Last weekend my good friend Maureen Murphy was visiting from Ottawa and “somehow” we found our way down to Port Townsend to spend three days eating fabulous food and doing nothing but photography.
On Saturday we went into the studio playing with lighting along with Al McCleese (above) and Ray Ketcham (below). We all took turns behind the camera and learned a little something about flash, TTL (well except for Ray) and what it’s like to be the object of the “paparazzi” in front of the lens.
The value of just playing is often under-rated because it’s easy to forget you’re learning while having so much fun. Here’s a picture of Maureen taken by Ray as she “posed” for us. As you can tell, she is a riot!
She is also a darn good photographer especially when it comes to people. I’ve now added her to my list of my personal photographers along with our mutual friend, Krista Fox. As you might know, I don’t like being in front of the camera but Maureen can take credit for my new profile picture on Twitter along with Ray who set up all the lighting.
Oh speaking of lighting, for these four images we used a mix of one octabox and grid, and one speedlight and a reflector. Can you tell which lighting setup we used for each of these portraits?
Where do you find so many photography friends?? I’m jealous!
Hmmm…as for the lighting. I’m rubbish at all that, but happy to take a silly guess. The top 2 were done with one of the lights (the otcabox maybe) and a reflector? And the bottom 2 used both lights (one for lighting the subject, the other for the background). There you go. Don’t mock me!
I really am very fortunate to have the friends that I do, Cathy. That they are photographers too is just a bonus. I think I’ll let a few more people try to figure out the lighting before I spill the beans. Not to worry, there’s no mocking on this blog
fabulous images! I have to echo Cathy’s question – how do you find so many fun photography friends?
LOL Anita…It’s kind like finding your passion, I think they find me.
Oh man. That *does* sound like fun! What a good idea to practice being in front of the camera too. It’s good to remember how awkward and self-conscious that can make us feel. Clearly, the photographers here were successful at making everyone relax. Love the images!
Dorothy, you would have loved it! And you would have been right in there creating wonderful portraits of us all. So when are you coming to PT?
What brilliant portraits! I like how everyone just finds their way to PT. Having heard so much about it (and its various inhabitants) though, i can totally see why.
It’s a magical place in a lot of ways, Charlene. And you’d fit right in
[...] The Importance of Play is a post by Sabrina Henry on a topic that is all too often overlooked. In fact, having fun can often be the best way to learn as Sabrina shows in her excellent blog post. [...]