One Light Portraits Using 50D, 18-200IS, 580EXII

I thought I would share some recent portrait shots I've taken of my family. Looking at photos taken with equipment I'm considering buying has always been helpful to me, so hopefully these will do the same for someone else.


Shot information is included for each photo, and all were taken with the Canon 50D, 18-200IS lens, and a 580EXII Speedlight Flash. I use an umbrella in either shoot through or reflective modes, and a couple of white project boards as reflectors when desired.


~ Ken





1/200 sec at f / 5.0 - ISO 100 - 80 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7942.jpg





1/250 sec at f / 5.6 - ISO 200 - 50 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7281.jpg





1/200 sec at f / 5.0 - ISO 200 - 80 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7849.jpg








1/200 sec at f / 5.6 - ISO 200 - 70 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7212.jpg





1/15 sec at f / 5.6 - ISO 1600 - 90 mm (natural light with reflector only)


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7648.jpg





1/60 sec at f / 5.0 - ISO 100 - 50 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7766.jpg





1/200 sec at f / 5.6 - ISO 100 - 130 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7952.jpg








1/160 sec at f / 5.0 - ISO 100 - 80 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_7868.jpg





1/200 sec at f / 4.0 - ISO 100 - 32 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_8019.jpg





1/200 sec at f / 5.0 - ISO 400 - 35 mm


http://www.kennydrew.com/2009-3rd_qu...e/IMG_6576.jpg

Very nice.... The shoot through and white walls/ceiling give a very nice ambient wrap. The skin tones look fabulous. Shows that beautiful portraits can be produced without expensive L glass and studio lighting.

Very well done Ken. ;-)

Really nice shots, and i am amazed what you did with 18-200. well done. I would crop some of the pictures differently, but that is just my preference. Great job.

loving your work there Ken.

Brilliant shots!


Just goes to show you don't need a load of lights to get a superb result :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maleko

Brilliant shots!


Just goes to show you don't need a load of lights to get a superb result :)
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Hey! Who was that directed at?!





hehe

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sean Setters

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maleko

Brilliant shots!


Just goes to show you don't need a load of lights to get a superb result :)
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Hey! Who was that directed at?!





hehe
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lol, now why would you say a thing like that? :P

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Originally Posted by Maleko

lol, now why would you say a thing like that? :P

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Because I flash more than a wild red-head on spring break!


"Strobist for life....Woo-hooo! Now give me some beads!"

Thanks very much everyone! I shoot simply for my own enjoyment and am always learning new ways to get the most out of what I own. I literally just grabbed some images from recent galleries on our family website to post here. I take tons of outdoor shots and flash lit shots every week, depending on what we're doing as a family. For me, a lens like the 18-200IS was a great all around decision that servesus well. The portability of using the 580 EXII flash is perfect for me too. In the future, I would like to pick upa secondspeedlight, a 70-200, 2.8IS, and an as yet unreleased L lens in the wider range ( think 24-70 2.8, with IS).... but am still saving for those. The family budget comes first. ;)


My intention here was to give hope to those (who, like myself), can't afford a ton of L lenses right now... or multiple light sources. I think opinions about certain lenses, camera bodies, or even "must haves" for lighting are largely swayed by groups of people that have never even used the items or techniques in question. It's a real shame because it tends to convince interested buyers that certain pieces of equipment are not good enough, and they should just continue saving to buy something else.


I think we can all agree that L lense are great and would like toown several of them. The same goes withhaving multiple high quality light sources, and probably even a studio with tons of backgrounds,props, and cool set pieces.Reality paints a slightly different picture (no pun intended), and we get the best we can afford/justify for our needs. I guess my point is not to simply follow the wave of popular opinion online or live and die by the revews an item gets. Search for images taken with the lens or camera body you are considering, or try one out in person at a local store before falling into the online opinion trap. Your needs may be very different from others and you could be missing out on capturing alot of fun memories.


