xposed

Flash vs. Natural Light

I've been on a big lighting kick for the last couple of years for our portraits. I've been studying and working relentlessly and invested thousands of dollars into flashes, stands, radio triggers, modifiers, and everything else you can think of.

I've always enjoyed the creative possibilities using flash offers, especially using multiple lights and the ability to shoot where there is little or no natural light.

With all the great things using flash offers there's one thing I'd never really considered until I saw it as plain as day on the following two photos. I shot the first sequence using flash. Then, seeing how nice and soft the natural light was I killed the strobes and went to natural light only.

You can see side-by-side the difference. They're both straight out of camera with no processing at all. The natural light photo on the right is certainly nice and flattering. It's what 90% of photographers shoot during every session and any one would be happy to have taken it. With a little processing in Photoshop it would be a great image.
 

Upon further inspection there are three things that really strike me. 

1. The first is how much more vivid and sharp the flash photo on the left is in comparison. The directional nature of the light coming from the flash really help to define the edges in the photo. Her eyes look sharper and there's more definition to her clothing and hair.
2. The color in the flash photo are much more vivid and true than the ones on the right. Using the flash means that the subject will not have any color casts from nearby objects influencing the color. It's clean and accurate straight out of the camera. Also, I prefer the modeling and direction of the light in the photo at left.
3. Finally, the biggest difference to me is in the eyes. Take a look at the 100% view below and you can really tell a difference in the color and clarity of the eyes. Shooting with just the strobe eliminates any of the distracting and strange highlights in her eyes and really shows a deep black pupil and perfect color to the eyes. Check it out for yourself: 

 

It's amazing to me the night-and-day difference between the flash and natural light photos. After seeing it for myself I think it's safe to say I'm never going back!

-Mike

Water Portraits

 In case you've never seen what $15K in gear looks like standing in the middle of a river, now you have.

These images were taken during a recent senior session in Oswego, Kansas. The lovely Arin Billingsly was our willing subject during this mess and her mom Robin was nice enough to snap some shots of the FX Crew at work.

 

One of the things I preach to our team all the time is that we should never leave a good photo opportunity out in the field. If we've got a good idea for a shot, no matter how silly, we're going to go for it. This definitely isn't the first time I've been in the water with gear like this before. I've been chest deep in the Gulf of Mexico a couple of times with my arm extended in the air to avoid the crashing waves from completely submerging the camera, so shooting in the Neosho River is pretty tame in comparison.

The key for me is always using a Canon 1-Series body and L Series lenses. While not water PROOF they are definitely capable of getting more than a little wet without any trouble. It will definitely outlive any consumer level camera with all of it's gaskets and seals to protect it. We've always got backup gear on hand, but I figure why pay for the insurance if I never get to use it?? No incidents yet, but it's there if I ever need it.

Our chief concern during something like this is the safety and comfort of our subjects. Arin was excited and happy to do something like this. We'd never try to talk anyone into getting into the water unless they were comfortable with it. We kept her in the shallow parts and I was always there to offer her a hand and to assist her walking in and out of the river.

 

Working with a great team always helps, and I'm definitely spoiled in that area. I can pretty much mutter or grunt instructions and everyone knows exactly what I'm looking for. We shoot a lot as a group so everyone has a role and knows where to be and what to do.

On a technical note all of the actual images from the session were shot on my newly acquired but used Canon 1Ds Mark II. The majority of the images were shot using the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS. The wider shots were on the 24-105 F4 IS. Lighting was provided by an off-camera 580EX fired through a 24" Softbox using Pocket Wizards.

 

Primetime!

This was a pretty sweet surprise for a Sunday afternoon! We are being featured on the Fstoppers Blog  with Roylan's last Behind-the-Scenes of Morgan's senior session he titled "Flying Papers". This site is an amazing resource for professional and aspiring photographers and is viewed by thousands each week. We've already received over 1,400 hits in the first 8 hours it's been online. Great work team!

