Beach photos from Saturday

[Travis]

This was one of the more challenging photo sessions. The kids wanted no part of it. Temp was 90+. To add insult to injury....smoke rolled up from the NC fires. C&C welcomed.

1.
http://owney.smugmug.com/photos/316854636_GS8hw-L.jpg

2.
http://owney.smugmug.com/photos/316856448_FPfqg-L.jpg

3.
http://owney.smugmug.com/photos/316857789_nWCau-L.jpg

4.
http://owney.smugmug.com/photos/316859681_QFzMP-L.jpg

5.
http://owney.smugmug.com/photos/316860303_7d5QH-L.jpg

C&C welcomed as usual! Thanks,

[Agnieszka]

Aw!! Those are adorable!!! :lust 1&2 are my favorites ... the last one looks a bit blown out, but it woudl be an easy fix in photoshop / lightroom.

Love them. Perfect flash work!! :bow

[gregneil]

I prefer the composition on 2, 3, and 4. There's not enough sky in number 1. 3 and 4 are my favorite. 4 is a great group family portrait. 5 doesn't look blown out on my monitor, It's a bit bright, but I like it. Could be a tad red?

Overall great stuff, especially considering the conditions. What lighting setup were you using?

[Matt336]

Wow! I really like these. #2 is my favorite.

[SloYerRoll]

Travis,

You take some great shots! I really like the bokeh on all of them.
You could really take these shots to the next level by gelling your strobes though. WB imbalance between ambient & strobe is pretty obvious. Especially in #1.

-Jon

[Travis]

Aw!! Those are adorable!!! :lust 1&2 are my favorites ... the last one looks a bit blown out, but it woudl be an easy fix in photoshop / lightroom.

Love them. Perfect flash work!! :bow

Thanks Angie! Coming from you, thats a huge compliment. :D

[Travis]

I prefer the composition on 2, 3, and 4. There's not enough sky in number 1. 3 and 4 are my favorite. 4 is a great group family portrait. 5 doesn't look blown out on my monitor, It's a bit bright, but I like it. Could be a tad red?

Overall great stuff, especially considering the conditions. What lighting setup were you using?

Thanks Greg. The sun was camera left. Camera right, I fired 2 Vivitar 285s through a 3x2' diffusion panel placed about 3 feet from the subjects.

[photocat]

They seem to have a vintage feel... As the others said before me: good flashwork (with only a little question mark as why not use natural lighting if you can shoot like this). Great job!

[Travis]

Wow! I really like these. #2 is my favorite.
Thanks Matt!

[Travis]

Travis,

You take some great shots! I really like the bokeh on all of them.
You could really take these shots to the next level by gelling your strobes though. WB imbalance between ambient & strobe is pretty obvious. Especially in #1.

-Jon

Thanks Jon. Both strobes were gelled with 1/2 CTO. :scratch Maybe I needed to go stronger?

[saurora]

Travis,

You take some great shots! I really like the bokeh on all of them.
You could really take these shots to the next level by gelling your strobes though. WB imbalance between ambient & strobe is pretty obvious. Especially in #1.

-Jon

Nice Travis! Beach-shooting looks so easy, but it's not. I always have trouble keeping an eye on my subject and an eye on the different lines (edge of sand and the horizon) that could possibly cut through the subject's head. Not to mention, keeping an eye on passer-bys that could enter the frame while you're trying to concentrate on the pose. :huh

I have been meaning to try flash gels myself, and I think John just finally convinced me. Seems it could save a load of skin work, which I dislike!!! :D

[Travis]

They seem to have a vintage feel... As the others said before me: good flashwork (with only a little question mark as why not use natural lighting if you can shoot like this). Great job!

Thanks Photocat.... The flashes were used mainly as fill to offset the harsh, open sunlight. Without the flash, half their bodies would have been lost in dark shadow. It would have made it a lot easier had I been able to drop the strobes all together as I spent most of my time chasing the kids around beach . :D

[Travis]

Nice Travis! Beach-shooting looks so easy, but it's not. I always have trouble keeping an eye on my subject and an eye on the different lines (edge of sand and the horizon) that could possibly cut through the subject's head. Not to mention, keeping an eye on passer-bys that could enter the frame while you're trying to concentrate on the pose. :huh

I have been meaning to try flash gels myself, and I think John just finally convinced me. Seems it could save a load of skin work, which I dislike!!! :D

Thanks Saurora. I agree on the beach shooting not being easy. Wide-open sunlight, leading lines, and distractions compounded by being covered from head to toe in sand and sweat! :rofl As I replied to Jon, I used a 1/2 CTO gel on both flashes. I may have had to go higher....

[Swartzy]

Well done Travis. Those conditions are very tough. The ultimate of course would to have assistance/scrims/tent for the subjects but that's someone else's world.:wink

#2 is simply adorable. There are probably a couple little things in post that may help a bit but overall these are well planned and shot. Nice job. I don't have a beach like that here but in that light maybe a full gel would do the trick.

[Travis]

Well done Travis. Those conditions are very tough. The ultimate of course would to have assistance/scrims/tent for the subjects but that's someone else's world.:wink

#2 is simply adorable. There are probably a couple little things in post that may help a bit but overall these are well planned and shot. Nice job. I don't have a beach like that here but in that light maybe a full gel would do the trick.

Thanks Swarty. I'd love to have a whole production team at my disposal! :roflNext round I think I will go with the full gell and see if it improves. I thought about trying different ones but taping those little suckers on in a 20 knot wind is a little tricky. :D

[SloYerRoll]

Thanks Swarty. I'd love to have a whole production team at my disposal! :roflNext round I think I will go with the full gell and see if it improves. I thought about trying different ones but taping those little suckers on in a 20 knot wind is a little tricky. :DTry using a few 1/4 gel's instead. The fraction in front of the color gel is how many stops of light the gel will eat and doesn't have as much to do w/ the WB as one would rationalize. So doubling up two 1/4 CTO's will give a much richer orange color than one 1/2 CTO.
Make sense?

Sorry for getting OT. Your beach shots really are good. I'm just a bit of a lighting geek.

[zoomer]

Very nice photos from a beautiful location.
Looked like the family was hanging in there pretty good...no screaming faces.
For my taste a smidge over flashed, but certainly not much and overall very nicely done.
Nice work on the compositon as well.

[Travis]

Try using a few 1/4 gel's instead. The fraction in front of the color gel is how many stops of light the gel will eat and doesn't have as much to do w/ the WB as one would rationalize. So doubling up two 1/4 CTO's will give a much richer orange color than one 1/2 CTO.
Make sense?

Sorry for getting OT. Your beach shots really are good. I'm just a bit of a lighting geek.

Great idea. I'll have to give a try on the next shoot. I'll take any advice that I can get!

[Travis]

Very nice photos from a beautiful location.
Looked like the family was hanging in there pretty good...no screaming faces.
For my taste a smidge over flashed, but certainly not much and overall very nicely done.
Nice work on the compositon as well.

THanks Zoomer. Believe it or not, only one of the kids was not crying or screaming during the whole session (even bribing them with Mike and Ikes!) This was probably the most challenging shoot that I've done in some time but the parents were troopers so it worked out all right.

[photogmomma]

:clap These are awesome!!!

[Travis]

:clap These are awesome!!!
Thanks Andi!!!