Self promo #4 (process 1)

these shots I did in the studio the other night..
they are for my selfpromo #4 assignment, its kind of an illustration/conceptual shot..
I rented these rotary dial phones from this great local antique store..

If you know me, you know I LOVE everything vintage and love shooting antique and vintage anything/everything. So this was fun, the idea actually came to me while walking thru the store looking for something to shoot.

These are unedited, I haven't done any photoshopping on these really.
the background wasn't as white as I wanted when I looked at them in bridge, but they were on the little LCD screen.. I don't know why, I think because bridge corrects them.. So when I take off all the auto exposure checks, it fixes most of the background effect that was happening in bridge - it was kind of a vingetting effect.. Ill end up fixing the autoexposure & editing them slighting post.

here are the process shots.. to show I lit it and my set up.



here are some of the actual shots..



all of these were shot with a d100, 24-85mm also a 17mm lens. I used broncolor primo pack, a soft box to light the phones and two heads with reflectors to light the back ground.
my original IDEA was the first shot with the 3 phones.. I like symmetry, asymmetry and lines and design and stuff like that.. the second shot is one of my favorites because they are two of my favorite colors, its close up, and the design is nice - also I like the light(I kind of wish the highlights in the phone were a bit softer or not so hot) .. its kind of cute! my phones are cuddling! heh.

so anyhow.. I really liked what came out of that shoot.
exposures: 3 phones - 1/100s @ f/8.
bottom shot - 1/100s @ f/9.
I shot them on white Plexiglas.. it didn't become as white as I like it to.
Oh well.
I might try it again sometime with just white background paper..to see how different the results are.. perhaps less shadow and I wouldn't have that reflection.
because I shot in the cove, the background is really white so I figure I would just use the white sweep and light it up..

I am pretty happy with the results, I might do a little more editing on these and I have to pick my final shots of all the ones I shot ( I might go with my original idea or do something kind of different..we'll just have to see) - the assignment is due MONDAY! so perhaps I'll post my final choice then..

enjoy =]

lens baby

ok.
i want a lensbaby.
yea i know they are sort of a novelty but i want one. they are so fun to play around with and you can really get creative with it.. its not as sweet as schiempfluggin' with a view camera or a tilt shift lens - but its pretty neat.
i wish the (as they call it) the sweet spot, was a little better or larger.. and i also wish the aperture was a bit easier to control.
i put these two photos together in photoshop for fun...
shot with a nikon original lens baby. with a D-100.


the shot on the left was shot at 1/30th of a sec and the aperture ( i am guessing b/c i didn't put any of the aperture rings in the lens baby - metadata says f/1.0.) it is a complete manual lens, you move around the sweet spot(the focus spot) with your fingers ( as seen in the other photo). the ISO was 400. and i shot it in my bathroom with available tungsten light.

the shot on the right was shot @ 1/30th of a sec and the "aperture" was at f/1.0.
i really guessed where the focus spot was with these... and i just reshot them and moved the sweet spot to where i thought it would be. (where i'd want it)


--- these are some outtakes and stuff i did(of me) while messing around shooting a self promo assignment of snow peas for chuck at my apartment and put together in photoshop...


i shot it with a D100 with alien bees with a soft box on it.. its side lit and i tweaked the color in photoshop to make it more green.
RIGHT - f/13 @ 1/45th of a sec. @ 42 mm on my lens. ISO 200
alien bees with a soft box.
LEFT- f/13 @ 1/45th of a sec at 42mm lens. ISO 200.

thats it.
lemme know whatcha think <3>