Portrait of the Photographer

"Why don't you photograph more people?" is something I hear from many of those who follow my photographic journey. Recently a friend from work was the latest to ask if I would consider photographing their wedding. Now I know that there is a lot more to photographing people and there is a lot more to photographing weddings than there is to photographing people. ... but, as I have mentioned here before, I want to advance my photographic skills and do more "people photography".

For me to do this, I really need to learn and become competent with lighting. To that end, I have been adding some lighting gear to what I had already accumulated over the years. With several speedlites, background kit, stands, softboxes, reflectors, beauty dish & grid, remote flash triggers and various other pieces of kit, I have set up a studio area in the basement to facilitate the learning. I feel Strobist will be a close friend for a while and that is a good thing. The strong community around the off camera flash movement will be just what I need to support my efforts ... of course some very good friends, Alan and Grant are very helpful whenever I have questions or need help.

With the "studio" coming into shape, I could not resist some trial shots. The only available victim (model) was "the Photographer". I feel this will be the case for many of my learning sessions, at least in the beginning. One goal ... to have "people" actually request a sitting.

... the result
self portrait 2011-01-26
1/90 s @ f/8
285 @ 1/2
16" beauty dish w/ grid camera left
DJE