Photo Session at Pinnacle Cheer

Tags

1Dx, Canon, cheer, cheerleader, chimera, Elinchrom, green screen, high school, joel spring, jump, lastolite, o'conner, on location, PB Umbrella, pinnacle cheer, pixma, Rxdesign, rxdesign.com, seamless, selphy 900, studio, studio flash

Had a photo session at Pinnacle Cheer center. The facility was really comfortable and spacious. The only complaint might be there was a shortage of wall outlets but we made due.  One setup was shot using white seamless and the other was green screen for composites. Even the moms got in for a few shots. I shot the session using my Canon 1Dx and was set up for wireless transfer to my MacBook Pro. I also connected my Canon Selphy CP900 compact wireless photo printer to make some “teaser” sample prints. The prints were a big hit.

Raechel flexes at Metroflex

Tags

athlete, body builder, body building, bodybuilding, dieting, fit, fitness, hardbody, hardcore, houston, intense, joel spring, metroflex, muscle, on location, photo shoot, physique, portrait, powerlift, Raechel Sinuk, Rxdesign, rxdesign.com, strongman, training, women's physique

Raechel contacted me several weeks ago to ask for a photo session around the time she was to compete in the women’s fit physique category. The weeks leading up to the competition involve extreme dieting and rigorous training scheduled to achieve peak fitness in the precise time frame of the event.  Her dedication and results were nothing short of amazing.  She then decided she’d rather peak for a photo session and make every shot count. Her goal is to use the images to promote her business as a fitness coach and consultant.

She also wanted to have the session in her home gym, the Metroflex Gym in Houston, Texas.  This added to the challenge of the shoot since I had to hall all the studio lighting and set up in a corner of the gym.  It was a bit cramped but we managed to get it done despite the clutter.
I set up a white seamless paper backdrop with 2 chimera 1′ x 3′ strip soft boxes either side  and used a 72″ Elinchrom Octabank as the main light and a chimera 5-7 octaplus on the end of a to illuminate the backdrop. I later added a octaplus 3 at camera left for highlights. The strips were set at a higher output than would normally be used in the studio to enhance the shadow contrast of the muscle definition.  When shooting men I’ve not used the diffusers to get an even harder edge to the shadow.  I felt this combination of strip lights would better suit her objectives – more fitness oriented.

Raechel wanted to get some shots on the equipment and with some of the signature graphics / graffiti on the walls for a background. The tight spaces made it impossible to use the studio lighting gear so I opted to use my Canon 600EX-RT’s with umbrellas and lumidyne softbox.
I then set up a black backdrop for some high contrast and added smoke for effect.

All the photos from the session can be seen in the gallery here:
http://rxdesign.zenfolio.com/rsinuk110712

Wine styles

Tags

Canon, food, food styling, joel spring, light room, photos, Rxdesign, rxdesign.com, wine, wine styling

I have a client interested in photos of his wine offerings so I decided to help with some shot concepts to generate some interest in possible set ups and locations.  The local botanical garden had various water features and was close by so I picked up some generic brands and bought a glass to use in the sets.  I also included some studio shots so there would be a good sampling of multiple options available to them for the product.

The glass I used wasn’t terribly expensive (~$8 – the wine was cheaper) but it was very delicate and I  was certain I would accidentally break it.  I used a padded lens case to carry it and was fortunate it survived the ordeal. I brought cleaning solution, paper towels and rags to keep it polished and probably spent more time on cleaning than shooting though this wasn’t critical for these test images.

I used available light for most of the outdoor shooting with reflectors and scrims to redirect or provide hightlights.  I had a wireless remote with me (Pocket Wizard Multimax) so I could fire the camera while I worked the light modifers. The gardens had recently converted their water features to recycled resources so I was lucky all the fountains were still operational. In past years the drought would force them to turn everything of.  Below are a few samples…

Max Caffeine

Tags

beans, coffee, coffee beans, food, food styling, java, joel spring, Macro, Rxdesign, rxdesign.com, table top

Shot a few table top selections using coffee beans and an espresso cup. I used beans instead of brew for something different.  I liked the color and texture and even included a biscotti in one.These are both shot with natural light. The first image is in morning light on a white corning hot plate and the second is evening sun outdoors on a cutting board – a much warmer light.  The low angle of the morning and evening sun enhanced the textures in the images.

Reflected Poms

Tags

600EX-RT, adobe, Canon, food, food styling, fruit, joel spring, lighting, lightroom, Rxdesign, rxdesign.com, San Antonio, studio

Recently found some pomegranate fruit in season at the local grocery store. The inner fruited seeds are like jewels so I bought one to experiment with some shooting techniques with studio lighting and with available light.

My first studio setup I decided to experiment with reflections off a black glass plate and include a light from underneath.  In this case I was using all Canon 600EX-RT flash units since the subject was small and they are so quick and easy to use.  Below is a shot of the setup.The results were pretty interesting. I used a red gel below to intensify the color and made many adjustments to the lights as I built a series of shots varying the strobe intensities.  Below are 2 selected images from my tests.These were interesting but my favorites came from natural lighting.  Initially I worked indoors using light coming through the windows on a corning hot plate.I switched focal points from front to center shifting from individuals to clusters of seeds. I then decided to take some shots out on the back deck to get some variety in the background. I used a “plamp” to hold some shrubbery behind the shot for more color and incorporated a crystal shot glass to hold more fruit/color. I shifted focus here as well but can’t really say which I prefer. The bokeh is really pretty and colorful.

I did notice glare on the shot glass from reflections of the walls and incorporated a black foam core “gobo” to eliminate it.  It was also the reason I went for the wood surface to reduce glare experienced using the Corning trivet/hot plate. Basic post processing was done in Lightroom to adjust clarity and exposure.

Fruit Shoot

Tags

Canon 600EX-RT, lighting, lightroom, Macro, photography, studio

More experimentation with Canon 600EX-RT flash units and modifiers. Fresh berries make for a colorful subject and are great for testing setups on a small scale. I found some nice looking raspberries of the red and interesting yellow varieties. Blueberries added a darker contrast and for this shoot I left the background dark and used a bamboo cutting board for support along with a pickle fork to provide some elevation.

It was interesting to see the change in textures and highlights as I moved the lights.Moving the light on the right side toward the front accentuated the textures. it was much more to my liking though it wasn’t quite far enough to catch the top berry. I also filled in the top berry with Lightroom’s masking brush to enhance the illumination.Info:
Canon 5D MKII w/ Canon 100mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/400sec (HSS). Canon 600EX-RTs triggered with same.

 

The fancy sugar crystals added a touch more interest to the composition. I have plans for more experiments to come…