Wow. Thanks for the comments, everybody!
NYBrit: Actually, that one was using my homemade softbox. It's over a meter tall and wide, so it really gives a window effect.
wclement: thanks! Keep shooting! I've only been at this for about 1.5 years.
Big Mike: Well. I always sharpen when I downsize shots, but nothing more than what gets them back to looking like the large size.
df3photo: I actually feel the
same way about that shot. I'm glad you mentioned that. It was the first time I'd taken pictures of a woman when she had any sort of bangs. They kept throwing shadows on her face at unexpected times! I learned something!
brighteyes: Well. I used a different setup for each shot. Some of these are about 2 weeks old, but I'll try and create a quick summary for each.
1. Camera left: sb-800 into a 32" umbrella. About 5-6 feet away and about level with my head. (that's me in the picture) On far camera right, behind the subject is an Sb-600 fired wirelessly. No diffusion on that one. I really enjoy experimenting with soft/hard light combinations.
2. This one was taken using a big window, but I hung the light panel of my homemade softbox in the window. It has removable legs. So I got to diffuse the big lightsource in the sky. To the right of subject my wife, pictured in 3 and 4, held a 2x3' piece of foamcore as a reflector for fill light.
3. Big softbox on camera left. Subject holding reflector to camera right. Tadaa! The softbox was about level with her, and angled slightly toward the ground. I made a rigging system for the thing, so I can adjust the angle of it using a piece of paracord tied to my stands.
4. Softbox light on camera left. I put her up against the wall to get that nice diffused shadow into the shot. I tried to use the shadow as a compositional element in this shot. Usually I run and hide from shadows in the ground!
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