My little niece Kristin's pre-prom portrait session. I was asked by her parents if I can snap some pictures before she head out to the prom. Of course, I said sure, and how can I say no to family anyway.....hahaha! 
We had an awesome time at the park and most importantly, I took the opportunity to practice and try a lighting technique that I haven't done in a while. I always took advantage of trying new ideas with my family so when a client calls, I'll be ready. It will be  just a matter of duplicating it and executing the same process.

        OK, let's dive in to the technical stuff about these images. I knew that I wanted to shoot using a shallow depth of field at f1.8 and underexpose the ambient light by a couple of stops, and use a strobe to make my subject stand out. Although it was a bit over cast that day, the sun was still up and it was still pretty bright out. I could try to speed up my shutter speed and hope to under expose that way, but my camera flash sync speed maxes out at 1/200 sec. This is when I used an old technique some photographers have used to overcome this problem. I used a Variable Neutral Density Filter (VND) mostly used by landscape photographers to under expose the available ambient light. I simply set my camera to my desired settings which in this case - 1/200 sec., f1.8, and ISO 100, and I attached the VND filter onto my lens and turned it until I got my desired light value. I then set my strobe to properly expose my subject. 

Read more below to see some more images.

Jim and I just met last year through his brother in law Dom, which is a good friend of mine. Jim being also into photography, we hit it off right off the bat! Along with all his baseball accomplishments, I also admire his creativity and good eye for taking great pictures. He has a great work ethic and he's really passionate on what he does. We were able to collaborate on a few projects while he was still here in the area. I managed to schedule a shoot with him just a few days before he left for spring training. 

James Urban "Jim" Hoey (born December 30, 1982) is an American professional baseball pitcher. He is known mainly for his fastball, which he throws consistently between 95 and 98 mph; he did strike a batter out on a 100 mph fastball while playing for the Bowie Baysox. In addition to the fastball, he throws a slider and changeup. (Wikipedia)

Jim's MLB History:
Milwaukee Brewers - Dec 2012 to present
Toronto Blue Jays - Nov 2011 to Nov 2012
Minnesota Twins - Dec 2010 to Nov 2011
Baltimore Orioles - Jun 2003 to Dec 2010

New Year's Eve 2012. Out of curiosity, we headed down to witness a Hogmanay for the 1st time. Hogmanay is the traditional Scottish name for the celebration that occurs on New Year's Eve. It was definitely an interesting experience. I also met Graham, he played the bag pipe during the celebration.

Here is a basic tutorial on how I shot and posted processed this final image. Before I start, we all know that photography in general is very subjective and there are many ways to achieve a certain look or final result. There is no wrong or right way, create what looks perfect to you. 

The setup: 
Wescott 9x20 white fabric backdrop.
2 Paul Buff Einsteins with large softboxes with diffusion and grids on each side of the subject for edge lighting. 
1 Paul Buff Einstein with a medium octabox with diffusion on a boom directly above camera for fill lighting.
All lights powered with Paul Buff Vagabond mini battery packs.
Strobes triggered with Paul Buff Cyber Commander.
My brother's mattress for the subject's safe landing...lol 

      Ok, so we had Charles do an action kick right on top of the mattress. It is very important to position the lights exactly at the right height to achieve even illumination. I knew that it would take forever to include the ball on the same frame. Instead, I decided to shoot the ball separately. I had my buddy Rob hold a stick so Charles had something to aim at. It worked perfectly.
       First, I opened the RAW file on camera raw. I slightly increased the exposure slider. Make sure to Ctrl+Click (PC) or Cmd+Click (Mac) to open the RAW file on Photoshop as a smart object. This way, you can still come back and tweak the RAW file later if needed. 

        Soccer shoot..... I had the chance to meet and photograph another awesome athlete. Charles Wheaton is currently a 17 year old Professional soccer prospect who plays for the Philadelphia Union U18 Academy Team and a regular U15 and U16 trialist with the U.S. National team. Not yet a full citizen so he can not play for our country. Charles is a senior at Trenton Catholic Academy and plans on attending college in the fall.
        Charles is definitely a cool person and easy to work with. Thanks to my buddy Rob Kroslin for making the shoot happen. 
      

While most of the people were out shopping during Black Friday, I saved my money and stayed home instead. Since my daughter and her cousins were just running around the house all day, I figured, let me put them to work and put their energy into good use. We quickly turned my brother in law's living room into a studio. Setup the strobes against a white backdrop. I couldn't think of any fun title, maybe you guys can write a suggestion under the comments section. Check out some behind the scenes images.  

Whenever he is not throwing 100+ mph fast balls, Jim likes to keep busy by helping other people. I got a call from Jim one day asking if I will be willing to help him with his charity golf tournament. After hearing about his awesome charity, I happily agreed to help out anyway I can.  This event is designed to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and get a group of golfers on the course to have fun. Jim Hoey is truly a great athlete with a great heart.
       I was glad I was able to setup my lights right on the tee box and took a couple portraits of Jim. 

Us photographers are always looking for good quality, natural light. And when we find it, we take advantage of it. I had the opportunity to photograph Julie, Rocco and Molly - a gorgeous couple along with their cute little one. The day was mostly overcast and we only had a short period of time to work with, while the sun is setting quickly. I love the results, enjoy!

    With just a few days after Hurricane Sandy wiped out big areas of New York and New Jersey, Nicole and Tom were one of the few lucky ones that were spared from any serious harm and damages. Our hearts goes out to all the families that were affected and still suffering from the havoc.
     The couple's busy schedule and the sketchy weather has caused us to reschedule their engagement session a few times. So as soon as we saw an opportunity to go out and take some beautiful pictures, we made it happen.

      Since these two people are big sports nutz, the New York Yankees and the New York Giants to be specific. I got the idea to add a little Sports Advertising style of lighting into their shoot. I was very excited leading to this day because I get to use my studio strobes and light modifiers on location.  Thanks to my friend and shooting partner Adrion for helping out with the set up.
       I'm very happy with all the images and I hope you all enjoy them......I can not wait for their wedding week, I'm sure it will be another fun time. Congratulations to Nicole and Tom.

       Just doing some light tests with my daughter Kayla. We were all stuck at home for a few days so why not make the best of it. This is my other style that is geared more towards advertising and commercial work.