GET MORE: Gear. Equipment. Technique. My Own Rambling Experience.

My previous post brought up a few details that I thought would make a good follow up piece.
These relate to a few techniques and items of gear that I used on the Butter Factory shoot.

Much of what I know has been gleaned from the works and advice of other photographers.
In the interests of paying things forward, I'd like to share a few lessons and techniques that my experience has taught me.

More after the jump




First up is the Tronix Explorer XT
Not to knock (un)available light photographers, but there is nothing that separates poor photography from art more than meticulously planned lighting - which invariably means studio lighting and the tons of modifiers available to make magic with light.

This is all very well in a studio setup, but what happens when you want to use that lighting in locations where power outlets are lacking?

Invariably, you could invest in top of the range lighting systems which come with their own battery packs. (Think $$$, and lots of it)

Or, you could opt for something a little less pricey, which is what I did.

At a little more than $800, The Explorer XT is by no means an item you could buy on a whim.
The clincher for me was that it would allow location work that I otherwise would only be able to do if I sold my current lighting setup (Interfit) and invested in something far more costly.

Two things to remember with a sine wave inverter:

1) They need to remain on charge when not in use, or they could lose power permanently.
(I actually sent a mail to Tronix asking about this, and apparently they'll work just fine if allowed to charge for an uninterrupted 24 hours once per week.)

2) They do not fare well supplying continuous power.
What this means for me is that the strobe lights will work fine, but having the modelling lights turned on would not be a good idea.

This unit fared brilliantly during the shoot, and is likely to continue giving me joy down the track.



Secondly, we have the combination of Studio strobes and hot shoe flashes.

As far as lighting goes, I have 3 studio strobes and 2 Canon 580EXII flashes at my disposal, each with their own unique pros and cons.

The studio strobes are more powerful and are capable of creating a quality of light that I cannot achieve with the speedlites.
The speedlites however are very portable and versatile enough for quite a number of projects.

Ordinarily a shoot will require one or the other.
On the odd occasion a need will arise for both types to be used.
Sometimes I also have need for 4 lights or more, and in this case I have to use both types.

With the Butter Factory shoot I needed the 1m x 1m softbox to create the soft light on my subjects - cue the 600Ws Interfit Stellar strobe.

The speedlite was necessary for a few reasons:
1) I didn't want another strobe running off the Sine wave inverter (It could easily handle it, but I wanted to play it safe)
2) The speedlite was small enough to fit behind the couch without trouble and provide illumination for the shelves on the wall.
3) I have a little more options wrt gels on the speedlites - even if, in this case, I settled on something as basic as a CTO gel to warm the wall.

The trick with all of this is finding a way to trigger everything easily.
The strobe uses an Elinchrom Skyport, whilst the speedlite was triggered with a Pocketwizard Mini.
Fortunately, the Pocketwizard transmitter has a hotshoe above it, which allowed me to slot the Skyport transmitter on without trouble - and Robert's your mother's brother.





I must mention that ordinarily I could get away with a Pocketwizard only; the speedlite's flash will trigger the studio strobe, provided the strobe can "see" the flash.
Again here I chose to play it safe, and opted to use both the transmitters as the speedlite was firing away from the strobe.

The last thing I want to do in front of a client is fiddle with gear that isn't performing as it should.

Lastly, I want to share a lesson that the experience taught me.
In hindsight, this should not have occurred, but sometimes in the face of something new you end up being so overwhelmed by the experience that your normal routine is disturbed.

In this case I left one little element out of my preparation for the shoot that had me kicking myself repeatedly in post-production - I neglected to do a thorough clothing inspection before we started shooting.

Admittedly, the darkness of the location contributed, as I would have picked up on this if we were shooting outdoors.

Take a look at Steve's hat.
This little item is such an integral part of his character, and as such is evident in every shot - necessitating a touch up in every shot.
For a photographer - time is money, and unnecessary time spent editing can be a very costly mistake - especially if it could have been avoided with 2 minutes of primping before the time.



So to wrap up I'd like to share the post-game summary from the shoot - the little lessons I ALWAYS write down the minute I get home.

1) Low ambient light creates problems that you have to overcome.

-Find a way to illuminate your subject so that the camera can focus without difficulty. (Torch, modelling light etc...)
-Your environment/backdrop may have to be lit with flash.
-If you have to light the background with flash, be creative enough that your lighting does not ruin the ambiance.

