Wednesday 25 July 2012

Doing a product shoot for my friend's shop

Unfortunately, I was stubborn enough to bring my D200 and the Tamron 17-50. Not that this combi wasn't good, but this has missed quite a few shots in the past. I'm not sure if it's the lens or the camera, but even my older D50 does better :(

Anyway, I started off thinking that we could manage without a flash (even though I brought one, or at least one). This was what turned out :(
Too dark, and there was the strong green cast, probably from the trees
Had to be remedied with post processing, but still reasonably usable
With this bad initial experience, I took no chances and use the flash with the remaining shots. Lesson learnt? Always mount and use the flash, then turn it off if it doesn't really add to the picture. Or maybe I should just bring a reflector :)

This location was chosen by my friend. It was not bad, very flattering light and comes with a funky wall :)

My favourite shot, but D200 and Tamron disappoints me ;(

The funny Taiwanese girl. Locals, on the other hand, are really too camera shy

The photogenic Burmese guy. I think he came from a rich family

Yeah!!

Mersing trip

Actually I have nothing much to say about this, in photography terms and experience.

Just trying to be funny, I brought the Fuji Instanx since I ordered some film packs just weeks ago. Must say that I am impressed with the consistency and quality of the pictures that this toy can deliver :)

The pictures can be seen here.

Co-assignment of a family portrait

Finally have the mood to write a little again after a long long break, so I guess I will start with clearing my backlogs :)

I remember it was a humid afternoon, and we were kind of expecting a shower or something. The family was late too, and by more than an hour, if I recall correctly. A common trait among our locals, huh? Well, business owners usually don't have much choice and have to live with it.

Anyway, it was lucky that at least we had each other for company, and there was an outlet that I knew we could have some drinks and desserts.

Just idling around and doing nothing. I remember there was another guy shooting with a Pentax K-01. Really looks like a toy!
A portrait I did for my friend for fun. Black and white really brings quite a different mood and dimension :)


Chatting and wasting our time away until about 6 when the father finally called my friend and announced their arrival. So I guess it was time to get our butts off and start working :)

My friend preparing his lights. I only used mine mounted on my camera
The father in his suit. Wouldn't opt for this if I were him. See pictures below to see why.
The family goofing around :)
The little princess running around. Cannot remember what she was looking at.
An informal portrait. Can only afford this if I am not the main guy :)
See the sweat marks? I will only opt for a suit if I was indoors. By the way, is that tree distracting?
My friend teaching the princess on posing her arms. Strange uncle :)
My try shot. Black and white just works like magic for portraits, regardless of the skin tone. Even better is that I don't need to bother about colour casts from the grass or the sky
Wow, such a huge crowd on a Sunday afternoon!
Lesson learnt? Bring an assistant or friend in case of late clients :) Oh, and a long lens sure works almost flaws, provided we are getting a decent shuttle speed.