heathorchard

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I am heading out on a 10 day shoot this Saturday and will be using the Sony EX3, which has some of the worst ergonomics I've used on any camera. My wrist has suffered multiple sprains and is having a fairly bad flare up right now. Unfortunately I will be shooting almost exclusively handheld and I'm beginning to worry about how my wrist will hold up. I own a wrist brace for computer use but it is too bulky and restricting to use while shooting. I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations on a good wrist support product that will allow me to fit comfortably into the hand strap on the camera and still have the freedom to use all the controls and grip the camera firmly. </p>

<p>Thanks!<br>

-Heath</p>

<p>Hi Everybody,</p>

<p>I have a 1205cx speedo pack that has mysteriously stopped flashing. The pack is about a year or two old and has only seen light use, mostly on location. On a shoot yesterday (happy I had a backup) I turned it on, fired it a few times and everything seemed fine but then it just stopped. There was no pop, or smoke, or burning electrical smell that I noticed. What's weird to me is that I still have power going to my heads as the modeling lamps and fans still work, I just can't get the flashes to go off. I tried each channel, different heads and cables, triggering from a pocket wizard, different power supply and still nothing worked. I'm not much of an electrician and don't dare take this thing apart but I'm hoping there might be something simple I just haven't thought of yet.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p>Here is the image.</p><div></div>

<p>Hello All,</p>

<p>I recently took this shot as an experiment while camping at Big Basin State Park in California. This is straight from the camera (dust spots and all) and it's not a good shot, I know. I wasn't necessarily trying to get a great shot, it was more about seeing what would happen and hopefully leading to some good shots in future. I simply laid my Nikon D80 on it's back pointing straight up to the sky on the table in my campsite, set the aperture to 5.6 and left the shutter open for 30 minutes. I tried this with different lenses and more or less got similar results. Two big problems I'm seeing right away. First there seems to be some light bleeding in from the top two corners of the frame. This doesn't seem to be a lens issue as I tried it with three different lenses and have seen it under other conditions as well. Any idea why this would be happening and is there a way to fix this? Next, there appears to be a speckling of colorful noise throughout the whole image. I've also had this happen to me with other long exposures at even lower ISO's, but I didn't really think 400 was that high, and it doesn't necessarily look like high ISO noise to me anyway. I don't consider myself a nature or landscape photographer at all but I have fun trying sometimes, and star trails have alway interested me. Any advice or help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p>Congrats Lil!<br>

I'd like to think my photo captures the "spirit" of christmas. <br>

Taken with a D80 and one SB-28 flash triggered off camera to the left through a paper towel for diffusion and the blue plastic bag the ice came in to add a cooling color cast... Edited in aperture 2.</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

 

<p>Congrats Lil!<br>

I'd like to think my photo captures the "spirit" of christmas. <br>

Taken with a D80 and one SB-28 flash triggered off camera to the left through a paper towel for diffusion and the blue plastic bag the ice came in to add a cooling color cast... Edited in aperture 2.</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<div></div>

<p>Hi All,</p>

<p>I recently had a large Photek Umbrella fall and bend a couple of spokes and now, of course, it won't open quite right. Any suggestions on how I might save it or am I just S.O.L.? </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p>This was part of an impromptu studio shoot in my kitchen using a couple speedo heads and my D80. Post work done in Aperture 2 and CS4.</p><div></div>

<p>I see what you're saying with the overhead lighting and I agree about the shadows in the eyes. Would it make sense to do a sort of cross lighting on the class with two large umbrellas (52") pointed in and overhead at about 45 from the sides and maybe bouncing a single light off the ceiling directly above the class? Similar to what Mark is saying but using umbrellas instead of a wall - since that wall will most likely be mirrors. And in terms of ratios would you have the overhead light be a stop above or below the front lights or just keep it even?<br>

Thanks!</p>

 

<p>Hi All,<br>

A friend of mine has asked me to document one of his evening yoga/martial arts classes so he can have some photos to promote himself and his class. There will be between 15 - 25 students all in one fairly large room with white ceilings about 20 ft high and one wall which is all mirrors. Since it will be dark I'm planning on bringing my speedo kit which consists of a 1205 pack with 3 heads, each with umbrellas. Since I will simply be documenting the class and not doing any posing, I though it would make sense to just bounce a couple heads off the ceiling and light the room evenly. I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this or any suggestions to help make it look a bit more interesting.<br>

Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Brooks,<br>

Can you please explain exactly why you feel that silver, instead of white, is the way to go. I've been wondering if it would really make that much of a difference. My understanding is the silver adds a bit more contrast. Is that something you find yourself needing with these boxes and why?</p>