Thanks for looking,


Ken

Ken,

I love your shots. For those of us that are curious about the lighting set upobviouslythe flash wasn't shoe mounted since it was shot through/into and umbrella so I was curious if it was fired ETTL using the ST-E2? or did you manually set the flash exposure and use another wireless trigger? If I had to make any kind of comment on the composition I would have prefered a few of the shots (specifically shots 2, 3 &amp; 4) to be a little more eye level with the subject. That being said shot 5 I actually like the above angle shot it works with the lighting. Your shots are still amazing it's only a minor comment.

Fred~

Fred,


Thanks very much for the compliments, and there's nothing negative at all about your preference being different on some shots. I tend to try all kinds of angles when I'm shooting, and this batch may have had a few more of the above eye level shots than those that are even. I've never thought about it, so maybe I do shoot more slightly above eye level than at it. It could be that I'm taller than my wife an kids and just don't squat enough. LOL Either way, I'm just continuing to learn, do the best I can, and usually forget something when shooting, including cool new poses to try.


As far as the flash firing goes, I shoot with the flash in manual and make afew adjustments until I like the results. I planned to buy awireless trigger setup, but chose togo withthe old standby pc sync cable for now. Finding one with the right configuration wasn't easy, but Midwest Photo Exchange had a 15 footer for cheap and it's been working fine for me. Once Alienbees addresses a fewphysical design issues with the Cybersyncs, I will probably get those.


Thanks again,


Ken

I really like the third shot (B&amp;W). Great crop, composition, sharpness. Just excellent. Ironically, I think it is successful partially because of the angle of the shot. Highlights the innocence of youth.


I also think the girl with the blue and magenta wrap over her face and head is fantastic. Those are my two favorites.


Also makes me feel better about my lowly EF 28-135mm kit lens. [:)]

Thanks much! The angle of that black &amp; white shot is definitely due to a height difference. My son was sitting on the floor, while I was squatting down to take the shot. It's a challenge at times to get him to look up from what he's doing, so I take what I can get. The background in that shot is actually a piece of white project board from the store. I bounced the light from over my head off of another piece of project board.


BTW, the gal in the blue &amp; magenta warp is also my wife. We were going to try something different with a couple of her colorful dresses and I got the idea to do a head wrap sort of thing. It came out pretty fun, I think.


The only thing that would make your 28-135 lowly is if it doesn't get used much! [;)]


Thanks,


Ken

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Originally Posted by HiFiGuy1

Also makes me feel better about my lowly EF 28-135mm kit lens.

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There's nothing lowly about that lens. I bought one in a kit with my wifes 40D and I can take awesome shots down to 1/8 handheld of static scenes. Look at a side by side comparison of Bryan's ISO charts with the 24-105 f4L. Again, there's nothing lowly about that lens.My wife and I were doing some research on a women photographer that does portraits of deceased infants. I know it sounds morbid, but actually, for her and her clients it's a ministry. She had a 5D strapped with the same lens and her portraiture was breath taking. It's about light, composition, and artistry. The equipment serves to compliment.

Not meaning to hijack your thread Ragingblues, but I had some fun with a single flash and a tiny umbrella I got this week. My idea was to use a 25" white umbrella on a painter's pole, held by my assistant, during a wedding reception I'm shooting this weekend. But first, I wanted to see what the results would look like. Therefore, I set up a self-portrait with the tiny umbrella.


Canon 50D, 17-55 f/2.8 IS, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO 100


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strobist: 1 Vivitar 285, camera left &amp; clamped to railing using a DIY justin clamp, 1/8 power (1/4 power with a 1-stop ND filter), 1/4 CTO gelled (although that isn't really applicable to the b/w image), shot through a 25" Creative Light Translucent umbrella. Triggered via Cybersyncs. Sun is providing light on right side. Setup shot below.


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One light; 580EXII fired (1/4 power I think) into a Eclipse 60" Umbrella. Triggered with ST-E2.


5DmkII24-70 2.8 @30mm1/60 f/4.5 ISO 400


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I just registered on this forum to tell you how wonderful I think these photos are!