DC Event Photographer. Commercial Photographer. Automotive Photographer. Destination Weddings. Armin DeFiesta. » COMMERCIAL

WEBSITE UPDATE | ARMIN DEFIESTA PHOTOGRAPHY

Armin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:35:24 +0000

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In case you haven’t checked it out, the website’s got a new look. Clean and simple and dominated by commercial work. I will be happy to still take on a few weddings so don’t hesitate to ask! http://www.armindefiesta.com

LIGHTSTICK SETUP | LASTOLITE TRIFLASH BRACKET AND EZYBOX EXTENSION HANDLE

Armin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:26:34 +0000

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I’ve been asked by some photographers about this particular lighting setup I shared on Facebook recently…

Lastolite Triflash bracket and Ezybox Extension Handle

It’s simple and relatively inexpensive, although there might be less expensive alternatives and DIY versions around. If you know of some, please leave a comment and let us know about them! I’ve been using this setup for over a year now and until I find something even more streamlined and portable, it’s working well for now. Now I am a fan of the softbox but sometimes speed is the priority, particularly when getting around a busy city where getting the couple to the reception on time is important.

Here’s the lightstick product list–

Lastolite Triflash bracket
Ezybox Extension Handle
PocketWizard – pictured is a Plus II
PocketWizard MiniTT1 – attaches to your camera hotshoe to trigger the remote PocketWizard on lightstick, but you can use any compatible PocketWizard transceiver.

For this mobile lightstick setup just add your Speedlites and you should be set. Now this Lastolite Triflash bracket can actually hold up to three flashes, but two is usually enough for my needs. If you want to use three Speedlights for more power just attach the PocketWizard to one of the flashes or caddy it to the Ezybox Extension Handle. In this setup I have one PocketWizard firing both Speedlights using a Y-adapter you can find at a Radio Shack, connect that to your PocketWizard sync cords.

Natural light is great, but sometimes you lose details in important things like wedding gowns. Off-camera lighting can bring some of that detail back into the mix with the right exposure balancing ambient and your lights, then tweak your exposure settings to taste. I still favor the softbox or other light modifiers for more controlled situations. But the mobility and portability of the lightstick setup I’m currently using has its benefits, especially when I travel a lot. It’s easy to pack for a plane ride or bus ride when you want to keep things lightweight and compact.

Hope some of my fellow photographers enjoyed this post. Let me know your thoughts! Here are some sample photos:

This was pretty much straight out of the camera. Lightstick was camera right.

This was a difficult lighting balance, but I am pleased. I was able to drop the background a bit for some drama in the sky, but I still had to adjust the Recovery slider in Lightroom to bring it down a little more to enhance the details. Had I done this using available light the sky and the Lincoln Memorial would've been blown out.

Lightstick was camera right, adding some separation light to the bride and a bit on the groom's head and shoulder.

The adjustable zoom and swivel heads on your speedlights can come in handy when lighting wider angles.

The sunset here was dramatic so I exposed for that. I let the lightstick keep the couple well lit.

The colors were nice in the background so I exposed for that to maintain its detail. The lightstick kept Jessica looking good and well lit.

I had my assistant raise the light stick up high from my left with two flashes attached. I could've used a third lightstick, but we all know you have to balance creativity with moving fast to get the party to the reception on time.

I adjusted the zoom tight on the flash and angled the swivel heads for this shot - one aiming at the front wheel, the other at the rear. There's a third light stand with another speedlight aiming at the front of the car.

Similar setup as the Aston Martin photo.

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES PHOTOS | BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX 2011

Armin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:52:35 +0000

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The American Le Mans Series in Baltimore was an incredible experience where cars raced around M&T Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Reaching speeds of up to 160mph, the experience can be exhilarating. As a team owner once said, “You can teach them how to race, but you can’t teach them how to go fast.” I think what he meant by that was while you can learn the technical skills, vehicle dynamics, and engineering of racing, there has to be an innate ability or an extra nanosecond reaction time to drive faster than the next driver. Fractions of a second count in racing. So many factors involved that make this one of the most exciting sports around.

Besides the IndyCar Series, the American Le Mans Series was one of the main racing events at the Baltimore Grand Prix. This series consists of four classes of racing – Grand Touring cars GT and GTC classes, and Le Mans Prototypes LMPC, LMP1 and LMP2. Thousands of racing enthusiasts and petrol heads descended on Baltimore to experience the thrills, the rush of serious horsepower tearing up the streets in one of the most talked-about race circuits this season. The inaugural event’s success is no secret thanks to the promoters and sponsors and the City of Baltimore for putting together a great show.

