New Videos on YouTube

I've created and posted two new videos on YouTube which are intended to not only walk you through how I shoot certain events/sports, but also to give you a chance to go behind the scenes at the events. The first video was shot during my travels with Florida State University's recent run in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament to the Sweet Sixteen round. While in Chicago for the first two rounds of the tournament, I used my Flip video camera to record what I encounter when shooting an event like this plus some additional behind the scenes stuff.

The second video was shot during the annual Tavistock Cup, a Ryder Cup-styled golf event held in Orlando FL which features a myriad of PGA golfers who rank among the best in the world. This event is like no other golf tournament in the world with a gallery that is limited to less than 4,000 people and an intimate setting which allows patrons to get up close and personal with the golfers. The field includes Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, and a host of other pros who have amassed hundreds of tournament titles and almost 100 Majors. The video includes the usual information along with some gratuitous "interviews" with players and Golf Channel favorites David Feherty and Gary McCord.

I intend to follow this video posting with regular Blog posts as to both of these events so as to provide some greater detail as to my photography of the events along with images to illustrate the information.

Good Stuff !

Lots of cool stuff has been happening and it just keeps getting better. I picked up a new boom arm for the studio made by RedWing (Right) and it is going to make my life so much easier in terms of positioning my key light. Anyone who has ever used a boom arm for lighting knows what a pain it is to have to loosen the boom ratchet thingy to position, raise or lower the attached light. In a small space like mine, it's an ever bigger pain. This bad boy is worth it's weight in gold. It ain't cheap, but worth every penny.

Tavistock Cup is next week and I leave for Orlando Sunday to shoot this event for the seventh year in a row. Tiger didn't play last year but he's a definite this year along with new additions Tim Clark and Adam Scott. Scott Kelby was supposed to join me on Monday to shoot the day's play but he won't be able to make it due to....

The Grid. Scott's new TV show which airs live Monday through Friday at 12:30 pm. Taped versions of the show are then re-broadcast as video podcasts. Scott has asked if he could fly me down to Tampa to be on the show in the next month or so and I am definitely in. While I'm in Tampa for the show, we're also going to tape a few segments for his DTown TV, the 10-12 minute video podcasts Scott creates. My segments will deal with sports photography and I'll get a chance to check out Scott's new digs, the photo studio and all the other neat stuff at his corporate HQ.

Last but not least, it's time for March Madness and it looks like my FSU boys are in line for an NCAA bid. For the past 2 years, I passed on traveling with the men (Boise ID and Buffalo NY) because of other committments and instead traveled with the women's team as they made their runs (last year to the Elite 8, losing to UConn to just miss going to the Final 4). This year the Gods have smiled on me and if FSU gets a bid, I am hoping for the chance to travel with the men. NCAA men's March Madness is something I hope not to miss.

That's it for now. I may do a video on "How to Shoot a Golf Tournament" while at Tavistock so stay tuned.

My Ring Flash Experience



Image from ExpoImaging web site

 A funny thing happened at the Jimbo Fisher War Party last week...funny if you have a weird sense of humor. The day before the gig, my new ExpoImaging Ray Flash arrived from B&H Photo in NYC, one of my go-to sources for any gear (the other is KEH). The Ray Flash is basically a poor man's ring flash, costing a fraction of what a studio ring flash costs. My initial impression after pouring through reviews, etc. was that it appeared to be much more versatile than a conventional studio ring flash. I wanted a ring flash primarily for occasional use in the studio (to create that "Cosmo" high fashion look in images); but what really sold me on the Ray Flash was ExpoImaging's touting of the product as great for studio use plus the cat's meow for wedding photographers. I read that as suitable for grip & grin events, which are not unlike wedding receptions - people in small and large groups dominating most of the photos.



Images from ExpoImaging web site

When I make reference to "Cosmo" type images, I'm referring to that noticeable but subtle halo shadow surrounding the subject (above, left) by positioning the subject close to the backdrop and using a ring flash.  The halo shadow is a style that is either loved or hated - there's no middle ground - but I'm always looking for any way to generate images that are different so I wanted to add this type of image to my arsenal. If you don't want the halo shadow, you pull the subject away from the backdrop and you still get soft, even lighting on the subject. If there is no backdrop (as in a group shot of folks at a reception), there is no shadow - again, just nice, even lighting. The other unique aspect of a ring flash is the telltale catch light in the eyes - a circle of light (above, right) that many people love.

