And... Now I Am Done...

This is it... I want to thank everyone for supporting my project... it was MUCH easier than I thought it would be.

So Many Shots... So Little Time...

Needed four shots to finish my 30 and had two lined up for today... which then turned into 11! Like I've said over and over... I work with awesome people. Here are a few from today... I will finish the rest tomorrow...

Two More Makes 26

Knocked out two more today and have a couple lined up for tomorrow, so I am getting close. Today was a good one for me... got to take picture of my BFF on his birthday.He's the old guy...

 

Oh, since it was his birthday I let him take my picture, but it doesn't count towards the 30...

What I Have Learned So Far

In the very short time I have done this project I feel like I have actually learned a lot. The most important being that backlighting is the absolute key to making a portrait pop. I guess I probably knew this, but knowing it and actually taking the time to stop and make sure my lighting is set up properly are two different things. The first few shots I took for the project were done in the shade and I do like those, but once I started using the sun for a backlight I really noticed a significant difference in the overall impact of the shot. The depth added by the additional light can make the difference between a snapshot and a portrait, so make sure you take the time to set up if you have the ability to do so.

 

I don’t have two separate shots to compare, but if you look at this shot you will see how her hair is highlighted from the sun giving it separation from the background. Imagine if that light wasn’t there… her hair would blend right in with the background which would significantly change the depth and overall quality of the picture.

So... if you are out shooting portraits and you are have a flash I would suggest having your subject turn their back to the sun and using the flash to light the face. Aside from giving depth to the shot it will also reduce the squinting that is usually caused by staring directly into a giant ball of fire.

And The Rest....

Here are the last four I took today at lunch, so I am up to 24. Should be a pretty easy sprint to the finish... hopefully tomorrow.

I left the glasses on one because I loved the reflection. I have one without that I will post in my "outtakes", but I wanted to leave this one in because it kind of matches his Krazee personality...

And These Four Make 20

Here are four of the ones I shot at lunch today... I will try to post the others this evening...

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this flash. I just love how it draws out the eyes. The third picture down of the Marine... those are his eyes... no digital enhancement other than the overall exposure adjustment of the image.

Dead Battery

Well, had some shots set up for today at lunch, so I ran out to my car ahead of time just to make sure everything was good to go and discovered I had never shut off my vagabond battery pack from my shoot the day before. Needless to say it was dead. Can't begin to explain how bitter I was.

I work with some amazing people, so I set up some other shots for tomorrow which I will try to post tomorrow night. Have some great people to shoot tomorrow, so I am pretty excited.

When I got home I still felt the need to shoot, so I decided to practice some new lighting and post processing techniques. Sorry for the self portraits...