Camera gear:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (well of course this will be with me!)
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens (perfect for getting close when you can’t, and it’s lightweight with great image quality)
Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera (Body Only) (at 8 fps, good for action and sports)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only) (the obvious choice when you want the full frame look)
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens (great for capturing the scenes at big events like a grand prix)
Think Tank Photo Speed Freak shoulder bag/beltpack (Friday practice session – great bag, but my left hip was tired after 12 hrs straight)
Think Tank Photo Shape Shifter Backpack (Saturday and Sunday race days – I found this to be the most comfortable)
Think Tank Photo Bum Bag (pretty much carried miscellaneous stuff on my Pro Speed Belt – gum, ear plugs, mic, CF card holder, business cards, etc.)
Think Tank Photo R U Thirsty (absolutely a necessity at an event like this!)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 75 Pop Down (a good solution for belt carry of long telephotos like the 70-200 or 100-400 with lens hood attached)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 50 (a great solution for belt carry of a wide angle lens with hood)
Think Tank Photo Pro Speed Belt (didn’t think I’d need it but glad I got it to help distribute the weight of belt carried gear)
Think Tank Photo Camera Straps (instead of neck straps over each shoulder, these attached to my backpack’s shoulder straps and carried my cameras, thank goodness!)

Here’s how my carry rig looked for Saturday and Sunday race days:

My carry rig I put together, thanks to Think Tank Photo. iPhone pic by Joe Messenger. This solution was surprisingly comfortable for all day use. With the exception of one telephoto lens inside my backpack, everything else stayed within reach outside the bag on my person. When I knew I needed to switch telephoto lenses, that's the only time I'd have to remove the backpack for the lens swap. With my build, distributing the weight on my shoulders worked better than my Speed Freak V2 shoulder bag solution. I think the Speed Freak would be best where I don't have to wear it constantly.

Behind the scenes of Pit Lane.

Corvette Racing preparing for the race.

Pit Lane getting ready.

From high ground I shoot pit lane which ran along Camden Yards.

The back of the Baltimore Convention Center and the VIP Balcony where I also shot some photos from.

City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake waved the green flag to start the ALMS race.

Ferrari.

Porsche.

Pit Lane action.

Corvette Racing chasing down BMW Team RLL.

BMW #55 driven by racers Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner.

Porsche and Corvette... the timeless battle in Baltimore.

Le Mans Prototypes going at it on Light St.

View the entire photo gallery:

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX PHOTOS | INDYCAR RACE BALTIMORE GP 2011

Armin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:13:57 +0000

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The 2011 Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix photos I took at this motorsport event are some of my favorites. You can also check out Baltimore Grand Prix American Le Mans Photos in my other blog post here – Baltimore Grand Prix ALMS pics.

IZOD IndyCars raced around M&T Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It was the first of its kind ever in the City of Baltimore with tickets sold out, grandstands packed. And it was the highest rated IndyCar race viewed on VERSUS. The drivers, teams, and sports commentators had nothing but rave reviews about this circuit, the crowds, and the City of Baltimore. Some are even calling it the Long Beach Grand Prix of the East. I admit, the experience was surreal since I’ve driven and walked through these streets before. As soon as the engines started to roar from pit lane, down Lee, up Russell, onto Paca St, down Pratt St, onto Light St, then to Conway, I realized this circuit was something special. Drivers kept saying how technical the track is and noted the challenge of driving on both concrete and asphalt sections. Turns 1 and 3 seemed to be the trickiest. Turn 1 was tight and narrow, turn 3 is a hairpin. Check out this recap from Fox Sports of the 2011 Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix IZOD IndyCar series including highlights from the race and footage from the horrific crash after Tony Kanaan struck and flew over his friend and competitor Helio Castroneves.
Video: INDYCAR: Baltimore Recap – 2011

Shooting motorsports is like no other shoot I’ve done. Being a street circuit poses its own unique logistical challenges from scouting for locations to strategizing your shots. The 2 mile circuit is really too large to be able to shoot from every possible vantage point. So you choose where you think works best and stick with it, sometimes that just might be 2 or 3 places. My VIP and Media Center access had its restrictions so I focused on shooting from where others might not, so I used the high ground. This also presented a better opportunity for tracking & panning shots with my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens and Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens.

Here are some of the photos I took at the Baltimore Grand Prix:

The Convention Center had our Nikon Media Center, home base for me. They served us lunch everyday, free WiFi, writing room, and press conference room.

