Flash Class…a family affair {El Dorado County Portrait and Wedding Photographer}

 

I would like to take this time to thank my family for helping me with my assignments for an Electronic Flash class that I just finished up over at Picture Perfect School of Photography.  The class was taught by Bryan Peterson and Charlie Borland online.  I enjoyed the class, but sometimes I felt like my eyes were crossing trying to figure out the “Geeky” part of the class.  However, both instructors were encouraging and willing to answer any questions that we asked.  I also enjoyed seeing the work of other photogs.

The above photo was taken of my youngest son for my last assignment.  I had fun using two flashes on either side of him, which gives a unique look to the photo.  He must have enjoyed it, too, because he’s using this photo as his Facebook profile pic.  He also helped me out on another assignment, below.

I took him over to a small lake located near our house and we shot a couple of photos looking up into the sky.  The flash was used to add a little fill light on the non-sun side of his face. Oh! And here he is again helping me with a two flash set up, again.  He didn’t really have to do anything in this shot except look up when I called to him.  He was busy working on his computer and listening to his music.

My kids are so used to me taking photos of them, that they don’t really notice it too much anymore.  “It’s just something mom does.” Speaking of kids, I caught my daughter yesterday when she came over to use the community pool.  I already had the flashes set up from the Superman shoot that I did with her brother.  So, I just sat her down in our rather embarrassingly sparse grass and asked her to give me a few poses.  She always has people to see and things to do, so I had to make it fast.  We took about 20 photos and it took about 20 minutes from set up to the final snap of my camera.  See, it doesn’t have to be painful.

 

Although, I did not use the below photo for my class, I liked the way it turned out. He’s such a good sport.

 

The last photo was a concept I had in mind and since the Schmautz family always likes to get together and celebrate…it was the perfect opportunity. Luckily, I have a bunch of hams in my family, so this type of shot is not hard to do.

So…I had a great time and learned much in the flash class. If you want to find out what goes on in my household when the fam gets together…check out this Vimeo.

 

Schmautzhaus Father’s Day, 2011

 

 

I would love to make some great portraits of you with my new-found flash skills.  Contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net to set up an appointment.