Hey folks! Welcome to my first blog post on the site!! I've been micro blogging via my Instagram account and decided to expand here to give you a little more insight on my process and what has worked for me as well as what hasn't. I'm looking forward to sharing my story with you fine folks.
NOW... I've been heavy into the flash game recently. I started with speedlites (scroll back through my gram for those stories) then realized their limitations and expanded to strobe. (Editors note: Speedlites are amazing and can be used in a lot of scenarios, but I found them limiting for the goals I have set.)
As many photographers realize when they want to grow outside of natural light and into strobe... it gets expensive quick. Solution, Paul C. Buff! I mean... you're going to spend a decent amount but nothing compared to other brands like Profoto, AND you're going to get equal quality from what I've seen so far. At the end of the day I support what works best for you in your process vs. gloating over how expensive your kit is. Go check out Paul C. Buff and their Einstein strobes. I picked up 2 with light modifiers and a vagabond extreme battery for approximately $1,600 (I'll dive into my full lighting kit in future posts).
Onto the shoot: I shot for a summer running gear ad and had a small window between 12:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon to shoot it. There was little to no shade, I didn't have the staff or stands to hold large diffusers over the model so; I drove around, found a shaded section of sidewalk with an urban brick wall (Editors note: I don't like shooting on red brick walls. I'm not a fan of how hard it is to separate the subject from the red brick) and started creating the vibe you see in the photos above.
I don't recall the power or distance I had my Paul C. Buff Einstein using the 64" Soft Silver PLM, but I do recall that the day was hot and naturally bright. My goal was to lightly enhance the model in the shade, creating a dimential image, but ended up using higher power (I think 1/8) and stopping down to f10 to create a very morning sunrise'esk vibe in the middle of the day.
I'm really pleased with the results and excited to have the light I need in whatever environment I'm in. Paul C. Buff is the brand we should all high five emoji. They've created products that work very well and are very affordable.
Thanks for following along! I'll continue these little chats as time permits. I've been shooting for quite some time but just now expanding my light knowledge with strobe and eager to share my findings. Cheers!