The crowds showed up in droves showing support and enthusiasm for the races.

Indy Lights at turn 4 going from Light St to Conway St.

Fans get to see drivers all around the circuit, including GoDaddy IndyCar driver Danica Patrick.

A candid one of Danica during a press conference.

IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves on a bike headed to pit lane.

Danica Patrick on race day en route to pit lane.

Baltimore Grand Prix winner Will Power.

Simona Di Silvestro and her HVM Racing team had a good run in Baltimore.

Helio Castroneves

The fastest part of the track was Pratt St. where fans watch the cars reach speeds up to 180 mph.

One of my spots for shooting was on higher ground.

A view from 330 feet showing the Inner Harbor and the Light St. part of the race circuit.

Play the entire Baltimore Grand Prix IZOD Indy slideshow, or to view the gallery, click on an image:

The racing series has a 5 years contract with Baltimore. I am looking forward to 2012! Check out my American Le Mans Series coverage on the blog as well.

Photographers – on Friday’s practice sessions I carried my gear in a Speed Freak V2 Shoulder Bag/Beltpack from Think Tank Photo. Here’s my camera gear:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (well of course this will be with me!)
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens (perfect for getting close when you can’t, and it’s lightweight with great image quality)
Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera (Body Only) (at 8 fps, good for action and sports)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only) (the obvious choice when you want the full frame look)
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens (great for capturing the scenes at big events like a grand prix)
Think Tank Photo Speed Freak shoulder bag/beltpack (Friday practice session – great bag, but my left hip was tired after 12 hrs straight)
Think Tank Photo R U Thirsty (absolutely a necessity at an event like this!)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 75 Pop Down (a good solution for belt carry of long telephotos like the 70-200 or 100-400 with lens hood attached)

Here’s a photo of me wearing the bag. A separate review of this bag to come at a later date so stay tuned. Thanks for visiting the blog today!

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX | AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES – DAY ONE, PRACTICE

Armin — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:55:02 +0000

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I completed the task of documenting some of day one of the Baltimore Grand Prix practice session as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) teams take to the new track for the very first time. Despite the practice time delay due to installing safety fencing, the teams made the best of the situation. Unfortunately one of the teams did not get a chance to practice because of some car issues, while a TRG team Porsche suffered some major damage getting into the wall. The teams later qualified for position for their Saturday race.

With the delayed practice time I visited the IZOD Indy paddock and ALMS paddock. Also during the day I attended the press conference with Indy driver Danica Patrick of Andretti Autosport where she fielded questions about Baltimore and her transition to NASCAR full time. I also captured some shots of Indy points leader Will Power of Penske Racing driving the track with some of his team to familiarize themselves with the layout. The Indy drivers will begin practice sessions and qualifications on Saturday.

Overall I think the teams’ feedback of the track was positive. I watched the ESPN3.com broadcast of the American Le Mans practice later in the evening and really enjoyed seeing it from the POV of a race car.

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX PRE-RACE EXCITEMENT | ALMS AND IZOD INDYCAR

Armin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:25:39 +0000

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UPDATE:

See all Baltimore Grand Prix race weekend photos: American Le Mans Series & IndyCar Series.

Baltimore Grand Prix Harbor Rendering | McCormick Taylor, Inc.

To say that I’m excited to be covering the Inaugural American Le Mans Series and IZOD IndyCar races in Baltimore Labor Day weekend is an understatement. I received confirmation for media credentials that will give me access to areas around the circuit the general public might not have. The car and racing enthusiast in me is like a kid on Christmas Eve. In the role of professional photographer I will be photographing highlights from this 180mph event through the streets of Baltimore by the Inner Harbor, Convention Center and circling around Camden Yards. The well known Pratt St will serve as the longest straightaway where the open wheel beasts will be charging through at over 150mph or more. They’ll then turn onto Light St, back up Light St, onto Conway, down S. Howard, onto W. Lee, up Russell, then back on to Pratt. In total there’ll be 12 turns plus many grandstands along the circuit. The START/FINISH line is between Hopkins and Hanover St. in front of the Convention Center.

A rendering of Pratt St. McCormick Taylor, Inc. This will be the longest straightaway where cars are to reach speeds estimated at 150 to 180mph.

