update on sekonic L-358

[sony23]

Well all I can say is if your doing studio work you need a light meter, it makes it so easy to set up your lights, without the light meter it was taking me about 15 mins to set up the lights but with a light meter it took all of 2 mins:lol:

heres one from a shoot on saturday I did for family and friends, one thing I found is working with children ( it is very hard work ) is to try and keep them on one spot.:lol:
I learnt a lot of lessons saturday. heres just a few

1 tie everything down ie background stands. nearly lost it with one crazy child.
2 you need 2 lights for the background not one.
3 use a paper background not a cloth one ( its going back on ebay 9ft x 22ft).
4 and keep checking the meter for different people large or small.
5 dont trust the screen on the 20d for viewing your images.
6 use the histogram on the 20d if you have time:lol: .

Bruce



http://www.goodwoodrestoration.co.uk/photos/a1.jpg

[Mocking-DX]

Bruce

Cute picture
i can see why you want a white paper background

thanks for the tip on the background
i was debating on getting white and black muslin background, but shadows on
white muslin background kept holdoing me back.
I think i'm going with white paper and black cloth

you're right on kids are hard to photograph
i just bought a background stand and i'm not sure how's it gonna work with kids and paper background--worried the y might tear it apart before the photo session is over

[sony23]

Bruce

Cute picture
i can see why you want a white paper background

thanks for the tip on the background
i was debating on getting white and black muslin background, but shadows on
white muslin background kept holdoing me back.
I think i'm going with white paper and black cloth

you're right on kids are hard to photograph
i just bought a background stand and i'm not sure how's it gonna work with kids and paper background--worried the y might tear it apart before the photo session is over

Your welcome, one thing I thought about the paper is tape it to the floor so it cant be moved, also tape the stands as well:lol: .

Bruce

[tim]

Why do you suggest using paper not cloth?

[sony23]

Tim the cloth we used we had to steam out the creases but within an hour they came back and created shadows in the pictures plus it looked a mess on the floor, as soon as a child moved it moved, we were forever putting it back in place.

Bruce

Still editing out the creases:lol:

[scottbergerphoto]

Great shot! I bought a Jiffy Steamer for my cloth backgrounds. It works great on suits and ties also.:D

[Curtis N]

Great shot, Sony. Thanks for the tips!

You may want to feather the edges of those catchlights.;)

[sony23]

Great shot, Sony. Thanks for the tips!

You may want to feather the edges of those catchlights.;)

Thanks Curtis, how do you feather them?

Bruce

[Curtis N]

You'll want to add the catchlights as a separate layer, then you can feather the edges. I use Paint Shop Pro and I don't know what software you're using. I'd recommend using the help files or user manual for your chosen software -

Hopefully someone can jump in here and elaborate.:)

[sony23]

Thanks Curtis, Just edited it.

Bruce