This one was taken on the same shoot as this one, but I didn't post it at the time as I didn't think it was sufficiently different to warrant a separate post. Since then though I've spent quite a bit of time working on different ways of toning my images. I haven't come to any firm conclusions - either about technique, or the end results - but I am reasonably pleased with the way that this one turned out.

This is the shot I mentioned when I posted my previous entry, shot using a HonlPhoto 1/8 Speed Grid. I'm not entirely convinced it's a great success, but it did teach me an important lesson: using a hard light source is a lot more difficult than using a soft light. The biggest problems are that a) it's directional (obviously), and b) it's very harsh. I think that I'll need a lot more practice before this is a technique I become comfortable with.

Anyway, as I mentioned above, I'm really not sure about this one, so any constructive feedback would be gratefully received.

On a related matter: as many of you know, I often post the original image in addition to my post-processed version. In the past I've linked through to the original from within this comments box, but this was never an especially elegant solution. So, from now on, when I post an original image you'll be able to view it directly from the main image page by hovering your mouse over the 'show the original image' link (beneath the image). I've added this link to the last few images I've posted, and may alter some of my older entries too.

I had some free time yesterday some took Rhowan and Harmony to an abandoned building a few kilometres from our village to play around with off-camera lighting. I had intended to shoot some hard-light shots, using a HonlPhoto 1/8 Speed Grid, but after playing around with it for a while I realised that I wasn't making much progress. I did get one shot that I like, that I'll post next, but it required a lot more post-production than I was hoping for.

Anyway, rather than abandon the shoot I switched to using my 41" shoot-through umbrella – which produces light that I find much easier to work with – and ended up with a few shots that I like. If you're interested, the original is here:

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One thing you might notice is that the light in the background is much colder than the light from the flash. This was because I used a CTO filter to gel the flash and switched my white balance to tungsten. When I came to post-produce the shot though I decided that it didn't work for this shot, at least not especially well, so ended up converting it to black and white.

I also discovered that shooting impromptu portraits of your kids is a whole lot easier than asking them to stand there while you take numerous shots at different settings. Fortunately, Rhowan does like been photographed, but she was getting rather bored by the time we had finished :)

As a lighting exercise, as you'll see if you take a look at the original (linked below), this wasn't a great success:

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The light is flat, the background is too dark, and so on, and so on, and so on.

As with my first experiment in off-camera lighting this was lit with a 41" shoot-through/translucent umbrella, placed about three feet away and 45° to the right just above my daughter, in a partially darkened room. The light source was a Canon 580 EX II set to 1/4 power. In this instance though I think that I should have either added at least one more light (to brighten the background), or used a better background, or ... well, something else.

Anyway, it was a learning experience, and I am happy with the final image – processed using techniques from my Portraits: part two tutorial – not least because I've posted very few shots of our youngest daughter. At the least, I hope you'll agree that she is quite cute :)

On a partially related matter: we're currently offering a 25% discount on our Photoshop tutorials. If you're interested, the offer is running until the 31st of this month, and there's some further info here:

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/

As I mentioned when I posted my previous entry, my shot of the merged flags marks a transition between one stage in my photography and the next: one that will shift the nature of at least some of the shots that I post here. In essence, the change is a simple one: rather than relying on natural light, or the haphazard and often ill-conceived application of off-camera lighting, I'm going to be spending a lot more time working on how to use light to create technically competent and aesthetically interesting images.

My overall aim is a simple one: 12 months from now I'd like to in the position where either David Hobby or Zack Arias email me to say "hey, that's cool – how did you do that?" ;) It's not going to happen – I'm sure that both of them are more than capable of reverse-engineering even the most complex of one of Joe McNally's epic set-ups – but I'd rather aim high, and not get there, than meet an easily achievable goal that doesn't require a great deal of effort.

So, to start the ball rolling, here's a shot of Harmony that was lit by a combination of window light (to the right) and a 41" shoot-through/translucent umbrella: placed three feet away and 45° to the left, about one foot above my daughter's eye-line. The light source was a Canon 580 EX II set to 1/4 power.

It's a very simple start, and one that echoes a lot of my natural light shots (flat, uniform lighting), but it's definitely a step along the road: not least because I now know that the catchlight from a shoot-through umbrella at close range isn't especially attractive ;)

I should also add that I'll be posting the originals of each of these shots. 12 months from now I'd like to think that there won't be a great deal of difference between the version I post and the one that I shoot. For the time being though I suspect that most will need some additional work.

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