Thanks Scott Kelby - This is Great!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Song of the Week !!

New Cake

Newark New Clients

Newark Shoot 6
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Publicity photos for a great Newark, NJ company.
Lighting- SB900 in an Apollo softbox camera left....SB28 behind and camera right for rim light.

Top Gear

I'm getting ready for a corporate shoot tomorrow with limited time and space for equipment so I'm checking out which gear to take and which to leave behind. Seems like a good time to complete my list of Top Photo Gear on Amazon.
Top Photo Gear on Amazon

Fall Portraits 1

Fall Portraits 1
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

I always look forward to one particular school that I shoot portraits because they prefer to have them outside instead of the standard plain background.

Lighting
-SB-600 in a shoot-thru umbrella camera right and close to the subject for wrap around lighting,
-SB-26 in a silver umbrella camera left.
-Both flashes have a 1/4 CTO gel on them to warm up the strobes so they match the sunny daylight.
-White balance is set to 'sunny' and I dialed in -2 to add a little blue.
-Shot in manual mode with the ISO at 200.
-Aperture at 5.6 so the background is blurry but the depth of field can't be too narrow since kids fidget.
-Shutter set to 1/200 to make the background 1-stop darker than the subject so they pop out.

Lamb in Tangine

Lamb in Tangine 1
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Hung out with friends on Saturday, always bring my camera and some lights, so I decided to shoot his dinner. He just bought a Mediterranean pot called a Tangine and made Lamb stew with quinoa, ground cherries and dried fruits in it. It tasted as good as it looks.

Lighting - SB900 in a Westcott Apollo softbox high and behind the food. I forgot my reflector, so I opened a white shoot-thru umbrella in the front for fill.

Boris On My Roof

Boris On My Roof
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Great model Boris (Model Mayhem #1283633)
Lighting- SB900 in an Apollo softbox camera right high on a c-stand.

WC Boris

WC Boris
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Great model - Boris (Model Mayhem #1283633)

Lighting- SB900 with a DIY grid as the key light on-axis and 2 feet above the subject pointed at the face. SB600 in an Orbitz Ringflash for fill. Two Dynalites in gridded stripboxes behind the subject and 8ft to the left and right. Large pieces of black cardboard held up by lightstands and clasps on either side of the subject to flag lens flare and block the side lighting on the face.

Retouched in Lightroom and Wet Chrome preset added.

At B&H Photo, Employees Say Not Everything Is Picture Perfect

Great story from a great station - WNYC

New NSFW song from Cee-Lo - "@#!* You"

Broken Social Scene - Forced To Love

Great Song !!-- Broken Social Scene - Forced To Love
(Nine Inch Nails meets Foo Fighters)

Guess The Lighting

Blog takes a forensic look at famous photos lighting set-ups...great idea !!

guessthelighting.com/

The Like - He's Not A Boy

Bang Bang Bang

Can't get this song out of my head....in a good way - Mark Ronson & The Business Intl - Bang Bang Bang

Incredible Video Captures Lightning at 9,000 Frames per Second from PetaPixel by Michael Zhang

from PetaPixel by Michael Zhang

Aperture-Sun Logo

Aperture-Sun Logo
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

I was looking for a photography/aperture t-shirt at Cafepress and didn't see anything I really liked...so, I designed this !!

The lens...the sun...the two elements needed for photography. Let me know what you think and you can buy stuff with it here
(*sigh*..plugs make me feel dirty)

Heli-Yeah !!

Can I write this off if I don't shoot aerial photography?

Love the song too !! Anyone know who it is?

Softlighter & My Assistant

Softlighter & My Assistant
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Practicing with my favorite subject on a Sunday morning.

Lighting - Dynalite head in a 60" Photek Softlighter II directly overhead with a white reflector at an angle on the ground directly in front of Evan to fill in the raccoon eyes effect. Botero 023 as the background. I was going for something similar to the cover of the July issue of Rangefinder magazine, a great low-key portrait of Jeff Bridges by Jerry Avenaim. I didn't even come close, I have to use a smaller light source than the Softlighter and move the background back so it goes black. He didn't use a reflector for fill either, but my son looked pretty scary without it.

