My other hobby is flying these things, however I don't seem to get much time for it at the moment due to weather and photography. I decided to combine the two hobbies yesterday and take some photos as shown below (Higher resolution versions here ). The reason for doing it was partly for something to do and also to try and improve my ability around product / stock photography.
I used Westcott 9'x10' backdrops (Black / white) behind the table and placed the model on reflective perspex sheets (Black /white). The black versions metered perfectly and were 90% finished straight off the camera as I set the correct white balance and used the colour checker passport to create a custom profile for Lightroom. The white version was more challenging as it was difficult to control the light in terms of over spill. Both versions paid a visit from Lightroom into Photoshop CC and it's fair to say that the white version spent longer in there being tweaked (Hacked).
For me both versions could be improved particularly the white one as my eye is drawn to the things that didn't work quite right. I was also wondering whether I should increase the depth of field to get the whole model in focus or leave it as is. My inclination is to leave as is.
I used two studio strobes on the black versions to light the model with two additional speedlights on the white version to light the background.
Equipment used.
If this one crashes it's only 75% of the cost of a D800 The turbine did sound good though!!
In the right hands (not mine) this is the sort of thing it can do.
I used Westcott 9'x10' backdrops (Black / white) behind the table and placed the model on reflective perspex sheets (Black /white). The black versions metered perfectly and were 90% finished straight off the camera as I set the correct white balance and used the colour checker passport to create a custom profile for Lightroom. The white version was more challenging as it was difficult to control the light in terms of over spill. Both versions paid a visit from Lightroom into Photoshop CC and it's fair to say that the white version spent longer in there being tweaked (Hacked).
For me both versions could be improved particularly the white one as my eye is drawn to the things that didn't work quite right. I was also wondering whether I should increase the depth of field to get the whole model in focus or leave it as is. My inclination is to leave as is.
I used two studio strobes on the black versions to light the model with two additional speedlights on the white version to light the background.
Equipment used.
- D800 shooting raw
- 50mm 1.8G for the black versions at F9. No particular reason to use this lens over my others and F9 is not even the sharpest aperture on this lens.
- 16-35F4 for the white version at F10.
- Two Pro-line X-180 studio strobes to light the model. One with a softbox at the front and one with a barn door to control over spill to the background at the back. These are cheap studio light that are fully manual controlled.
- Two SB900s with the power set manually via my pocket wizard compatible meter. The SB900s were only used for the white version to light the backdrop.
- Westcott 9'x10' wrinkle free backdrops. I think "wrinkle free" is pushing it but they are not too bad.
- Pocket wizards - Mini TT1 on camera, Plus X on one strobe with the other slaving optically, Flex TT5s on the SB900s.
- Sekonic 478DR meter. This allowed wireless power adjustment for the SB900s on the TT5s.
- Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CC.
If this one crashes it's only 75% of the cost of a D800 The turbine did sound good though!!In the right hands (not mine) this is the sort of thing it can do.
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