Putting light in a (very) dark corner

As is often the case, even proper planning can get thrown out the door on the morning of a shoot.  We had planned to use a nice open spot in a hotel breakfast area for quick portraits of ladies attending the first "Treasure the Moments Tea" put on by the Sharing the Love Foundation in Forney.  I had planned a simple clamshell type setup... beauty light that would work for all of the lovely ladies who would be coming through.

Upon arrival, however, I was told that that space would not be available and we were instead using a boardroom with a giant table that could not be moved, dark wallpaper and carpet, and about four feet of space to both light and provide access to the giant wicker chair we would be posing with.  Hmmmm....

The only real goal was to give the ladies a decent photo to remember the occasion with.  There were also a lot of hats to be used as props, so the light would have to get under those...  just basic portrait stuff, but stuck in a dark corner.

Here is what I worked out..  The space is tighter than it looks.


The key light is on the right...the big softbox closest to the chair.  The smaller softbox is actually aimed toward the reflector on the left.  It served as fill from the front and the left side, and under the chin.  I added another light (barely visible by the window) as a hair/separation light.

I initially tried to put the smaller softbox on the left side, but there was not enough room to walk past comfortably.  I wasn't sure if we would have anyone with mobility issues or possibly a wheelchair etc.

The view from the chair...


And, it worked reasonably well I thought...  The dark striped wallpaper was nice as a backdrop, even if the flower arrangement got distracting.  I probably should have removed them from the vase, but decided against it.  Did I mention I have a tendency to break things?



Tighter shots were generally better.


This was true with multiple people in the photo as well.  Not only was it a small space, the groovy chair's low seat and wide back and arms made posing around it a bit awkward.


Lessons learned... when you are stuck against a dark wall, you can bounce a softbox off of a reflector to make it work.  Also, don't be afraid of tight spaces.  It forces closeness in your subjects, which is generally good.

Thanks again to all of the lovely ladies for being great models and letting me be a part of the event!

Valentine's Day photobooth Setup

It really is true that after an event, wedding or otherwise, the only thing you really keep are the memories.  And the memories you keep best are the ones you have pictures of.  If it is done right, a fun photo booth can make an event memorable and add to the enjoyment of attendees.


While this photo booth setup is fairly simple, you do need a lot of lights for the look.  I used four strobes, all in various forms of softboxes with a Thunder Grey Seamless background.

Space was a bit limited, with an 8' ceiling and only about 12' wide area.  With that, I was still creating a bottleneck for traffic through an entrance.


At the back, I used Elinchrom 500ws Strobes in 2x2' softboxes at minimum power to create the rim and hair light that separates the subjects from the background paper.  Adjusting the angle of the softboxes also changed how much light was hitting the backdrop, giving it a nice gradient without a separate light.

In front, an Alien Bees ABR800 with the 56" "Moon Unit" octabox was the key light high and camera left. It was at 1/2 power.  On the right, as a strong fill light is an Alien Bees Einstein strobe in a3'x4' softbox.

Simple setup, but it is a lot of softboxes in a small space.


When shooting more than two people in the booth, getting a strobe in the shot was inevitable...


But with one or two, I like the results.


Remember, it isn't about perfection for each image.  There isn't time to customize the lighting for each subject.  Instead, a good general setup that will give good results and keep people moving through is the objective.

A couple of notes... Props make a photo booth more fun.  Giving people something to interact and be creative with helps them be more comfortable than just standing in front of a camera.  And if you make the props, make them matte finish or watch the reflections.

Another  consideration is how you trigger the flashes.  Most monolights have built-in slave triggers so that you would only need a radio trigger on one of them (or even us an on-camera flash as a trigger).  However, at some photo booths, people will use their own cameras to get a shot at the same time.  I have found it beneficial to go ahead and put radio triggers on all of the flashes to avoid having someone with a point-and-shoot popping the flashes.

I took the photos here, but another option is to set up a photo area and allow guests to take their own photos...


Be forewarned.  If there is a photobooth, someone will want to do a jumping photo :)

Monday Photo Roundup - Feb. 18

Having great subjects makes a  photo booth setup a lot of fun.  Especially if they are willing to play a bit.  It helps to have fun props to interact with as well.



Here is a great project ... Photos from Civil War reenactments done with large format pinhole cameras.  Makes for amazing and intriguing images.

Seems simple but ... Five things to make sure you have covered before a portrait session...

What makes 'professional' lenses superior?  It's all in the details.

Bad photography habits to break...  Guilty.

Lots of lists today ... Things to learn while shooting with your phone.

Photo inspiration for the week ... 2013 World Press Photo contest winners.

Strobist goes back-to-the-basics on balancing flash in a photo.

InFocus blog goes back 50 years.

And, photo fun in the car ... go out when it rains and focus on the rain drops on your windows.