2) Examine your subjects clothing before and during the shoot.

- Fluff, lint and other elements can cause nightmares in post.
- Changing poses can lead to make-up smudges on clothes, be prepared.

3) Don't skimp on your location preparation.

- Knowing the lighting conditions and options for setups will save a lot of headaches and spare you the ignominy of looking like an amateur in front of your client.

4)Be confident and methodical.
- This comes with experience.
- You will get the most from your clients if they truly believe that you know what you are doing and are focused on getting things perfect.

Happy snapping fellow photographers.



Read more...

Persistence pays off

Part of the process of building your skills as a photographer depends on pushing your boundaries at times and trying something new.
Getting out of your comfort zone can mean many different things - from new equipment and techniques to new locations and unique subjects.

The old truths remain valid - for great images, find something interesting, put it in an interesting place and light it well.

More info after the jump...


There are a number of very interesting locations in the city I live in, and one in particular has been tempting me for a while.

Butter Factory is a location I've been dying to shoot in for some time.
As its name implies, it is located in a historic building within the CBD, and because of its aged appearance, has a very specific feel to it.
Maybe it's just me, but every time I walk in there, Frank Sinatra starts playing in my head and all I want to do is plonk myslef down on one of the leather couches with a good single malt and a fat Cuban cigar and just relax.

Many months ago I started working towards getting a location shoot lined up.
From the start I knew I had 2 options: Either be ballsy and ask the proprietor for permission to drag subjects and gear in on a quiet evening or go the "quid pro quo" route.

I opted for the latter, and approached the owner offering to provide him with free interior shots in exchange for the permission to do the work I wanted to do.
This would involve more work, but I figured it was the smarter move for 3 reasons:

1) It would give me a chance to do some very detailed location scouting - both for places to shoot and times when it would be least disruptive to other patrons.

2) Knowing what kind of ambient light you're dealing with will save a lot of headaches. (Turns out the place was a photographic black hole - which made things quite interesting)

3) If it turned into a useful location for repeat work, being on the owner's good side would make future requests easier.

So, step 1.
Shoot the locations pro bono.



The above scene is actually from Butter Bank, which is a bar, under the same management, directly above the location I was angling for.





Permission to drag lights and subjects in on a quiet evening - check

Next problem - Good subjects.
The mood of the location demanded something quite specific - classy, sophisticated and mature would be the words of the day.

Enter Sarah Shields and Steve Haywood, willing guinea pigs from my BNI group who fit the brief perfectly.
Not married, or even related, they were both keen to do a little TFCD work when I had explained what I had in mind.



Steve is a local Master Jeweller, and Sarah is the General Manager of Oceans Resort Hotel

And so it happened that we found ourselves in Butter Factory one quiet Thursday evening with a car full of lighting gear and a number of little road bumps to navigate.

Lighting a Black Hole
Step number 1 for me is to work out the ambient light first.
For me, this involves working in manual and dialling in the exposure settings I am hoping to work with.
The trick here is that both your shutter speed and aperture provide their own limitations wrt safe hand-holding, sync speed and depth of field.

So, not keen on shooting slower than 1/125, and not keen on a depth of field shallower than f6.3, I dialled these settings into the camera (Along with an ISO of 200) and got...



...exactly what I expected.

Given the work I had already done in that location, I was fairly certain that ambient light would not be a part of the image.
Regardless, things can change on the day of a shoot, and I took a few shots to find out if my initial hunch was correct.

Step 2 - ramp up the ISO by 1 stop and open lens all the way (f2.8)



Better, but in the same way that a BMI of 40 is better than 50!
So, question answered.
Scientifically I could bump up the ambient light by increasing ISO to "Holy shit that's noisy" or drop my shutter speed to well within "get me a tripod and don't move a bloody muscle" range.
Realistically, for image quality, neither was an option.

So, question answered, I need flash to light my background.

Step 3 - set up a TTL flash (triggered with pocketwizard mini/flex) and take a look.
Camera settings: ISO 200, f2.8, 1/125



Better, but not quite there.
It almost approximated the the ambient light.
Problems for me - the colour and intensity of the light.

Easy fixes.
Added a 1/2 cut CTO gel to the flash - warm light, and the gel itself would suck a stop or so of light out of the flash.
- 2 birds with 1 stone

Lather, rinse, repeat...
This time I brought Steve into the shot, as I was certain I was pretty much in the ballpark.



