Hunter Cavanagh

It has been a goal of mine to make portraits since I started learning the basics of photography. After a long while of avoiding it, I began dabbling in self portraiture after purchasing a GX7; implementing its remote shooting mode to experiment with lighting set-ups in my spare bedroom (examples here). From there, I  moved on to photograph my partner which gave me a little experience on shooting another person. I liked the results of all these "studio" efforts but really wanted to make an attempt at environmental portraiture. I knew that the nature trail by my apartment would make the perfect setting to try this, but my partner is terrified of snakes and refuses to step foot in leaf littered terrain. So without any talent, I've just spent my time at Shingle Creek scouting sites and practicing general composition for when the opportunity did arise to shoot there. 

Handy-Dandy Notebook

Hunter, the aspiring model centered around this shoot contacted me through Instagram at the end of last year wanting to work with me based on my non-portrait work. After a several month long discussion and scheduling conflicts and then more discussion we decided to do a bohemian style fashion shoot against a natural setting. The day of the shoot I woke up quite nervous and decided I needed to plan the anxiety away. I wrote down the equipment I was wanting to use, ideas we had discussed, and drew out several shots with information on what camera body and lens to try first, lighting, and how much time to dedicate to the shot. I knew that I wanted to limit myself to two focal lengths and chose to have the 45mm f/1.8 and coco ringflash mounted to my EM5 and the OM 28mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer mounted to my GX7. I also used two Yongnuo YN560-III speelights, the YN560-TX flash controller, and a silver umbrella. For a few of the shots I abandoned artificial lighting and relied on the wonderful natural light that was streaming in through the forest canopy.

28mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer
Natural Light

In the end I found that trying to use two systems simultaneously was frustrating so I abandoned the GX7 and just switched lenses a few times throughout the shoot. Like I said in the GX7 review, my EM5 just feels like home and handling it is just more intuitive for me since I learned on this system. In regards to areas of improvements/changes, I wish that I would have brought something heavy to stabilize my light stand. In one instance, it fell over and ended up bending the umbrella on one side :/ Also, I should have used my OM 35mm f/2.8 instead of the 28mm f/2.8 because I could not use the ringflash with the latter without it interfering with the shot. Next time, this will be my second focal length. My last "head-desk" moment happened when I came home, put my card in the computer to download the images only to realize that I had shot the entire session in JPEG only. Despite all this, I learned a lot and wanted to share some of the gear and lighting scenarios I used to create these images. As far as post processing goes, I edited one image from scratch in Lightroom, saved the edits as a preset and then applied the preset to the other images in that set/"look". I then made made minor adjustments to ensure the images were similar in aesthetic and exported them to VSCOcam for final edits using the VSCO uploader.

All That Glitters 

• EM5 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8
• Ringflash + Yongnuo YN560-III mounted to hotshoe
• Lighting Diagram:

Inspired by Misty Day

• EM5 and 28mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer
• Yongnuo YN560-III bounced off silver lined umbrella
• Yongnuo YN560-TX mounted to hotshoe
• Lighting Diagram:

Same lighting diagram as above, except model stood and I moved to the other side of the tree, ie. position of umbrella did not change.

Umbrella camera right

Roses

• EM5 and 28mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer
• Yongnuo YN560-III bounced off silver lined umbrella
• Yongnuo YN560-TX mounted to hotshoe
• Lighting Diagram (only applies to first image):

Natural Light

Ringflash

Wildflowers

• EM5 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8
• Ringflash + Yongnuo YN560-III mounted to hotshoe

Natural light

We shot all these in the shade between 3:30 and 05:00 pm. Hunter did her own make-up and provided most of the wardrobe and we both contributed to the styling. In general, I shot at iso 200, with a shutter speed of 1/125 to 1/200 and was stopped down between f/4 and 8 when using the speedlights and ringflash or silver umbrella. For the natural light shots, I shot wide open and increased my shutter speed accordingly. All this was based off experimentation as I do not own a light meter and for each of the scenes I let Hunter know when to start modeling once I had figured out what parameters worked best. I would love to hear any additional questions you have in the comments section. I hope this inspires others to try and shoot portraits using off camera flash. It really is not that hard and although there are more efficient ways of figuring out exposure I hope this shows that it can all be done using a little guess work.

Sam

If you live in, or are traveling to Florida and would like to schedule a photo-shoot, I am currently offering portrait services in and around Central Fl. Check out more of my work at www.samgoldphotography.com

Spy-hopping
MZD 45mm f/1.8

After a long while on land enjoying Florida's mild winter, I was shipped back out to the Western Neptune for work. I was introduced to this vessel during the Fall of last year and published some photos from the trip here. In this field it is always nice going back to a familiar ship because you "know the ropes" and preparing for the voyage is easier. However, when it comes to photography, it is difficult to document the same scenery and still keep things interesting. I am always up for a challenge though and no matter what the situation, try to dedicate a couple of hours every week to practice this craft. I decided to leave my OMD EM5 home this trip and spend some quality time with the Panasonic GX7. It is the absolute perfect offshore camera due to its native 1/8000 shutter speed for those extra sunny days. In addition, it is small and becomes extra inconspicuous when switched to silent mode. Since I almost always shoot from waist level with the articulating screen up, I'm sure the people I encounter while shooting think, "Wow, he still hasn't figured out how to use that thing". ;) Hope you enjoy this set. -Sam

