jeff_swayze

Anthony: Yes, I see that now in the shadows particularly. Luckily (?) this four-light-source situation won't present itself next week. Except for a couple shots, all my light should be fluorescent. If I gel the strobe I should be in decent shape. The quantity and direction of light from my strobe will be key obviously, as in the above image. I didn't use a white card of any sort, so I didn't fill in the shadows.

Brenkku: My gel collection is minimal - I just ordered a few more that hopefully will be here by shooting time next week. I'll experiment with them as soon as they come in. Regarding the lens selection, that's a good point. Based on the test shots from yesterday, the 24-70 should be fine - I don't think I'll need anything longer than 70.

Again, this is great info. Thanks again to all!

Anthony: Are you suggesting that the 550EX is overpowered for what I'm doing? I've got a 420EX that I could use as well.

I took some test shots tonight of my kids, and they turned out pretty well (though a bit underexposed). I need to put the white card (3x5 card?) behind the flash head and see how that works. Regardless, I'm sure the "client" will be happy with the output. Heck, they were thinking I would be using a P&S, so it can only get better! (assuming I do my part!)<div></div>

Brenkku: Thanks so much for your detailed reply. The office areas are all well-lit, and all with fluorescent tubes. I will take some test shots with a gray card to get a good read on the white balance. Heck, I could actually use one of my camera's features and pre-set the white balance! I'll also experiment with ambient light levels to get a good flash exposure compensation value.

I've got a 28-70L and a 70-210L IS, but I figured the 28-70 would be used the most. I could certainly get in tight with the 70-210 though.

Great advice on mechanics - angles, talking, etc... man, I hope these aren't too good or I'll fall into the trap Craig mentioned!!

Thanks again for your time in responding. It's very much appreciated.

Trebor: Thanks for the advice. I know it's common to bounce off the ceiling, but won't that create "raccoon eyes?", or do I need to drop the ISO and drag the shutter as Nadine suggests?

Nadine: Very good info, and thanks for the link. What a great resource!

Craig: I will remember this. Our company usually hires pros for this kind of thing, but I think the scale is larger than usual...

All: I will take some practice shots tonight and tomorrow to see what I can do. The planetneil.com site and others I've found (like dg28.com) have been fantastic resources. Thanks!!

Hi all,

I've been asked (volunteered?) to shoot a bunch of photos for a corporate slide

show at my company. They want candid photos of several hundred employees "at

work" - in meetings, at their desks, etc. - primarily head & shoulders. Lately

I've been doing a lot of reading/practicing of studio lighting techniques, but

this is a bit outside my comfort zone.

Equipment-wise, I'll most likely be using my 1D MkII and attached 550EX with a

Lumiquest Softbox. I think this is about the softest light I can get without

going off-camera or using an obtrusive softbox. I just wish I could take the

light off-axis a bit. I've also got a Sto-fen Omni-bounce that I could use.

Most of my office has drop ceilings about 9' tall, so one thought would be to

use the sto-fen aimed straight up and use E-TTL to manage the exposure. I

haven't had much time with the Lumiquest softbox, so I'm not sure how that will go.

Any thoughts on my plans, or words of advice/encouragement? These photos will be

seen on a powerpoint slideshow for a couple of seconds, max, so I'm not going to

spend a lot of time composing them. Run and gun for the most part, but I want to

get the most out of the experience for myself.

Thanks!

I just returned and had a good trip. Saw the 'gators, wading birds, and even a couple of Key Deer. Thanks again for the tips!

-Jeff

I'll be spending a few days in Big Pine Key in February and wanted

solicit recommendations for shooting locations. I've heard of the Key

Deer, but what about birding? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff Swayze

Just an update... I had a similar question regarding Formac vs. Cinema Display and found a very recent review that covers some of the issues mentioned. Here's a link:

http://www.macworld.com/2003/08/features/eightflatpanelmonitors/

All, thanks for your tips/insights. You may be happy to know (I certainly was)

that I successfully developed a roll tonight. Everything went fine and I'm very

happy with the results. Here's one of the photos from this roll: http://

www.photo.net/photo/1152793

Thanks again!

-Jeff

PS - I LOVE Black & White!

Well, I tried developing my first roll of B&W film last night and made a huge

error - even though I had all my chemicals labeled, I managed to start the

process by adding fixer to my roll and agitating it like it was developer. I'm still

scratching my head over this one. Once I figured out what I did (after the stop

bath...) I rinsed the film for a while then started over - on the off chance I could

get something from the film. Of course, the film was ruined.

My question is fairly simple. What happened (chemically) to the film when I

put in the fixer first?

Lesson learned, I guess :(

Thanks,

Jeff

I'll be tagging along with my wife as she attends a conference at the

Big Sky resort (near Bozeman) in Montana during the second week of

August. I'll have the mornings to myself, and I'd like to take

advantage of the time to get out and shoot pictures. Can anyone

recomend any good photo spots near the area (within an hour drive or

so)? I'm interested primarily in wildlife and landscapes.

Thanks,

Jeff Swayze

I would strongly suggest that you make some test scans of your transparencies before you make your scanner purchase. I've seen some poor results from using a transparency adapter on a flatbed scanner to scan transparencies (in my case, 35mm slides). Perhaps medium format would be a little better, but typically the scan resoution and dynamic range are not sufficient on a flatbed. Of course, this leads to the more expensive option of a dedicated film scanner, but the results will be much more acceptable on a professional level.

Good luck!