Definately getting there, but the depth of field was a problem.
Normally I'm all for blurring everything but your subject, but this time I wanted detail in the background, because it added to the mood and "feel" of the image.

Easy fix this time.
Set aperture to f11 and the miracle of wireless ETTL flash would sort out the rest. (I do love the pocketwizard Mini)



BINGO!
Time to start making magic.

Brought in a 90cm square softbox on a 600w/s Interfit head, triggered with Elinchrom skyports.
I've found the combination of Pocketwizards and Skyports to be quite useful in certain circumstances, even if it does make the camera hotshoe look a little odd.
(Will be doing a post on this soon)

The Interfit was powered by a Tronix sine wave inverter which has been a godsend for this kind of work.

The combination worked fine; soft light on the subject, mood in the background thanks to a gelled 580EXII.

All that was left was to work on poses and switch out lenses for close in work.











BIG PROBLEM though was the ambient light which made the simple act of focussing impossible.
Once again I had the help of two fantastic assistants, Heather and Shelly.
Even with one of them using torch light to illuminate the subjects, I still got a lot more blurry shots than I'd want - not good when eyes have to be pin sharp.

Ordinarily the modelling light on the softbox would work fine, but this is not an option with a sine wave inverter.
Note to self - mains power if possible next time, or do something about the ambient light.

All in all, a very enjoyable shoot with two great people.

Great location, even if the ambient light was a problem.
Even better to know that your skills are improving, both in what you are capable of doing, and in the confidence that comes with smoothly negotiating the little hiccups that are inherent with any location work.

My thanks to Steve and Sarah for their time and patience.
It really was worth the wait.

And just to add a little to the mood, I put the images to some fitting music.






Read more...

Finding inspiration - Part 1: Jill Greenberg

I have a very enquiring mind; if I don't quite understand something I'll generally do everything I can to turn confusion into sense. (God bless the internet!)

I do a lot of reading, and it amazes me that sometimes the smallest of articles can become an amazingly complex rabbit-hole of insight, where each question leads to another that needs answering. Sometimes the journey takes you to some amazing places, or provides you with a whole treasure trove of new ideas to explore.

Honestly, I don't know how people like me survived these burning questions before the internet became such a big part of our daily lives.

Sometimes these little searches yield some real gems, and open my mind to something else.
Sometimes it's just amazing to take stock of whatever revelation has been made known to you and then work your way back to the initial switch that set the whole process in motion.

The train of thought that got me acquainted with the work of Jill Greenberg is such a journey, and one that I thought would make a great blog post.

More info after the jump.


I had an absolutely fantastic birthday this year; I had a great day with a wife who I love immensely, and spent a great evening enjoying the company of good friends.

I also received an amazing book as a gift - Photo Wisdom by Lewis Blackwell

As a self taught photographer I will admit that I know very little about the big names in the field.
As amazing as this book is for the visual feast it provides, for me the real value lies in what each photographer has written.
I found it ironic that there were so many images that I remember seeing before, but had no idea of the photographer behind that image.
Sometimes the photographer's story - the passion and the motivation behind the image are just as inspiring as the pictures themselves.

I've also made the decision to start learning about the Photographic Greats and spend time looking at he work they've created.

And so it was that I got stuck on Jill Greenberg's chapter and the words she had written.
One particular paragraph stood out for me though, as it re-iterates a feeling I've had that I wish I could somehow express to potential clients; Photographers know that photography is not simply about arriving with a camera and taking images. There is work involved - lots of it!

"The actual shoot doesn't usually take that long. A shoot day is a few hours, but if you are shooting a celebrity you might only have fifteen minutes or an hour. It is more about the preparation - the pre-production is the most time, second is the post production, and the actual shooting is usually the least amount of time."

And so I decided to jump on the internet and learn a little more about Jill Greenberg and take a look at other work she has created.

What struck me immediately was, again, the fact that there were images I had seen before and been amazed by.
Prime example is the image of Michael C. Hall, T.V.'s Dexter Morgan.



I won't even try and deny the fact that I'm intrigued by anything sinister or creepy.
As such, Dexter is a show I've been crazy about ever since I started watching it.
If you've never watched Dexter you won't know what I mean.