Image from AlienBees web site

There are two issues with studio ring flashes from my perspective. First, cost - most start at $1,000 and go up from there. The AlienBees ABR800 (above) is the exception and goes for $400, but everything I've read about it gives me pause for concern as to the mounting hardware for the camera/flash, reportedly somewhat flimsy and may not withstand repeated tear down/set up. The second issue with a studio ring flash is it forces you to be relatively stationary - if you move forward or backwards, the exposure that you meter will obviously change. The key light (ring flash) is on the camera so the light reaching the subject will change as you move. To ensure good exposure, camera to subject distance has to remain constant after metering - mark a spot on the floor if you're handholding the camera or set up a tripod to position the camera in one place.



Images from ExpoImaging web site



The Ray Flash (above & below) seemed to overcome the issues as an occasional studio ring flash and then some: 1) Cost - $200; 2) Versatility - I could use it in the studio or take it with me for shoots like the War Party; 3) TTL camera functions still work, so you can move forward or backward without affecting exposure (to some extent); and 4) it's a snap to use - you pop it on your portable strobe, mount the strobe to the hot shoe and you're good to go .

I knew from researching the Ray Flash that you lose at least one stop of light, so I tested the unit in my office before taking it to the War Party. Sure enough, there was some light loss, ranging from 1 to as many as 3 stops depending on the distance I tried to illuminate. No big...that's what the exposure compensation button is for on a camera body - to increase or decrease the exposure without changing shutter speed or f stop. But I made a mistake, one that I know better than to make - I did not test the Ray Flash on a person or persons before taking a new piece of equipment on a magazine shoot. I should not have assumed anything but I did -I assumed that since the product was marketed for use in wedding photography and since there were no other issues identified in any of the materials I had reviewed (including the ExpoImaging web site, their marketing videos, their demo videos and the manual that accompanied the product), I was going to take some beautifully lit images that would rock for Unconquered Magazine.

Well, I got evenly lit images. What I never expected was "Exorcist" eyes in almost every shot - the dreaded red eye that usually comes from using an on-camera strobe in a dimly lit room. Pupils become huge to compensate for the low light levels and an on camera flash lights them up - in vivid red. Thank God for Photoshop. I managed to eliminate the red eye from all the photos I processed and turned in to the magazine, but it was a lot of unnecessary additional time and effort.

The next day, I called B&H to return the Ray Flash for a refund. No way I was going to have $200 tied up in a product that performed like this while used in a manner that I thought was intended. The B&H customer service rep was more than accommodating in terms of the return. He even e-mailed me a UPS shipping label so I could ship the product back on their dime (which is why I do business with B&H - impeccable customer service, no questions asked). Another rep followed up by contacting me to provide his thoughts on what had happened. Among other things, he questioned the assumption I had made as to wedding photography use - yes, the Ray Flash was a great tool for wedding photographers, but for wedding photographers wanting to create "Cosmo" type portraits of the bride. The product was never intended for generic, wedding reception images. I had made an incorrect leap of faith in assuming that "wedding" photography meant all types of wedding images.

All this was conveyed in a very professional and respectful manner, as opposed to a "Jane, you ignorant slut" condescending tone. For a B&H rep to take the time to follow up on my return of the product and delve into specific issues as to what caused my dissatisfaction was not expected. Have any of you ever been contacted by a company rep upon return of a product? I haven't. Until now. Kudos to B&H.

I then called ExpoImaging to relate my experience and convey my disappointment with their product performance/marketing information. Two representatives apologized profusely and diplomatically reminded me that whenever you shoot in low light with an on-lens-axis flash, red eye is common, known phenomenon. In a studio setting, they mentioned that you typically have other strobes firing which typically eliminates any red eye. I told them they had marketed this thing as a product suitable for "weddings" (and thus implicitly, receptions, which typically have the same lighting conditions as the War Party). I also asked why in the world they would go to such lengths to caution users about the 1 or more light-stop-loss but not something else of which they were well aware - the red eye issue . They acknowledged that they should have mentioned it and will now include something in their marketing information to address it.

