My first try with off-camera flash

joefru · 07-02-2008, 01:46 PM

Which version do you prefer?

I'll come back later and make you laugh with the ghetto way these were shot.

eccs19 · 07-02-2008, 01:52 PM

I prefer the first one. I find the black shirt in the second one to distracting, and looses the point of the shot.

drabina · 07-02-2008, 02:13 PM

I like the first one too. Though I would use slightly different angle. eccs19 is right that the second photo has distracting elements. Try changing the shirt's color in Photoshop. I think different shade of gray would work pretty well here.

DJey · 07-02-2008, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by eccs19

i prefer the first one. I find the black shirt in the second one to distracting, and looses the point of the shot.

+1 :d
same reasons!

joefru · 07-03-2008, 06:06 AM

Okay, so I've wanted to play with off-camera flash for a while, I just haven't gotten around to it. Well, she's 39 weeks, so it was pretty much now or never. My problem was that I had no time to wait for a set of cheapey radio triggers to come in, so I had to improvise.

I mounted my K10D on a tripod, set it for 1/4 sec, ISO100, and turned off all the ambient lights. Then I clamped an umbrella to a floor lamp. I stood behind the umbrella, tripped the shutter with a remote, then manually fired the Sunpak 544 when I heard the mirror slap. (1/4 sec was about as short as I could go and reliably pop the flash during the exposure.) I adjusted the aperture and flash power as needed.

As for the photos, I like the crop better as well. Unfortunately, even starting out with 10.2mp, I'm down to 1.5mp at that level, which is probably enough for a 5x7, but no larger. I'll probably try to re-shoot it over the weekend and have her move in a bit closer.

jshurak · 07-03-2008, 06:17 AM

I'm going to go against the grain here.

I prefer the second much much more. I think the black shirt helps frame the shot. Plus I think the whole subtleness of her right arm with the off cam lighting is a brilliant touch!

The first shot seems a bit too tight. I think the crop of her right hand is in a spot that exudes a large degree of tension. I think it would have been better had her whole hand been in the frame and cropped at the wrist. I also think the crop is a bit too tight on her mid section. She's carry child, let's see all of it.

The lighting is very nice though.

*WMBP* · 07-03-2008, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by jshurak

I prefer the second much much more. I think the black shirt helps frame the shot. Plus I think the whole subtleness of her right arm with the off cam lighting is a brilliant touch!

The first shot seems a bit too tight. I think the crop of her right hand is in a spot that exudes a large degree of tension. I think it would have been better had her whole hand been in the frame and cropped at the wrist. I also think the crop is a bit too tight on her mid section. She's carry child, let's see all of it.

The lighting is very nice though.

I'm with Jeff, here. The first shot's nice, but I like the second shot much more. The first shot is a shot of a pregnant woman's belly. The second shot is a shot of a pregnant woman. The presence of her breasts in the shot adds to the maternal message and perhaps even suggests something about the future. And I really agree that the subtle lighting on her right arm (on the left side of the picture) is very nice.

Will