Renaissance Faire

[rexbobcat]

I went to a local Renaissance Faire this weekend to test out a new strobe.

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[Derrel]

Great work! These look fantastically good. Your skill and technique has really skyrocketed since I last saw your photos regularly, which I believe was more than 5 years ago. I think that of these nine, no fewer than five are magazine-quality illustrations, and the remaining four are still plenty good. Congratulations!

 

[DanOstergren]

Really great. I immediately thought of Joey Lawrence's work when I saw the first portrait. My only criticism is that the black tones and shadows seem to bleed into each other a little too much for my personal liking.

Anyways, you should definitely share your work here more often.

 

[rexbobcat]

Great work! These look fantastically good. Your skill and technique has really skyrocketed since I last saw your photos regularly, which I believe was more than 5 years ago. I think that of these nine, no fewer than five are magazine-quality illustrations, and the remaining four are still plenty good. Congratulations!

Well thank you. It's definitely been a journey. I was humbled quite quickly after college (2014) in terms of what I did and didn't know about photography, creativity...life lol. I've tried to be more deliberate with what I learn and how I apply it to what I already know, which has helped in allowing me to slowly learn how to get the photo I want (as opposed to just being content with "happy accidents" if that makes sense). I'm still not as consistent as I'd like to be, but I have a better grasp of what I need to do to get certain results even if those results don't always come together exactly how I want.

 

[rexbobcat]

Really great. I immediately thought of Joey Lawrence's work when I saw the first portrait. My only criticism is that the black tones and shadows seem to bleed into each other a little too much for my personal liking.

Anyways, you should definitely share your work here more often.

Thanks Dan. Funny enough, I was actually looking at some of his photos and the way he uses light before I went to the fair to take the photos to try and glean some inspiration for environmental portraiture. I really love the kind of ultra-soft light he often uses in his portraits, but it can be difficult to pin down just how he's able to achieve it so consistently in different environments.

 

[Jeff15]

Very nice set..............

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

These are very nice! I am still content with getting a happy accident once in a great while

 

[PJM]

Excellent set of photos. I couldn't pick a favorite.

 

[robertana.c.3]

Wow can you go over your rig, setup, settings, etc.?
These are majestic.

 

[Soocom1]

Given my involvement with the SCA, I find these pics VERY WELL done!

I am most impressed with the lighting and the ambiance set, as it gives a genuine medieval prose to the images.

WELL DONE!

 

[tirediron]

Excellent... 1, 6 & 7 really stand out. Great set.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I agree about seeing much improvement. Nice job getting the subjects mostly without visual distractions in the frame. That's one place I see the difference, getting what needs to be in the picture in the frame, and keeping things that aren't part of the picture out of the frame.

I'd think about how you're framing with photos like #5 and 6. I think it looks better to include the fingers completely, or frame above the edge of a glove etc. so the photo doesn't create odd shapes along the bottom (or side) of the frame.

 

[johngpt]

Dave, I'm really impressed with how you isolated your subjects from the background. So often at events such as this, photos of participants have backgrounds which are cluttered or have items which detract from the period attempting to be portrayed.

 

[rexbobcat]

Wow can you go over your rig, setup, settings, etc.?
These are majestic.

Thank you!

Um, I was using a 600w/s strobe with a softbox umbrella (like a softlighter), a white reflector (foamboard I bought at Michael's lol) a7III, 58mm lens at f/2.

And a 6-stop ND filter.

My shutter speed varied between 1/90 and 1/250 depending on how dark I wanted the background.

Given my involvement with the SCA, I find these pics VERY WELL done!

I am most impressed with the lighting and the ambiance set, as it gives a genuine medieval prose to the images.

WELL DONE!

Excellent... 1, 6 & 7 really stand out. Great set.

I agree about seeing much improvement. Nice job getting the subjects mostly without visual distractions in the frame. That's one place I see the difference, getting what needs to be in the picture in the frame, and keeping things that aren't part of the picture out of the frame.

I'd think about how you're framing with photos like #5 and 6. I think it looks better to include the fingers completely, or frame above the edge of a glove etc. so the photo doesn't create odd shapes along the bottom (or side) of the frame.

I'll look at the framing. I got the fingers in the original shot but cropped the photos to a 4x5 aspect ratio.

Dave, I'm really impressed with how you isolated your subjects from the background. So often at events such as this, photos of participants have backgrounds which are cluttered or have items which detract from the period attempting to be portrayed.

Thanks y'all. I was actually debating on the framing of the fingers. I got them in

 

[Derrel]

Would you care to elaborate on why you were using 6 stop neutral density filter? I think I have an idea but I do not want to presuppose that it is correct.