Studio Practice JRN 420 Models

Today we had a group of models come into the studio so we could practice and learn how to do the setup and how to make our models feel at ease. I am an extremely shy person, but its strange that when I'm behind a camera I am at ease and excited to see what will happen. This is what I do- I love working with people and making a photo that will make them smile and have them walk away from the shoot going "wow, I'd like to do that again. I had fun." My model's name was Alicia (I hope the spelling is right), and though my camera decided to have a few issues, I got a few shots to work out. In these, I am just trying to get her to relax and have fun- the last one I needed to fix my focus.
All shot at ISO 100, F 11, Shutter 200.

JRN 420 Location Lighting Assignment

This project was extremely difficult, and the most problematic so far. I learned, like I heard most people in the class say, that we all need to own the lights we use. I am taking this to heart. I do not own a strobe or any lights. When I went to the Dept. early Friday morning, there were no pockets wizards, no strobes, and no reflectors. Andi was nice enough to let me use the SB-800 she was going to check out, so I had one strobe. I waited around the dept and checked back but there still wasn't anything to check out. I borrowed a lighting kit from a friend that had a few strobe flashes, stands, and an umbrella. I worked with it and think overall I made it work.


Rebecca Crawford, Location Lighting, F 4, Shutter 1/25, ISO 1600.
Dustin Kunkel, 23, takes a break from reorganizing old memorabilia and staring at dust covered panels and outlets to go for a ride. Kunkel, who is a construction worker, checked out the renovations above Coffee Talks 505 in Clare, and finished up his morning observations with some coffee and a cruise in the sunshine.

For this shot I used a light fired from a stand behind the railing at the top of the stairs to the top right, without a snoot or diffuser. I had the light back about 5 feet to let the shadows be a little more harsh from the bike. To light the face I stood above the stairs on the right of the subject and used my left hand to hold the strobe off to the right at 1/16 power.



Rebecca Crawford, Location Lighting, F 5, Shutter 1/50, ISO 1600.
Samantha Taylor, 21, shows off one of her new character looks, just outside of the Broadway Theater in Mount Pleasant. Taylor, who is an acting student at Central Michigan University, is preparing for her upcoming roles on campus by mentally and physically becoming the women she portrays.

For this shot I used a light fired just above eye level on a stand located to the left, with an umbrella to spread the light. To fill the face I used a strobe a few feet from the subject to fill in the shadows on the right and light up the background just a bit.

Setup 1


Setup 2

Location Lighting Practice JRN 420

I had a lot of fun with this, and I hope the shoot for class will be as much fun :)
Here are few shots from location lighting practice.
The first was with
Lens (mm): 78
ISO: 1600
Aperture: 9
Shutter: 1/160
And a strobed umbrella above camera right.

The second was with
Lens (mm): 55
ISO: 1600
Aperture: 9
Shutter: 1/125
And a strobed umbrella slightly camera right, about a few inches above where I was sitting.

The third was with
Lens (mm): 112
ISO: 1600
Aperture: 9
Shutter: 1/160
This was taken under a tree by Wightman with a strobed umbrella just a bit to the left of Martha, fired at 1/8 power.
I need to watch my ISO which my camera tries to adjust automatically between shots.

JRN 420 Still Life Assignment 3

This was my first time ever shooting still life, and I found that once I started shooting I had a ton of ideas. It was difficult to sort through and find just two photos, but here are the ones I liked the best. I went with the theme that "Lessons Can Always Be Learned From The Past."

Crawford Still Life #1


Rebecca Crawford, Still Life, F 13, Shutter 1/13, ISO 100.
As photography ventures more into the digital realm, memories and lessons learned with film are still worth holding onto. Even though film cameras might start to collect dust, what they've taught us will remain clear.

For this shot I used the smaller softbox set off to the left side, slightly behind the camera and gloves, pointing down towards them. The softbox was turned so that it would be horizontal and there was a fill light coming just a little bit from the side on the right. This was shot both on the studio light table and on a piece of white matting board to reduce the glare. This one was on the matt so the glare was not as bad. I also shot this on the white backdrop but it didn't turn out like I'd hoped. I also used 1/8 power on an SB-800 strobe pointing up towards the ceiling.

Crawford Still Life #2


Rebecca Crawford, Still Life, F 6.3, Shutter 1/25, ISO 100.
Time is often a major stressor in life, and there is constant worry that the next moment will pass us by. When looking too far forward, we can sometimes overlook that the key to life's lessons is in the past.

