Photo 5: It's the Indian!

I will try something different and for this entry, I'll start off with the technical details of this photo:

1st Featured Photo: Raiz

Technical Details:
Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: Kit Lens 18-55mm F3.5-5.6
Aperture: F10
Shutter: 1/160
ISO: 200

Yep! You read it right! I used a Nikon D40 for this shot! It's an entry-level DSLR that was released around 6 years ago. And I only used the kit lens that came with it.

I wanted to tackle the most popular cliche in photography, which is "It's the Indian, not the Pana."

For some time now, every time I get to do a good photo, my camera seems to always get the credit
 
:|

"Dale, ang ganda talaga ng camera mo!!"

Hehehehe!

So for this week, I borrowed a friend's camera to prove that you can also get good photos with just the basic DSLRs. It's really all about maximizing your equipment and using the light to your advantage.

Having said that, does it mean that I will be giving up my camera?
Heck no!! An Indian with a high-caliber rifle will still get more hunting opportunities compared to an Indian still using a wooden pana! :D

To view the rest of the photos, click below:
Facebook Album
or
Multiply Album


Featured Photo 2: Kristine

 

For my second photo, I wanted to continue showing all the cool stuff you can do with lighting. Minimal editing was done on this photo and the motion blur was achieved by using a slow shutter speed together with the lights. Yes you can do that with Photoshop, but why bother if you can do it in-cam? :D

Technical details:

Camera - Nikon D700

Lens - 85mm f1.4

Aperture - F4.0

Shutter - 1/10

ISO - 200

To view the rest of the pics, click here:

Facebook Album

or

Multiply Album

Photo 4: Double Feature!

I had two shooting sessions for the week and I didn't know which picture to post... So then I asked myself, why not make this a double feature??

Why not?? :D

I picked out two photos from the two sessions, and here they are...

First featured photo: Li-Anne
Li-Anne was my batchmate when I joined Thomson Reuters (Thomson Financial way back then). She asked me to be the 2nd/back-up photographer for her wedding. The main photog was really busy with her and I really didn't want to get in the way, so I was mostly just taking stolen shots whenever I could.

I was observing from the side when I saw this shot... This was straight from the camera, and no editing was done (just minor cropping to straighten it out). I just used ambient light here and a really big aperture opening of f1.4.

Technical details:
Camera - Nikon D700
Lens - Samyang 85mm F1.4
Aperture - F1.4
Shutter - 1/320
ISO - 1600


Second featured photo: Gian

A group of friends asked me to have their photos taken. It was a fun session and we were laughing mostly the whole time :D  Although they did remind me how old I have become and that my age is almost out of the calendar already! :D

Again, no editing was done on this pic :)

A single speedlight was used here, fired at camera right via CLS. It was actually around noon at that time and the sun was high up. The speedlight made it look like it was in the morning and the sun has just come up. It also served as a kicker light to create more separation from the background.

The set-up looked like this:

Technical details:
Camera - Nikon D700
Lens - Nikkor 50mm F1.4 AFD
Aperture - F2.0
Shutter - 1/1250
ISO - 200
Lighting - Bare SB800

Photo 3: Mr. Padapus

I was never known to have high EQ. I learned this weekend that birthdays and credit cards shouldn't go together... So now, Mr. Shuffulafagus (my Ipod Shuffle and running buddy) has found his big daddy, Mr. Padapus :D

This was my lighting set-up for this shot:

A softbox was placed on my right side and it was actually pointed at the back. The light just feathered on my side and only partially lit me up. A second speedlight on a gridded snoot was pointed directly at Mr. Padapus to give him the spotlight.

I can't wait to show Mr. Padapus to my nephew RafRaf. We're going to become bestest best friends! Hehehe :D

Technical details of this shot:
Camera - Nikon D700
Lens - Nikkor 50mm F1.4
Aperture - F10
Shutter - 1/125
Lighting - SB900 on portable softbox and SB800 with DIY gridded snoot

Ok, I'm going to keep this short... I'd like to go back to playing with Mr. Padapus :p  (told 'ya I have low EQ)

Photo 2: Kick 'em!

It was a pretty busy weekend... I worked mostly on a wedding album for a client and then I was with Jerica on her friend's wedding on Sunday. I really didn't have enough time to set-up a photo shoot for this week, so please excuse me for lack of a better subject :D

Following the previous photo, I just added a 2nd light to the mix. The 2nd light was a kicker light, which in my opinion is usually taken for granted. The key and fill lights are what photographers usually focus on. I can't really blame them because those elements are very important. However, I think that the kicker light is equally important and it's this element that usually adds the spice that gives the photo a little more "umph."

See that overexposed part at the back of my neck, my hair, and shoulders? That's the kicker light, and it creates a separation between the subject and the background, creating a more 3D effect.

The set-up for this shot was simple, and was done like this:

The key light was again as close to the face as possible, and the kicker was aimed at the right shoulder (yes the right, not the left), which feathered a bit of highlight.

I actually made a mistake for this photo, but I won't reveal it unless someone can point out what exactly that is :D

I also have a colored version of this... but I prefer the B&W copy... letting the red color stand out is more dramatic, in my opinion :)

Technical details of this photo:
Camera - Nikon D700
Lens - Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8  @86mm
Aperture - F10
Shutter - 1/160
Lighting - SB800 with 60x60 portable softbox and bare SB600

Jerica - My First Post for 2011!

From 2009-2010, I did a weekly project for a whole year wherein I explored different lighting set-ups and shared them on-line. It was a huge success for me as it helped me push my creativity and hone my lighting skills.

So now as I welcome 2011, I am restarting my weekly project :)
I look forward to challenging myself further and hopefully produce stunning images in the process.


My very first post for the year is of my gorgeous fiancée :)
As you've probably noticed, this is also the image that I used for this site's background. Hehe.

 

I wanted to do something really simple to start things off, and for me to go back to the basics (having a solid foundation is very important!). So I only used 1 light. It was a speedlight in a portable 60x60cm softbox. It was positioned like so:
The key here is getting the softbox as close as possible to Je's face. This made the light falloff drastic within just a very short distance, which meant that Je's left side was well lit while the right side was in shadow. This also made the light nice and soft, and the softbox didn't light up the background (which was a black backdrop).

So there you have it... My very first post for the year :)
I hope that this is the start of a very good activity for me! Feel free to ask me questions if you have any, and check on my site from time to time to see my progress :)


Technical details of this photo:
Camera - Nikon D700
Lens - Samyang 85mm f1.4
Aperture - F10
Shutter - 1/160
ISO - 200
Lighting - SB800 + 60x60cm Portable Softbox