Creepy Ghost Portrait

Creepy Ghost PortraitThis photo would not be mistaken for being a better family photo, and I tend to agree, but at least it was a lot of fun to shoot, hit the jump for the full story.I spent the past weekend on the beach shooting a lot, I will have a new post about a typical three light setup portrait using the Lastolite Ezybox as my key light. The photo you see above is one of the better photos we got, we were shooting in a very dark place with...

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Are You Ready for AlienBees?

In the last several years, speedlights have been roped into tasks that have traditionally been filled by studio strobes.  The underlying premise is that speedlights are much more compact, and easier to bring to and set up for a location shot.  Combined with their TTL and high-speed sync capabilities, plus their lower upfront cost, speedlights do offer practical advantages over studio strobes.At some point though, we run into barriers that...

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Radiopopper JrX Studio Review

I was looking for a dependable wireless flash solution that would allow me to adjust my flashes from behind the camera.  I considered several alternatives and ultimately decided on a Radiopopper JrX Studio.  Did it perform as promised?  What's it like to use it in real life?  Hit the jump!A couple of months ago, I agreed to take a portrait of my co-worker's family.  It was going to be at the beach in the middle of summer....

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Tutorial: Sharpening Images For The Web

Have you ever wondered how some images you see on the web look very sharp while the ones you post are not that sharp? I faced this problem when I started writing for this blog and now I claim that I can post very sharp images on the blog. Here's what I know about the subject.One of the eye openers for me was Roger Cicala's article about Acutance and MTF Charts, I suggest you read this article (and the rest of his articles) for excellent technical...

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Flash Series - Part 7: LumiQuest Softbox III - Off Camera Review

LumiQuest Softbox IIIWelcome to a new post in the flash series of posts, today I will attempt to review the Lumiquest Softbox III and how it performs in real world scenarios, Mic has already covered the larger Fotodiox 8x12 here, and now it's time to see how the smaller one will do. Hit the jump for the full treatment.BACKGROUND  A little bit of history first, my soft light modifiers prior to the SB III were a shoot-through umbrella, a reflective...

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Better Family Photos Index

Mshafik and I are putting together an index of articles.  The index will appear as a permanent link under "suggested articles."Meanwhile here's a link to the first draft (which covers the most recent 200 posts or so):http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/p/better-family-photos-index.h...

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Canon 60D vs 550D (and 600D): Real World Usage

Canon 60D Top View - Credit: Canon USAIt's finally time for me to review my two months old Canon 60D and compare it to my old pal, the Canon 550D (T2i). I have been postponing this review for quite a bit until I get used to the 60D, but I have passed the 10,000 images mark just last week, if anything, the 550D lasted with me for 9 months and has only done around 9,000 images. So lets dive into the hands on review, a small warning, this will be quite...

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