As much as I love the series' storyline, I have to admit that it's the mixture of music and amazing visuals that captivate me.
I remember being thrilled by the opening title when I first saw it.



Talk about combining some inspired thinking with great execution.(pun almost intended!)

But I digress.

Jill Greenberg is herself no stranger to controversy.

She once landed in hot water after doing a portrait shoot of Senator John McCain for Atlantic Monthly magazine.

The following paraphrased off Wikipedia:

In August 2008, Greenberg was hired by The Atlantic to photograph John McCain for the magazine's October 2008 cover. Once the magazine hit the newsstands, Greenberg admitted to a photo industry magazine to shooting additional images, to depict McCain in a sinister light, so that she could create her own political art. Greenberg also posted to her website altered versions of photographs.

The Atlantic said of Greenberg, "we expected her, like the other photographers we work with, to behave professionally. Jill Greenberg has obviously not done that. She has, in fact, disgraced herself, and we are appalled by the manipulated images of John McCain she has created for her Web site."

Similarly, controversy arose after her "End Times" exhibition, which depicted child models in various states of distress and misery.
Questions were asked as to the methods used, and a lively debate was started.

Being new to the story I found quite a number of interesting pieces online.

It's interesting to see the how polarized the response to photography can be.
I'm reminded of a Facebook group I saw which denounced the work of Anne Geddes as tantamount to child abuse. Go figure!
I suppose, given the world we live in, it would be hard to find a subject or issue which the whole world would view in the same light.

Makes you think.
Not bad for a morning's reading!

So wherein lies the inspiration?
Firstly, it's always great to have beautiful imagery to be inspired by, and some of the portraits Jill Greenberg has taken honestly amaze me.

Secondly, controversy aside, it's interesting to catch glimpses of a photographer's emotions and beliefs resonating through their work.
Though I do feel sorry for John McCain, I'm astounded by the nerve it must have taken to create and display those images and the strength of the motivation behind that action.
I admire work with a message - though the fact that the message cannot always be separated from its method of creation is worth bearing in mind.

I hope one day to produce work that has a significant meaning to me, and that resonates within the consciences of my audience.

Bottom line for me today: Great pictures paint more than a thousand words.

I look forward to making a number of similar discoveries as I delve deeper into the book.


Read more...

Having a little fun...

There's something refreshing about working with clients who REALLY want to be photographed, and who put as much effort and planning into a shoot as you do.

I had the pleasure of working on a few different ideas with Shane and Catherine in May.
Shane's sister had bought a voucher off me as a Christmas present, as she was sure they'd want to do something strange and outrageous.

When I first met them I was immediately convinced that we were going to have a lot of fun, and that there would be plenty of opportunity to aim for something a little out of the ordinary.

They both were involved with local theatre, and had access to a whole heap of costumes, accessories and props.
Aside from this, Shane's sister runs one of the local preschools, and they were really keen to use it as a backdrop for one of the shoots.

We met up there one Sunday afternoon to take a look around and see what ideas might be feasible.
And so the the building blocks storyline was born...




Shane and Catherine are now living and working in the UK, and I wish them well with their endeavours.
All I can say for sure is that a little corner of England is about to get a whole lot wackier!
Read more...

It's not what you know...

My progression from doctor to photographer has led me down some pretty interesting paths.
Despite my penchant for planning and preparation, I still find myself faced with situations that I had not foreseen.

My biggest disadvantage was having no solid business knowledge - as a doctor it is almost unnecessary. (Who needs to know about marketing when you work in a hospital or general practice?)

Recently I took a month's unpaid leave to sit back and think about what needed to be done to address these deficiencies.
It was during this time that a friend of mine, who runs the local Paper Plus store, spoke to me about attending a BNI meeting as his guest.

And so began my journey down yet another rabbit hole.


BNI (Business Network International) is a business and professional referral organisation whose primary purpose is to exchange qualified business referrals and develop word-of-mouth marketing techniques.

There are thousands of chapters worldwide whose members meet weekly over breakfast to discuss their businesses, network and exchange referrals.

I was warned beforehand that I'd need to speak about myself and my business for 60 seconds (As everyone else does)and that the meeting would last for approximately 90 minutes.

I was prepared to feel quite isolated and intimidated, after all, I'm no business magnate. (And some of the members are quite influential within this town's business community)

However, my trepidation was completely unjustified, and rather than feel awkward, I actually left that morning with work in my pocket. (An occurrence which was to repeat itself at my second and final obligation-free visit the following week)

In fact, Fusion at Work was a direct referral from my second visit.
(Needless to say, I didn't think twice about applying for membership!)

