It was time for a new profile pic for my twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/etc. & so here it is.

This pic just came fresh from my camera & was taken this morning with my new TS-E 45mm f/2,8 lens mounted onto a Canon 5d Mark II. I really wanted to see if a tilt-shift effect would ‘work’ with a studio portrait and so tested it on myself!

As you can see my eyes (and most of my face) are sharp as can be, the top of my head is slightly blurred as well as my shoulders. I could imagine this being an amazing lens for creative outdoors portraits but had no idea if this would actually work for me in the studio… But I think I like this so I’m definitely going to be using this lens a whole lot more in the studio now!

 My ‘September Tilt-Shift Selfie’ 

As you may be able to see in my eyes I’m using two light-sources – 2 x Bowens Esperit 200′s fired into 2 rectangle softboxes, placed on both sides of my camera right into my face! Triggered with Pocketwizards.

Lighting Diagram

It did. Somehow 1996 springs to mind.

Testing out my new tilt shift lens. (Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8)

I’ve taken this photo a couple of weeks ago.. As my client walked into the studio, ideas started popping up into my head. It had to be a little unusual yet very very normal. That’s when I thought of letting him jump while having the most straight & serious look on his face.

1.2.3… JUMP!
The first few jumps were a little uncomfortable looking. Eyes closed, hands in unusual  positions, legs bend a little… It took a little practice but after a shot or 10 we finally got what we wanted.

Tools
I’ve used a 600watt studiolight into a  120cm octobox for this shot, but modded it a little & took the front shoot-through ‘bit’ off the octobox to get the harsh shadow on the white backdrop. The light was placed on the left of the camera. Shot this from a Manfrotto Tripod with a Canon 5d Mark II & a 24-70mm f/2.8 mounted onto it.

Lighting Diagram

After having sushi at a disgraseful restaurant yesterday I decided to start a blog again. Mainly for review reasons but I feel like a little chit chat here and there wont do any harm either.

I started online blogging when I was about 15 or 16…. It was mainly about meaningless things such as teenage celebrity crushes, music and pets. A couple of years later I found my old blog entries online and spent hours reading them. I forgot most of the things I had written down at such a young age so it was like traveling back in time.

Now, having started a business in photography (and photostudio rental) I feel like it might be essential to start an online blog again. I may even post some studio photography tutorials at some point for my studio rental clients to read!

Also when it comes to traveling, i always look up reviews on hotels, restaurants & shops of the place I’m traveling too and I always end up reading many blogs. I love traveling and tend to do so quite a lot so this is gonna be my little review dumping spot!

One thing I’m not quite sure about is whether to blog in English or Dutch. I have a lot of English-speaking friends but most of my photography clients are Dutch. Think It’s gonna depend on the review/blog entry. I’m definitely going to write a review on that sushi restaurant I went to yesterday so that’s probably gonna end up Dutch. But there’s a few hotel reviews I’d like to post on here which will most likely turn out to be written in English. I guess it’s gonna depends on what the entry is going to be about! Ha! I just answered my own question!