Self Portrait #occupyLA (022)

Self Portrait, Saturday, October 15, 2011.

Living Room Self Portrait with a Softlighter II

I needed to make a quick self-portrait photo, but I wanted see if I could do it without heavy, full-size studio equipment. So I decided to try an all-hotshoe-flash technique using just what was in my camera bag and only lightweight, portable gear.

I grabbed my Nissin 466 first. That's a small, lightweight flash designed to work with Micro Four Thirds cameras. It's got a reasonable Guide Number of 36 and decent features, but is scaled down to match M43 cameras. I put it on its base stand, and wrapped a Honl Speed Strap around the flash head. That let me velcro on a Honl "Just Blue" color gel and point it up at a boring white wall to create the background blue I wanted. It has two "optical slave" modes -- you can set it to fire when it "sees" a flash pop, or, because TTL flash often uses a "pre-flash" you can set it to work with that.

Then, I wanted a softbox look without feeling like I was putting together a camping tent. So, I grabbed my Softlighter II. It packs small (it's really like an umbrella with one extra piece of fabric) and it is really lightweight despite being really large -- its the 60-inch model, which can light two people reasonably well. (More importantly, it sets up fast -- open the umbrella, attach the diffusion cover and you're done.)

What light to put inside? I didn't want to drag out a monolight kit. So, after I put the Softlighter on a lightweight light stand, I put an adapter on the top of the stand and attached my Metz 58 hotshoe flash. It's bigger than that Nissin, but it's got plenty of power -- Guide Number 58, a match for the Canon 580 ex II or the top Nikon flashes. It's enough, at a setting of 1/8th power, to easily fill the Softlighter at the level I'd need for a portrait and it's still relatively small and lightweight compared to a monolight.

How to trigger it? I put a Cactus V5 transceiver under the flash and set it to "receiver" -- then I picked a channel, grabbed another Cactus V5 and set it to "transmitter" and the same channel. I put that on top of my Panasonic GH1 and set the camera on a lightweight tripod. The GH1 was right in the spirit of what I was doing -- it's tiny, lightweight, good at reasonable ISO settings, and I particularly like it because of its video capabilities.

For a head-and-shoulders portrait, I like my Leica 45mm f/2.8. This is a fantastic lens that is underappreciated in the Micro Four Thirds community. (If you read the photo forums, you'd get the impression that this is the most unusable, expensive lens ever -- and nothing could be further from the truth. It's a great lens, priced at a match for its quality (but not expensive compared to most Leica lenses), and really really usable. Small, lightweight, sharp wide open at f/2.8, and just perfect for this type of shot.)

I metered using a Sekonic L-308DC. That's the newer model that does ambient, flash and now "Digital Cinema" mode, which makes metering for recording video with your DSLR or mirrorless camera a bit easier.

I forgot to include one detail in my lighting diagram below: if you check out the catch lights in the eyes, you'll see I also threw a small reflector on the floor to add a touch of fill.

Now: I just need a good retoucher....

Pretty, Pretty Princess

Returned to the Los Angeles-ish area for some holiday festivities. I'm the one without a tiara.

Hybridity

It's interesting to me to observe this endless cycle: folks get excited about a new technology for making images, obsess about it, talk endlessly about all the new capabilities it will provide, then make the same old thing they did before.

It looks better, but it's the same thing, really.

Then they quickly decide the formerly new technology is now old, and move on to the rumored new thing that will allow them to finally do their work.

In NYC? Take my Photo Course at Hunter CE

Photography sure can be fun. If only there were some sort of class about that, taught locally starting next Thursday.

SERIOUSLY FUN PHOTOGRAPHY / SERFUN
Build on the basics and master the skills and ideas advanced photographers use in a fun, low-pressure class. Open to anyone able to shoot a photo and import it into a computer (and welcoming advanced students as well), in this class we'll use the digital camera as a fast way to learn the essentials of photography. We'll learn-by-doing, exploring professional techniques while creating a portfolio project (on any topic of your choice) to show your advanced skills. If you've always been interested in photography, but have put off becoming great at it, this is your chance.

Course/Section: SERFUN/1 6 Session(s) 12 Hour(s) Tuition: $250.00
Day(s) Meet: Thursday Date: 02/18/10-03/25/10 Time: 06:00PM-08:00PM
Location: CS, 71 E 94 ST./
Instructor(s): FISHER, TED

You can register online at Continuing Education at Hunter College

Above: an iPhone snapshot taken today.