And once again, serendipity came knocking.
During the shoot for Fusion at Work, Jaki took a look at my portfolio, and was impressed enough to push for me to do a 10 minute presentation as soon as my membership was approved.

This happened rather quickly. (Two weeks ago, in fact)
I was adamant that I had to keep the talking to a minimum and focus on the imagery.
So I spent a few nights perfecting the slide-show that prefaces this post, and stepped up to the plate one Thursday morning.

I wowed them.
I hit those 10 minutes right out of the park.
I handed out more business cards in one morning than I have in the past 6 months.

Long story short, I have work coming in as a result of that presentation, that when complete, will more than cover my BNI membership for the year. (And hopefully the breakfasts too!)

I suppose this post is more business centred, and the conclusions I want to highlight sound like common sense, but they often need to be stressed again.

Word of Mouth advertising cannot be bought.

For photographers, who sell a visual product, talking about your work will convince no one - your images need to be out there ready to pounce on hungry eyes.

Investments in advertising and promotion are vital. (But there are smart and foolish ways of doing this)

Always show only the best work you have - Don't let work which you're less than satisfied with see the light of day, or worse, potential clients.

It's not what you know, it's who you know.





Read more...

Corporate Portrait: Fusion at Work

I was recently approached by Jaki George-Tunnicliffe from Fusion at work for portrait images to enhance her website.

Corporate portraiture is an area of photography with very few grey areas; it can either be a breeze from the start or it can provide a string of headaches that make you seriously question your own abilities to meet your client's expectations.

Thankfully, Jaki falls into the first category, and even though things ran smoothly and pleasantly, there are still a few learning bites worth mentioning.

Catch you on the other side of the jump.

The nice thing about corporate portraiture is that your client almost always knows exactly what image they want to portray.

I approach all of my clients in exactly the same way: I insist on a face to face meeting to talk a few things through.
This serves many purposes: It is an opportunity to break the ice. It gives you a chance to make a first impression before the day of the shoot, and importantly, it gives you a chance to find out what your client wants.

Jaki's brief was simple:
1) 3-5 images
2) Varied outfits and looks
3) The images needed to convey energy, professionalism and a sense of fun

This brief was soon extended to include a few shots of Lisa, who works as Jaki's assistant.

My lighting plan for the day needed to take the above into account, and I opted for a very simple 2 light setup on a seamless black background with a large softbox as my key light and a gridded strobe providing separation.
(I could then use the separation light to blow out the background if I switched from black to white.)
I opted for speed - more images in a short space of time with a versatile lighting setup.

As usual, the start of the session is always an opportunity to get your lighting ratios nailed down, get your model at ease and get yourself at ease.
I have a store mannequin that I use to get my lights setup well before the client arrives, but minor adjustments are always required.

Usually the warm-up process doesn't take too long, and such was the case on the day.
Jaki had brought 3 changes of clothes, and we opted to shoot each outfit against black and white, then shoot Lisa while Jaki was changing.

I am personally in favour of the black background, and indeed we did end up using it for most of our shots.


The white background worked out quite well for Lisa...


...and in fact one made it into Jaki's final selection as well.


In addition to the straightforward portrait images, I also make sure I take a few with significant dead space, especially when they are being used for marketing, advertising or the web., which allows text and graphic to be placed in at a later stage.
(And sometimes they don't look too bad on their own )


All things considered, it was a great shoot. (Always easier when your subject is both photogenic and comfortable in front of the camera.)

Jaki eventually settled on 7 images, with the collage at the top of the post.

Her big dream is to get published and find her way onto Oprah's couch.
Here's holding thumbs!

Read more...

Flash, Camera and Action

The greatest thing about getting out with your equipment and pushing your boundaries is that the experience very often attunes you to the limitations of your gear.

The good news in all of this is that figuring your way around the problem invariably opens up a number of new possibilities...

And so begins an interesting cycle of problem solving and further experimentation.

A while back I had the urge to head down to the local skate park to shoot something that placed me out of my comfort zone.
This spur of the moment decision has lead to a number of repeat visits, new techniques and skills and a few new contacts made over the course of the past 18 months.

