Video: Comparison between the SB-600 and the SB-900

Hey, 

Here is my video for my comparison of features that were important for why I upgraded as well as why I would buy each flash.  Hope you like the video!

http://youtu.be/po0uljhsxyo

Video: SB-900

Hey folks,

Just posted my review of the SB-900 and soon I will post up my quick comparison of the SB-600 and the SB-900.

Hope this helps!

Video: SB-600 Review

Hey folks,

Here is the link to my video for my review of the SB-600!  Hope you enjoy it.

http://youtu.be/8exOoIyITE4

Update: Studio IV

Hey,


Amazing news!  The studio is up and functional.


So I wanted to make a studio with the least amount of money spent and pretty much all DIY.  So I tried duct taping (inexpensive I know) the paper to the ceiling.  I had a feeling it wouldn't work but I wanted it away from the far wall because I wanted to keep the heater on.  The paper didn't stay up so I went to plan B.  Turn the heater off and then tap it to the wall itself and not the ceiling.  This will then give better odds of the paper staying up since the force being exerted is perpendicular to the tape instead of how it was set up being taped to the ceiling.  So far so good haha.  It could fall but I don't think it will.


I put some tacks into the tape just as a precautionary thing so that they might hold it enough if it is falling to give me time to notice.


Since I have a studio now (unless it falls down on me again) I will start doing more photography as well as I will change my Model Mayhem profile.  I decided that since I have a studio I could help models with their portfolios as well as building mine own doing shoots.  I have been contacted by a couple of models to do shoot however they have not had ideas of what to do.  So I think I will set it up that if they want Time For Print (TFP) then I will decide on the ideas unless the ones they have are going to build my portfolio. If their ideas wont build my portfolio I will charge for building their portfolio.


Additionally I might do graduation photos to make back some money form building the studio (which wasn't that much) however making money back form photography is never a bad idea.


I thought the construction of the studio would be a little more complex however it wasn't haha.  So my Updates did not have as much detail about the construction as I wanted but oh well.  C'est la vie.  If you have specific questions for me about the studio please do not hesitate and send me an e-mail at tomhoustonphotography@gmail.com.  Or you can comment on a post and I will respond via a comment.


So here are two photos from of the studio however it is hard to capture all of it with my 17-55mm.  Just to give some dimensions, the paper is on a 8'x8' plywood floor.  So it is roughly 9 feet tall and about 9 feet long by almost 9 feet wide.  So a fair size if I want group shots or even someone laying on the floor.

My studio.

My studio from a lower angle.

I hope you are as excited as I am about this.  So yes, one can build a studio in their spare room quite easily.  I spent less than $500 for sure on the materials to build it (excluding flashes/stands/umbrellas).  Now I shall get some flower series shots done hopefully!

Tom

Update: Studio II

Hey,


So I got the seamless paper as I believe I have said.  The roll is now sitting on the floor until I have the floor build.  But I can do another step until then, which is bring in some lights:

Studio, Check.  Seamless Paper Check.

Lights... Check

So I decided to take some photos to play around with the room even though I don't have the flooring or the paper up but... you don't need that to get good shots anyways.

When no one is around to model for you sometimes you must grab a tripod and your remote and do it all yourself...

Self Portrait - 17-55mm

And then if you really want to get all fancy and bust out two flashes with two homemade snoots...  Which can get some cool lighting:

Self Portrait - 17-55mm

So, here is the beginning... I am definitely looking forward to not being the model/lighting assistant/photographer all at once but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Hope you are as excited as I am about the potential of this room/studio.

Focus: Nighttime Portraits

Focus: Nighttime Portraits

I decided to write this after my experience with doing a portrait shoot at night.  I wasn't planning on the shoot being at night however by the time the makeup was done and we got to the location, the sun had already punched-out for the day.  I just want to go over some of the things I learned and maybe you have already learned these things but if not here you go.  So, my setup.

So I had one light stand and umbrella with me since there was a lot of walking involved.  Because of this I had my SB-600 on the stand and the SB-900 on my camera as a master/flash.  I used my 50mm, 105mm and the 17-55mm during the shoot.  

