Dan Perovich's Cyberfront Property

1/200 sec @ f/11, ISO 200, 200 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)  Today’s photograph is similar to yestersday’s in most ways except the subject which was used.  The exact setup was the same give or take the power used on the two flashes firing into the shoot-through umbrellas.  The reflections in this photograph are a bit more pronounced then yesterday’s.  This is because I took today’s photograph from a lower angle.  If you look closely at the top edge of the picture, you will notice the line where the acetate stops.  I was too lazy to switch the orientation.

Tomorrow, I hope to have a bit of a change in the project.  I do not want to jinx it, so I will keep mum for now.

4.0 sec @ f/18, ISO 200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  Today I wanted to play around with the white-seamless background and acetate film for a product shoot.  I grabbed the Strait-Line laser level that I purchase to help hang all the pictures on the wall to be my subject.  What I found out today while shooting was that the best reflections occur on the acetate when taking the picture from a low angle relative to the acetate.  The problem I ran into though, was that the acetate ran across the frame from left to right leaving a visible edge where the acetate covering ended.  You cannot see the edge in today’s photograph because I cropped the image tighter than I would have liked to.  Next time I take this type of photograph, I will orient the acetate so that it runs front to back to allow for more cropping options.

1/60 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 70 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)  I got some new equipment today.  UPS was kind enough to deliver a portable background stand this afternoon while I was at work.  The portable stand fits in a duffel-bag carrying case.  It consists of two ten foot light stands with modified pegs on the top and a three piece, nine foot long, cross bar.  The cross bar is attached to the top on the light stands and secured using wing-nuts.  A few days ago, I swung by the local camera store, Ace Photo (their online store is now open!), and picked up white seamless paper to use as my first background.

I wanted to work at taking a portrait tonight by using two lights: One light as the key light in the front using a shoot-through umbrella, and the other used as a background light with a gel to add color.  In the process of setting up the shot, I took several test photographs to chimp what the setup was looking like.  Today’s picture is one of those test shots.  More specifically, it is a test shot where I was dialing in the camera exposure settings and background flash settings to get the effect that I wanted.  After this shot was taken, I added the key light (camera right, shoot-through umbrella, about one or two feet away from my face) and chimped a few more times to lock in the key flash settings.

1/320 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 100, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  I picked up a few supplies at the craft store this afternoon.  Most of the supplies were used to created today’s photograph.  One of things I picked up was acetate film.  I read on other blogs that acetate can be used on a surface to create a reflection of the subject.  As you can see in the photograph, the reflection created is quite pleasing.

The other supplies I picked up were two pieces of white foam board.  I used only one piece of the foam board today.  It was used as an economical light reflector.  A shoot-through umbrella was placed camera right and angled down over the sunglasses.  On camera left, next to the sunglasses, I placed the white foam board.  The reflector filled in the shadow areas on the left side of the frame eliminating the need for a second flash on that side.

I also practiced a technique for eliminating glare and flash reflection in the sun glass lens.  The technique is really an angles game.  Just like playing pool, a slight change in angles can produce very different results.  If I had taken this picture straight on into the sun glasses, the flash at camera right would have been visible in the right lens.

1/200 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 200, 75 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)  I could not resist the urge to take another picture of Mela tonight.  She looked very cute sleeping on the couch while we were watching TV.  As quickly and quietly as I could, I went into the other room and grabbed a shoot-through umbrella and stand.  I made sure to set up and power up all the equipment in the other room so as not to disturb Mela from her nap.

The setup was fairly simple.  A shoot-through umbrella at immediate camera right, about chest-high and pointed down.  I was practically under the umbrella and hugging the light stand to take this picture.  The shadows under Mela’s chin give an idea of the placement of the umbrella light source.

I should start writing down my flash settings so that I can share those too.  I can never remember what the final flash power and zoom settings were for each Photo365 picture.  I would also like to remember to take a picture of the lighting setup to share.  A pad and pen in my camera bag in plain sight when I grab for my camera might just be the thing I need to remember to do both of these.

1/250 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 100, 121 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)  Warning, this is a repeat.  However, I feel like I have come quite a ways since taking a very similar picture at the beginning of my Photo365 project.  In fact, I remember the photo session very clearly.  I had just bought my first PocketWizard and could not wait to play around with off camera flash.  I had the Buddha sitting on a cardboard box on my kitchen center island.  I had to play around with the flash positions by having it sit on the counter, sit on a TV tray table below the counter, or by holding it with my free hand just so it would not be on the camera.

Today when I took this shot, I had a few more pieces of gear and new techniques up my sleezes.  This time around, I set up two shoot-through umbrellas.  They were at camera left and camera right and tucked in nice and close to the buddha.  The subject sat on top of the same cardboard box which I used the first time around.  However, this time I covered it with a black sweatshirt.  I also added a “reflector” to the lighting setup.  And by “reflector”, I mean a glossy sheet of photo copy paper.  I placed the sheet on the kitchen island at a forty-five degree angle in front of the cardboard box.  This reflected the light from the flashes back up and under the candle holder part of the statue.

I took two additional shots using this setup, each time with a different candle color.  The camera was on a tripod, so there was no change in the scene other than the candle color and wick variations.  My fiancée and I plan on getting the three photographs printed onto gallery wraps to hang in our bedroom.  A little more work is needed before I can send them off to be printed.  Because my current tripod is meant for video , I cannot take portrait oriented shots with it.  I will need to take the buddha shots into Photoshop and add some extra black height to the canvas so that I can get a portrait crop.

1/320 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  Tonight was a busy night for me.  I headed to a peer group meeting right after work today.  I was responsible for picking up the food for the session.  I order from Rubino’s Pizzeria in Herndon.  They make some of the yummiest pies.  After the peer group meeting, there were a lot of left overs.  I was lucky enough to come away with a whole pizza.  Unfortunately, only two of the slices were BBQ chicken and bacon like the one in today’s picture.

Upon arriving home, I had about twenty minutes before I had to head out the door again over to my neighbors’ for the Ultimate Fighter.  During this short amount of time, I managed to take today’s picture.  I was in such a rush that I do not remember all of the details though.  I am almost certain that the lighting was a single reflective umbrella coming from camera left.

I know today’s picture is nothing special, but at least it is not a no-picture day.  I have not had one of those yet…..knock on wood.

1/200 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  I had my fiancée help me out with today’s photograph.  I asked her to hold a couple of raw hide treats for our “girls” so that I could take a picture of their attempts to grab them in midair.  I was able to take roughly 10 frames before our leaping Leila was able to snatch them out of her hand.

The shot was setup with two flashes in reflective umbrellas.  They were positioned at camera left and and camera right in a crossing pattern.  The “girls” wound up missing their mark by a few feet.  As a result, the light was a bit more feathered than intended.  An increase in exposure during post processing added the needed light for the photograph.

1/250 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  

While I was at work today, my fiancée unpacked the bags of candy she bought for Halloween and arranged them in three vases.  She said that she thought they would make a good subject for my photo today.  I had to agree.

I set this shot up using two reflective umbrellas on either side of the kitchen counter.  I have included a picture of the setup for reference.  Thanks to Dustin Diaz for the idea to share lighting setups in this way to educate his readers.  I hope to do the same one day.

Lighting setup