<p>One more question. I also do some video work. Is there any reason I couldn't just buy the Chimera intended for use on constant lights, such as an Arri 650, and still use it for my strobes? I'm assuming there's more to it than just the amount of heat the box can withstand?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the responses!</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I am looking to add on to my Speeodtron 1205cx kit by purchasing my first softbox. I have a budget of roughly $300 and would prefer a box that could light full length portraits. However, I am doubtful I'll find it in that price range. I've always assumed Chimera was the way to go for quality in a reasonable price range and am leaning towards the Medium Super Pro Plus Chimera with the recessed front so I can add a grid to it later when I have a bit more money. Does anybody have any other suggestions or reasons why I should not choose this particular softbox? I realize it may be a little too small for full lengths but if the price and quality are what I'm looking for I'll probably just make do for now. </p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p>Okay, so I recently shot this windy San Francisco wedding and there's a photo of the groom's father and stepmother that I like, but to my dismay she has one eye completely closed. I didn't realize it at the time so didn't take another shot. Unfortunately I don't have another shot of them together like this as the stepmother had to leave early. Is there anyway of maybe cloning the other eye over the one thats closed, reversing it, and somehow making it look natural... If I can't save the photo (and I suspect that I can't) it won't be the end of the world. I'm mostly interested in whether or not it can be done and since I'm not terribly experienced with photoshop I thought maybe it would be a good lesson. <br>

Thanks in advance,</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p> </p><p><b>Moderator Note: Supportive/Positive Contributions and Constructive Criticism ONLY.<p>Please respond to the question asked, your opinion on whether or not someone should do this is not welcome here.</b><div></div>

<p>Hi Everyone,<br>

I have a full time job as a video shooter/producer for a television production company in the SF Bay Area. It's a really good gig but my real passion is with still photography and eventually I'd like that to be my career. I feel that I am at a point where I have a good foundation and get semi regular work on my own, but in order to take my skills to the next level I need to start assisting more established photographers. I'm wondering if there is any possibility of getting work as a "weekend assistant". Am I totally out of my mind? I thought I would ask here before suggesting it to potential future employers.<br>

Thanks in advance for any advice.<br>

-Heath</p>

<p>Hi Everybody,<br>

I'm fairly new to the business side of photography and have recently shot some publicity photos/headshots for a musician. I'm wondering how everyone else here handles the selection process and what they actually show their clients for proofing. Do you show them all the RAW images and have them pick a few of their favorites for editing and enhancement, do you do any basic editing of the photos before showing them anything, or do you just choose your favorite few from the shoot and deliver those after editing? Also, do you show them possible treatments to consider i.e. Color, B/W, Sepia, etc. Basically what is the process you go through with a client after the shoot. Thanks in advance for any tips.<br>

-Heath</p>

<p>So my right wrist has had a couple of injuries and I find that after a full day of shooting and lugging around a couple D300's it starts getting pretty angry with me. I can usually feel some discomfort/tightness for a day or so after the shoot, especially as I start using my mouse and editing on the computer. Does anyone else have problems like this and if so, how do you deal with it. Is there a good brace you can recommend? The one thing I don't have yet and think could help a lot is a camera grip for shooting verticals, but they also add weight. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>-Heath</p>

<p>I wouldn't necessarily say it's a bad photo but it certainly doesn't tell a story by itself and as a detached viewer I really have no idea what's going on. However, the bride and groom will view this image within the emotional context of the moment they experienced and, that being said, will have a very different view on it than anyone here. They may enjoy a reminder of that moment as they flip through their final images. </p>

<p>I think it's a great shot Linda. Like Steve said, not much to critique here. However Mary clearly states that these things won't always be about shots that need help. I am personally interested in what post work has been done to it. It may be the monitor I'm using right now but have you added a little magenta? The overall color of the image is one of my favorite things about it. Well Done.</p>

<p>Here's the pic</p><div></div>

<p>This is from my first trip to NY.</p>

<p>D300<br>

Nikon 70-200 2.8 IF-ED<br>

f2.8<br>

Shutter Speed 1/800<br>

ISO 200<br>

Contrast, Vibrancy, and Sharpness adjusted in Aperture 2.0<br>

-Heath</p>

<div></div>

<p>Hi Everyone,<br>

I would like a little advice on how to get my flash to give me the most natural looking results when being used for fill. I am using an SB-800 on TTL and a D300 on manual using the matrix metering system. One of the big problems I have is reflections from the flash on the cheekbones and forehead. Also, over exposure seems to be a regular problem. It's entirely possible I'm doing something wrong as flash is not my strong suit. Usually I will meter for the overall scene, take a test shot, and then just throw in the flash expecting the TTL to sort of do the rest. Sometimes I will dial it down -.7 or -1.0, but I still feel like something is off most of the time. Any help would be much appreciated. <br>

Thanks!<br>

-Heath</p>

<p>My assistant found this spot in the lady's restroom...</p><div></div>

<p>Hi, <br>

This client is unhappy with the hair along the top backside of his head as well as some of the fly aways along the side. What do you think is the best way to remove it while still looking natural. I'm not the greatest with photoshop and when I try using the clone tool I still see a sort of darker area around his head where I used it. Any help would be much appreciated. <br>

Thanks!<br>

-Heath</p><div></div>

<p>Hey All, <br>

I'd like to get deeper into learning photoshop retouching, primarily for portrait photography, and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good book with tutorials or any other resource that would be helpful. I found this through a google search and was wondering if anybody had any experience with it. <br>

http://www.digitalphotoshopretouching.com/order.htm<br>

Thanks,<br>

-Heath</p>