The Munchkin's Notebook

On December 4th, I did a styled holiday session with ViNa . This session was all about fun, cuteness, and candy; thus, demanded to be a high key session. For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 1 speedlight 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands 2 light stands 2 u-hooks Painter pole Red Seamless A-clamps Sandbags 1 7-foot umbrella 1 Beauty Dish 1 Bell Reflector 1 30-degree Grid 24-inch square wooden posing box 18-inch square wooden posing box Red wrapping paper Red & White striped wrapping paper Empty boxes Red and silver ornaments Red and gold ribbon Fake miniature pine trees Large fake candy canes Fake suckers Clear plastic display stands Tape Headpiece I got my inspiration for this set and session from the headpiece itself and several images on Pinterest.   Now since I had another holiday session rig...

On December 4th, I did a styled holiday session with LoveMSBrickhouse . For this session I went all red with accents of gold for the set and I shot it in two ways. The first was very high key and commercial while the second went low key and editorial. I did this all with one set and just changing the lighting.   For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 1 speed light 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands 2 light stands 2 u-hooks Painter pole Red Seamless A-clamps Sandbags 1 7-foot umbrella 1 Beauty Dish 1 Bell Reflector 1 30-degree Grid 18-inch square wooden posing box Red wrapping paper Empty boxes Red ornaments Gold ribbon Fake poinsettias Fake miniature evergreen trees Clear plastic display stands Tape         I got my inspiration for this set and session from work previously done by t...

On November 20 th , I did a cosplay session with the lovely Allie at Leesylvania State Park located a little south of Woodbridge, Virginia. Allie requested we do the session on a beach if possible because she was doing Venessa , the human version of Ursula, from “ The Little Mermaid ”. Leesylvania State Park fit the bill because it has a small beach that runs along the Potamic River as well as a nice little pier. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 1 Speed light 1 Light stand Trigger 18-200mm lens To prepare for this session I went through several stills from the Disney animated version of “The Little Mermaid” focusing on all those with Venessa in them. I also looked at a few fanart images to help with the creative process. I like doing Disney Princess session, I love doing ballgown sessions in general. But doing a Disney villain is also fun because you can go a little darker, and not necessarily be bright and cheery. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate on ...

On November 13th I did a parachute dress session with Solamente at Claude Moore Park in Virginia. The park is very large contains several sports fields, two ponds, and has a historical section that contains the Heritage Farm Museum and a few historical buildings. I chose to do this shoot in the historical area near and near the larger pond. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 2 Speed light Trigger 2 light stands Handwarmers Assistant provided by the model to help with the dress The start time for this session was around 8:00AM, which is a half hour after the park opens. This would have allowed us to use some nice morning light, however the day was cloudy and overcast which precluded the use of nice natural light. This is the reason I bring speed lights. This start time allowed us to have the park mostly to ourselves except for a few early morning hiker and bird watcher. However, the start time meant it was chilly in the morning and the dress is not very warm, even...

On November 7 th ,   I attended a D.C Cosplay Photo Shoot meet up held along Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly, VA. It is a very large public park with a few historic structures on site. Due to its overall size, the group stayed in the area near the Walney Visitor Center. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 2 Speed light Trigger Light stand 18-200mm lens The weather that day had a nice beautiful blue sky with a few fluffy clouds, a perfect fall day. While the trees in the park were a nice mix of yellows, oranges, and some green. I ended up using a 100 ISO without a light modifier. My aperture varied from F6.3 to F8, with most shots being taken at F8. My shutter speed ranged from 1/40s to 1/250s. My shutter speed seemed to be concentrated between four speed 1/60s, 1/80s, 1/200s, and 1/250s which was most likely related to the locations I was shooting in; going from sun to shade. My focal length ranged from 18mm to 80mm, with most shots being at 18mm. I need t...

On September 25th I did a parachute dress session with Ms. Brickhouse at BigBarn1810 in Maryland.   The location is a restored historic barn with these very beautiful windows that light up the main space of the barn, and were just perfect for this session.   I made the dress from a 30-foot diameter military parachute.   It is a very large dress that can be hard work, thus I always tell the model to bring a handler/assistant for this dress.   I’m very thankful to the two assistants the model brought with her and the help they provided throughout the session. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 2 Speed light Trigger Large painter’s pole Assistants The start time for this session was around 10:00AM, which allowed us to maximize the beautiful light coming through the windows of the barn.   However, I still used flash to add some fill light and to light images taken in the loft of the barn.   I used an assistant with a painter’s pole for this...

  On October 9 th , I did a styled session with Lady Chapell Cosplay . The theme for this shoot was an autumn witch, based around an autumn decorated witch hat. When I designed the set, I went for the “ witchcore ” aesthetic which is more home and garden then scary witch.       For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 speedlights 2 c-stands 1 flag 2 gels (orange) Backdrop stand Grey backdrop A-clamps Sandbags Speedlight clamp 2 Square Soft boxes with Grid 1 Strip Box with Grid Peacock Chair Pumpkins and gourds Dry Ice Skull Crystal ball Chalice Fake spider Fake candles Flowers Table Bowls Hot Water My inspiration for the set came from images by kladovay_mechta out of Russia, which used wicker chairs and a lot of pumpkins. I also took inspiration from some Pinterest post about the “witchcor...