Sara

plugged

Hellmet returns with software update. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Mini tripod

Mini tripod, helps when placing small flash to uneven surface. Borrowed and tested one from MarkoO during summer and had to buy one for my camera bag. Costs & weights nothing, but can be really helpful.

I have been using dSRL Gorillapod for same purposes but where Gorillapod is more sturdy and versatile, it also weights a lot more and can't be carried on your back pocket.

costume portraits

Steampunk

Again photographing the costume portraits at Ropecon 2012. Busy weekend with more portrait photos than in previous events. Lots of awesome fan made costumes. More photos after the link.

veiled sight

Beauty & burlesque this time.

Steel wool testing

Week ago I helped Eugene with steel wool photography testing. Freezing cold wind in the tunnel we used as location. I took only three frames and then waved the sparkles for Eugene. I used safety hat & goggles but still burned hole in the hood of my jacket while doing the sparkles, so kids don't try this at home. Need to test this again with proper time & warmer location. 

70mm, F11, 10 seconds, ISO 200 + flash (SB-80DX).

Model: Katie

Sky

Quick one hour+ querrilla shoot with Sky at Helsinki downtown. Sunny but cold day.

Ringflash test

This blog entry is about ringflashes. Some observations after using them (especially one from Profoto) few times and quick comparison between three different units. Image above: Profoto ringflash + widesoft reflector using Pro-7b as power source.

I am not a big fan of monotonous and harsh ring flash as main light look, but it works pretty well for fill light. Examples of that use will be covered in separate post. Ring can be also used to create flat lighting to push the images even further in post processing. Like photographer Kristofer Lönnå is doing.

Jar of fireflies

We had good outdoor location scouted but as the weather was really bad and raining whole day, all the photos from this shoot were done inside. Great that the Saara had access to this building which provided selection of indoor backgrounds to use in photos. More photos after the jump.

Sugared

Fashion shoot with maniac girl in the land of sugar & trains. Best part of using candy as props is that you can eat them after the shoot. Models are so adamant about their diet that they can't eat them anyways :)

When one teaches, two learn

Around two weeks ago I spent one evening teaching flash photography basics for friends. 1-3 lights setups using everything from vintage Nikon speedlights (SB-24) to battery powered heavy duty lights (Pro-7b). Why to use certain modifiers, how to guide model, what to do when wind destroys gear (like it did on the workshop) etc. Teaching is interesting way to rethink why you do the lighting certain ways and also get some new ideas from the people participating workshops.