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

BECCA’S MATERNITY SHOOT LIKE NO OTHER! | DC MATERNITY PHOTOS | TWO SPEEDLITE SETUP

Armin — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0000

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You probably remember Becca Bredholt, my co-writer and co-host from SHUTTER WARS. Well congratulations to her and her husband who are expecting their first child in about two months! Becca and I were pretty much in sync when we started chatting about doing her maternity photo shoot. Needless to say it was a blast working with her again bouncing around some fun ideas. Follow her on Twitter (@mediachick76)!

Here’s my gear list for the shoot, all of which you can purchase at B&H Photo & Video online (except for the roller bag I use):

DSLR: Canon 5D Mark II
Lenses: Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L
Lighting: Two Canon 580EXII Speedlites triggered by Pocket Wizards (MiniTT1 triggering a Plus II)
Lighting modifiers: None, bare flash this time
Two Impact light stands
Gear Bag: Think Tank Photo Airport Security V2 roller bag

: Typically bare flash (no softbox, umbrella or any light modifier) results in harder light. Under the right conditions and placement of light, you can get some great results. For Becca’s “silly theme” here I wanted contrast and strong colors so I felt bare flash would be the solution. To minimize the harsh shadows while keeping some dramatic effect, cross lighting is one of my favorite solutions. Cross lighting is nothing more than using two light sources that oppose each other in their direction. Don’t forget though that in outdoor shoots, the sun is also a light source! So in a sense I have THREE light sources for the shoot on the bleachers. This was my thought going into it before we set foot on the ball field. I knew I wanted some backlighting and was going to use the late afternoon sun for that purpose.

: Here’s my two-speedlite diagram. Since I’m using bare flash (no light modifers) and the strong sunlight for backlighting I knew I would get the contrast and color boost I wanted. I set the speedlites to 1/4 power in manual mode fired by the Pocket Wizards. Each speedlite had a zoom setting of 80mm. I had the left light at its highest point of about 9 feet at Becca’s eye level, while the speedlite on the right was at about 7 feet aimed at her belly. The time of day was around 4:30pm and had some good strong sun coming through the clouds just enough for a hint of backlighting.

Most maternity photo sessions have a gentle and poignant feel to them. We’ll get to those in a minute….

Becca did not just want the gentle side of maternity photo sessions. She decided to add some flare and downright silliness to the mix. I think we got it!

For the images on the bleachers above and below this photo, I wanted to capture some color and detail in the sky for dramatic effect. Plus I think it just looks plain cool! This is when shooting in MANUAL MODE has its benefits. To accomplish my goal I need to expose or meter for the sky. In this case after 1 or 2 test shots I manually set the aperture to f/18, ISO 200, and shutter speed at 1/320th. This results in an exposure I'm happy with for the surroundings and sky, but a poorly lit Becca. Fear not, this is where your lighting does wonders. As I mentioned in the lighting diagram above, two speedlites were cross lighting Becca. The lights were in manual mode, 1/4 power at 80mm zoom fired by Pocket Wizards. I got what I thought was the balance I wanted between the sky and Becca. This method is known as dropping the background or overpowering the sun. Some call it balancing ambient with off-camera lighting. See the following results!

Now for something more tame and beautiful. Becca switched gears and put on the soft white linens for the rest of the shoot. The sky became partly cloudy so I took advantage of the soft light as a result. I used no off-camera lighting for these. It was a warm day out but Becca used a product called VS Shine to minimize the shine you get from perspiration, seemed to work well! I hope you enjoy them!

So there you have it. Sure I love a good monolight or strobe, there’ll always be a place for the big lights in my work. But for this shoot I kept the lighting simple using the small form factor of powerful speedlites. Don’t underestimate what they can do when you execute some off-camera lighting strategies. If you’d like to know more about what’s in my gear bag, click my Gear List banner. Would love to hear your questions and comments as well. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Maternity Photos with Tara | Maternity Pics | Canon Speedlite Lighting Setup

Armin — Tue, 31 May 2011 19:19:43 +0000

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It appears Spring came and went making way for an early start to summer weather. Despite the sweltering heat, Tara and Kris remained their “cool” selves in front of the camera! Congratulations to the happy couple as they welcome their newborn to the world in a few weeks!

Many photographers start with one flash. Soon they’ll add a second one, perhaps a third to improve their lighting capabilities. I have three Canon Speedlites myself and make the most of them when I can. For Tara’s maternity photo shoot I used a simple two-flash setup with my Canon 580EXII Speedlites. One light stand was camera left with the flash shooting through a 15×15 Lastolite Ezybox Softbox for hotshoe flashes and set to manual mode 1/2 power. The other light stand was to the rear right of Tara with a bare flash with a HONL 1/4 CTO (color temperature orange) gel set to 1/4 manual power at 70mm zoom. I used a gel to warm up the light output a bit to add some warmth and help balance the colors. Having a light behind the subject or off to the side provides backlighting or rim light. As a result you’ll have more definition and depth in your photos. Both speedlites were triggered wirelessly with Pocket Wizards radio transmitters and receivers. With the exception of the light stands, everything was easily packed and transported inside my THINK TANK PHOTO AIRPORT SECURITY V2 ROLLER BAG, probably the most reliable and toughest gear bag I’ve ever owned going on 3 years of hard use.

