Photography

eCommerce product photography

If the example above doesn’t make you want to start eating your vegetables – the image fails to motivate a sale.

A picture speaks louder and more clearly than words. Product photography is important in e-commerce – get it right! Professional product images are key to increased sales and one of the most important aspects in e-commerce. A professionally produced image can sell your products before the customer has even read the item description. Whether it’s a car or a wrist watch Creative Concept Studios can help improve your online sales. Reasonable pricing and timely service: Call 817-479-9366 for a quote.

Glamorous Over 50 Photography

Glamorous over 50 is a really fun package that we put together for women who want to show themselves, their families and friends that a woman can still be very glamorous and sexy after the age of 50.

Our package includes Hair, Makeup and a photographer for 2 hours (minimum time, additional time available upon request).

You’re the boss; you decide the type of images you want to capture.

Soft and elegant

If you want something very elegant, very “resort” style that you can show everyone including your grandchildren, we will help you create those images.

If you’re looking to capture more intimate/provocative images, we will design the concept of a shoot with this in mind.

Glamorous Over 50 images can be shot on location, or in our fully equipped studio whichever is more convenient for you.

The Glamorous Over 50 package is available in the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. Call us today at: (817) 479-9366 or email ray (at) creativeconceptdfw.com for more information or for a Free Estimate

Nikon D300 & SB-800 Speedlight Flash Diffusion Test

Originally uploaded by rkdauph

On camera flash photography has always challenged me. I learned photography, in West Germany during the early ‘70s, using natural light only, black and white film and developed my own prints. My first experience, in the early ‘80s, with a flash gun was a reunion of flight school classmates and our families. We paraded the kids through the living room, onesies, twosies, you know the drill, and I took whole family photos too. The garish, over exposed pictures with that damn hard edged shadow (like the top center picture) was embarrassing when the color prints arrived. Who needs a flash? Not a REAL photographer anyway; so, back to natural light for more than 2 decades.

Continue reading “Nikon D300 & SB-800 Speedlight Flash Diffusion Test” »

West Germany in the early 1970s

I was stationed at Dolan Barracks in Schwäbisch Hall, West Germany with the US Army. This is where my interest in photography began.

Photos scanned from self developed prints made during the time they were taken. Pentex Spotmatic and Spotmatic F.

Thank you Herr Ritter.

August 2008:

One thing about this WordPress blogging software; it logs the search terms people used to find my blog. I have been amazed by the number of searches for Dolan Barracks and/or Schwäbisch Hall. There have been a lot of us.

So, if you were stationed there; how about leaving a comment with the dates and unit?

Added: John Hill was kind enough to send along a few of his photographs from his time at Schwab Hall; thanks John.

The construction of an air force base by the Germans at Hessental was started in 1934. During the war it was garrisoned with bomber and night fighter squadrons. Dolan Barracks at Schwäbisch Hall was closed by the US Army on 30 September 1993.

If you were stationed at Dolan Barracks and would like to contribute please contact me.

Shooting tethered in the studio

Although I have had the equipment to do it I have only recently started to shoot tethered while working the the studio, I like it.

My equipment/software list:

Nikon D700
Lens as needed
Dell 13″ Studio_XPS
500 gb external HD
15′ USB cable
Gitzo 1258 Tripod
ProLine GMS80A Conductor Sheet Music Stand
Nikon Camera Control Pro 2
- * Just bought TetherPro
And of course the studio light gear

So here is the basic setup: Simple and useful.

IMG 3079EDITweb 300x200 Shooting tethered in the studio

Tethered setup overview

The above image is from a catalog shoot I did for Jane Burch, see “The Transformation” article.

Tethered shooting allows me to view the images in real time on a 13 inch calibrated monitor, allows me to zoom into the images to check focus and detail.

: 13 inch image view

I rarely show the monitor to the model, unless I need to show them something specific – good or bad. I do, however, encourage the client, in this case the MUA, to review and comment as the photographs are taken to ensure they are getting what they want and need.

” src=”http://www.rkd-photo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_3101EDITwebcropped-300×252.jpg” alt=”" width=”300″ height=”252″ />

Client reviewing images as

I don’t know if it’s the same with Canon equipment but Nikon software places the images onto the computer’s hard-drive not the CF card. I do not edit, much, on the laptop so I have the download directory on an external hard-drive for easy transfer to my desktop editing machine.

RKD 0647 pp 1024x662 Shooting tethered in the studio

A final image

While this setup isn’t exactly ‘high end’ it works well for my needs.

A specials thanks to Tom Thompson for the behind the scenes shots.

My take on the $35 iPhone 4 Telephoto Lens

I honestly do not remember where I read about the Photojojo iPhone Telephoto Lens but remember thinking it must be a joke.

Photojojo iPhone Telephoto Lens

Chuckled and went to read about it anyway. After reading their humorous write-up and looking closely at the images provided. I realized I had no use for it at all. But of course I bought one anyway.

“But of course I bought one anyway.”

The iPhone 4 kit was on back order and took nearly three weeks to arrive. If you order the iPhone 4 kit today (March 6, 2011) it won’t ship until March 21st.

Mine arrived last night. First thoughts:

Well packaged.
Comes complete with;
- lens (front and rear caps)
- stand
- cleaning cloth
- back case
- small black cloth carrying bag
- instruction manual
Surprisingly well build components. Not Nikon level craftsmanship but pretty well done.

My only real complaint is the back only case – I prefer a case with front and back coverage for my phone. A smaller disappointment is the minimum focus distance of 3 meters.

Today I took it out to play a bit. I mounted the iPhone onto the supplied stand and braced it upon a garden fence in my front yard. (yeah – I know.)

