Self Family Portrait

  This was a self family portrait we did the other day as a Christmas present for grandparents.

The photo was taken in our studio using a 3 light set-up.  The key light was CR positioned 40-45 degrees, with a gridded medium soft-box.  The fill light was CL positioned 45 degrees and low, with a medium soft-box.  The fill light was one stop less than the main light.  The third light, was a gridded strobe used as a 'hair light', CR positioned behind us, being one stop brighter than the key light.

  The camera and lights were all tripped with pocket wizards.  The photo was taken in a low-key style on a black background, with intentions for a black and white portrait.

  When taking 'self-portraits', is always more difficult than having someone else take your portrait.  Here are a few good tips on shooting a self portrait. 

 1) If you do not own pocket wizards or radio transmitters, you can use your self timer that comes on all cameras.

 2) Use a tri-pod, set your camera on a tri-pod in the position that you are going to shoot from, and compose your shot.

 3) Pre-focus on your subjects, then switch your lens to manual focus, so that focus will not change through out.

 4) Last but not least, take LOTS of shots. You are bound to get one or two that are good.

  We hope you find these tips helpful when shooting self-portraits. Any questions or comments are welcomed and appreciated!  *Sincerely; Rob & Leiann

Architectural Photo Shoot

I  recently did a little interior architectural photography for a local custom home builder, Artisan Homes. They needed a couple of shoots of kitchens they have done for an advertising campaign  they have coming up in the new year.

This first kitchen shot is pretty basic, it was lit with only two speed lights.

The first 580Ex was to camera left. I set it on a light stand and used a shoot thru umbrella to soften the light so that I didn't get any harsh shadows.
The second 580EX was on camera right, it to was on a light stand but was bounced into the corner of the ceiling, again in order to minimize any harsh shadows.

The second kitchen was a little more complex, they wanted to have the entire kitchen in the shot but not the eating nook, which made the space to shoot in very tight.

I used 3 lights for this shot, an Elinchrom D-lite 4 with softbox to camera left, then a 580 EX with shoot thru umbrella just off of camera right and then a second 580 EX bounced off the ceiling far camera right.
In order to get the entire kitchen in one shot I had to take 3 separate photos, each over lapping the other and stitch them together in CS5.

I think both kitchens turned out great and the clients where very happy with the final images, which is all the matters.

Both images where taken with a Canon 1DMk3/ 16-35 f2.8 L .