First off I was using my SB-900 for a AF assist light with the IR light or however that sensor works.  You can use your external Nikon (maybe other brands but I only have Nikon flashes) flashes to shoot a beam or red light at the subject to have your camera focus in darkness.  It is a great function and tool to have however it still is very hard to pin-point someone's eye through your viewfinder in the darkness.  The red light helps but it is still difficult however I got much better with it from practicing.  

After a couple of shots my SB-600 started making some funking beeping sound that didn't sound so good.  So I assumed because it was the very cold that night getting to it, so I turned it off and just used my SB-900 on camera.  This worked and I didn't need the SB-600 for what I was doing anyways.  Nevertheless I was still disappointed in the SB-600.  Moral of story, I'm glad I bought the SB-900.

Something that I didn't have that could have been nice was a flashlight.  Since I wasn't planning on it being dark I didn't bring one however I am sure it would have been nice.  I didn't need it per say however if you do not know your kit well and need help finding things then a flashlight of some kind would be good.  I am lucky enough that I know where everything goes and have a good routine of where I place lens caps and batteries and other small easily lost pieces.  

As for things I learned shooting was one to use the lights in background.  I am sure if you have seen other nighttime portraits you have probably seen the out of focus lights in the background.  It creates a very cool effect that I have always liked however this was the first time I had done it in a portrait.  When I first saw the effect of my 50mm at f/1.4 and the bokeh, I loved it.  Here is an example of what I mean from one of the photos I took that night:

Nighttime Portrait - 50mm - SB-900 on D90

Personally I have seen this effect a lot in many photos from christmas trees to street lights but I have never done it in a portrait and I loved it as I mentioned.  So because I knew my model was a creative person I decided to try something fun that I thought would look cool.  So I got her to blow "bubbles" with the out of focus lights being the bubbles.  

Blowing "Bubbles" - 50mm - SB-900 on D90

Another thing I learned is pick someone who trusts you to take photos of at night in the fall.  I say this because it was absolutely frigid that night and I was very lucky that a) I got the model to bundle up in a warm outfit and b) that she was a trooper and didn't mind walking and standing outside in the cold to get these shots.

Now for just personal points, I loved the effect of the lights in the background at large apertures.  However be careful because if I was at f/2.8, the circles turned into octagons (or however many edges it had) and had edges to them... therefore not as cool looking.   I personally really like being in control with the light.  Yes, it was very hard to see what on earth was in your viewfinder but very worth it in the end.  Also I got used to making out the model in the dark with the red light from the SB-900.  I liked the pitch black background you can get with shooting at night.  This shoot was at a park where there was enough open space to not have my flash's light hit anything.  For this shoot I wanted the model in a normal black peacoat however it didn't contrast with the black of the environment.  If you did want to have a strong contrast between colours of your subject and background this is a easy way to get that.  If I got my model to wear a red peacoat for example, she would definitely stick out a lot more. 

So yeah, I just wanted to share my experience with shooting portraits at night because I found I learned a lot in the process.  Therefore why not share what I learned and experienced.  

I hope this helps! 

Update: Photos:

Hey,

So I managed to make a contact at a local flower store.  This means I can get scrap flowers as well as they may want me to take photos for their website.  I call that a good day.

I got some more flowers and one of them was a very nice orchid.  Also I decided to add some water drops into the scene.  I like the extra detail as well as the reflections in the droplets. So without further adieu:

Orchid & Water Drops - 105mm VR Macro

 And I like trying black and whites so this was my B&W one.

Orchid - 105mm VR Macro

Hope you enjoy!  And don't forget to check out these photos are more on my Flickr.  Lastly if you have any questions please don't hesitate to e-mail me at tomhouston7@gmail.com.

How To: My Macro Shoot

How To: My Macro Shoot

I was wanting to take some photos so I went out and bought a Daisy to do some macro photography with.  This was the first time I have done "serious" in-door macro shoot and I like my results.  so I thought it would be helpful to explain how I got the shots that I did.