Rangefinder link : www.rangefindermag.com/

OBX Surfer

OBX -14
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

OBX - Dragonfly

OBX -4
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

The Outer Banks has a ton of dragonflies, this one posed longer for a picture than my son ever would.

OBX Beach Shoot

OBX Beach Shoot
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Family portrait session with my 24-70 2.8
D300 handheld...SB900 in Lumiquest III handheld from high above on axis.

OK..OK...I Get It

OK..OK...I Get It
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

For years I've thought "how can there really be THAT big a difference between my 18-200 and Nikon's 24-70mm 2.8.......um, wow!!
This shot may not show off the amazing sharpness, but the color rendition and bokeh is insane. Plus it focuses at the speed of light....I get it now.

Strobist - SB900 in Lumiquest III held camera left.

Apples In Stereo - Dance Floor

e>

Photorealism

Last night Bravo debuted Double Exposure, a new reality show based on fashion photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani. I've always admired their work and I was hoping for a behind-the-scenes look at how they make their amazing images.

Instead, they fought over who had the bigger hotel room. I’m sure this had more to do with editing out the technical, and leaving in the only drama the show’s producer’s could find. That's the basis of any reality show and in order to watch any of these shows, you have to accept that premise.

They can’t really discuss lens choices, f-stops, and modifiers without your average viewer changing the channel...I’d be bored if Hell’s Kitchen showed someone stirring a roux for an hour too.

I’ll keep watching though, just for the quick glimpse of a beauty dish, location idea, and, who am I kidding, Indrani’s not that bad to look at either.
By the way, I though her ‘aztec shot’ was better than Markus’.

Wow !!! PS5 Content Aware Fill FREE from Microsoft

Sneak Peek at Microsoft’s Mind-Boggling New Photo Fuse Feature

Beck's Back !!

Great new Beck song

Janelle Monae - Tightrope ft. Big Boi

Side By Side #14

Side By Side #14
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

14th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Lighting - Dynalite in a stripbox camera left and behind...Dynalite in a large softbox (with black paper covering 2/3rds of it to make a stripbox) camera right and behind....SB600 in a westcott shoot thru umbrella above and slightly left....silver reflector for fill camera right....SB900 with CTO gel set to 1/16 behind my head and pointed at Botero 023 grey collapsible background.

Self Portrait 5-26

Self Portrait 5-26
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

After a no-show model (If I had a dollar every time that happen, this would have been shot with a D3) I decided it was self-portrait time !!

Lighting - Dynalite in a stripbox camera left and behind...Dynalite in a large softbox (with black paper covering 2/3rds of it to make a stripbox) camera right and behind....SB600 in a westcott shoot thru umbrella above and slightly left....silver reflector for fill camera right....SB900 with CTO gel set to 1/16 behind my head and pointed at Botero 023 grey collapsible background.
Retouching in Lightroom (nothing weirder than staring at your own face magnified 10x)

Funny and a great idea !!

How to Get Your Camera Back When You Lose It
digital-photography-school.com
Andrew McDonald has a strategy just for you that will increase the chance of getting your camera back. He took the following series of images and leaves them on his camera so that anyone who finds it and scrolls through his pictures will see them.

Catch !!

Catch !!
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Beer & Portraits 2
Hanging out with some friends...a few beers...a few strobes and a camera.

Strobist - SB900 with a shoot-thru umbrella camera right. SB600 with red gel pointed at Botero backdrop behind subjects head.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Mighty Sparrow

Sex Pistols meets Green Day

Band of Horses - Laredo

I LOVE this song !!
Matthew Sweet...Son Volt...Neil Young...all rolled together in a top-down, lazy summer kind of way. A quintessential driving song with a chorus that makes you want to hop in the fast lane and gun it.



Plus, it's free on Amazon right now.

Flickr Photo Download: Lighting Modifiers Cheat Sheet

Great Examples of what different light modifiers do in a controlled setting.

