The Munchkin's Notebook

On April 16 th , I made a drive up to Baltimore, MD for the Graffiti Warehouse shoot hosted by D.C. Cosplay Photoshoot group.   The Graffiti Warehouse, as its name implies, is an old warehouse covered with graffiti both on the outside and inside and is used as a creative space for artist.  We had use of the large first floor studio, the smaller third floor studio, as well as the stairwells and hallways.  The warehouse has furniture scattered about that can be used, which I took advantage of for several photos. The space reminded me a bit of one of the studios I would frequent in Dayton, except covered in graffiti.    For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 2 Speed lights Trigger 1 Light stands 18-200mm lens Tiny soft box This shoot was held entirely inside. The first-floor studio had all the windows covered so was dark, while the third-floor studio had two walls full of windows so was bright. The hallways and stairwells had small ceiling lights ...

On April 2 nd I did a cosplay session with the lovely Washu Cosplay at Meadowlark Gardens.  The garden was a perfect location to shoot her Kokomi fromGenshin Impact because it has cherry blossom trees, a lovely Korean bell garden, and a few koi ponds.  Sadly, the day before our session a big windstorm came through and blew several petals off the cherry trees, so they looked a little bare up close. Also, because it was still early spring the garden wasn’t in full bloom yet but we made it work. For this shoot I kept my equipment to a minimum and brought my husband to assist with lighting, since it was unclear if light stands were allowed.  I had my Cannon 80D, 18-200mm lens, trigger, speedlight, a painter’s pole, hand warmers, and a trash bag. I also had a roll of gels and a small soft box with me that I did not use. For this session I used ISO 100, because it was a bright sunny day. My aperture ranged from F4 to F9, with the most prevalent F-stop being F8.  My ...

On March 20 th I did a session with Tony. I drew my inspiration for this session from the color silver and a few futuristic fashion posts on Pinterest. For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands Silver vinal backdrop White backdrop Sandbags 2-square soft boxes Grids Green/aqua gels 2-speedlights 18-inch-tall wooden cube 24-inch-tall wooden cube 18-inch tall styrofoam triangle Holographic plastic table cloths Bubble Gun Light-up glasses Tape     To get the right mood for this shoot I first hung a white backdrop which covered the floor, then hung a silver backdrop over that.  I knew as soon as I hung the silver up, the whole set would become very reflective and the light would need to be very controlled. I choose to use two square soft boxes with grids to be able to control the light hitt...

On March 20 th I did a session with Kazzy . I drew my inspiration for this session from the color silver, Barbarella promotional photos, as well as still images from Rakiyah – Whoa music video , and 1950’s and 1960’s B-SyFy movies. For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands Silver vinal backdrop White backdrop Backdrop clamps Sandbags 1-square soft box 7-foot umbrella with sock Grids Magenta & Blue Gels 2-speedlights 18-inch-tall wooden cube 24-inch-tall wooden cube 18-inch tall styrofoam triangle Holographic plastic table cloths Bubble Gun Light-up glasses Guitar (provide by model) Tape     To get the right mood for this shoot I first hung a white backdrop which covered the floor, then hung a silver backdrop over that.   I knew as soon as I hung the silver up, the whole...

On March 19th I did a couture Queen of Hearts session with Anastasia with a dress from Jennie Couture. For this session I used the dress itself as inspiration pulling key elements such as bushes with roses, playing cards, and flamingos from Disney animated “Alice and Wonderland” to decorate the set. For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands Red Seamless A-clamps Sandbags 1 7-foot umbrella 1 Umbrella sock 1 Round soft box 18-inch-tall triangular piece of styrofoam 3 dowel rods Jumbo playing cards Regular playing cards Fake topiaries with red roses Miniature plastic flamingos Tape     I drew my inspiration for this session more from the animated version of “Alice in Wonderland” then the live action version as I felt the dress played more off the animated version. For the session I moved throu...

The sky was a grey as cold wind blew and heavy snow was falling from the sky as the group gathered at the abandoned Cresson Prison.   They were told stay in groups, use the underground steam tunnels to get to get to building the build, and use flashlights to guide their way.   No this is not the opening of a horror movie, it was the March 26 th D.C. Cosplay Photoshoot meet up at Cresson, PA.    The group got permission from the property owner to do a photo shoot at abandoned Lawrence Frick State Hospital and Cresson Prison.   The hospital was financed by Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1916 as a tuberculosis sanatorium and then expanded to a mental health hospital. The facility was further expanded in the 1987 to a medium-security male correctional facility then was closed in 2013 due to antiquated conditions.    For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 2 Speed lights Trigger 2 Light stands 18-200mm lens Gels Smoke Genie Flashlight T...