Her backyard barn was the perfect setting to bring out the sweet country girl side of her. To ensure the mood was fitting, we decided not to use a speedlight… opting instead to mix two constant lights (basic clamp lights with a daylight balanced bulb… bts pic and info at the end) with natural light from the barn door and windows.

Below: a barn full of trash bins and shovels. The main light and rim light were from the clamp lights.

There was this perfect wooden ladder further in the barn! Yays.

Kay brought up the idea: “Let’s snap a few with a chicken!” Katie was all for it How many of you would’ve been willing to step into the chicken coop to catch a hen? lol

We badly needed the fresh air after the (nacho libre voice: estinky) chicken coop haha.

For the “other” location, we really lucked out. While driving home from the mall a day earlier, we saw the parking lot lit up with all sorts of pretty lights from a traveling carnival! Ding!! Winner! The carnival was the perfect setting to bring out the crazy fun side of Katie. The rainy forecast took away a lot of the carnival goers, so it wasn’t nearly as crowded as we hoped for… but we still had a blast. Smiles and laughter all around!

The moody look Kay loves so much. Totally our vibe

Not as sharp as it could’ve been, but still one of my favs for the captured emotion in motion .

Time to strike a pose for a few detail shots.

The ultra stylin’ and super cool red heels.

It’s too bad the cotton candy wasn’t spun on a stick… but still tasty though!

Her little sister came along for the rides and cotton candy. ;p

BTS info:

For this shoot, we utilized a lot of our prime lenses. Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, 35mm f/2D, 50mm f/1.4G, 85mm f/1.4D on both our cameras the D700 and D90. Although we used a lot of the lenses, the majority of the photos (at both locations) were taken with the D700 + 50mm and D90 + 50mm.

At the barn location, we set up two constant lights to mix with natural light. Getting daylight balanced bulbs (strongly recommended) took care of any color cast or white balance issues you would typically get from normal tungsten bulbs. The barn was very unevenly lit, so one light was used to enhance the main natural light, while another light was clamped behind as a rim light to add more subject to background separation (the first and second photos clearly show the rim light). We used different wattage bulbs on each light to create a makeshift light ratio. Generally, you want your rim light to be less powerful than your main lights. Also, clipped onto the clamp lights were ordinary baking wax paper sheets used as diffusion material to soften up the light a bit. Please don’t try this with ordinary paper, you need the heat resistant property of the wax baking paper.

The clamp lights we used can be picked up at any pet store. These work great because they have ceramic sockets that are much more heat resistant than metal sockets (read: you wont burn yourself if you accidentally grab it).

Basically, the barn location really emphasizes the point that you don’t need crazy expensive gear to light up a photo shoot. It again comes down to understanding the direction of light and being able to work with whatever light you are given. Why didn’t we use a speedlight? We could have pulled out our speedlight flashes, but felt that they may have lit up the interior way too much, taking away the natural vibe of the barn. The clamp lights were perfect because 1. they are cheap and 2. they are domed shaped and create a natural decently controllable spotlight.

Tip: If the constant light is casting too strong of a shadow, feather (don’t aim it directly at your subject) your light to soften it up.

The carnival location photos were all taken under natural light. Our only let down from that location? No carousel! The merry-go-round (as I prefer to call it) would’ve made such a beautiful frame.

Hope this info and the bts photos below help. And of course, please share your comments and questions below.

You know you’re getting old when a carnival ride makes you queeezy. O.o I used to be able to go on these things x 100!

Below is the BTS shot taken of us shortly before we left (coyotes were howling! eeek); never mind the crack too. =p Here are also a few tips to improve your photos.

Don’t be afraid to get dirty: For some creative angles, get on the same level as your subject. Unless you are purposely going for that bird’s eye view or worm’s eye view… getting on the same level of your subject will avoid distortion in your photos. This tip is especially important for baby portraits. Since babies are always on the ground… you should be too. If you are afraid of getting dirty, you can set a blanket or sheet on the ground first.

Ask your subject to get dirty: If they are willing to work with the surrounding elements, you may be able to grab more interesting shots. Kids don’t mind getting dirty, but adults may need a little convincing. =)

Get knee pads: Do yourself a favor and head over to Home Depot or Lowes and grab a pair of cheap styro foam knee pads. You will thank me later.

Then came the winter rain storms of southern California. All the rain last week made me think of the possibilities at the ski resorts nearby. And that’s all it took… we were off to our very first snow shoot, what I later dubbed: Ice Queen and Snow Leopard! Ice Queen is the perfect representation of the kinds of looks I was getting for the hour and a half we were there. I guess freezing their butts off warranted the cold glares I was getting. ;p

It was certainly a challenge shooting in 32 degree temperature. The frigid wind chill, the falling snow… we had to brave the weather, all at the same time trying to protect the gear! But, you know what? Strangely enough.. we had fun up there. It was a learning experience, and as soon as we thawed out we were done, we already had ideas on how to improve the next time we shoot in extreme conditions.

Here are some of the photos. Let us know what you think below. Was it worth it? Would you sit in the windy, falling snow for an hour? If so, we’d love to schedule a shoot with you =)

Oh yeah… guess what we saw in the middle of… SQUIRREL!

Gear used in this portrait photoshoot:

• Nikon D700
• Nikon 85mm/f1.4 lens
• SB-600 speedlight
• Photoflex Lightdome Q39 medium softbox
• Radio Popper PX

Here are the portrait photos that resulted. Some were taken with just natural light, some with softbox, and some with both. We packed light and set up shop pretty quickly. We were done before we knew it. Hope you guys like the photos. Read to the end for a BTS shot and a few photography tips. =)

For those of you interested, here is the BTS shot of the gear used. As mentioned above, we packed light… just one speedlight inside the softbox. Something worth noting… we used the diffused softbox light in multiple combinations alongside natural light. Sometimes the softbox would be the main light, other times it served as the kicker edge light…. it just all depends on how the natural light is falling onto your subject. Example, in several of the shots above, the giant shady oak tree feathered the natural light coming through allowing it to serve as the main light. For these shots, it was the perfect opportunity to use the softbox as a kicker edge light.

Gear used in this portrait photoshoot:

• Nikon D700
• Nikon 85mm/f1.4 lens
• SB-600 speedlight
• Photoflex Lightdome Q39 medium softbox
• Radio Popper PX