Christmas circles....

With a severe (but short-lived) thunderstorm rolling through the area, I made preparations for lightning pictures on the front porch as usual.

It was not so good shooting because of low clouds, but there was lots of lightning in them.  Also, I did not do a very good job of prefocusing the camera..  this was about as good as I got...


But then I was going the the photos and noticed the look of an accidental shutter trip as I was picking up the tripod to go outside... the Christmas tree in all its trippy glory.

Sort of a magical weirdness to it.


The storm blew through in a hurry, so I was still plenty awake to play with more tree pics.  And I had the tripod setup.  Sooo.....    How about the angel on top, lit by a handheld flash during a long exposure, then spin the camera around while the shutter is still open?

This (and the pic at the top) were my favorites.  Not perfect, but a fun exercise anyway.


Have a great Thursday.

Cover Story - Kaufman County Life Winter 2012

The winter 2012 edition of Kaufman County Life is circulating in the wild.  I can't say this was my favorite cover concept, but simplicity is often the best choice.  One thing I miss about being on staff is the day-to-day input and haggling over details and design.  Once you are out of direct contact, it is harder to have meaningful input.

The cover story involves three local musical acts who are making headway in the music biz: Chip Murrey and Texas Underground, Kimberly Torres and Swamp Love, and the Acoustic Sound Hounds.

I shot performance or practice photos of all three, but the cover needed to be inclusive of all of them.  The concept that was chosen was an iPod playlist with the three bands in it.  An old jukebox would have been more fun, but alas, the budget was closer to whatever was handy, so my iPhone got the call.


I set up in the kitchen (The garage shooting space was not yet complete) to see what kind of light would work to show the phone and playlist well.  The key considerations were plenty of detail to read the playlist, no reflections off the glass (easy since it is flat) and a balance between the phone screen and the ambient light.  I ended up at ISO 100, 1/2 second at f10.

Here is how that breaks down.  Shutter speed really only affects the ambient light, in this case the iPhone screen.  The aperture, meanwhile, has to be closed down to make sure everything is in focus, so I balanced that with a studio flash in a small softbox that is very close to the subject.  The slow shutter speed also required that the use of a tripod and not having a person as a model.

Next, to give the shot some personality, I borrowed my wife's dress form, jeans and a shirt to put the phone with.  A plain white or other color shot similar to the test would have been interesting as well, and definitely more "Apple" looking.  We did not want it to look like an ad for phone.

Here is the setup.


One light in a 2x2 softbox to the side and a reflector.  Simple wins the day again.  No reflections in the phone and plenty of shadow detail in the fabric.

The back pocket shot was used for the cover...  It had more room for text.


I think the front pocket is a little better proportioned...


That is about as simple as you can get, and now you've seen my kitchen :)

Don J.

Photos of Photos

Scanning old family photos is time consuming and a general pain. When you have large prints as your only source, it can get even more problematic..

One easy solution is to set up your camera as your scanner. A tripod, flat surface, piece of glass and some light will do the trick.


This particular tripod (Manfrotto 055xproB) makes it even easier because the column goes sideways so that you can work on the floor, but anything that will hold your camera steady can work.

Use your sharpest lens, and set a medium aperture (f8 is usually good) to get the most sharpness possible. With a tripod, shutter speed won't be a problem, so also use a good, low ISO.

Lighting, as always, is key. You have to make sure that the light is very even, and coming from the sides. In this case, I am using a large window and a white poster board. Any lights close to the angle of the camera will cause reflections and hot spots. You should be able to spot any light problems quickly.

Using a piece of glass (Clean, of course) will flatten out the prints to keep focus and shadow problems away. Just be sure to watch out for reflections.

If you look closely at this wonderful old picture of my mom as a youth, you can see the reflection of the ceiling and silhouette of the camera and tripod.


Black fabric can block reflected light.. in this case, the print was on thick flat cardboard, so I just shot it without the glass.


Another thing to watch for is bad white balance.

This is what the camera did on its own, set to Auto WB.


And this is corrected in LightRoom, the original is straight black and white, not that strange blue.


Either set the white balance for the light source you are using (Flourescent, daylight, tungsten, etc.), or use Raw and shoot a gray card and correct it in post.

Of course, photos aren't the only thing you will want... it is good to get a digital record of all kinds of art... in this case my beautiful grandmother.


It is a fun trip down memory lane to pull out the memories, and if you only have one print, it is good to get some back-up anyway....
What a great frog shirt!


I don't know the specific details about copyright issues that come with digitizing old prints. The original photographer is unknown, so I'm looking into what happens there.

Quick Recap..
Use a tripod
Fill the frame as much as possible
Use a remote release or the self-timer to avoid shake.
Light from the side, and eliminate anything reflecting (it may be you!)

Have a great weekend everyone,