Bristol Urban Portraits 17 ~ Pictures and technique

September 19th, 2009

The last shot of the day deserves first spot here. Two 580 Speedlights triggered

The last shot of the day deserves first spot here. Two 580 EX11 Speedlights triggered by the ST-E2 provided the illumination from the front. The sun gave us a nice backlight and spectral highlight. The Speedlights were fitted with full CTO gels and the camera white balance was set to 3800K.

This was my last Urban Portrait workshop of it’s kind. In 2010 I will be using radio triggering for all my Speedlight shooting events. I will still be using the ST-E2 and the SU-800 next month in Sienna for my ‘Passion on the Streets’ workshop and for the final ‘Cherish the Dress’ workshops of the season. But after that it’s time to move on.

I was asked to demo the new Pocket Wizard TTL system and as we had an all Canon cast of delegates I duly obliged. The shallow depth of field is enough to show just how good this new flash triggering system is. ISO200, 1/3200th second at my beloved f/4. Same Honl gel rig as above on the key light and I used a Honl 1/2 CTB on the backlight.

A new piece of artwork by Jody demanded a few frames.ISO200, 1/200th second at f/16

For my cafe shooting session just after lunch I demonstrated the high ISO capability of the 5Dmk11. This shot is at ISO6400 and it looks great.

Another ISO6400 frame from my Canon 5Dmk11

Another ISO6400 frame of Sarah our model, from my Canon 5Dmk11.

The delegates. Obscured by Canon for privacy reasons. 1/10th second at f/8 ISO200. I teach how to do the Lovegrove flick and get a bit of random in the shot. This group really gelled and we had a great day of fun and creativity.

Here's something different to end the set. If you have a white washed window in your local high street and a Speedlight. Pop it on the camera and get creative.

Please feel free to comment on these pictures below and please share your experiences of the day if you were a delegate. You can always ask me non related or off topic questions on Twitter the choice is yours.

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16 Comments Add your own

1. Derek mc Auley | September 19th, 2009 at 8:48 am

End of an era, which I’m sure has been as exciting
for you as it has been for me watching you
grow and expand your skills and passing them
on through your courses.
I’m really looking forward to 2010 pw,s courses
and seeing you again.
Derek
2. Tara Taylor | September 19th, 2009 at 9:19 am

Great shots as always Damien!
3. damien | September 19th, 2009 at 12:56 pm

Hi Derek,

Next years Bristol Urban portrait workshops will be new locations and a new system of working with Speedlights. Each year there is evolution in my work and every now and then there is a revolution. This is a revolution moment.

I look forward to meeting up again soon. I also enjoy following you on twitter here

Cheers Damien.
4. damien | September 19th, 2009 at 1:02 pm

Thanks Tara. Damien
5. Will Pateman Photography | September 19th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Love the artwork by Jody…why cant there be more excellent graffiti..Banksy etc….
looking forward to your new pocket wizard courses in 2010
6. Dave causon | September 19th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

Hi damien, just out of interest what are your thoughts on the new 7d? Hopefully the iso will be up there with the 5d mark 2.
7. Michaelbs | September 19th, 2009 at 10:44 pm

Damien, please come to Copenhagen to do some workshops.
8. Steve Hale | September 21st, 2009 at 11:42 am

Thanks for a great day Damien, really inspiring and the simple settings have actually stuck in my head! so importantly I have had good success since in being able to replicate the type of shots we covered.

Also my credit card company thanks you for doing such a good job showing off the pocketwizards, I am about to order a set!

Cheers

Steve
9. jean Dawkins | September 21st, 2009 at 10:36 pm

i do not know that you need flash when you get stunning results in the cafe great stuff by pushing the a s a.
10. wedding photographer essex | September 22nd, 2009 at 11:24 am

Amazing photographs, well done.
11. DT | September 22nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm

Hi Damien,

Great set of images.

Bit confused by your comment about it being the last Urban Portrait workshop with the STE2. I am due to attend next week, and want to use the STE2 as it is what I want to use for travel work – hence part of the reason for booking.

PW’s look great(and I probably will get some in the future) but for now I need to get to grips with using the STE2.

Looking forward to meeting you
Dave
12. damien | September 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Well spotted Dave, Next Wednesday is the last UP in this guise. ST-E2 and SU-800 will be the order of the day. I look forward to seeing you then. Cheers Damien.
13. John Archibald | September 24th, 2009 at 10:30 am

Hi Damien,

I’m thinking of investing in the new PW’s. Could you explain something to me though – you’ve mentioned using them with a low dof and high shutter speed. How does this on the new PWs differ to using the high speed synch function with the STE2?

Cheers,
John.
14. Kevin Jones | September 25th, 2009 at 4:01 pm

Hi Damien,

With the pocket wizard, am I right in assuming that one transmitter and one transceiver is required, as the speedlite fitted with the transceiver can work as a master flash to transmit the Ettl info to the other slave flashes, (this is using Canon speedlites)?
15. damien | September 26th, 2009 at 8:38 pm

Hi John,

The new PWs are far more accurate with the flash timing than the Canon system. This accuracy manifests itself in at least 1 stop of efficiency gains and far more consistent exposures.
The extra stop means that rather than just ‘fill flash’ in sunlight you can cut the ambient exposure yet keep the flash exposure correct. This in turn gives you control and the ability to shoot with flash at exposures like 1/4000th at ISO100 and f/4. I hope this helps,

Damien.
16. damien | September 26th, 2009 at 8:50 pm

Hi Kevin,

You need a Mini TT1 on the camera. You can if you wish add an ST-E2 and use both the infra red system for near flashes and a Flex TT5 for each distant flash. Using a Speedlight on top of the Mini or Flex on camera is a bit cumbersome so the ST-E2 is definitely the way to go.

Cheers, Damien.