If you live in, or are traveling to Florida and would like to schedule a photo-shoot, I am currently offering portrait services in and around Central Fl. Check out more of my work at www.samgoldphotography.com

Daily Notes
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Calm Before the Storm
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Port Wing
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Foam System
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Geometric
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

High Seas
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Almost Symmetrical
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Wheelhouse
Sigma 60mm f/2.8

NSDB
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Vignette
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Communications
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Panorama
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Saltspray
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Red
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Western Geco
Lumix 14mm f/2.5

Gasmask
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, Start, Select
Lumix 14mm f/2,5

The View
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Calm Seas
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Coffee vs. Coke
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Typing for Two
OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Purple Sunset
OM Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 + generic focal reducer

The Pod
OM Zuiko 28mm f/2.8 + generic focal reducer

Under the Sea
MZD 45mm f/1.8

A few weeks ago I set out to buy the Fstoppers Flash Disc but it was out of stock on Amazon. While looking for something similar I ran across the Coco Ring Flash which looks like ExpoImaging's Ray Flash but can be had for $150 cheaper. Both are flash modifiers that take the output from a speedlight attached to your camera and distribute it to the shape of a circle or ring. Traditionally the ring fits around the lens attached to your camera which gives the subject being lit a characteristic shadow-less look (since the light is not coming from a particular direction, but directly ahead). I had seen that the Ray Flash received a good review from The Phoblographer however nothing had been published about it's cheaper counterpart. I was not even sure if it would fit my mirrorless cameras or Yongnuo flashes because it was made for a DSLR and Canon's 580EX II flash. In the end I decided to risk the small investment and purchased the unit. 

When it arrived I was surprised that my Yongnuo 560 III slid on easily and stayed snugly in place. It was basically a perfect fit. On the downside the ring flash is pretty big compared to my OMD EM5 and Panasonic GX7 and I found that it could only be used with the EM5. The hump that many complained about when this camera was released ended up being the saving grace here. When the ring flash is mounted to the speedlight on the GX7, its top half interferes with the field of view of any mounted lens. Another thing to mention is that even when using it with the EM5, none of the lenses that I tried actually "clear" the front of the ring flash. Subsequently, wider lenses are not compatible because the ring flash ends up in their field of view. The Olympus 45mm f/1.8, Sigma's 60mm f/2.8, and OM Zuiko 50mm and OM Zuiko 35mm + generic focal reducer (35mm and 25mm equivalents, respectively) all worked. In addition, the 12-50mm kit lens was also compatible at a focal length of 20mm or greater.

Performance wise, I found the ring flash did wonders for macro work. This form of photography is difficult because you generally need to stop the lens down to at least f/8 (for enough DOF). Without the use of flash you need to compensate for this by increasing the iso and decreasing the shutter speed. Motion blur then presents a problem (which means you need a tripod and ideal weather conditions) and this is further complicated if you are trying to shoot a moving subject. The ring flash essentially eliminates all of these problems. I was able to shoot stopped down (f/8-f/16) and maintain a high shutter speed (1/160 - 1/200) and low iso (200). Plus, I never had to increase my flash power above 1/64 which equaled fast recycling times and happy battery usage. Since there are no shadows cast from a uni-directional light source the output from the ring flash was very flattering for shooting anything up close. [On a side note, all of the macro photos in this post were taken with an OM Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 attached to a generic focal reducer (reviewed here) and Meike macro extension tubes (reviewed here) - for some reason this combination was magic.]

Unfortunately I did not have time to seek out a model to test the ring flash for portraiture before being called offshore for work. I shot a few self portraits but was feeling under the weather with a cold and most of the resultant photos came out pretty miserable. The self portrait session did however show me that you need to be really close to the ringflash in order for the circular catch-lights to show up (compare photo below to the one at the beginning of this post). I also noticed that a small section of the ring flash (at the top) is darker than the rest in some of the photos (see cockatiel's eye) and comes out as more of a "u" shape. Overall, I think the flash ring does work as advertised for portraits but A. I need to spend more time with it on this front to form a solid opinion and B. I have not used any other ring flash to compare the Coco version to.

Extra Macro Image Samples

In conclusion, for $50 the Coco ring flash expanded my macro horizons and has the potential to add another "look" to my portrait work (which is still in its infancy). My only gripe is that it is so large and not compatible with the GX7. I was super sad to have to leave it home after shooting with it for a week because I had a lot of fun exploring macro once again. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of the ring flash attached to the EM5 vs the GX7 to give an idea of what other mirrorless cameras may be compatible with it. I will ammend the post when I get back from offshore and hopefully will give more examples of portraits taken with the ring flash. I hope this post has at least inspired readers to go out and shoot some macro, no matter the light source : ) The micro-world is truly an amazing one.

Sam

If you live in, or are traveling to Florida and would like to schedule a photo-shoot, I am currently offering portrait services in and around Central Fl. Check out more of my work at www.samgoldphotography.com