For this shot I used a big softbox set vertically off to the left and placed the clock gears on their side. The gears were set on black velvet curtain laid over a box and were set to the right side of the box, where they were backlit with a rim light. The rim light was set up on the right hand side of the box, pointed just slightly behind the gears. I knelt down next the right side of the box and zoomed in on the key, using a SB-800 bounced off the ceiling to try and light up the darker sides of the gears.

Lighting set up photo. For 1st photo, changed to white board and took away black backdrop-

JRN 420 Painting with Light Assignment # 2

Dreams and Reality



Rebecca Crawford, Painting with Light, F 5.6, Shutter 73, ISO 100.

Dreams provide us with visions of ourselves in roles and places we never imagined. Sometimes the choices are similar to situations we are as facing in reality. The key is discovering if our dreams give us clues or helpful hints to what we should do, or if they are just bizarre thoughts.

To create this photo balloons were strung from the beam in the studio on both sides of the frame. I knelt first on the right of the frame and a strobe was fired. Then I switched positions to the other side, and another strobe went off. The balloons were hit with a little bit of light from a flash light with a little bit of blue tone. The background is a police flasher, moved around as fast as possible.



Rebecca Crawford, Painting with Light, F 5.6, Shutter 84, ISO 100.

Fear grabs hold over everyone. Awake or dreaming, the things we push away come back to haunt us. Although the situation may seem impossible to get out of, many times the answer is to face it and fight back no matter how afraid we may be.

On this photo a muted strobe was fired to freeze me and a blue filtered flashlight was swirled around me from top to bottom, around legs and back up. Then a red filter was put on the flashlight add starting from bottom went up again.

This assignment was a lot of fun, hard, but I learned a lot. Mainly keep out ambient light, it is difficult to stay in a position for too long, have something heavy enough to hold the shutter button down, and keep trying until it comes out right.

JRN 420 Portrait 1

A saxophone player from the age of 10, Dustin Kunkel always was the "band kid". He played throughout high school, tried to learn piano, but found it wasn't for him. Around his 18th birthday his best friend bought a guitar which sparked Kunkel's interest. Now at the age of 23, he practices on his Washburn electric four times a day for up to one hour sessions. He says he likes music because "it is a universal language that everyone knows."
Kunkel can be very outgoing, crazy, and even a bit dramatic at times. He does almost anything to get people to laugh or smile, especially while playing. It seems he is always happy. When he is away from playing shows and is by himself or a few people, he is nervous and shy. Having a crowd seems to make him feel comfortable.

I had a few issues in the studio, but for the first time using all the lights and setting up, I think it went ok. To shoot I used a Nikon D80, rim light, main, side, and small back light. Lens ranged from 50mm to 200, and shot at about F16, 200 shutter and ISO .

FIRST STUDIO PHOTOS

Always preferring to be outdoors than in, I have never shot much more than a snapshot inside...and I have never shot in a studio. I had not set up a soft box, used a strobe, known what a pocket wizard was, or a white lightening. Needless to say, up until mid-last year/ this semester, I was feeling a little behind.
But though I love the outdoors I am not one to shoot landscape. Instead I love working with people, being crazy, and just having a good time.
The photo above is my first attempt... on the the Nikon D80 with an 85mm and F16...white balance set on auto...wasn't working so hot....little blown out.
The second photo was same, except I set the F stop to 22. The last few takes are my favorites. I learned that it is important to keep the rim ligt from bouncing back into the camera, as it will mess up your exposure or leave you with some glare. Keeping distance from the subject is important, or you will cut of body parts, or have to jump back to catch the action and will miss the moment. So stay back, use the zoom and that why you are prepared for what they do. Keep the subject close to the light, but keep in mind reflective objects they may be wearing. Like the chain and the glasses above. Keep relaxed. Remember to not "chimp" and stare at your LCD, once you have a good idea roll with it. Otherwise you waste time and your subject looses interest too. Keep your ISO at about 200 (because those lights are indeed plenty bright). And action and reaction and 98% always better than a straight pose for showing character. It is more than what I know or can see, but there has to be show emotion or moment to tell everyone else who they are. Lastly, stop freaking out, breathe, and just have fun. Learn as you go. The first time might not be the best but everyone learns and gets better.
PS.-- I noticed that despite trying to get these in order they start off at the very top with last frame, then scroll down to first take. :)