Now I am a fan of studio lighting, strobes, and monolights from companies like Profoto and Paul C. Buff. But I also know that if you practice, experiment, and think it through, you can get a lot done with just a few Speedlites. Strobists rejoice!

Here’s my gear list, all of which you can purchase at B&H Photo & Video online (except for the Think Tank Photo bag):

DSLR: Canon 5D Mark II
Lenses: Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
Lighting: Canon 580EXII Speedlites triggered by Pocket Wizards
Lighting modifiers: 15×15 Lastolite Ezybox Softbox for hotshoe flashes, HONL 1/4 CTO (color temperature orange) gel
Impact light stands
Gear Bag: Think Tank Photo Airport Security V2 roller bag

Let’s start with some behind-the-scenes info about how I executed the photo shoot. Thanks to my lovely wife Denise for snapping some BTS pics with my iPhone 4 =)

: A flash on a light stand is set to the rear and right of the subject for rim light or backlighting. Velcro holds a 1/4 CTO gel over the flash to add some warmth to the light output. Pic taken with the iPhone 4. I purposely chose a shaded area so as not to have the hot sun beating down on us. PLUS, it helps me manage the lighting scenario better.

: Here is the result when JUST the rear right flash fires. Notice the rim lighting (or back lighting) coming from the right onto her hair, arms, side and shoulder. And see how underexposed her face and front side is? We’re about to fix that, don’t worry =)

: On camera left I have a light stand with a Canon 580EXII speedlite set to fire through a 15×15 Lastolite Ezybox softbox. This will be the main light.

: Here’s the final image with all the lighting elements together. LENS: Canon 100mm. Exposure was balanced with the ambient light of the surrounding environment: ISO 125, f/3.2, 1/160th. Plus both lights firing to add fill from the front and edge lighting from camera right to add a little depth and definition.

For the rest of the shoot I modified the lighting setup as needed. Some photos included a fountain that just seemed to get lost in the background so I’d use the second flash on that, enhancing the composition. In some cases, Denise would handhold the Lastolite Ezybox light stand and raise it high enough to splash enough fill light on Tara (e.g., stairs shot), while the second flash added the rim light. Then there are some photos (e.g. the last photo) I used no lighting at all, just open shade and the low sunlight as backlight.

Enough technical stuff, let’s enjoy a few photos for once =)

Reanna | Maternity Photo Session

Armin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:24:33 +0000

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You might remember the beautiful Reanna from her wedding at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Which by the way is a fun resort to check out if you haven’t already! While we were there we did spend time enjoying some of the sites. Ah it sure beats the latest freezing temperatures we’ve been dealing with in the DC area lately. Speaking of which….

It was below freezing as we stayed toasty warm inside Union 206 Studio in Old Town Alexandria. But the 25 degree temps did not stop Reanna from wanting the photos on the bay we’ve been talking about since last year. I didn’t want to do the typical maternity shoot and I warned her that there’s a bit of a walk from the car to the little beach, and it was freezing outside, literally. But I was still game and so was she! So after the studio we headed to cliffs in Calvery County, MD to finish up. The water’s edge was frozen ice and the uprooted trees and cliffs almost looked surreal. Thanks to Megan for assisting on location as my grip, hair and wardrobe =)

Becky’s Maternity Session

Armin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:26:00 +0000

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I recently had the privilege of capturing some special moments for fellow photographer Becky & her husband Michael who are expecting their first baby in February 2009. Only 7 more weeks! Becky looked radiant! The couple is so excited about the new addition to the family. We shot indoors & outdoors and were fortunate to have a mild 53 degree temperature to work with, which is strange considering it was below zero last week! Thanks Becky for calling on me to help mark a milestone in your family history.

Stacey

Armin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:12:00 +0000

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I had the pleasure of photographing Stacey when she was 19 weeks pregnant. It was fun trying out my Lowell ID video light again. At 7 1/2 months, she’s looking wonderful!

Stacey’s First Maternity Photo Op (19 weeks)

Armin — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:45:00 +0000

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I had the privilege to capture some beautiful photos of the early stages of Stacey’s pregnancy yesterday. She looks fabulous (19 weeks)! No surprise though since she’s a dance instructor

Stacey commissioned me to take photos showing her progression, including my Year In The Life of Baby package. Denise & I are so happy and excited for her and look forward to the next session!

Stacey let me experiment with some “on-site” textures and off-camera flash

Thank you so much Stacey for letting be a part of the beginning of an amazing journey ahead!

Camera body: Canon 5D
Lenses: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L and 85mm f/1.8 (24-70mm f/2.8L used for wide room/sofa shot)
Lighting: Natural window light, except “door” shot (off-camera flash wireless trigger system)