Flickr Photo Download: Lighting Modifiers Cheat Sheet

Side By Side #13

13th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

model portfolio shots for Lyubov (model mayhem #354228), she was very professional and a lot of fun to work with. Location - Skylands Manor in Ringwood, NJ Lighting - My flashes were acting up, so I broke out the silver reflector and had our VAL (voice-activated lightstand) hold it at the top of the stairs to direct the sun down at model for a hairlight, seperation from the back, and to light the edge of each stair. He was a big help, I need to bring an assistant more often. I used my SB600 and Orbitz ringflash for fill on axis. Retouching in Lightroom....man, I love Lr

Side By Side #12

12th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

strobist - SB28 with DIY beauty dish camera right....DIY ringlight on SB600 for fill, Sunlight thru window.
Lightroom for post,

Side By Side #11

11th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Great model Lee Loo La (Mayhem #814736)
Strobist - SB900 flash with Orbitz ringlight on axis...gridded SB600 behind model and camera left.

Side By Side #10

10th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Robert from Fox's 'Hell's Kitchen' for a Chef Revival Ad

Strobist - SB900 with shoot-thru umbrella camera left...SB600 low camera right for veggies...and SB28 behind him camera right. Started by trying to get a good exposure on the steam and then added the lights.

Side By Side #9

9th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Product shots for great sequence onesies at convertibledesigns.com

strobist- SB900 in a softbox camera left...white foam board for bounce on right...silver paper from underneath and silver reflector above...retouched in Lightroom...masking and color background in Photoshop.

Side By Side #8

8th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Nikon D300 with 50mm 1.8 lens set to 1/200 at F2. SB900 with Lumiquest III small softbox behind and above subject. I pointed it more towards the camera to get the falloff in the background. I also use a boom cymbal stand with a swivel holder as a poor man's c-stand with an SB600 and Orbits Ringflash on axis for fill. Finally, a little tinfoil on the table in front for more fill and umph (technical term).

Side By Side #7

7th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.
Headshots for a make-up artist. I was practicing a look from Scott Kelby's Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It Part 2 at Kelby Training.
Large soft box behind model and tilted slightly towards the ceiling. SB900 in a DIY beauty dish above and on axis. white reflector below face, held by model. Retouched in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Great NJ model - Ms. Priyanka (Model Mayhem #712652) MsPriyanka@live.com

Great MUA - TaraLynne
Mayhem #1398079

Side By Side #6

6th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Strobist info - 50mm lens at 2.8 SB-600 with shoot-thru umbrella camera right for background and SB-26 with DIY beauty dish camera left.

Side By Side #5

5th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Strobist Info - Vader
SB-28 with diy grid from back - camera right.
SB-26 whith diy beauty dish camera left
SB-600 with red gel shooting from ceiling into gray backdrop using super lamp.

Side By Side #4

4th in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.
Strobist - SB600 with DIY Beauty dish above camera...white reflector on floor on left side...SB900 with grid behind and camera right....retouched in Lr.

Great MUA - TaraLynne
Mayhem #1398079

Side by Side #3

3rd in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Cake photos for a great pastry chef Jen at
Sweet Elements Studio
62 Franklin St
East Orange, NJ
201-315-4940

www.sweetelement.com/

Strobist info - SB900 with shoot-thru umbrella left and behind cake same on right with SB600. SB26 with Orbitz ringlight for fill in front.

Side By Side #2

2nd in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

I worked with Sarah Jensen (Mayhem #1021568) again, she's a lot of fun.
Strobist - SB900 in Large softbox camera right and behind Sarah...SB600 with DIY Beautydish high and camera left...gold reflector on the floor in front of camera.

Side By Side #1

1st in a series of side-by-side images and diagrams using the Strobox iPhone app.

Photographer's are obviously visual people and, for me, no explanation of lighting technique can come close to a diagram and an image. David Hobby said in his Strobist DVD to practice one technique and than add it to your toolbox. This seemed like a good idea to see what tools I've been using so I can focus (no pun intended) on new ones.

Strobist info - SB600 with shoot-thru umbrella camera left....SB28 with CTO gel camera-right and behind model....2 Dynalites on background.

Photo Book Round Up

Jason Dunn over at digitalhomethoughts.com has done a great job at comparing the major players in the photo book world. His 14-page, comprehensive analysis ends with this conclusion.

I'm glad I've used Adorama and I have to check out inkubook.com.

Photo Book Round Up

Lyubov-2

Lyubov-2
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

SB900 in large softbox behind model and angled up towards ceiling to prevent lens flair. Dynalite in Photek Softlighter II camera left....a little overkill, but hey, it was set up. Great light set-up from Kelby Traing.