I will be canvasing the circuit this weekend and start developing a strategy. I think the main strategy will be to keep moving in an effort to try multiple angles and vantage points. This 2 mile race track on the streets of Baltimore has been surrounded by anticipation, excitement and controversy. The city has a 5 year agreement with the IndyCar series but the organizers are not without controversy regarding the economic impact. Nonetheless, it is estimated to bring in anywhere from $50 to $100 million to the city, depending on who you ask.

Baltimore GP rendering of Pit Lane facing north at Camden Yards | McCormick Taylor, Inc.

There are very few famous street race courses left in the world, such as Monaco in the south of France made popular by Formula 1, Toronto Canada, St. Petersburg FL, and Long Beach CA.. It’s a real big deal for Baltimore to be added to that short list.

Street circuits are typically fraught with intense wheel to wheel, nose to tail racing. Tempers will flare and there will be spinouts, contact, and crashes. The drama will be exciting to capture. The challenge will be being at the right location at the right time. Honestly, there’s no way you can predict any of these events as they unfold like any other event I’ve covered.

I will post some updates as they come. Here’s Baltimore’s WBALTV report on the preparations going into this huge event. Embedding was disabled so here’s the link: WBALTV REPORT ON THE BALTIMORE GP PREPARATIONS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT.

Click on the map to go to the website's cool interactive map describing all the turns, grandstands and vantage points.

The Baltimore Sun shared a video with Indy driver Scott Dixon behind the wheel driving the city race course:

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX VIDEOS AND ANIMATIONS:

Check out these renderings by McCormick Taylor, Inc. and preview videos giving you a sense of the speed, track layout, and design of the track weaving through the Inner Harbor streets!

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX PREVIEW:

LOOKING UP LIGHT STREET:

LOOKING DOWN LIGHT STREET:

LOOKING DOWN PRATT STREET (NEAR CHARLES ST):

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MOST RECENT STREET COURSE RACE IN TORONTO CANADA, AN INTENSE EVENT!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FAMOUS LONG BEACH STREET CIRCUIT:

EXCLUSIVE SPORTS CAR EVENT BY DC METRO MEDIA

Armin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:38:38 +0000

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If you know anything about me, I am a car and driving enthusiast. Between my busy work schedule and family life, spirited driving time in the WRX is a rare occurrence, and I miss my memorable although brief time with the 2002 BMW M3. But I make up for it on some level when serving automotive assignments photographing cars and covering automotive events. The Motors In Morocco event was orchestrated by Robert Perez and Heather Miracle of DC Metro Media at the Marrakesh Restaurant in northwest D.C.. Over 30 exotic cars and their drivers participated in this successful event. From Porsche to Ferrari, Lotus to Lamborghini, it was a feast for the eyes and ears. This event was sponsored by DC Metro Media, Accolade Security Network, SchmoozingDC, Exotic Car Specialties, Northern Virginia Sports Car Club, Mid Atlantic Motor Club, and the Marrakesh Restaurant.

MY APOLOGIES! HERE’S A LITTLE UPDATE

Armin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:01:58 +0000

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Oh my it’s been a while since I’ve updated my photo blog. As you might know I am still going to shooting a very limited number of weddings for the remainder of the year. I’ve been swamped with closing out commercial jobs and starting new ones. Mostly corporate and real estate jobs. I will share some of those antics with you soon. I have also been busy with jumpstarting MyPicDaddy.com, an online resource for the novice shooter, a spin-off from Shutter Wars. I have a kick-butt event in DC coming next week that I am excited about and will post photos from that as well. All I have to say is that it has to do with cars!

Stay tuned!

500px and Google Plus Update – Why I Think G+ Is Now The Game Changer

Armin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:50:21 +0000

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Greetings readers!

First up… I moved all of my commercial and editorial work to a new and separate website. Check it out, all comments welcome on the site!

HOME PAGE | COMMERCIAL PORTFOLIO

GOOGLE+ UPDATE

In other news, I’ve spent a little more time with Google+ (also known as G+, Google Plus) and have to say that I’m starting to grasp the huge potential this thing has in terms of mobile sharing. In short, if everyone using Google today signs up, Google Plus could become THE “cloud”. As Vincent Wong put it, G+ is about collaboration, sharing, apps, and browsing for your mobile lifestyle. Everything can be shared under your control no matter where you are in the world. From documents to videos to music, if this isn’t an indication that Google has big plans for G+, I don’t know what is. This could have a major and positive impact on my photography business by providing even more opportunities to strengthen and elevate my company’s online presence.

I’ve been reading what the field has been saying about G+ and I am starting to see the light. From Google documents, to Google searches, to Google photo albums, to GMail, all these Google apps many of us use already. Not to mention web browsing, online shopping, blogging, and social media seem to be merging all into one location, especially with apps such as iGoogle. So what’s the big deal you ask? User experience, that’s what!