Click on the following images to enlarge:

photo 1 300x224 My take on the $35 iPhone 4 Telephoto Lens

iPhone 4 only lens at widest setting

photo 2 300x224 My take on the $35 iPhone 4 Telephoto Lens

iPhone 4 only lens maximum zoom

photo 3 300x224 My take on the $35 iPhone 4 Telephoto Lens

iPhone 4 with Photojojo 8x telephoto lens installed

photo 41 300x224 My take on the $35 iPhone 4 Telephoto Lens

iPhone 4 with Photojojo 8x telephoto lens installed AND maximum digital zoom

Pro D/SLR quality it ain’t: but it is functional. And would be very handy if you were a spy. Well, except for the 3 meter focal distance thing.

I will carry it and look for opportunities to use it.

The iPad and photography: Tool, toy or prop?

5026451785 d509e44dd6 n The iPad and photography: Tool, toy or prop? I had offered to loan/help another photographer with a project involving the iPad. Of course in order to help him incorporate the iPad into his assignment I had to figure out how to make it work – so off to the studio to do some testing.

I have found the iPad to be much more useful than I had expected in my photography work. I use several Photo apps now at most every session.

So, for you is the iPad use in your photography a tool, toy or prop?

Come join the Flickr group and show your stuff: Flicker iPad and Photography Group

Using Depth of Field Demostration in Portraits: CLS works with you

During a recent Strobist meetup I was doing a boudoir demonstration to show dramatic lighting using speedlights. I was shooting tethered and projecting the resulting images. 97.3% of the time I let Nikon tell/show me how it sees the scene first and how it thinks it should be lit. I almost always make adjustments to the resulting mechanically conjured lighting.

See setup photo here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/byrkdauph/4613328383/in/set-72157621832784087/

As I was changing the lens from the Nikkor 24-70 2.8 to the Nikkor 85 1.4 I was asked if I ever used the largest aperture for portraits. The three images were shot in front of the group to demonstrate how to use depth of field to change the tone or focus withing a portrait.

The top image was taken at f/16
The middle one at f/5.6
The bottom at f1.4

The effect is dramatic but I’d like to point out another aspect of the photos that I failed to highlight for the group. I was showing the effect of change f /stops and did not adjust the speedlights throughout the large aperture changes for the DOF demo.

I had adjusted them to get the lighting I wanted in the beginning as stated above but not after making the f/stop adjustments. Nikon’s CLS system adjusted – on the fly- the power outputs of three speedlights for the entire range of lens - f/1.4 through f/16 with NO adjustments from me.

Had I been shooting manual I would have spent easily 3 or 4 times the effort to show something that took me literally less than 5 minutes using the CLS.

I love the Nikon CLS system.

More photos from the session here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/byrkdauph/sets/72157623950994863/detail/

Using Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS) in daylight

SB900 using the sun as a hairlight.

I have heard and get asked a lot of questions about Nikon’s CLS’ ability or inability to function in bright daytime conditions. In my experience it really have not been an issue. I pay attention to the speedlight’s position and its sensor location relative to my camera and SU800.

Today’s metering technology is a great asset so I normally let it take the first ‘shot‘ at what it sees in a scene. While I have studio lights and a Vagabond II, there is little I haven’t been able to do with my SBs. The above shot was taken with a single SB900.

4063884049 fcbf7c3117 Using Nikons Creative Lighting System (CLS) in daylight

It was very sunny in California the day I shot Candice – notice the shadow on the lower left of the umbrella even though the speedlight fired for this behind the scene picture.

In the photograph of Candice above I metered for the shaded portion of her face and let Nikon TTL do the rest.

In the event it does not produce the result I want I adjust the stop (by 1/3 steps) on the speedlight.

3486666059 99818abf71 m Using Nikons Creative Lighting System (CLS) in daylight

Distance is another concern CLS nay-sayers bring up.

In this photograph Jason is holding a 42 inch Wescott umbrella with a SB-800 tucked up in the open ribs point towarded the camera to get the light reflected back to his face.

Behind him is a SB-900 shooting into another 42 inch Wescott umbrella. That c-stand is a good 50 feet away and up the hill about 10-12 feet above Jason’s head.

Line of sight is important – so just pay attention. But I have used the SB8 & 900s behind glass, reflected the signal off of windows, mirrors, cars just about any reflective surface. I have also ‘staged’ the lights to ‘see’ another but not the SU800.

Think of the IR signal like a billiard ball.

I also use the Nikon CLS to fill on cloudy daylight sessions.

While in Phoenix last week I did the entire shoot with these tools:

4300344523 030252e866 Using Nikons Creative Lighting System (CLS) in daylight

The result:

4301095762 d54deb8801 Using Nikons Creative Lighting System (CLS) in daylight

Single SB900 camera left - TTL triggered with SU800.

The only time I have trouble with the system is when I position myself on the wrong side of the speedlight’s optical sensor or move in front of the flash. I use a ballhead so I can quickly rotate the speedlight into the correct position.

Phoenix in the rain

I finally get a chance to do a shoot in Phoenix. Phoenix = sunshine and moderate winter daytime temperatures right? Not for me – three straight days of rain and 20-45 mph wind.

I had two TF models lined up – one canceled – good call – it was nasty out.

The second day Lindsey and I manged to get some shooting done between rain showers on South mountain. What a sport she was. we worked inside a covered gazebo then walked up the backside of the mountain to get to the ‘hole in the rock’.

Lindsey is a beautiful young truck driving Army reservist who goes on active duty next month with hopes of becoming a helicopter pilot flying Blackhawks.

See more of Lindsey (LC Pace)

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