Then they took it an unexpected step further - they want me to really put their product through its paces and review it for them. Cool. They're shipping me a unit to use so I can form a better educated opinion as to the Ray Flash. It should be here in a few days (coming from California) and I'll play with it under various conditions.

It would have been easy for ExpoImaging to blow me off as a disgruntled user but they went way out of their way to generate customer goodwill. So, kudos to ExpoImaging for their approach to the situation.   I'll let you know what the final verdict is on the product. At the very least, ExpoImaging gets top marks for customer satisfaction. Stay tuned.

Photography Studio & Lighting on a Budget

I have been spending some time at my photography studio re-arranging things, setting up a few more strobes, light modifiers and organizing things to facilitate shooting. As you may recall, I embarked on a mission to set up a photo studio this past summer and dove in. After using the equipment in a few shoots, I decided that things needed some re-arranging.

In addition, since studio photography was brand new to me, I wasn't sure what kind of style I would develop in terms of images - I recently posted a blog entry discussing my progress in this context - and now that I have found a style that I enjoy pursuing, I had to set up the lighting a certain way and I had to pick up the things I needed to go forward. Props, costumes, etc. were bought, but with limited space in the studio, I had to figure out how to store all this stuff.

So, after a lot of time and effort, I'm ready to start shooting again in the studio. The video gives you a glimpse of what I have and how I set it up. I know it's not sports photography, but I hope that if any of you have ever had a desire to set up a studio, it will provide some helpful information.

New Video - Photographing an NCAA College Basketball Game

Just finished creating a new "How To" video which I posted on YouTube. This one is about shooting an NCAA men's basketball game. I took my Flip video camera to the recent FSU-Wake Forest basketball game and shot some clips. The video includes my suggestions as to where to shoot from, what gear to use, camera settings, and other little tidbits you might find useful.

An Old Dog Learning New Tricks

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been trying to learn studio photography by various means, including watching videos, reading books, attending workshops, using past (limited) experience and by trial and error. In my mind, I have made considerable progress in terms of learning how to properly light subjects, posing, use of props, and developing a style.

Just like with sports photography, I think it's important to develop a style that is unique...one that people can recognize and immediately think, "That was taken by Olivella." I developed a certain style after years of sports photography, or at least so I'm told by FSU and other clients. If you've seen my sports images, my style involves more than action shots, it's looking for what most others seem to overlook and using lenses beyond the usual 400mm f2.8 and the 80-200mm f2.8.

I've been trying to do the same in the studio. The first couple of photos posted above were of my female offspring unit, my studio guinea pig if you will, taken shortly after I moved stuff into the studio. I asked her to sit for me so I could test out my lights but I found it difficult to tell her how to pose because I hadn't had to pose anyone in a long, long time. It was a learning experience to say the least and I didn't try to do anything but get a couple of decent portraits, which is what I thought I would be concentrating on as far as studio shoots in the future.



With that run through as an inital test, my next victim was a friend of a friend, the maestra for the Tallahassee Symphony who wanted a new head shot for promotional materials. I was more than happy to oblige, viewing the opportunity as a way of getting some more hands on experience with the lights, backgrounds, posing, props, etc. At the time I thought I did a fairly credible job with the images, but looking at them now I realize I made a huge mistake in the context of a formal portrait - I used the key light on the wrong side of her face. After that shoot, I learned that for formal portraits, the key light should light the left side of the face with the shadow side on the right. Oops.

What I also learned during this shoot is that formal portrait photography did not spin my wheels, so to speak. As I discovered, it's a very technical, follow-the-rules kind of photography. Subjects are posed in certain positions, lighting is set up in a specific manner - I'm just not a follow-the-rules kind of person. I've always believed that when it comes to creativity, rules are good guidelines but they should not be adhered to in all instances. I wanted my images to be more than just portraits and felt a desire to push the envelope.

