Headshots for Siemon Whiteside

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of photographing more head-shot for one of my favorite clients! As Siemon Whiteside continues to grow and expand, they bring me in to photograph the newest members of their awesome team of professionals.

Setting up my portable studio in their conference room included the following: Savage seamless black background, Nikon D5, Sony XQD Card, Nikkor 70-200, Nikon SB-5000 (Master) flash, Westcott Apollo 50″ softbox with 3 SB-800 flashes (main light), two Westcott Apollo Strip Lights with 1 SB-800 each (rim lights), RadioPoppers (to sync all flashes), and Lenovo Yoga Laptop (tethered to camera).

I always enjoy working with this awesome team of wonderful human beings!

Speedlight Sunset

I love photographing on overcast days. The light is soft, the colors are saturated, and the subjects don’t squint as much. But sometimes the images come out a little flat and lack impact…kinda just blah. Fortunately, I have a great little tip to keep all the benefits of the soft natural light, but add a little extra POP back into the image.

Here’s a little technique I call “Speedlight Sunset”. My preferred setup is to work with 2 or 3 speedlights mounted together on my home-made triple-threat flash bracket. Having multiple flashes ganged together provides me with extra power, directionality, and versatility when needed. But you can definitely do this with just one speedlight as well.

Instead of using your wireless off-camera flash as a fill or main light, place it far back behind your subject in the corner of the frame. For best effect, I try to have it shining through a background element like some low-hanging leaves or a clump of Spanish moss. This serves to obscure the true source of the light, and also defuse the quality of the light so that it looks more like the real thing. For best effect, you should also add a CTO gel over the flash. Also known as Color Temperature Orange, this piece of plastic changes the color of the light source to a deep warm tone, like that of a setting sun.

I prefer to trigger my wireless off-camera flashes with radio waves. Nikon’s built in Creative Lighting System is free and will do the job up to a certain distance as long as the Master flash and the Remote flash can see each other. But to place your flash further distances away, or hide it behind leaves and trees, you’ll need a radio triggering system. I sometimes use RadioPoppers to trigger my older Nikon SB-800 flashes. PocketWizard is another great solution that’s out there. But with the new Nikon D5 (as in this case) and Nikon D500 cameras, I can remotely trigger my Nikon SB-5000 flashes via the built-in AWL (Advanced Wireless Technology). I just plug in the WR-R10 Remote Controller, and away we go!

Many thanks to Kelli and Tom for being so much fun to work with on their beautiful maternity shoot.  Check out more of their images and see more samples of this Speedlight Sunset at:  https://chrisandcami.com/kelli-tom-at-hampton-park/.

I hope this helps open up some ideas and possibilities for taking your images to the next level. Speedlights are small, light, and portable. But they can make a HUGE difference in the quality and creativity of your images!

1 Camera, 9 Flashes

Last night I had the oportunity to photograph the Charleston Legislative Group before their first meeting of 2017.

With limited time, a confined space, and heavy foot traffic through the area, I elected to use an all wireless setup. This was a simple bank of windows in the study area of the Lowcountry Graduate Center. The last thing I needed was students tripping over power chords as they hurried past me on the way to classes and meetings!

For a soft bank of main lights, I mounted 2 SB-800 flashes on a Manfrotto stand with a 60″ Westcott shoot-through umbrella to camera right, and the same to camera left. These were set as Group A. For a kicker or rim light, I mounted a bare SB-800 on a tall Manfrotto stand and set it up high in the left corner, aimed back towards the group’s heads. The same setup was repeated on the back right corner. These were set to Group B. To add a little color to an otherwise drab background, I placed blue gels on 3 SB-800 flashes, and mounting them to one of my triple-threat brackets, atop another Manfrotto light. These were set as Group C and placed outside the building, aiming back at the blinds from behind. All stands were sand-bagged with BoaBags for safety.

The image was shot on a Nikon D4 on a Manfrotto tripod, tethered to a Lenovo Yoga laptop. All flashes were triggered by an SB-5000 on the camera, via RadioPopper Px radio transmitters. The final shot was cropped for 16×20 output, with space for graphics left at the top of the frame.

South Atlantic Bank

South Atlantic Bank’s new regional headquarters in Mount Pleasant is beginning to take shape. The in-ground items, including plumbing and electricity are in place and the concrete has been poured for the first floor. We will see the building “go vertical” as framing gets underway.

The 8,000 square foot, two-story building will house a full-service banking office on the first floor with space for tenants on the second floor.

It was a pleasure photographing head-shots for Michael Tawes the other day. He was responsible for locating and appraising the site of the new bank!  The setup consisted of 6 Nikon SB-800 Speedlights, 1 Nikon SB-5000, 2 Wesctott 60″ umbrellas, 1 Nikon D4, 1 Nikon 70-200 VRII, 1 Lenovo Yoga, and 7 RadioPopper Px units.

