Two pictures for CC

With some of the cheaper Nikon bodies the SB-800 is nice because it can act as commander and control other SB-600/800 flashes. Since you have the D300 it's a moot point because the D300 has a built-in commander mode and it can control two flashes independently.

--Will
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People will complain about the black shirt in the first one, but the composure the boy has, and the rest of the lighting, really make everything else irrelevant. It's a wonderful shot.

Could you tell me the exact combination of drugs you used to get a boy that young to sit so well? I have a five year old who would sit nicely for 37 nanoseconds, after which he'd start complaining that he wants to plaaaay, and the fussiness would only escalate. I've tried glue and duct tape to keep him still, but so far to no avail.

I have found that a birthday cake with lit candles and everyone singing "Happy Birthday" will get him to pose very nicely for about 45 seconds, which has been very effective the few times we've used it, but I'm looking for alternate methods not requiring fire.

Thanks,
Jeffrey

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Jeffrey Friedl -- Kyoto, Japan -- http://regex.info/blog/

jfriedl said:

People will complain about the black shirt in the first one, but the
composure the boy has, and the rest of the lighting, really make
everything else irrelevant. It's a wonderful shot.

Could you tell me the exact combination of drugs you used to get a
boy that young to sit so well? I have a five year old who would sit
nicely for 37 nanoseconds, after which he'd start complaining that he
wants to plaaaay, and the fussiness would only escalate. I've tried
glue and duct tape to keep him still, but so far to no avail.

I have found that a birthday cake with lit candles and everyone
singing "Happy Birthday" will get him to pose very nicely for about
45 seconds, which has been very effective the few times we've used
it, but I'm looking for alternate methods not requiring fire.

Thanks,
Jeffrey

Click to expand...

I think it was like capturing a photo of Nessie or Bigfoot. He was pretty tired of having me take his picture. I told him to sit and put his arm up like that and grabed the camera and snap..... the rest is history. Sometimes he will pose really well for me but the attention span is very short. I am thinking about hooking it up to a monitor so he can see the photos after I take them that might make them stay longer.
He is a 5 year old also.

Thanks for the kind comments. I am very proud of him...... I guess a dad should be.

jfriedl said:

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Click to expand...

. . .and maybe they'll sit still like this, he! he! I went through my shot sequence and my six year old son sat on this stool for a whopping 6 minutes. Of course you have to enjoy the silly times as well - before long they'll be grown up and more often than not they'll get all serious and everything. Then you'll be longing for the times when they were out of control.



--Will
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did you bounce the flash or did you point directly and use a diffuser and / or did you adjust flash output.

Beautiful shots.

However I am going to be one of those who complains about the shirt in the first one. It literally looks like that part of the image was erased. You need another light or even just a reflector to get some detail in there. Wouldn't take much.

Still, they are really nicely done otherwise. Nice work.
--
Scott A.

Will64 said:

. . .and maybe they'll sit still like this, he! he! I went through
my shot sequence and my six year old son sat on this stool for a
whopping 6 minutes. Of course you have to enjoy the silly times as
well - before long they'll be grown up and more often than not
they'll get all serious and everything. Then you'll be longing for
the times when they were out of control.

Click to expand...

I remind my self of that all the time. It is hard to imagine them grown and not running up and down the hall chasing each other. Thats why I got into photography in the first place, to capture their childhood.
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willett58 said:

did you bounce the flash or did you point directly and use a diffuser
and / or did you adjust flash output.

Click to expand...

I cant remember the exact set up for this one. I used the SB 600 Wirelessly at about a 45 degree angle to the left then natural light to the right and the onboard flash direct. I have a Omni bounce on my flash and used it some in the earlier ones then I took a gallon milk jug (the ones that are sort of transparent) and cut it in half and make a big diffuser. If you go to my flickr site you will see the flash set up that I used. It is pretty redneck setup but it worked.

I want to think that I had the flashes set to +3 and EV to +1.0 But not totally sure I can check when I get home. This was really just an experimental thing that produced some decent results.
Thanks for looking.
--

--nice photos, good looking kid.
I would try adding some hair light. you have the floating head going on.
Roger

'There's simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market.'

S.A. said:

Beautiful shots.
However I am going to be one of those who complains about the shirt
in the first one. It literally looks like that part of the image was
erased. You need another light or even just a reflector to get some
detail in there. Wouldn't take much.

Still, they are really nicely done otherwise. Nice work.
--
Scott A.

Click to expand...

Thanks, like I said this was just experimental and a learning experience for me.

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