Next up was Nichole. This is when I began to really see that there were things I could in the studio that went beyond standard portraits. For this shoot, I did very little "posing" of Nichole. I made a few suggestions, such as turn this way, tilt your head a little, try moving your hands to this position and the like, but basically I just told her to move around and have fun as I fired away when I saw something that caught my eye. As far as lighting, I used a 4'X7' softbox on my right and a 2'X3' softbox on my left to create fairly even lighting with a slight relative difference given the different sized softboxes - the right one obviously threw out more light from top to bottom since it was considerably larger and the contours of her face created shadows here and there. So what if her positioning gave way to flat lighting or if the high key lighting was on the wrong side.

 

 

Now this was fun. I tried head shots, 3/4 body shots, full length shots...we even cranked up a fan just to try different things. Nichole was fantastic. You'd never know she had never modeled or posed for a shoot. Before we finished, we tried one more thing, something I had thought of before the shoot after I found out she was a professional ballerina - using a little Photoshop and Nichole's dance skills, we came up with...

The shoot, and especially the last shot (above) was like a light switch going on in my head, except I wasn't quite sure where the light was taking me. I just knew that coming up with a concept and executing it was more fun than I ever dreamed. I decided that from then on, I would come up with ideas/concepts before a shoot and try to execute them, as opposed to just going into the studio and doing the same thing over and over again.

And then along came Dyani, an experienced model who wanted to update her portfolio. Dyani can have a very hard edge, but I also saw a softness that could be captured. The bulk of her portfolio shots were hard, tough, a style to which she seems to gravitate while posing. I decided to concentrate on showing her soft side, if only to provide her with a completely different look for her portfolio. I used the same lighting set up as for Nichole as well as the "just move around and have fun" style of posing, but with pre-planned setups.

I learned something different after this shoot...I am not comfortable pushing the envelope in terms of risqueness. Although Dyani was fully clothed for all her shots, I had made an effort to create the illusion that she was nude under the sheets in various images. Although I believe the images are beautiful, a little voice in my head told me that I needed to dial things down some and concentrate more on beauty rather than the illusion of nudity.

Then came Jaimie, a chance to create images sophisticated and senuous without pushing the envelope as far as I had gone with Dyani. Jaimie wanted to have some fun, so we tried different looks and different things. Again, I used the same lighting set up as before as well as the same posing technique - essentially, just move around and have fun. In a manner of speaking, I proved to myself that I could create visually exciting images without feeling uncomfortable.

As an experiment, I used Photoshop on some of the images and tried to create an edgy look. Just a way of exploring options in my quest to develop a style. Interestingly, I found that I liked taking a somewhat ordinary image, playing around with it, and coming up with something much different.

I know the images above are not everyone's cup of tea, but I was more interested in creating striking images. Given the reaction that they have gotten, one thing is for sure - they are striking and a far cry from the first efforts in the studio.

Next up was Tarin and another portfolio update. Same lighting technique, same posing direction or lack thereof. Before the shoot, we talked about certain concepts that we would try to execute. I had also seen Tarin's portfolio and noticed a similar pattern as that which I had seen with Dyani - not a lot of soft or sophisticated type images. We tried some themes and also did the sophisticated sensuous thing but without going anywhere near as far as I went with Dyani.

Last but not least, we tried one more thing...something which I have come to find out actually has a name - High Concept Photograhy, the style I have apparently been gravitating towards without knowing it existed.

I posted this image on Facebook shortly after I finished the Photoshop process and I couldn't believe how many people contacted me and asked where they could get a 7-foot martini glass for shoots. I thought it would be assumed by all that it was just a layered image, one image of the martini glass and an image of Tarin, who was able to balance herself on the floor in a "V" shape with her arms positioned in such a way as to simulate how they would be if she were actually sitting in a martini glass. A little playing around with the Transform edit feature of Photoshop, resizing of the martini glass to fit Tarin, selective blending and layering of the two images, and voila.