It's been an interesting process, with a number of really useful lessons, which I'll share with you after the jump.


Firstly, a minor Disclaimer;
Most of the images I've included are images that emphasise a point, and are definitely not what I'd call my best work.
However, the point we often forget is that we need to shoot a fair amount of crappy images before the hero shots start happening more regularly.
As photographers, we NEED to suck at times.
However, that is all for nothing if we cannot recognise where these images fell short and then take steps to improve them.

Not knowing what you don't know is hard.

Hopefully, this post will teach a few lessons without you needing to have first rammed your head against a wall.

I got very addicted to off-camera flash some time ago.

Initially it was all about heading somewhere interesting with fellow photographers and then taking turns shooting each other and seeing what the gear would do.

Admittedly, when you're starting out, a speedlite through an umbrella is a great start, and suddenly you're producing images which are amazingly better than what you're used to.
But shooting colleagues quickly got stale, and something needed to be done to step things up a little.
So the decision was made to head out to the skate park.

Any doubts or concerns I may have had about approaching a bunch of strangers (Kids and teenagers no-less) were quickly dispelled once the lights were set up.
By and large, these kids love their bikes and decks as much as I love my camera gear, and once I'd explained what I was there to do, getting a few willing subjects was an absolute piece of cake.

(And for any women who may be reading this, please let no one ever tell you that men cannot be vain and image conscious!)




The kids pulled out all the stops, and some of them are exceptionally talented.
And pretty soon things were moving along quite nicely.

And since I write these posts to share my experiences and offer a little advice for fellow photographers, it would probably be wise to start off by explaining how we set things up.

The basic setup for this was a Canon 580 EX II on a light stand, triggered with an Elinchrom Skyport

I opted to use bare flash for a number of reasons:
1) Hard light mixes well with afternoon light.
2) Hard light had a good effect on the subject matter I was shooting.
3) A softbox or umbrella would sap way too much light and almost negate the value of using fill flash in the first place.

The shot below gives an idea of the setup as well as the location on the day.



The interesting thing about this first shoot was that it introduced us to all the variables that need to come together to get an image that works. (Points you only realise when you're sitting in front of the PC going through the images you shot)

1) Focus.
A good action shot needs to be crisp and in focus.
Knowing how to pan/pre-select a focus point and which camera auto-focus settings to use are skills that take time to get acquainted with.
For those of us who don't shoot action regularly, it often takes a little warming up before things are doing what they need to do.
A camera with decent AF and fast glass make a huge difference as well, but this is definitely a skill that needs to be honed and kept sharp.

2) Flash coverage.
Getting the image sharp is useless if you don't capture your subject in the area where the flash is firing.



3) Be wary of your background.
It may be fine for a start, but as photographers are generally pretty picky, and finding a way to remove the onlookers without resorting to Photoshop would be fine. Obviously this would require shooting on a quiet day, but more on this later.



4) Shutter speed.
The single most important lesson on the day.
Shooting using flash immediately puts you at the mercy of sync speed/x -sync.
Check this out if you need a better explanation.
(1/200s is not exactly fast enough to freeze the action we were shooting, as the image below will prove.)



5) Consistency when using manual flash.
These guys are moving pretty fast, and though you know what line they're following, even the smallest movements towards or away from the flash can have big effects on the image. (Sometimes disastrous)



6) Know what they're doing.
Being in the right spot with the light aimed perfectly helps nothing if your composition sucks. When shooting skaters, be wary of how they skate and which way they'll be turning or coming through; You want to shoot their faces and not get a frame full of butt or back when you press the shutter.



As mentioned in a previous post, I make a habit of writing down my problem list as soon as I can after a shoot, while the issues are still fresh in my mind.
All in all it was a great first attempt, and aside from the problems that experience would prevent in future, the problem list, and solutions I opted for looked something like this:

How to get a faster Shutter Speed to freeze motion
This posed a slight headache. The premise here is that I'd need to use high speed sync which is impossible with a Skyport transmitter.

I had 3 options:
a) Buying a second flash and using it as an on-camera master to trigger the off-camera flash, which would make high-speed sync possible.
b) Canon ST-E2 transmitter which seemed a cheaper option. (But I had concerns about line-of site for triggering)
c) Pocketwizard Flex and Mini units. Awesome, reliable, but expensive.
These would also solve the problem of manual flash, as they allow wireless E-TTL flash, which would make problem 5 a thing of the past.

