Unexpected things to do on a Friday night!

L3 A phone call mid afternoon resulted in the images below. The invite was for a beer, which was not turned down, but John came over and I set the lights up, so off we went, beer in hand. I had set up the background in my front room, with the light to one side, filling the living room! with the camera in the dining room.

This is the basic set up that I was able to do in quite a small space. The light on the left is not on, the umbrella is being lit by the light on the right. In the vent I did not use the light on the left. I used a tripod and had the camera tethered to the laptop. This gives me a much bigger image to look at when assessing the image taken, and allowed my subject to see what was happening, which sometimes allows the subject to relax, or contribute, or more importantly to see where my direction is going. f20 1/80 ISO 100 228mm lens The old school scarf came out to quell the cold, and to set the mood. Only one light (power level 3) used at 60 degrees to the subject and about 1.8m away. The camera (Canon 400D with 70-300mm Tamron Lens) was 3.5m away. I could not use my light meter as Jim had borrowed it for his shoot, but this shoot was unexpected! Experimentation was used to set the exposure range. The light has spilled and reflected from the walls. f20 1/80 ISO 100 92mm lens Well, beer is an essential part of a friday night, so I just had to get an image with beer, but I don't know why he looks so furtive? We found that this was a very difficult pose to strike and to produce a good image. John had to make numerous, almost mechanical, motions to get the right feel, as the image of beer being drunk did not work, as too much was hidden. The set up was very much as above, with just a plain light. This relates to the previous shots I took of the beer products as a still life excercise. My theme is to combine the two types, portraits showing the person using the product, and then the product in it's own image. f20 1/80 ISO 100 70mm lens After John had rung I remembered he played the Saxophone, so rang him back, and asked him to bring his sax with him. One of my planned thematic images was of a musician playing an instrument, then imaging the instrument itself. I have Andrea to photograph later who plays the flute, so this was an extra bonuses. Once John got going I managed to capture this image. I have made it black and white as it really captures the essence of his playing. Mr Steve has now told me this is the standard I need to maintain now. The set up was the same as the the first shot, except I was now using the reflective umbrella, which has darkened the background more, and produced more highlights. I had increased the power level to 5. I really enjoyed my two sessions this week, both very different in type, and style, and both a challenge, mainly due to the small areas to work in, a good way to begin as it has made me more aware of the problems that can be encountered, and then having to solve those problems.It is a steep curve learning on how to us the lights in different situations. I have known John for many years, so was I was able to get him to do as I asked him, and he was very patient while I tried to get the images I was after. Being a photographer himself he also contributed to the set up, and to some of the ideas he felt were valid for the session. This helps to get the subject involved and relaxed, as the attempted shots were to be. Nevertheless, John was still tense as he is not used to being in front of the camera, but his makes it a deal easier to direct in some cases. The beer shots were very difficult to achieve as angle of subject, getting the lighting correct, making sure the image was not ugly. I found it difficult to get the image, but with the willingness of John, and some repetition, almost mechnical, of John raising his arm, I acheived the image I was looking for. However in the final analysis the image of John playing the Sax came about as he got involved with the playing of the instrument, and I took several images, difficult with the low background and movement of his playing, but, I managed to give some direction to keep John within the background, and in the lights, to achieve a fairly classic pose of him playing the sax. Turning it into black and white has really enhanced the image and mood. A succesful session achieved, all out of the blue.