ZX Photography

Studio Work

2009-01-22T01:19:00.002+08:00

Did a studio portrait photo-shoot for my secondary school's animation team.

It was a very fun experience, partly because I just love doing portrait work and interacting with people, and also because I had to improvise on my own.

Firstly, we didn't have a lot of space. How much space did we have? Well, we shot the photographs in a small class-room like environment filled with computers in rows. That put me in a bad position because I couldn't light my subjects with lights positioned far away to get an even spread of light. I couldn't move the subjects much because, well, there wasn't exactly much space to move about.

Secondly, this was a voluntary shoot, and I had no budget. I had to borrow another flash and ebay radio-trigger. Many thanks to Ziteng and Sam Wu respectively for the 2 pieces of equipment. Also, I don't own a backdrop system, and I don't own any backdrops, so I borrowed one 1 x 1.5m black cardboard sheet from the school's art room as the background. That was clamped to two notice-board-ish stands, also borrowed from the school.

However, what I did have was manpower. Since this was a club (and since I am mentoring the club), I was able to get almost every one of the senior members involved. I had someone hold the reflector, I had someone manage attire and pose, someone to call out the 'next in line' names, and someone to manage moving my background light about (to suit heights). Thanks guys!

With the very small space, I lit the subject with a 430EXII @ 1/4 power, 24mm into a shoot-through umbrella, positioned high at about 1m from the subject. For the background light, I velcroed a blue-plastic filter (I found it on my dad's old flash back from 1988) onto my 580EXII, and used masking tape to mount on a blue dome for my lightsphere. Set my 580EXII to 1/2 power and 105mm, and I was good to go. Set my camera with 70-200 to 1/80 to 1/100, f/5.6, ISO 200, and shot all photos that way.

Light Diagram for SWAT (Saints Wiz Animation Team) photos:

Setup shot for SWAT photos in our impromptu studio:

The results I got left me quite amazed while 'chimping' on my LCD screen. I would've done a lot better if I had a third flash for the hair-light, but beggars can't be choosers. I also didn't have another cardboard sheet for a flag, so light from my brolly flash spilled onto the background on the left. To counter that, I post-processed some vignetting in Adobe Lightroom2.

After that, I had some time to kill, and my old teacher wanted me to shoot him. I tried side-lighting him with my 580EXII at the same settings sans blue filter (the light diagram is slightly wrong with the color). Results didn't look too bad.

Overall, it was a good experience. Next time, I'll come ready with 3 flash units, and hopefully with a bigger space. Oh, and I'll shoot tethered to the master computer too-- saves lots of time with the uploading and stuff.

Cheers,
Zexun

2009-01-01T18:49:00.000+08:00

Got my new lens! Perfect closing to 2008.

2008-12-23T02:09:00.000+08:00

Night/cityscape shoot @ One Fullerton / Marina area.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-13T01:05:00.000+08:00

Zhen Yang & Jayce's Wedding Dinner (Click the following photo to view the entire series)

I went as a guest, so I didn't shoot or move around much.

Cheers!

2008-11-16T21:07:00.001+08:00

Product Photography

2008-11-04T10:46:00.002+08:00

400D, 17-40L, 580EXII @ 1/4 power, 24mm, 1m above subject, 43" Shoot-through umbrella, DIY Light-box

Dad, got me new shoes, and I thought they'd be perfect for product photography.

Reee--auee, Meow, Purrr.

2008-10-15T21:27:00.001+08:00

Street Shooting @ Potong Pasir & MRT

2008-10-04T12:52:00.006+08:00

I went on a very short street shoot while traveling back home from school today. I used my 400D ungripped and 85mm f/1.8. Shooting with a single prime just simplifies everything.

For the following shot, a father allowed me to take a picture of his baby when I asked. I had taken a few candids before that, and they are included in the flickr photo set below.

Yes, I really think that carrier is not edible.

You may view the series here, at MY FLICKR PAGE.

Biology In Focus: The Eye

2008-09-28T18:11:00.002+08:00

100% Crop

400D, 85mm f/1.8, f/22, 1/100, ISO200, 50mm f/1.8II reverse-handheld, Strobist: 580EXII @ 1/2 power, subject left 1m, direct flash. Subject: Mom's eye.

I figured I'd post this up since it's one of my more interesting shots ever.

Now I wonder what a MP-E 65mm lens can do at 5x magnification..

Exhibit A: Photographer

2008-09-28T14:52:00.003+08:00

400D, 10sec timer, 50mm f/1.8II, 50mm, f/8, 1/60, ISO200, Strobist: 580EXII @ 1/2 +1/3EV power, 3m to subject left.

Just some goofing around in front of the camera. Self portrait studio style without a remote. I tell you, it's difficult to do a self-portrait without a really small aperture or remote.

