The Munchkin's Notebook

On January 16 th , I worked with the lovely China Limehouse for a beauty shoot. This shoot was based around a white pearl and crystal headpiece that wraps partially around the face. Since this was a beauty shoot, I brought in a make-up artist (MUA). The MUA for this shoot was Ashley Peter , who used a white, silver, and blue pallet to go with the headpiece. For this shoot I used: Canon 80D EF 70-200 F2.8 Lens Tether Flash Trigger Grey backdrop Backdrop Stand C-Stand Boom Arm Beauty dish Phottix strobes Silver reflector Grey card set For this shoot I focused on the face and headpiece, so never went larger than a ¾ length body shot.   The lighting was a simple, using only the beauty dish which was set in front of the model and raised to be looking down at a 30–45-degree angle.   I then filled in the shadows with a silver reflector, which the model held in her lap.   I did not use the reflector for all the shots.   The variety in the shot...

On January 16 th , I worked with the lovely Vee the Doll . This shoot was split into two parts, the first part of the shoot used a Russian aristocracy inspired outfit, while the second part of the shoot used a silver gown and a pearl and crystal headpiece.  Because I was going for a specific glam look for this shoot, I brought in a make-up artist (MUA).  Tanvi was MUA I worked with for this shoot, and she did a wonderful job creating a glam look that worked with both outfits and really highlighted the eyes. The set for the shoot revolved around the first outfit, which was a long coat with fur trim and a large fur cowl collar. This was paired with a pill box type fur hat with a feather in it, and a fur muff. Note all the fur is fake fur. Because of the coat I went with a winter theme. Originally, I wanted to shoot this outside in the snow, however we did not have snow on the ground that day, thus I improvised by making my own snow.  I have a product called “ SnoWonder ”...

On January 24 h , I worked with the lovely Lillith Gloom . This would be the third time I shot the crystal and pearl headpiece, so I wanted to change it up just a little bit. To do that I hung plastic diamonds from strings and suspended them behind the model, which changed the theme from winter to celestial. For this shoot the model brought her own make-up artist, the very talented Scarlett Walker .  For this shoot I used: Canon 80D EF 18-200mm lens Tether Flash Trigger Black backdrop Backdrop Stand 2 Phottix strobes 30-degree grid 2 speed lights 5 light stands Grey card set Clear thread Fake diamonds Poles Snoot made from speed light wrap Technical solutions provider (i.e., my husband) Light Set Up The lighting for this shoot was simple yet difficult. The challenge was to light the diamonds to make the sparkle, which requires hard non-diffused light, without lighting up the backdrop or the model. Then having a second light that is directed on...

  On February 7 th , I worked with the lovely Miss June Bug on a Valentine’s Day inspired shoot at Lost & Found Event Rentals in Dayton.   This shoot revolved around a red flower and heart headpiece I recently made.   The headpiece was inspired by the 1940s and 1950s look of pinning flowers to one side in your hair and hats worn to the side of the head.   Since the headpiece has hearts in it, I went for a 1940/50s Valentine’s Day theme and stayed with red and white color scheme.   For this shoot I used: Canon 80D 4 Speed lights Light stands Trigger Round soft box Strip Soft box Square Soft box Red chair Red tulle Red heart chocolate box Hershey Kisses to fill the chocolate box For this shoot I used my standard 18-200mm lens. I was shooting at ISO 100, a shutter speed of 1/200s, and using an aperture of F5.6 with a few shots taken at F/8. My focal length ranged from 18mm to 80mm, with the most common focal length being 18mm foll...

  Goals As I look forward to 2021, I have developed a few goals. The goals are a bit business centric, since I transitioned Munchkin Photos to an official LLC. I want to make sure Munchkin Photos stays sustainable through the long haul. I love doing fun crazy shoots on a TFP basis, but to be able to do those I need to balance the costs out with paid shoots. 1. Book at least one paid shoot either standard (beauty, fine, art, conceptual) or cosplay a month. This is an important goal this year since I converted Munchkin Photos into an official LLC.   I have already updated my pricing page on my website to accommodate this. 2. Find a MUA to work with on a regular basis. I want to find one to three MUAs to work with on a regular basis for both paid and TFP sessions. The goal here is to have a list of MUA’s I can recommend to clients for make-up services for sessions, especially the more creative sessions. 3. Find a couple of models to collaborate with on a regular basis...

The year 2020 started out all well and good but went downhill fast.  While the world seemed to be in a tailspin there were still glimmers of joy.  While I may not have accomplished as much as I would have liked from a photography standpoint, I still accomplished a lot.  My biggest two accomplishments for the year were turning Munchkin Photos into a limited liability corporation (LLC) and completing my Master’s Degree.  I also made my very own parachute dress this year which I shot four times, which means I’ll be making an additional dress for 2021.  Finally, I was published six times this year.  So, while 2020 seemed bad on the outside, a few good things still were happening. This year I shot 7796 frames, which is 10-percent increase from last year.   Though I only edited 4349 which is a 5-percent decrease from last year.   This means I’m becoming more discerning during the culling process.    My most used ISO was ISO 100 with 39-perce...

On October 24 th , I worked with the lovely Beatrixz Xclusivez . This shoot revolved around a fall leaf headpiece I made to match the season. We shot at Phillips Park in Beavercreek, I like this location because it has three nice features a big red barn with silo, a pond, and a gazebo.   For this shoot I focused on using the barn and the pond as a background For this shoot I used: Canon 80D 2 Speed lights Light stand Small soft box I shot 205 frames between ISO 100.   My aperture varied between F5 to F20 with a majority of the shots taken at F5.   My shutter speed ranged from 1/60s to 1/250s with a majority of the frames being shot at 1/200s.   My focal range varied from 18mm to 80mm with the most common focal length being 18mm followed by 20mm.   Since this shoot was focused on the headpiece, many of my shots were beauty shots.   Two of my favorite shots are a beauty shot taken using walls of the barn as a background. In the first shot, I...