Snapshot

[Ingo R]

Great portrait. Wouldn't change a thing.
--
Ingo

pbase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/ingor

 

[Makingtrax]

. . . reflections of life - I like it. I must remember to tell that to my 'pupils'

 

[Makingtrax]

Ingo - thank you for commenting on my photo. I think I read on another post that you'd broken your leg. Please get well soon.

 

[Keith Schmidt]

which wireless flash trigger did you get from ebay? I'd love to add one to my arsenal but not sure which one to get.

Thanks.
--
Keith
equipment in profile
http://www.pbase.com/themitty/
http://www.picasaweb.google.com/themitty

 

[Makingtrax]

Keith, thank you - you are very kind. Here is the link to the ebay trigger.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wireless-Flashgun-Slave-Trigger-4-Channel-Hot-Shoe-97_W0QQitemZ160167565667QQihZ006QQcategoryZ48515QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is the ebay.co.uk link but I'm sure you can get the same item from ebay.com. It works very well but occasionally the flash fires for no apparent reason. Of course you can only use it with the flash on manual. I find it works well with the 40D and 580 EX. If you get one and need any help with the set-up please feel free to email me. For another few hundred dollars you can get the even more reliable 'pocket wizard' set-up. It does the same thing!!
Cheers
Steve

 

[Yehuda Katz]

I carry the camera with me everywhere (on my shoulder), so an L-bracket is limiting a little bit.

The only plus I find in a bracket is that you can lift the whole thing holding the bracket, not the camera body (or flash).

Good luck,
Yehuda

Yehuda, that's praise indeed coming from you. After seeing your posts
I'm very tempted to buy the flip-it and try a different route with a
bracket. Having the flash off camera gets good results but is a bit
time consuming in terms of setup. Your work is really excellent and
probably a bit more impromptu.

 

[Makingtrax]

I mentioned the bracket because I noticed that the flip-it site is producing one to go with their flip-it diffuser.

I agree it's not a 'carry around' device but for family gatherings, parties etc it could be useful to get the shadows a little lower. On the lighting forum Chuck Gardner (who I think has left DPReview for Fred Miranda - I think) used to advocate one that left the flash in the vertical position whilst the camera rotated. He used some sort of foam product as a diffuser. After seeing your flip-it photos I'm definitely going to give that a try though.

On another note, I read your entire post for your latest 'family gathering shot' and was quite surprised by the nature of some of the posts. Some people are clearly not well! Hope they don't put off what is oviously a real talent.
Many thanks for taking the time to post
Steve

 

[Yehuda Katz]

On the lighting forum Chuck Gardner (who I think has left DPReview for
Fred Miranda - I think) used to advocate one that left the flash in
the vertical position whilst the camera rotated. He used some sort of
foam product as a diffuser.

Chuck Gardner, a very experienced photographer, suffered from Shadow Phobia. I'm less sensitive to shadows, as long as they are not completely black. Si I use my flash (with FlipIt) in vertical (portrait) orientation without any hard feeling. You can see what a shadow I got here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=25207866

After seeing your flip-it photos I'm definitely going to give that a try though.

Good luck, and post here some of your results.

On another note, I read your entire post for your latest 'family
gathering shot' and was quite surprised by the nature of some of the
posts. Some people are clearly not well! Hope they don't put off what
is obviously a real talent.

Put me off? No way.
You can also read the comments in the above mentioned thread.

Many thanks for taking the time to post

Thank you, Steve, and have a great day,
Yehuda

 

[johnboy]

Was the flash diffused, very nice lighting.

Regards
John

 

[Steve Mason]

Following the comment about catchlights I've cloned them out.
Personally I think it makes the eyes look duller. Any comments would
gratefully received.

Yikes! You killed her!

IMHO you definitely want catchlights, just not double ones.

I'd take the original, and remove the one closest to the center of each eye, and leave the others.

Great portrait by the way!

--
Insert witty sig here

 

[Makingtrax]

Steve, thank you for your kind response. I like catchlights too (one is better, you are right). Some people don't like them though and find them distracting - I suppose it's a matter of taste. On my other snapshot post I tried to get good llighting without them - not easy - I don't think I did as well.
Have a good day
Steve

 

[Ingo R]

Ingo - thank you for commenting on my photo. I think I read on
another post that you'd broken your leg. Please get well soon.

Yes, unfortunately it's true. Will do my best to heal as quickly as possible.
--
Ingo

pbase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/ingor

 

[Makingtrax]

John, thanks for replying to my post and your kind words. The flash was diffused with a stophen but the window was bare with no curtains drawn. On my other snapshot post I covered the window with a thin muslin.
Cheers
Steve