Steps I did to make the photograph:

Set up camera on tripod with settings stated above
Place light-stand at where I'm going to be standing
Focus lens on light-stand
Place something under the light-stand for me to know where to stand
Set up flash and umbrella on light-stand with settings stated above
Start timer, stand at designated spot, pose
Get blinded by the light
Repeat steps 2 to 7 for a few more shots
Upload photos to computer
Edit tonality in Lightroom2
Dodge & burn face, liquefy & move hair (bad hair-day!) in Photoshop CS
Output JPG / Save

I guess it's worth it.. Quite a few liked the photo over at clubsnap / potn / flickr. Using it for the above banner, if you didn't notice ;)

Burn Bright

2008-09-28T00:42:00.008+08:00

400D, 17-40L, 23 mm, 1/60, f/4, ISO 800

My Gear

2008-09-27T15:16:00.028+08:00

Some of you might be interested in the gear I use, so here it is.
Do note that all the film gear is handed down from my dad. They were bought in the late 1980s

DSLR & Lenses:
Canon EOS 1D Mark II N
Canon EOS 5D Classic
EF 17-40mm f/4L
EF 50mm f/1.4
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

DSLR Accessories:
Canon Speedlite 580EXII
Canon E1 Hand-Grips
Cotton Carrier Vest & Holster
Blackrapid R-Strap RS4
Domke 1.5" Gripper Strap
Optech USA Pro-Loop Strap

Memory Cards:
2 x 8gb Sandisk CF III card
2 x 2gb Sandisk CF II cards

Film Gear:
Nikon F-801
Nikkor 35-70mm
Sigma 28-105mm
Achiever flash

Filters:
B+W & Hoya UV filters
77mm Hoya CPL
77mm Hoya ND8

Strobist Gear:
Tagotech 60x60cm Ezyfold softbox for hotshoe flash
Impact RF-616 Radio Triggers, Lightstands, Mounts
110cm 5-in-1 Reflector

Camera Support:
Manfrotto 190CX3 Tripod
Kirk BH-3 Ballhead
Manfrotto 680B 3 section Monopod
Canon Tripod (free)

Bags:
Think Tank Photo:
Airport Takeoff
Steroid Speed Belt L
Lens Changer 25
Whip It Out
Lightning Fast

Lowepro Water Bottle Pouch

Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home

Software:
Adobe Photoshop CS4
Adobe Lightroom 2
Discreet 3ds Max 7

Computer:

Apple Macbook:
Intel Core2Duo 2.0ghz
2 x 1GB DDR3 Ram
Nvidia 9400M 256mb shared
160GB Internal 2.5" Hard Drive
320GB Seagate External 2.5" Hard Drive

Desktop:
AMD X2 3800+ Processor @ 2.2ghz (OC'ed)
4x512mb DDR1 Ram
Nvidia 7800GT 256mb
480W PSU
2 x 160gb Internal 3.5" Hard-drives
1 x 640gb WD External 3.5" Powered Hard-drive
Logitech Media Keyboard
Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse
Razer eXactMat Mouse-pad

Previously Owned Gear:

Canon EOS 400D
Canon BG-E3 Batt Grip
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8II

YongNuo Radio Shutter Release for Canon Rebel
Gitai 3 Section Tripod w/ Ballhead
Manfrotto 486RC2 Ballhead
Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod

Impact 43" 2-in-1 Shoot through / Reflective Studio Umbrella

Think Tank Streetwalker Hard-Drive
Lowepro Stealth Reporter D200AW
Lowepro Toploader 75AW
Lowepro Primus AW
Lowepro Lens Case 1W
Lowepro 60AW Pouch

Welcome to ZX Photography

2008-09-27T14:35:00.005+08:00

400D, 85mm f/1.8, f/4, 1/100, ISO200, Strobist: 580EXII 1/4power into reflective umbrella 3m picture left.

Photography: The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces.

Indeed, with the advent of digital sensors, photography has brought in a whole lot of hobbyists. Myself included.

Hello, my name is Zexun. I'm 15, turning 16 this year (2008), and I live in Singapore. Life can get pretty boring in this constant tropical-climate red dot island. But, like all artists, I strive to inject creativity and turn the mundane into something refreshing.

Photography is a lifestyle to me. Before eating a scrumptious meal, I'd photograph it. I'd bring the camera to school, to dinners, to the beach- everywhere!

People call photographers that don't have a specialisation a "jack of all trades". Well, they're half right I guess. I prefer to call myself an Opportunistic Photographer, shooting whatever I see that's interesting when I have a camera. I am trying to get into other genres photography, mainly portraits, macro and maybe some birding (when I get my long lenses, of course).

You can reach me by flickr mail, email, msn, and personal-messages to "Headshotzx" on Clubsnap and Photography-On-The-Net (POTN). Links are to the right.

Cheers,
Zexun
Singapore
tanzexun(at)gmail(dot)com