Even in its infancy, what seems to make Google+ unique to me is the clean user interface that simplifies the idea and purpose of social media and my personal and professional networks. Who you share with and what you share is more directly controlled by you on Google+. While on Facebook it seemed like you had to go through a few tedious steps to accomplish, such as creating groups, fan pages, and adjusting privacy settings. It really was a pain but we had no other choice, until now. In Google+, you simply allocate your friends, business associates, vendors, family members, and anyone else in your network into one or multiple groups, or what Google+ calls “circles”. So if I post a photo, video or status update, Google+ automatically prompts you to select what circle(s) will be able to see it. It’s that simple really.

But that’s not all. Like I mentioned, all of the Google apps so many of use today are seamlessly integrated now under Google+, or what some are referring to now as the Google+ Cloud.

Google docs
The Web
YouTube
Maps
Reader
Calendar
Photos
And more…

Let’s face it, many of us live the mobile lifestyle, so having access to these apps in a less cluttered interface makes for a better user experience. Will it overtake Facebook or Twitter? Well that depends on how many people make the switch. Right now Facebook rules the social media world right alongside Twitter. Therefore, the users will determine the winner or if they will coexist. Honestly though, in this brutal world of social media, there will be a loser and I’m willing to bet if people catch on to Google+, Mr. Zuckerberg better have a new trick up his sleeve.

What’s the impact on businesses, big or small? Potentially huge. Special business profiles are slated to be introduced later this year for G+. If G+ gets the millions and millions of people to join, it’s a clear line to SEO possibilities on the world’s largest search engine. More apps and services could potentially be absorbed by Google. If you’re a blogger or love to upload photos, G+ may be the big place to do it. So do the math folks, G+ can help grow business. It’s THE big picture to start thinking about.

Now come find me and add me to your circle of friends, Armin DeFiesta on Google+!

SUNFLOWER SHOOT AT MCKEE-BESHERS WMA | LIGHTING & IPHONE PHOTO SHOOT DEMO

Armin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:29:32 +0000

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IPHONE 4 PHOTOGRAPHY

My buddy Nils Granholm of Cavus Media and I met up with model Brittany in the sunflower fields of western Montgomery County, MD to do an editorial/commercial shoot. Our friend Chris also joined us to assist and shoot. This field is part of the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in which the sunflowers typically peak around mid-July. The time of day for this shoot was around 10am to noon and it was a very sunny day. Therefore, creating flattering light to minimize harsh shadows resulting from the high position of the sun was a welcomed challenge. Not to mention all the bees, insects, and other wildlife we worked in harmony with. Thanks to Chris for the bug spray!

Enjoy a short behind-the-scenes video of me, Nils and crew in action!

Much of Nils’ gear at this shoot was the same as mine. We also had three of the awesome portable and daylight balanced LitePanel MiniPlus LED lights. Check out our complete review of the LitePanel MiniPlus lights HERE. For a complete list of “what’s in my bag”, click the banner to your right of the page that says “What’s In My Bag” =)

Let’s start with a fun little game called, “guess the camera and lighting”. Can you name the camera and lighting used in this photo of Brittany below?

If you guessed iPhone 4, you are correct! I love having fun with the iPhone so why not try it on a real photo shoot?

Also below is an iPhone 4 photo showing the three guys handholding the LitePanel MiniPlus LED lights. As you can see, the first photo of Brittany by herself above was cropped in post. Other than cropping and watermarking, this is the original iPhone image with an exposure of ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/40th. The photo demonstrates how we lit Brittany with the LitePanel MiniPlus LED lights. It’s the perfect solution for quick lighting setups in studio and open shade locations for video, interviews, head shots, vehicle interiors, and anything else where we need more light. Best of all, it’s daylight balanced meaning the light is virtually the same quality and look as daylight – awesome sauce!

USING REFLECTORS AND TRANSLUCENT DIFFUSERS

In the following image Nils used his Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24mm f/1.4L lens, and a polarizer lens filter. The polarizer typically enhances color and contrast as you can see here. I’m not sure what brand Nils used, but I am a fan of the B+W polarizer filters. We used nothing but a big diffuser/scrim and a couple of reflectors for lighting with the help of myself, Chris and his son Charlie. Reflectors were used to bounce or redirect the sunlight onto Brittany. One reflector was directed at her hair for hair light, the other as a key light from head to toe. I was holding the large white translucent diffuser a few feet above her to soften the sunlight which was the main light.