Taylor’s Modeling Portfolio

Last night our friend Robin brought her beautiful daughter, Taylor, to model for me and a few of my crazy fun photographer friends!

All images were shot with a Nikon D4 and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8. I used a Nikon SB-5000 as a Master flash to trigger 3 SB-800 Remote flashes. Two SB-800 flashes were ganged together as Group A in a 24″ EZY Box as the main light. One bare-bulb SB-800 in Group A was used as a kicker/rim light. All flashes were triggered with the RadioPopper Px system. After sunset, I placed full CTO gels on each flash and switched the cameras White-Balance to tungsten, giving the sky that electric blue tone.

Many thanks to David for the use of his classic Porsche, and to Michelle for hosting the event and finding this incredible location. But most importantly, a huge thank you to Taylor for braving the mosquitoes and looking absolutely FABULOUS!!! 🙂

Graham & Clint with the Nikon D500

Graham and Clint are two of the TOP body builders in the entire state! Next weekend they’ll be competing in the IFBB NBC South Carolina Grand Prix. That means they are now in peak form. So I jumped at the chance to photograph them!!!

Even though they’ve been in Charleston a long time, one of their “summer bucket list” items was to finally visit the historic and picturesque Morris Island Inlet on Folly Beach. Since that’s one of my favorite areas to shoot in, we decided to meet there for their photo shoot. The late evening light was gorgeous, we got some KILLER images, and Graham and Clint were able to check one of their bucket-list items off the list!!!

To be the best of the best, Graham & Clint have to push their bodies to extreme limits. I thought, what better way to put the new Nikon D500 to the test, than to use it for this shoot? The snappy 10 fps allowed me to capture micro bursts of peak action. The beautiful 21MP sensor delivered excellent dynamic range. And the lighter weight body made it a lot less tiring to hand-hold.

But what most impressed me was the AF sensor’s ability to focus in extreme back-light situations. For the photos where the sunset is behind Graham and Clint, the subject is completely black and you have to squint really hard into the sun just to see their shadowy outline. Previous to this camera, I would have to take a couple steps to the side and acquire focus with the sun out of the frame…then step back into position to re-compose and shoot. With the D500, it effortlessly locked focused on the shadow-side of their faces without any trouble!

All images were photographed hand-held with the Nikon D500 and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII. Natural light was augmented with 3 Nikon SB-800 flashes on my home-made triple-threat mount, attached to a Manfrotto 3333 light-stand off-camera. The setup was triggered via a Nikon SB-800 master flash on-camera, using a RadioPopper Px transmitter to communicate to the others.

I owe a HUGE Thank You to Graham & Clint for suffering through the humidity and bugs on a muggy Charleston evening! But we had a BLAST, and they were AMAZING to work with!!! You can follow their crazy life at #clintstagraham, where you’re sure to be inspired to better fitness. 🙂

Studio Portrait for SCFCU

When we’re not shooting weddings and events on weekends, we photograph lots of head shots and executive portraits throughout the week.  South Carolina Federal Credit Union has been sending their employees over to us for a couple years now.  Jessica just joined their team and needed photos for a press release.  This image was shot with a giant 6-foot LiteDome softbox to her left as the main light, a medium softbox behind and on her right as a kicker light, a small softbox on a boom above her for a hair light, and an SB-800 right behind her as a background light.  I like using small wireless strobes as my background light since it’s wireless and I don’t have to worry about cables showing in the photo if I do a full-length shot.  The rest of the light sources were Alien Bees, which are triggered with the RadioPopper Jr (Studio Version) radio triggers.  The image was shot with a Nikon D2x (which I use exclusively in the studio), and the 70-200 f2.8. 

Anchor Commercial

My “Double Your Pleasure” post about the team photos I did for ESPN got such a big response!  So I thought I’d share this group photo I did last weak using the same technique.  Anchor Commercial has been a client of ours for many years.  One of the things they have me photograph for them each November is a group shot they put in a Christmas Card to send all their clients.  Rather than setting up on the South East side of their building where they’d be squinting in to the morning sun, we decided to set up on the North West side.  This provided a nice rim/back light.  However, their faces were in extreme shadow.  So I set up my double-flash technique with two SB-800s on each of two light stand, firing them through my favorite Westcott 43” Collapsible Umbrellas, and triggering them with my trusty RadioPoppers.  Here’s the scene before everyone arrived, and the final image they selected for their card. 

