Strobing test #1 and #2(half strobist)

As promised, here are some of the better test shots from my new strobe set up. I present to you, strobing test #1 and strobing test #2. The first one was shot inside my house, in the proposed makeshift studio room. The second one was shot outside in the greenhouse, and around the area. I had to shift to a reflector-white board set up when the battery of my trigger ran out. It might get too expensive to buy disposable CR2 batteries all the time so I bought 4 rechargeable CR2 batteries and a charger from ebay. Hopefully, it gets here soon so I can experiment more.

IMPORTANT LESSON.. Never open the umbrella with flash and RF receiver when there's a strong consistent wind. I was getting the chair for a possible shot, then boom, down went the umbrella, my 285hv and my stand, aside from the damage minimal damage in the umbrella skeleton, my other gear were still A-Okay.

Anyway, critics are always welcome.

Here are the lessons that I learned, lighting-wise. I shall provide examples.

1. Despite being able to sync at almost all speeds, because of the RF wireless trigger and receiver, I should not abuse the shutter speed, especially when there is only one strobe on site. This will make the photo bright on one half and very dark on the other, much like a gradient.

Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the left, very high shutter speed (I was taking advantage of the   high sync speed)



2. Don't always shoot at 1/16 power, even to conserve power. Sometimes, it is still too weak, especially when there's a diffuser or a shoot through umbrella, or a reflective umbrella. The model pose was really good, in my taste. It was just that my flash was either too far from her, or was emitting very low light.

Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the right, higher than 1/200 of a second shutter speed.




3. Reflectors are very useful when you run out of battery for the trigger. I was able to use a reflector and a white board for the remainder of the second shoot. Although even with this, the light redirected might be too harsh. It might cause your model to squint or close his/her eyes.

Reflector below-left


4. Just because something might look good as a stand alone subject, it might not necessarily be a good background. I thought the branches looked cool, and I imagined how they would look like if I shot them as a subject. For me, it became too busy, or too messy a background. lol.

Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the left, around 1/200 of a second shutter speed.


5. Write down the settings used for each shot. Evident in how unsure I am about the apertures and shutter speeds used.

Here are the better ones from the two shoots. Enjoy :)

First strobe test





Details:
First photo - At around 3pm, ambient light to the back left, Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the upper-left with reflective umbrella.

Second Photo - Same setup as the first one.

Third photo - Ambient light, kinda diffused to the left, Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the mid/upper-right with reflective umbrella.

I shot using 1.8,8,11 apertures.


Second strobe test




Details:
First photo - At around 12pm, Reflector lower left, white board lower right (I did not have an assistant to hold it).

Second Photo - Same setup as the first one.

Third photo - Under the sun, Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the upper-right, around 1/200 shutter speed if I remember correctly.

I shot using 1.8,8,11 apertures.

Check out more of my photos in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/

For more photos of the first and second shoot - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/sets/72157623909750514/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/sets/72157623785271329/ respectively

Korea Shots

Ok, here are some of my better shots when I was in Korea. There were supposed to be 5 rolls for the trip, but when the scans came back, there was a note that said that one of the films were unexposed.. so I only received 4. Too bad.. I forgot what was in that roll. Oh well. I'll post in a few days my test shots for my makeshift studio + a very important lesson I learned. LOL.

Enjoy! :)






        This photo was shot with expired film. I had this film lying around. All I know is that it was subjected to above average heat. So maybe the aging process hastened. Anyway, hope you enjoy this set :)

One extra tidbit. I was able to find Neopan Acros 120 films at last. So expect new Mamiya photos soon. Damn Lucky 120 films are a waste of money and time. Don't even bother. Two rolls, both defective. tsk.

Anyway!


Korea and a special Birthday Project

Ok, so, I just came home from a week-long visit to Korea. All I can say is that Korea=COLD. Anyway. I had fun taking photos there, which will be posted soon btw. Also, I learned that Korea is not a shopping country. lol. There was one street there which had the same stuff being sold for almost all the stores. We stayed in the COOP Residence in Jung-Gu in Seoul. The room was kinda small but it was able to provide me a comfortable living environment for the week. Among the places we visited were Nami Island, Seoul Tower, the Palace, and many more. 


I especially liked walking in the streets. They were very clean and organized, not like what you would probably see here in Manila. Also, motorcycles were abundant, and not just the scooter types and the underbones, but real sportsbikes and cruisers, which appealed to me a lot because I intend to get a 200cc-400cc bike soon. Anyway. Photos will be up in a few days.. gotta fix my finances as I have been spending a lot for my new project...

Which i will discuss now.

I am planning on converting our drums/guitar/ex-piano(before it got destroyed by the flood) room into my very own studio. I have already gotten a Vivitar 285HV flash, YongNuo RF602 flash/shutter triggers, a flash stand + detachable umbrella set, and batteries. All I need to do now is to get a sufficient background and to cover the entrance with black cloth. Tada, my very own basic studio. 

There will be two sources of ambient light, a drum set(as i dont know where to put it), and the strobist equipments there. 

I'm pretty excited to try it out.. which I will probably do tomorrow.. And again, test pictures will be up in a few days.. depending on how much money I will have left. . . I used almost 200$ for the everything.. I know it's quite big for a student on a budget.. but hey, my birthday's coming up.. This is what my friend and I call "justified GAS". Lol. after this, all my photography spending will be on films. :) I am happy.

I will post a before and after pic of the room too.


On top is a photo of a sign above some fruits in a street vendor's stand taken using my sister's digital camera.


Down here is a photo of what my set up will look like. Image from http://www.Tayhua.com. That's where I bought my triggers and umbrella set.. all for Php3700. 

If you want to see some of my photos..

Check them out in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/