Oct
08
I woke up this morning and it suddenly came to me that Autumn is finally here; the cool breeze swept through my face and I could smell the rain from last night. I peeked outside the window and the streets seemed wet and the sky looked gloomy which tells me they’re not finish with the rain yet… in fact, this is just the beginning. The sun has decided to come out later and set earlier, therefore it makes the daylight becomes shorter.
I walked down the streets of Vancouver today and I noticed leaves scurrying across the ground and the green colours are slowly morphing to brown. People have started wearing hats, jackets and scarves. I glanced through the stores and pumpkins and scarecrows seem to be a popular theme these days, which reminds me Halloween is just around the corner.
 
Autumn is here… horray! That means: my hay fever will be gone, I can wear my uggies and my cool-patterned stockings, I can close my windows at night without feeling hot, Whistler trip is coming, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” plays are showing soon, Halloween is coming and so is Thanksgiving.
But most importantly: Christmas is almost here! 
Oct
08
Today I did a photo shoot with Tash in a studio setup with softboxes and a black backdrop. I was using a pro series Canon lens (24-70mm F2.8)Â that I’ve used in the past for outdoor shoots and wanted to see how well it fares indoors. This is quite a nice lens because it has a decent amount of zoom and is very sharp because of the optics. It’s not too heavy so moving it around isn’t too laborious in comparison to when I use the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS lens! After a few hours of shooting with that lens, one arm is bigger than the other due to the extreme work out!
In addition to using this lens I was using a dual strobe setup with a medium and a small softbox which is used to diffuse the intensity of the flash and in turn wraps the subject in a softer less harsh light (hence the name). Lighting in a studio setup is great because you have the ability to control the environment precisely, whereas in real world environments you have so many variables to take into consideration like cloud cover, shade and reflections of light off windows etc.
For this shoot I wanted to do something colourful and fun so we decided to go with a flamenco style Spanish dress for the first look. I experimented a bit with trying to capture movement in this shot in addition to the traditional portrait style shoots. I must say it’s a very hard thing to achieve to say the least! Not only do you need good direction for the model, you both need to connect in such a way that they are able to connect with the lens and you’re able to snap the shot in the fraction of a second where everything is perfect and in place!
Â
Each photographer has their own style of shooting and post processing. One person who’s work I’m really fond of is Manny Librodo. His technique is so inspiring in the manner in which he’s able to capture so much emotion, glamour and passion in his work. He’s able to draw out elements of the subject in such a way that it becomes more than just a portrait shot, and more like a story. The vibrancy and colour in his work is just amazing.
Â
If I every get the opportunity to attend one of his workshops I would be over the moon, but in the mean time the web will have to suffice. I’ve tried to use what I’ve learnt from seeing his work to improve my own techniques in both shooting and also post processing…. And this is the final product.
More photos in the gallery…