Model portfolio shots for Lyubov (model mayhem #354228)

Lyubov-3

Lyubov-3
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

model portfolio shots for Lyubov (model mayhem #354228), she was very professional and a lot of fun to work with. Location - Skylands Manor in Ringwood, NJ

Lighting- Sun at her back right...SB900 in a Westcott Softbox with a 1/2 CTO gel camera left...white balance set to florescent to add blue to the background. Retouched in Lightroom.

Lyubov 1

Lyubov 1

model portfolio shots for Lyubov (model mayhem #354228), she was very professional and a lot of fun to work with.
Lighting - My flashes were acting up, so I broke out the silver reflector and had our VAL (voice-activated lightstand) hold it at the top of the stairs to direct the sun down at model for a hairlight, seperation from the back, and to light the edge of each stair. He was a big help, I need to bring an assistant more often. I used my SB600 and Orbitz ringflash for fill on axis. Retouching in Lightroom.

Great New Music !!

Beer & Portraits

Beer & Portraits-6
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Hanging at a friend's on a Saturday night...camera comes out....Beer & Portraits.

SB900 with Lumiquest III camera right and just out of frame. Nothing easier than setting a flash to TTL and putting it just out of frame, It creates just as soft a light as a softbox five feet away and you can hold it in your other hand! Sepia post in Lr.

arclightimages.com/

Self-Porchrait

Self-Porchrait
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Warm weather in NJ this weekend so I shot this on my porch. Needed a new icon for all these damn social media sites!!
Strobist- SB900 with Westcott 28" Apollo Softbox camera left but almost on axis...sun behind. Post in Lightroom.

Pop-Down Flash

Pop-Down Flash
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

We all know that pop-up flash sucks, but it was all I had at the time and this fence just looked awful so I used it. Since I only wanted the bottom half to get the flash and knew I could flip it in post, I turned my camera upside down so the fence would get more of the flash. It made a big difference..it's still a crappy shot, but at least I learned something.

Left half shows the pop-up flash and the right half shows the pop-down flash.

Daylight Fading

Snow Shot
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

My son Evan out in front of our house in Ringwood, NJ. He's giving me the typical 'today Dad!' look. If my wife was taking it he'd have a smile from ear to ear.

Strobist - Nikon D300 with 50mm 1.8 lens set to 'daylight' color balance to heighten the blue background and I was holding my SB900 at arms length camera left with a full CTO gel to compensate for the 'daylight' and warm him up (figuratively, I brought him inside right after this to literally warm him up)
I've wanted to try this technique for a while.

Three, Two, Onesies

Onesies -1
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Product shots for great sequence onesies at convertibledesigns.com

strobist- SB900 in a softbox camera left...white foam board for bounce on right...silver paper from underneath and silver reflector above...retouched in Lightroom...masking and color background in Photoshop.

Parsippany Stand In

12-22 MUA-2
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

I was set to shoot some TFP work for an MUA in Parsippany NJ and one of the models canceled. The MUA's boyfriend's little sister stepped in and did a great job.

Strobist - SB600 with DIY Beauty dish above camera...white reflector on floor on left side...SB900 with grid behind and camera right....retouched in Lr.

Great MUA - TaraLynne
Mayhem #1398079

Let Them Shoot Cake

DSC_1995
Originally uploaded by Arclight Images

Long Island Food Show
Strobist - Camera in right hand....SB600 with Lumiquest 3 small softbox in left hand. I tried to get behind the food with the strobe.

Does Scott Kelby Sleep?

Do I really need to join the hordes that blow smoke up Scott Kelby's Chimney....well, yes, but not because he's great with Photoshop. This may not qualify as something you can do with just your ears, but during your lunch break you can watch a great photographer work in their studio. You get to see Scott Kelby, Joe McNally, and other pros tweek a strobe or relax a model, see what softbox they use or lens they choose. Kelby Training and D-Town accomplish this brilliantly.

Besides the photoshop tutorials that Scott is known for, Kelby Training has days worth of video on everything from off-camera flash to contract negotiation.

D-Town is free, available as a podcast, and focused primarily on the camera and gear and less on studio lighting or the photography business. You can also search for them on You Tube to see even more.