So the gear I used was:

- Camera (Captain obvious)
- Tripod
- Macro lens (105mm VR Macro f/2.8)
- SB-600 (Since I lack a Macro flash/ring)
- Light stand (To hold said flash)
- Wireless Shutter Release

- Stool
- Flower (Gerbera Daisy)
- Vase

So what did all that look like?  Well I decided to take a photo of the setup with my phone to show yeah.  However as I mentioned there, it was with my phone so sorry for the quality:

My Macro Shoot Setup

So I had my SB-600 left of camera pointed at the daisy which was mounted on my light stand.  The D90 with the 105mm VR Macro lens on my tripod.  I had a lamp lighting the flower however I had my flash set to overpower the lamp so it didn't effect my photo.  The lamp was just so I could see the flower so I could focus on it.

To the right side of the photo you can see the light getting by my black curtain which is what I used as a black background to get this effect:

Gerbera Daisy - 105mm VR Macro

Where as I used my wall for the white background however it wasn't white enough for what I wanted so I used a sheet of printer paper.  So I held a sheet of printer paper behind the flower to get a white background as seen here:

Gerbera Daisy - 105mm VR Macro

As for other details, you mostly get the shots you want after experimenting.  I didn't really have an idea of certain photos I wanted, I just tried different angles, lighting and backgrounds.  As for camera settings, you have a lot more control over them inside than you do out in a garden.  I was continually changing my aperture and shutter speed to see what effect it had on that on the photos.  Usually I am restricted by aperture when I do shots outside since I want a very fast shutter speed to freeze any motion from wind or my hand shaking since I mostly shoot handheld.  Another tip I can give is keep checking your histogram to make sure nothing is too far off the left or right side.  As well it helps to have the most information in the centre of the histogram and as close to the top of the of the chart as possible without going off the top.  The larger the area in the histogram the more information in the photos usually.  

Also I just thought of one thing I did that was extra was I washed off some pollen of the petals.  I was doing some 1:1 shots so I wanted to make sure I didn't have extra pollen on the flower. 

I hope that helps and again any and all questions are welcome.  Just send me an e-mail at tomhouston7@gmail.com and I will gladly answer your questions.

Review: SB-600

Review: Nikon SB-600 Flash

Thoughts and Opinions:

This is a useful tool that I have used with my photography.  It is not the fanciest flash but I personally find that it does the trick quite nicely.  I use it with the Nikon CLS system most of the time so I can have the flash off my camera.  The flash is fairly easy to use however it is not that user friendly.  But I don't have enough money to justify buying a new flash just so that it is easier to use.  

The flash pumps out enough power for my use but I am not doing anything too crazy with it.  The ability for the head to swivel and tilt up is useful.  However I believe that usually comes standard with flashes of that level of flash.  

The SB-600 is no longer being manufactured sadly, however it was a great starting flash.  I personally do not do enough flash work that I have a need for a SB-700/800/900 yet.  For my flash work I just want the ability to have good lighting that I can control however I have not tackled anything to large that I need more than just my one SB-600.  

Usage:

I use the most basic Opus lighting system with a light stand, adaptor and umbrella.  I also have a simple diffuser for it as well.  This is how I help create a larger light source to create better lighting for my portraits.  


The flash comes out for all my portraits now for the most part.  Any portraits inside I will have my umbrella setup out.  I use my flash for events as well which gives nice lighting if the venue doesn't have good light.  


Also having a flash around is nice because then you can stop down a little to get more depth of field which is nice.  A group shot is a good example when it is nice to use a flash. It is good to gain more depth of field so that people are not out of focus in the shot.  


It is nice to use rechargeable batteries for the flash.  I have 2 sets of 4 AA's with a charger for them.  I just swap out the batteries with charged ones.  Usually a good idea to have back up batteries.


Pros:


- Not too expensive
- Simple
- Good build
- Reliable (I've had no issues with it)

Cons:

- Controls are not that user friendly 
- Doesn't have much of a range for focusing the light (zoom)
- Not being made anymore


Sample Images:

Portrait, SB-600

Portrait, SB-600

Conclusions: 


The SB-600 is a very useful tool I have found for my photography that I do.  I would suggest investing in a flash if you do a lot of portraits and you want to control your lighting more.  Also I would suggest a flash instead of going all out with continuous lighting with studio lights.  Personally I like the versatility of a off camera flash.  It is small, light weight and you don't have to lug around the studio lights and batteries around.  Also the off camera flashes fit into camera bags easily.  


All and all if you have the money it is a useful tool if you think you will use it.