Recent content by starabo

very handy. thanks

I've done this too! Talk about frustrating.... thank god for google & talk photography!

very handy. thanks

Joe McNally's book 'The moment it clicks' is a really good book that goes into the inspiration behind photos. Admittedly most of his stuff is photojournalism, but he's got some cracking portraits in there. Obviously nailing the technical stuff is very important, but a well posed boring photo...

+1 for the umbrella. Cheap light stand £10. Cheap bracket £15. Brolly about another £15. If you got for a reflective brolly (basically a shoot-thro with a removable covering) your options for shooting increase too.

+1 for the gels. Pretty much any colour you want for about £15!

If you want to use your flash for birding, you'l have to get it closer to the birds ;) On a more serious note, I agree with Hoppy; getting to know the workings of your flash is a great idea before splashing out on more gear. Get to know it's limitations (i.e. it wont fire at sync speeds greater...

A nice set. I echo many of the comments on here, but would just add: - keep an eye on the verticals. There looks to be a bit of barreling going on in the two stairs shots. This is easily rectifiable in post. - Not sure what the 'tilt' in the gym adds, (the first thing I have to do is 'tilt' my...

An issue you may have with bare flashes is that you may end up with shadows on the faces of people at the rear of the group. If possible get your 'voice activated lightstands' to hold them as high as you can. Personally, I'd try and use ambient to give your base exposure, and use the flashes...

I've not experience at the long end of the range, but my personal experience is that every time I've bought Sigma, I've regretted it. No big catastrophes, but I've just been much happier with my canon lenses. The build quality, picture quality and *feel* of them just seems superior in my opinion.

It depends how far you want to go. Personally, I prefer the freedom and control that full manual gives me but you need to get to know your gear quite well. Pick of a copy of Captured by the Light by David Ziser. An excellent book aimed at improving wedding photography by using off camera...

If price isn't an issue, you can't go wrong with the Manfrotto ones. It's light, sturdy and folds down small. I've never hand my hands on a Calumet so I couldn't compare, but the frotto gets a big thumbs up from me. As for brollies. Wescott double fold convertible for the win. I've heard...

Alternatively, it just makes your 'real' ring flash £36.95 more expensive If you're after a ring light for macro - fill your boots. If you're after a ring flash for portraits, then this is just a noob tax. The light source is just too small and too underpowered to be useful. You'd be better...

:agree: Practice is the key. If you haven't done it yet, I recommend working through Strobist's Lighting 102 exercises. They really help you understand the nuances of light, and you get to practice with your speedlights at the same time. Looking through your Flickr, they look fine. If...

Some cameras (top end Nikon I think) can do double exps in the camera itself. Otherwise it'd be a photoshop job; which is much more time consuming than just killing the ambient that's hitting the subject in the first place! (at least it is with my PS skills!)