heard quite a few photographers that are showing their proofs through

projection, and I have a few questions abou that. Is there something out there

that can project images in true size (16x20, 20x24)? This of course would have

to depend on the distance between the screen and projector. If you know of

something that can accomplish this, please share it on this forum.

Thank you in advance,