To show what we were doing behind-the-scenes I snapped a quick photo of us with my iPhone 4, hence the distortion.

A gold reflector added a little hair light.
A large soft gold reflector acted as the key light.
I stood on a ladder holding a large 52″ white translucent diffuser to soften the harsh sunlight that would otherwise fall on Brittany.

There are many brands of reflectors, but I like to use the Photoflex LiteDisc Gold/Silver reflector (one side is soft gold, the other is silver). I also like to use the Photoflex White Translucent diffuser to soften harsh light sources by holding it between the subject and the light source. Notice in this iPhone photo how Brittany is softly “lit”, while Nils (to the right) is overexposed from the harsh sun – you can see the shadow outline of my diffuser on his hat.

In the following photos…

LEFT IMAGE: lighting with three daylight balanced (5600K) LitePanel MiniPlus LED lights as demonstrated in an earlier photo above.
RIGHT IMAGE: lit with the soft gold reflectors and a white translucent diffuser as described in the preceding behind-the-scenes photo.

As you can see the white balance for the LitePanel lights look just like daylight, even under open shade. The warm tones of the image on the right was the result of using a soft gold reflector.

In the following two photos we found some open shade along the tree line so no need for the diffuser I was holding.

For lighting–

Chris deployed a soft gold-sided reflector on camera right
I also set up two speedlites in ETTL mode, the first one was positioned camera left behind Brittany
Second speedlite was used as fill light positioned camera left, 45 degrees in front of Brittany.
The Canon 580EXII Speedlites were fired using the MiniTT1 & FlexTT5 Pocket Wizard system.

Here’s the set up behind the scenes (sorry for the blurry look, that was my “iPhone camera shake”):

GETTING THE MOST FROM A SINGLE SPEEDLITE OR FLASH

I know many new photographers don’t buy more than one flash or use softboxes, umbrellas or other modifiers. So I thought this would be a good demonstration of getting the most out of a single flash.

For this part of the shoot I used my Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 100mm Macro f/2.8 lens. I like this lens because of the bokeh quality, detail and clarity it produces. Because it was hot, the sun was high in the sky, and time was getting short, I needed a quick lighting solution to minimize the shadows on Brittany’s face from the harsh sun. Here’s my solution:

I attached my Canon 580EXII Speedlite onto the hotshoe of my camera and set it to ETTL.
Raised the flash exposure compensation up two stops.
Zoomed the flash all the way to 105mm to narrow the light as much as possible.
Set the flash to HSS, or high speed sync, allowing me to use faster shutter speeds in order to drop the ambient light down to my taste.
Exposure: ISO 200, 1/4000th, f/3.2.

The fast shutter speed helps me control the ambient light and underexpose or drop the background as much as I need to pull more contrast from it. Plus it allows me to open up my aperture wide to get a shallower depth of field resulting in a nice bokeh, or blurred background. No light modifiers were used in this photo.

When using these flash settings you’ll might be drawing a lot of power from your batteries so I recommend high quality AA batteries or a compatible battery pack, such as the Quantum Turbo battery pack for Canon or the Quantum Turbo for Nikon speedlights.

For demonstration purposes, this is the result with no flash or lighting of any kind. I also put some distance between me and Brittany to get some sunflowers in the foreground. A great shot, but because of the high position of the sun there’s too much shadow on her face for my taste. A reflector to bounce some light back onto her or a speedlite (on or off camera) would help add fill light.

And one more image of Brittany with my on-camera speedlite doing what it does best. I am more of a two or three light shooter, and if time was on my side I probably would’ve added a hair or separation light in these photos. But for the purpose of demonstration, I encounter situations where I may not be able to set up enough lights, or not have enough setup time. So knowing ways to get the most from one light is essential.

More…

Here is one of the in-camera shots so you can see little was done to enhance the final image. Other than a slight contrast boost and resizing for the web, it’s pretty much similar to what was done in-camera.

In the following image we were shooting Brittany in open shade near the tree line so it was a great place to deploy the three LED lights again. Nils used his 5D Mark II and his Canon 100mm Macro as well. By the way, the guy in the far back was a nature photography shooting us… I don’t know why LOL.

Here are some of the resulting images:

Thanks to the crew and the lovely Brittany for their hard work! I hope you enjoyed the photos and learning more about what we did behind the scenes. If you’d like more info or suggest certain content, please contact me or leave a comment. Thanks for visiting the blog today!