Practice, practice, practice... I've heard many photogs say that and so have I when asked about my images. I've been really focusing on what Zack Arias challenged us to do. Take one one light, one modifier and use it. Also, I've been working on trying to keep my traveling kit light, no pun intended. Especially after the previous two shoots. My camera bag weighs about 25 lbs, and my roller bag weights close to 20 lbs. That's a lot to lug around. So after shooting with my Alien Bees, heavy duty light stands and Vagabond battery pack, I decided to condense and lighten my "On Location" gear.
Luck would have it that Lisa, a Sales Associate at Henley's Photo Shop in Bakersfield, was willing to work with me and Brian. We begged Lisa to meet us at Henley's Parking Lot at 7:00 PM to do some One Light work. I brought two modifiers, a 22" Beauty Dish, and a 64" PLM. BTW, shout out to Jimmy at Henleys for loaning me the 30 degree grid for the Beauty Dish!!!
We got to work right away and fortunately the sky was partly cloudy, so a nice sunset was anticipated. We shot for about an hour and a half, and I went from Beauty Dish, to Bare Flash, to PLM. These images were all shot in Manual Mode, that's right, no Joe McNally TTL with E/V adjustments. Talk about getting out of my Comfort Zone, which is a mixed blessing since I invested in Nikon CLS and the TTL technology that works well with my camera. However, I did rely on Nikon CLS to adjust the Flash Power since I didn't want to mess with my Pocket Wizards and walk over to the flash and manually adjust the Flash Power. Nikon CLS is dependent on Line-Of-Sight between the Camera and the remote flash. On bright days, or modifiers that engulf the flash, forget it. Unreliable results. However, with it being dusk and the flash sufficiently exposed, CLS worked flawlessly.
What Did I Learn?
- Shoot in a variety of lighting conditions and locales. Each one has its challenges such as variances in brightness from clouds, reflections, power lines, street lights, etc...
- When possible use sunlight, or a streetlight as a rim/accent light.
I have a shoot lined up with two Model Mayhem models on June 26 in Santa Monica. Knowing me, I'll probably bring all 45 lbs of gear. Sheesh!!!
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