My last shoot was of Alyssa, a sports broadcaster for a local TV station. As I have been trying to do, I went into the shoot with certain thoughts and ideas as to "looks" and tried to implement them - the very definition of High Concept Photography. One of the things I wanted to try this time was a lighting technique with which I had experimented years ago but which was much more refined by a friend of mine (Scott Kelby) in one of his shoots. Over the Christmas holidays, I picked up a 22" beauty dish to use as a key light for glamour shots and this was the perfect light modifier for the kind of lighting I wanted to use. I set up the backlighting so that the light would wrap around Alyssa's face from the rear and to make sure the white background was blown out.

I positioned the beauty dish directly behind me and over my head at a 45 degree angle downward towards Alyssa. For the first few shots, I tried a silver reflector below her face, angled up, to eliminate the shadow created by the beauty dish on the neck and torso (Scott used a reflector during his shoot to reduce the shadow so I gave it a go) but I was not happy with the results. So, I positioned a third light in place of the reflector (same position) and attached a 2'X2' softbox to it. Much better - shadows were almost gone. We used this lighting for the shots above as well as the one below.

I also went back to my traditional set up using the 4'X7' and 2'X3' softboxes at 45 degrees (on either side) to get some different shots of Alyssa, using various wigs and props to create different beauty-type images.

So there you have it. My transformation in the studio in terms of style and proficiency as of today. As I said, I really enjoy what can be done in the studio and seem to have found a style that is comfortable for me. I have lots more ideas in store for future shoots and I continue to refine my lighting skills. Currently, I am shifting things around in the studio to vary the type of lighting I can create. I've added some backdrops, some more lights, a 5' Octagon softbox, props, etc. and hope to begin shooting again soon. More to come.

Technical Stuff - I have been using my D3 at ISO 100 with the f stops varying between f5.6 and f8. Shutter speed has varied from 1/60th second to 1/250th depending on how bright I want the background to be (the slower the shutter spped the more ambient light is picked up and the brighter the background appears in the image). White balance is set on flash, shutter set to single shots and exposure at Manual. I have a flash meter which I have been using to set the correct exposure, and one mistake I made early on (and repeated until recently) was not trusting the meter. Sometimes it woudl tell me to use f5.6 and I would use something else, depending on what I saw on the back of the camera or on the TV to which I am tethered. Bad mistake. I have learned to trust the meter, not what I am seeing on the displays while shooting.

I am currently setting up my lights/studio as an f8 studio when going the conventional route (classically lit images)). I've debated between f11 and f8 and have decided to go with f8 for the time being. Since I use my gear outdoors most of the time, the sensors and the lenses are exposed to dust and crap all the time. I just don't have the time to constantly remove every speck of crud from the gear. Shooting at f11 exposes every bit of crap in the way of spots, etc., and f8 does so to a lesser degree. I would love to shoot at f11 as it gives me more flexibility in terms of light ratios on the fill side but, I will try f8 for now and see if it is a good compromise - less dramatic lighting options but less cleaning up in Photoshop.

As an f8 studio, the key light on high key images will always be at f8 with the fill light at varying lower settings, depending on the amount of shadow I want on the fill side (using light ratios). For a standard type image, the fill would be at f4 or 2.8. For more dramatic lighting, I can simply turn the fill light off. I have a hair light in place overhead with a 20 degree honeycomb grid and when in use it is set to give me the same f stop setting as the fill light. I now have two background lights (again, for high key shots) which will be set to the same f-stop as the key light (f8). They are positioned on opposite sides to each other slightly angled towards the opposite side of the backdrop (in a slight criss-cross manner. These lights have 5' strip softboxes on them to avoid any light spilling forward onto the subject. I'm still playing with them as I am not finished setting them up, trying to decide whether to use the diffusers.

The key light will primarily have my 22" beauty dish attached but the 2'X3' softbox is another option. So is the 5' Octagon. The beauty dish has a diffuser covering the front and it will be moved around depending on what kind of shadow pattern I want to create on the subjects (butterfly, loop or Rembrandt). At a recent workshop, I learned a trick to avoid having to constantly re-meter the key light - by using a yard stick positioned at the center of the diffuser and extending it so it touches the subject's face, I do not have to change the power setting on the light - just move the light until it is exactly one yard away from the high key cheek.