Double Your Pleasure

I used to love those Wrigley’s commercials…”Double your pleasure with double-mint gum”.  J 

At my workshops, one of the questions I get a lot is “how do you get enough power out of those little flashes for big groups”?  Well, I double (or even triple) them up.  I have a couple home-modified umbrella brackets that can hold 1, 2, or 3 flashes.  Basically, a flash like an SB-800 puts out around 50 watt-seconds of power.  So if you need more power, putting two together gives you 100ws, putting three together gives you 150.  Another reason for ganging flashes together is so that you can use a lower power setting on each, thus increasing your recycle time AND extending how long you can go before replacing batteries.

This is my 3rd year photographing the ESPN Charleston Classic.  The event is kicked off with a huge Welcome Dinner on the hanger deck of The Yorktown, a decommissioned aircraft carrier.  At the event, I have to photograph a group shot of each team.  The first year, I brought my big AlienBee studio strobes.  Well guess what I didn’t think of…wall outlets are EXTREMELY rare and hard to find on an aircraft carrier!  The last two years, I’ve made life so much easier by using my wireless lighting system; no hunting for outlets…no McGyvering several extension chords together…no taping down cables. 

I simply set up my light stands with two flashes in each, firing into a shoot-through umbrella for soft, even illumination.  Each flash is set to around ¼ power and triggered via a RadioPopper.  I’m using my D3 at iso 640, f5.6 for plenty depth of field, and 1/30 of a second for ambient light in the background.  If you’re still using studio lights on location, I recommend doubling up your flashes.  You’ll love the freedom of going wireless!

A Kiss of Light

I am, and always will be, a student of light!  Most days I can find absolutely gorgeous natural light to work with.  But sometimes a shot needs a little extra “something”.  During this fun shoot with James & Ashleigh and their beautiful daughter, I started photographing this story-telling scene with all natural light.  But the exposure value on Larkin was the same as James & Ashleigh’s.  Even though the shallow depth of field made it clear that Larkin was my main subject, James & Ashleigh were competing for my attention.  So to make them recede even more into the background and make Larkin really pop, I used a single SB-800 on my light stand off to my left to give her that extra lift.  I didn’t pump it up too high…just enough to give her a little extra kiss of light and make her the true centerpiece of the shot.  As always, the remote flash was triggered with a RadioPopper Px remote.  Next time you’re out shooting, try adding a kiss of light to add extra depth to your shot!

RadioPopper Goes to Romania

I have been a HUGE fan of RadioPoppers since they liberated me from the line-of-sight limitations of my Nikon Creative Lighting System.  I absolutely LOVE the versatility, dependability, and control that the whole Nikon CLS flash system gives me.  Extending all those qualities to HUNDREDS of feet instead of a couple dozen, and being able to place remote flashes around walls and behind subjects, all while maintaining full i-TTL functionality and high-speed-sync, truly allows me to bring my vision to life without any limitations. 

This past July I traveled to Romania with a very compact lineup of gear that included a RadioPopper Px System.  (To see some my other posts and photos from Romania, Click Here.)  I have a couple of tricks I’ll share some day that allow me to attach the units in a more compact and streamlined manner to my flashes.  This maximizes my opportunities and minimizes set-up, tear-down, and excess space in my camera bag…especially important while doing run-n-gun street-level travel assignments like this!

In spite of the different radio frequencies floating around most of Eastern Europe, I had absolutely no problems with interference.  My RadioPoppers worked every time and made for some really dramatic shots that never would have been possible without them!  Since I’m such a believer and real-world tester of their products, the wonderful folks at RadioPopper have been kind enough to sponsor my “Light Bending 411” wireless lighting workshops like the one I’m doing in Maine next week.  So please check them out at www.radiopopper.com and let me know if you have any questions or would like a discount code so you can order your own set!

Product Photography

Although I primarily showcase our wedding/portrait work on here, we photograph a wide variety of subjects and genres.  So I thought I’d write a post about a fun shoot I did for healer Ayal Hurst the other day.  She’s a long-time client of ours and so full of positive energy.  It’s always a pleasure working with her.  Plus she’s a fellow artist, designing and creating beautiful jewelry and truly unique paintings with depth and dimension like you’ve never seen before!  Her and her husband also run a very peaceful Bed No Breakfast downtown.

When photographing Products and art, it’s important to use feathering techniques to prevent hotspots.  Feathering the light means not pointing it directly at your subject, but aiming it such that just the softer “edge” of the light source illuminates the product.  Here I used a soft-box with 2 SB-800 strobes coming in from the right.  Feathering gave me “almost” even illumination across the camera plane.  But I added an umbrella with a single SB-800 from the left to fill in and further even out the exposure.  All strobes were triggered by an SB-900 Commander on my D3, pointed backwards AWAY from the painting so as not to create any glare, and controlled via RadioPoppers.