The Munchkin's Notebook

On October 5 th , I did an on-location spooky session with Rebecca at Claude Moore Park.   The theme was Victorian ghost; however, it is hard to be a ghost at 9:30 in the morning on a bright sunny day.   I did my best to get a spooky look. For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Cannon Speed lights 1 30-inch umbrella Light stand Assistant Smoke Genie The setup The set up was relatively easy.  I mounted a Canon speed light on a light stand with an umbrella.  My assistant then held the light in the appropriate spots as we made our way around the park to different locations. Camera Settings This session was held outdoors in bright morning sun and was intended to look spooky, so I tried to keep the images dark.  Thus, I used ISO 100, which is great for sunny conditions.  I wanted to maintain a soft background as much a...

On October 7 th , I did a studio spooky session with Coralinx Cosplay .   The central theme of this shoot was a pretty goth girl who had a fondness for spiders and decorating with cobwebs, making it a perfect Halloween session.   Note: Cobwebs are defined as abandoned or old spiderwebs that have collected dust.   Many cobwebs are the result of comb-footed spider (i.e., black widows) that make irregularly shaped webs.   Spiderwebs are active structures built to catch prey.   (Source: Western Exterminator Company) For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 2 Phottix Strobes 2 strip boxes 2 rectangular soft boxes 2 c-stands 3 light stands Backdrop stand Black seamless 2 Westcott silicon gels Tether cable Laptop Laptop holder Sandbags A-clamps Spyder Color checker Fake cobwebs Table ...

  This past weekend, my husband and I tried to spend the weekend at Post Card Cabins in Shenandoah for our anniversary.  I say tried, because I got sick halfway through our trip, and we had to go home early.    But the first part was nice. Post Card Cabins are owned by Marriott and located about 2 hours from D.C. in the Shenandoah region of Virginia, off I-81.   There is also another set of cabins located off I-15, but we stayed at the ones off I-81.  The property features several of these, in what I call a cabin development, which are spaced a decent distance apart, creating the illusion of privacy.  The cabins are essentially tiny homes featuring a large picture window at one end, a small bathroom, a mini-fridge, a compact kitchenette with plates, silverware, a pot, and a pan, and a queen bed.  They also come with two Adirondack chairs, a picnic table, a fire pit with wood, and a s'mores kit minus the sticks.    ...

ISO 100, Aperture F9, Shutter 1/250s, Focal Length 29mm This was the first year I attended Once Upon a Con, a fantasy book convention previously held in Pennsylvania.   I had heard good things about the convention and was looking forward to attending it, especially since it had been relocated to the Gaylord in National Harbor, Maryland.  I also liked that, based on their outward-facing websites, you could register to be an approved photographer for the event and receive a special badge.  This is different from a media badge.  So, I was looking forward to attending and photographing lots of fantasy characters (elves, fairies, pretty princesses, etc.) and lots of ball gowns, which really is my sweet spot.  I was also looking forward to some of the panels they were hosting, as well as their vendor area, which was 90 percent authors.   Overall, I thought this convention was going to be a pleasant diversion from the standard anime/comic conventions I h...

On August 23, I attended a DC Cosplay Photoshoot group event at 3Mi Studio in West Virginia.  The group has used this studio before, and it is known for its rain room set, which I believe was the main draw for several people attending this event.   While I like the rain room (not as big a deal since I've made my own), I do appreciate the availability of sets the studio has and try to maximize their use. For this event I used: Canon R6 2 Speed light Trigger 24 - 105mm lens 1 light stand Umbrella Gels Camera Settings: Even though this shot was in a studio, I still varied my camera settings based on the set design, set lighting, and minimizing interference with other photographers.    My ISO varied from ISO 100 to ISO 1600, with ISO 100 being the most common, followed by ISO 1600 for shooting the rain set.  My aperture ranged from f/4.5 to f/9, with f/8 being the most common.  My shutter speed varied from 1/60s to 1/320s, with...

On August 9 th ,   I did a shoot with Kelly , to finally shoot the Cruella dress, which I purchased from Jennifer Suzanne several years ago.   What I like about this dress is that there are three separate parts: the dress, the belt/train combo, and the shrug.   This allows me to mix and match to get different looks during the session, such as combining the belt/train combo with tight pants and a corset top. For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 FJ400 Strobes 1 Photix Strobe 2 soft rectangular boxes 1 Octabox 3 C-stands Sandbags 1 Backdrop stands White Seamless Spyder Color Checker Card A-clamps Star filter 2 posing boxes Black wrapping paper   The setup I went very simple for this setup, while leaning into a high-key fashion look.  My base was a bright white, seamless backdrop, which I lit u...

On July 19th, I drove up to Poughkeepsie, NY to attend the Whispers of Waterhouse photo event held by Everlore Events . This was an all-day event, which included a light lunch, vendors, arts, and crafts areas, and three different styled shooting locations.  I was one of the roaming photographers for this event, which means you work with models who are not currently working with a featured photographer (who have schedules), and can wander between all three shooting locations at your convenience.  For this event I used: Canon R6 1 Speed light Trigger Umbrella Gels 24 - 105mm lens Camera Settings: This was an outside shoot that had sets in heavy forested areas, out on a pond, and sunny meadows; thus, I was adjusting the settings to the lighting conditions.  I used ISO 100 and 400.  My goal was to keep my aperture around f/4 to achieve a nice background blur; however, depending on the conditions, I had to stop down to f/9 and f/11 to manage the light...