Maintaining consistency with manual flash
The only real solution to this problem would be to either:
a) Keep the guys coming through at the same distance from the flash - which is impossible and therefore not an option
b) Find a TTL method of off camera flash. (Both options B and C above would work)

Achieving Focus
Instead of relying on auto-focus to do the job, in most situations I now make use of Focus-lock.
Planning is important here, so your talent knows what line to maintain, or what position of the ramp to pop up on.
Mark the spot, and get him to stand still there.
Compose the shot, get the focus and engage focus lock.
I find this works quite well, as it negates the need to be watching their approach; just maintain your composition, look through the eyepiece and fire when they're in position.
This has resulted in a much higher rate of keepers when editing.

Distracting Backgrounds
The only way to solve this problem is to shoot on a day when the park is deserted. Playing prima-donna and chasing people away from your field of vision would be abhorrent and unfair.
I solved this issue by approaching Carl Mason (Check the title shot) and arranging a pro-bono shoot during a weekday, when everyone else was at school.
Aside from the weather, which forced 2 cancellations, this option worked fine.

So essentially, the problems basically fit into 2 categories: Those solved by experience, and those solved by improved equipment.

After looking at the issues I needed to resolve, it became increasingly clear that the biggest improvement would be made by acquiring the gear needed to work at faster shutter speeds.
(As odd as it sounds, it does feel good to spend money on gear which you know you'll need and will make a difference, than biting the bullet and buying something expensive on a whim.)

I thought long and hard about it, and eventually opted for the Pocketwizards.
I am a big believer in buying quality, and buying once if I can afford to.
Though it did take a few months of saving, I now have the gear to do what I need without any problems.

I also invested in a second flash, partly because I have to have a backup in emergencies, and partly because high speed sync causes a lot of power loss from the flash: having 2 would be a huge advantage.


The setup I now use consists of 2 Canon 580 EXII flashes, connected to pocketwizard Flex receivers secured to a flash bracket which attaches easily to an umbrella tilting bracket.

I also invested in 2 battery packs for the flashes and enough rechargeable Nimh batteries to provide power to the flashes, battery packs and provide spares.
I love the setup!



So it was with this setup that I headed back to skatepark.
Honestly, I noticed a huge difference in the sharpness of my images, as I was now shooting at speeds in the region of 1/2000s quite comfortably.

However the big problem that now surfaced was that, in some areas, the lightstand just could not be safely placed close enough to where the action was. (steps, rails etc...) and because of this the distance was too great for the reduced light that the flashes spit out in high speed sync.

I remembered a post on strobist which ultimately provided the solution I needed, albeit after a few headaches.

The Kacey Pole adapter allows you to mount a flash onto a standard painter's pole, with the idea that an assistant can then extend the pole and direct the flash wherever it needs to go. (In this case, just by following the skater/biker as he moves into frame.)
Provided the assistant has good aim, the light will always be pointing right at your subject when the shutter fires.



(AND because I'm using the pocketwizards in TTL, the flash power is almost always exactly what I need it to be.)

Coincidentally, the Kacey pole adapter is not available in NZ (surprise surprise) and I opted not to have it shipped in from the States as I wasn't certain if the thread was compatible with NZ paint poles.

My solution?
I bought a decent painter's pole from Bunnings Warehouse and went to a local engineering firm with what I needed.
Though it cost me around $150 ($70 for the pole and $80 for the adapter) I now have a VERY versatile tool up my sleeve which has come in quite handy on a number of occasions.
(I'm still waiting to use it with sunset shots in the water, but that will probably have to wait until summer.)

This is what the complete assembly looks like.



Admittedly, my next modification will be to add a small crossbar to make it easier to keep it level, as it has the tendency to twist in your assistant's hands.

Here is a close-up of the head of the unit.
(Note the wires for the battery packs, and the orientation of the umbrella bracket adapter.)


So there you have it, a few little lessons learnt through trial and error.

Again, my thanks to everyone who was around to help and share the experience over the months it took.
Firstly, to Shelly, Heather and Joz who have helped out as human light stands and company during the shoots, and secondly to Carl for literally putting his body on the line in my quest for some great images.

Head on over to the Facebook group page to check out the keepers from Carl's shoot.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.
I'll try and keep subsequent posts a little shorter.

Happy snapping!

Read more...