The Munchkin's Notebook

On September 28th, I did a session with May.   This session’s theme was designed around a Halloween headpiece I made a couple of years ago but never got to shoot.   The vibe of the overall shoot was dark queen. For this session, I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix Strobe 2 rectangular soft boxes grids 2 C-stands Sandbags Backdrop stand Fuzzy grey backdrop Spyder Color Checker Card A-clamps 2 trilevel plant stands Fake candles Goblets Fake flowers Black fabric Silver fabric Large Styrofoam block Dowel Rods Skulls Fake moss Dry ice   The set up I tried to keep this setup simple in nature.  I started with the base of a fuzzy grey backdrop to which I added a “throne” made from a large Styrofoam block, some dowel rods, and a piece of black fabric.  To that I added two flower pot hol...

On October 5 th , I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ special subscriber meet-up held at 3MI Studios in West Virginia.  The studio was a decent size with several different sets, from a cyclorama wall, a rain room (everyone’s favorite), a barn set, decorative walls, and bedroom sets.  It was a good size for the number of people that attended, and we didn’t encroach on each other while shooting. For this session I used: Canon R6 2 Speed light Trigger 1 Light stands 24 - 105mm lens Gels Onsight RGB panels (mostly for rain room) Camera Settings: Because the location is a professional studio with sets and some continuous lights, my settings varied depending on the set and the light setup.  For everything except the rain room set images, my ISO was at ISO100.  For the rain room images, I bumped my ISO up to ISO 1250 because that set uses continuous LED lights, and I wanted brighter images and to be able to stop the raindrops.  My most co...

On September 15 th , I did a double session with the lovely Natalie of Archaic Costumes and Designs .  We started with a Persephone, then switched to the Fleur de Lis Tudor gown.  I’m now going to talk about the Fleur de Lis Tudor gown session. For this session, I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix Strobe 2 FJ400 Strobe 2 rectangular soft boxes grids 2 1x3 strip boxes 2 C-stands 2 light stands Sandbags Backdrop stand Hand painted grey canvas background Spyder Color Checker Card 2 trilevel plant stands Fake candles Fake fruit (pomegranates, apples, figs, pears, grapes) Goblets Fake flowers Black fabric   The set up I changed over from the Persephone set to the Tudor set while the model was changing, so it was a quick flip.  For the Tudor gown set, I removed the peacock chair since the model ...

On September 15 th , I did a double session with the lovely Natalie of Archaic Costumes and Designs .   We started with a Persephone theme for her lovely pomegranate dress then I flipped the set to match her Tudor gown.   I’m going to talk about the pomegranate dress session first. For this session, I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix Strobe 2 FJ400 Strobe 1 rectangular soft box 1 bell reflector with 50-degree grid 2 1x3 strip boxes 2 C-stands 2 light stands Sandbags Backdrop stand Grey fuzzy backdrop Spyder Color Checker Card Purple gels   Peacock chair 2 trilevel plant stands Fake candles Fake fruit (pomegranates, apples, figs, pears, grapes) Goblets Fake flowers Skull Black fabric Green fabric   The set up The inspiration for this set was the pomegranate dress and Chrissa...

On September 21 st , I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet-up held at Dupont Underground . The Dupont Underground is an abandoned trolly station, under Dupont Circle, which was transformed into a special events and art gallery space.   For this session I used: Canon R6 2 Speed light Trigger 1 Light stands 24 - 105mm lens Gels Camera Settings: This location was underground and dimly lit except for the areas for the artist showcase, and a tunnel that opens to the outside.  So, my setting changed based on the light.  For this shoot, my I used two main ISO, ISO 100, and ISO 400.  I also took a few images at ISO 200 and ISO 1000.   I used an aperture ranged from F4 to F13 with the most common aperture being F5.  My shutter speed varied from 1/50s to 1/250s, with the most common shutter speed being 1/200s and 1/125s.  My focal length ranged from 24mm to 53mm, the most common being 24mm. The Photos: This first image is of the alway...

On September 13 th , I attended my first MDStreetMeet Event, which was held at Glen Echo Park.   This was a low-light event focused on low-light photography and capturing the neon signs at Glen Echo. Street Meet is all about street photography with a few models thrown into the mix and is supposed to be about collaboration and meeting other fellow photographers.  It really wasn’t my thing, as I’m introverted and have a hard time integrating myself into groups, especially groups that already seem to have their own internal clicks.  I’m also not a street photographer; I lean more towards portrait and studio photography.  I did take a few images but not enough to say it was worth my time. You can see a few of those below.   My other observation was some people brought a lot of gear for something that is supposed to be geared towards street photography. My thought of street photography is simple setups; maybe a single light stand at most, not carts full of lights...

On August 31 st , I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet-up held at Lescher’s Poultry Farm Sunflower Fields. We shot here last year but at the end of the season when the sunflowers were well past peak bloom.  This year, we managed to hit peak bloom; however, we had about 60-75 minutes to shoot because of a major storm with lighting rolling in.  So, I had to shoot very quickly to be able to work with a variety of people as well as be aware of the weather. For this session I used: Canon R6 1 Speed light Trigger 1 Light stands 1 small bounce umbrella 24 - 105mm lens ¼ cut CTO Gel Camera Settings: For this shoot, I ended up using ISO 200 and ISO 250.  I think I might have bumped the ISO adjustment at some point, as ISO 250 is an odd ISO.  I used an aperture of F4, which allows me to blur the background but still allows you to see it is a sunflower field.  My shutter speed varied from 1/80s to 1/250s, with the most common shutter speed...