The above is all intended to be used when the image will be in a sitting/standing stationary pose. If I'm going to do the "move around and have fun" posing, the 5' Octagon softbox stands ready on one side (left) and the 4'X7' softbox will be on the other. I will probably use the octagon as the key light with the rectangular one as the fill, setting the octagon to meter at f8.

All of this is still a work in progress as I have been shuffling things around to try this method out. I'm looking forward to the first shoot to test all of this out.

Busy Weekend...

Two basketball games Friday night, as in back to back games; throw in a night football game and thoughts about shooting FSU's NCAA Second Round soccer match Sunday afternoon (I passed), and there was a lot on the plate.

The men's season opening game against the University of North Florida was set to start Friday evening, 35 minutes after the conclusion of the women's opening season game against Alabama State. The women's game began promptly at 6:00 pm and I'll talk about the women's game in a bit, but I'll lead off with the men's game.

I used my normal set up for this game with one exception: in lieu of the 35-70mm f2.8 lens that I normally put on my D3 for near basket shots, I went with the new/used 85mm f1.8 that I raved about a couple of posts ago. ISO was 1600; D300 had the 80-200mm f2.8, shutter speed was 1/400th, f2.8 on Manual Exposure; D3 had the 85mm, shutter speed was 1/500th, f2.5 on Manual Exposure. For a few shots, I pulled out the 17-35mm f2.8 and took a few shots from the floor as well as a shot of the arena from up in the stands.

I can't believe that just by opening the lens to f2.5 I can squeeze an extra 100th second shutter speed to get me to the magical 1/500th second I strive for. Still, though, I can't get by without the D300 and the 80-200mm for shots of the far basket, crowd shots and the all important cheerleader/dance team Kodak moments.

For the women's game, I used the same bodies and lenses as I used for the men's game. Camera settings were identical as was the position I shot from on the floor - as close to the basket as I could get to avoid the refs as much as possible.

 Because this was the season opener, I devoted a lot of time to trying to get shots of the new players on this year's team (above). There's always a need for those shots for media guide use, promotional material, etc. Nevertheless, I also managed to get some updated images of returning players as well as the usual shots I try to get at any game.

Capping off the weekend was the football game against Clemson Saturday night. It was a long night as TV games typically drag on and on and on due to all the TV timeouts. It seemed like the game would never end and it didn't look good for the home team until the last minute of the game. FSU had taken a 3 point lead with 3-4 minutes left in the game and kicked off to Clemson. Clemson then drove down the field but FSU held them to a field goal with 55 seconds on the clock. I resigned myself to overtime and all that goes with it, expecting FSU to figure out a way to lose the game.

With only one timeout left, FSU marched down the field but time was running out. With 9 seconds left and no timeouts, backup QB E. J. Manuel threw an incomplete sideline out and the clock was stopped with 3 seconds left, ball on the Clemson 38 yard line. FSU's PK Dustin Hopkins, who missed a field goal last week which would have won the game against UNC, stepped up to drill a 55 yard field goal as time expired for the win.

The field goal set off a huge celebration on the field and I was unprepared - I was so thrilled to watch the ball sailing through the upright that I forgot to take the D3 off the 400mm and put a wide angle lens on the body, so as time expired and the players ran out onto the field, all I had was my D300 and the 80-200mm. I did not want to miss getting shots by taking the time to switch lenses at that point, so I ran onto the field with the players and snapped away as best I could. Lesson learned - forget about the outcome of the game and get ready to shoot.

Since the game had such few offensive highlights, there weren't a lot of great action shots to be had. In order to make sure I had something decent to turn in, I took plenty of time to get pageantry type shots as well as some up close/personal shots every chance I got. 

I finally get somewhat of a weekend off as both FSU football and basketball are out of town. I am passing on traveling up to Maryland for this week's football game but the FSU soccer team is hosting the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA soccer tournament and I just may get out there Saturday afternoon and shoot.

Facebook - As always, if you would like to see more images from any of the games above, visit my Facebook page (Mike Olivella) where I have posted galleries.