 

Flying Papers

    I decided that courier is my new favorite font so i'm going to start posting in courier. Last week before we shot the studio portion of Morgan's senior session, Miguel had an awesome vision in his head of taking pictures that sort of followed the theme of Morgan loving to write.  About an hour before we had to start her session Mike was out the door and headin to walmart to get some supplies.  He came back with about 5 packs of notebook paper and filled us in with what we were doing. I could ramble on about what happened but who wants to read all that? Just hit play and see for yourself.

love,

Roylan

song: You Don't Understand Me

artist: The Raconteurs

album: Consolers Of The Lonely

Trash Dump Magic

We end up shooting in some of the strangest places. Every once in a while right in the middle of a shoot I'll look around and can't believe where I have our clients standing. This was on of those moments on a recent shoot. One of the most important things I learned early on in photography was there is no right way to do anything, but there are definitely wrong ways. Well, that kind of pertains to background too. There isn't a whole lot in your environment that can't be used as a background, and you can never be afraid to use something just because their is a trash dump in the way.

 

  

Get to know: Roylan

Roylan is one of our Videotards at the studio. Those of you unfamiliar with that term might not find it in any dictionary. It's a term that was coined just for Mason and Roylan. Together they make up the video production team at FX. They are behind all of the filming, editing, and planning that goes into nearly every video you see that makes it to the blog or facebook. We plucked Roylan out of the comfort of high school what seems like forever ago. It's amazing to see how far he's come. Check out the video and let us know what you think!

Get to know: Roylan from Fx Studios on Vimeo.

Get to know: Kris

DISCLAIMER: Kristina hates it when I make her do things like this. We had to do 3 takes of this before we got one she could live with. We've got a new Flip video camera (review on that little gem is coming soon) and to make things easy on the backend I told her we had to get the whole thing done in one take without editing. She worries a lot more than she should - I thought she did a great job. We'll have Roylan on soon. Check back to see him in action!

Get to know: Kris from Fx Studios on Vimeo.

Get to know: Mike

So most of us at FX aren't big fans of being in front of the camera. I'm probably the worst. But, I decided we all need to get over that fear and give our audience what they love. More FX. That's what this site is all about and that's what we're going to give you. We'll have more of these hitting soon. Let us know what you think and if you want to know anything else. We are here to serve!

Get to know: Mike from Fx Studios on Vimeo.

Motion Video

Here's a quick look at one of the cooler things we've done at the studio. Starting earlier this year we began adding a new product to all of our senior sessions and most of our engagement sessions and weddings. We're calling them Motion Videos, and they are a unique product that adds a new dimension to our photography. Instead of having a separate video product, we are fusing video and stills into one unique piece to offer our clients. 

Using the latest still cameras capable of also capturing 1080p High Definition Video using our full array of still lenses allows us to mimic the look and feel of a Hollywood movie with the same quality, depth of field, and color. It's amazing how good the video out of these cameras look. We've been using the Canon 5D Mark II for over a year to capture our video and we've learned how to wield it's powers for the good of our projects. It's a beast - and requires a lot of horsepower to edit and store the footage it captures.

Here are some pics of how a typical interview portion of a senior video looks. We also use a external shotgun-style mic for better sound pickup placed closer to the subject. Recently, we've been using an Apple iPad to show subjects sample videos on-site to help them understand what exactly we're going for. We also have the interview questions stored on it for them to view and answer as we go along.

 As with everything we do, it takes high-end equipment but none of this would be possible without the talent behind the camera. Roylan has spent the last year studying and practicing until we were fully happy with the look and feel of the videos. He's turning out work that few in the country are able to produce. At the rate he's banging these videos out, it's going to be amazing how many of these are online by the end of the year. No one will be able to match his turnaround time on these things. 

 You can view more of these on our main site, the blog, and also on facebook. Here's a taste of a recent Engagement Motion Video. Enjoy!

bre + matt = engaged from Fx Studios on Vimeo.

Lens Llama

This is a rare photo of a live Lens Llama in the field. They're known to carry several bags of equipment long distances during photo shoots. You can find them in both urban and rural settings across the midwest. They respond well to voice commands and will work in exchange for a dinner out - preferably Panera Bread.

In all seriousness Annie has been a tremendous help at all of the sessions she's been able to go to. She does a great job helping us pick out clothing for the sessions and keeping clients entertained while I fumble with the camera and yell at Kris to move lights. She keeps the whole crew upbeat while we work. You can see her in action in the Behind the Scenes post here. 

Thanks Baby for all of your hard work!