How I rig my Canon Cinema EOS C70. Plus, What’s in my new Tenba Cinelux 24 bag!
Moving over to my new Tenba Cinelux 24″ Shoulder Bag and how my rig my Canon C70
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Why you should tether plus troubleshooting in C1 and Lightroom Classic
Whether you’re a commercial photographer, a headshot photographer or just trying to perfect your lighting in the studio, tethering is a great way to elevate your work, keep your clients happy and increase sales.
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The new Elinchrom One is a 131ws battery powered monolight with HHS & TTL
In this review I will go over the specs and my experience using the One, Elinchrom’s first battery powered monolight which is capable of 725 full powered flashes (131 watt-second) on one charge, TTL & HHS.
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Why I did a 180 when it comes to using a tripod for studio portrait photography
Slowing down and being deliberate can be the key to improving your work and precision framing can reduce time wasted in post.
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Whats in my bag: Moving my lights to the Tenba 3220w from the Pelican Storm iM2975
Watch as I move my lighting gear and accessories from the Pelican Storm iM2975 to the Tenba Transport Air Case Attache, 3220W
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Hard light shootout: Parabolic vs. beauty dishes for headshots
I wanted to test out which hard modifier I prefer for headshots while comparing three Mola Beauty Dishes with a Parabolix 35D.
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$300 512GB CFexpress Cards for the the Canon R5 8K RAW Video
NKI Kenetic asked me if I would be interested in trying out and reviewing their 512gb CFexpress Type B memory cards for Canon EOS R5. So they sent me two of them to keep and after a month or so of using them, I made this video.
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11 must haves that every photo studio needs!
11 Studio must haves, oops I forgot about a clothing rack, steamer and speaker.
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Why I don’t like to be on camera. Plus three great interview lighting setups for video using Nanlites
Three ways to light an interview and finding the best lighting for your subjects face.
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MEMBER EXCLUSIVE: How to mount a canvass backdrop to a tube and then a background stand
Today were going to go over how to mount a canvass backdrop with gaffer tape to a PVC tube so you can easily hang it from a background stand.
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MEMBER EXCLUSIVE: Elinchrom Litemotiv 120 review, Parabolic softboxes are truly better
I bought this modifier 2 years ago and I didn’t really know what I had until I tested it against my other modifiers and proved it has unique capabilities. Especially, when I removed the diffusion and put in a deflector disc, turning it into a giant beauty dish.
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Behind-the-scenes of my YouTube Set-up
I wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes look at my YouTube setup, including all of the gear I use to make my videos.
Nanlite provided me with these lights and modifiers. However, after using them, I decided to sell most of my Aputure gear and buy more Nanlite products.
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4 Ways to Hang a Backdrop including a corner and all the hardware you need to do it!
In this video I go over all of the hardware you might use to hang a paper or canvas backdrop, including stands, wall mounted racks and how to use two matching backgrounds to form a corner.
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MEMBER EXCLUSIVE: Do you need to buy the Elinchrom Bridge? Control up to 20 lights individually or simultaneously
The new Elinchrom Bridge device allows you to speed up your workflow by controlling the brightness, modeling light, recycle time, photocell, and beep right from your phone or computer through the Skyport system. Then when you have everything dialed in you can save all of your settings and load them later.
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How to use C-Stands & Other Hardware essentials in your studio
Today were going to cover everything you need to know about c-stands including some really cool hardware for the studio.
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Soft boxes, parabolic modifiers and umbrella shootout! Which modifier for perfect portrait lighting?
Over the last 20 or so years, I have acquired about 20 different softboxes, but I have never actually sat down and tested them out in the studio, one at at a time, to determine the quality of light produced by each modifier when shooting portraits.
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Canon EOS R5 Six Months Later – Follow-up and Updated Review
After owning the Canon EOS R5 mirrorless camera for six months, I wanted to update you on my experience with the camera as a commercial studio portrait photographer and an occasional videographer.
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Do parabolic soft boxes make a difference? Do they create narrower, more focused soft light?
For the last few years, often times, I have used a parabolic style soft box as a main light. Last year I mentioned in a video that I liked using it because its quite directional and I feel like I can use this property to better control light. Some people disagreed with me, so I made this video to examine if it really is more directional than standard soft boxes.
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Which Mola for your moolah? Comparing three different beauty dishes during a portrait photoshoot
Three years ago I bought a Mola Setti and Rayo 15″ beauty dishes, because I wanted to upgrade from my Profoto Silver Softlight. While it was a step-up, I had no idea what I really had until I tested them a few weeks ago against my friends Mola Demi with an Opal diffusion disc.
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My 2020 holiday photography gift guide
I wanted to share with you guys my top 10 favorite pieces of cool gear that I added to my kit in 2020!
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Sharpest 85mm lens for Canon R5 RF 85mm f2 Macro v RF 1.2 L USM v EF Sigma Art 1.4 EOS Review
After watching several YouTube Reviews where people only shot these lenses at f2, I decided to make a review where we test everything from f1.2 to f16 while shooting Portraits of a model in my studio.
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TRIGGER WARNING BOKEHOLICS: Three reasons why prime lenses are not just for bokeh.
In today’s video we’re gonna talk about why prime lenses are not just for bokeh.
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UPLOAD 4K Does medium format really out preform 35mm? Hasselblad H1XD II, Canon EOS R5, Nikon D850 -RAW files
We’ve all heard that medium format is better than 35mm, but is it really true? The purpose of this review was to test the cameras’ performance when resolving subtle color and detail sharpness while shooting a still life bouquet pf flowers. It’s not scientific but more practical.
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How to set up the Hasselblad X1D II 50C medium format mirrorless for studio portrait photography
I tested Hasselblad’s 50MP mirorrless camera in the studio and put it though its paces for about a month. Here is how I set it up.
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Hasselblad X1D II 50C Full Review: how the medium format mirrorless camera preforms in the studio
I tested Hasselblad’s 50MP mirorrless camera in the studio and put it though its paces next to the 45 megapixel Canon EOS R5 while shooting portraits and flowers.
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Full Review of the Canon EOS R5 for Commercial and Portrait Photographers switching from the 5DIV
After using the R5 for a full month as a professional commercial studio and portrait photographer, who shoots some video, I have decided to fully switch from the 5D Mark IV. It took me a while to test everything from auto focus, to tethering to video (including overheating) and how to get the best color out of the new RAW files. This video also covers post production in DPP (Digital Photo Professional), Lightroom and Capture One 20. Please see a full summary of the time line below.
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What’s in my bag? Moving from ThinkTank to Billingham
Watch as I unbox my new Billingham 445 camera bag and move out of my old Think Tank Photo Retrospective 30 2.0 messenger bag.
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Part II: Canon EOS R5 Settings for Video – Filmmaking
I wanted to share with you how I setup my Canon EOS R5 for videography. This video will take a deep-dive into the settings and features of the first Canon professional mirrorless camera and include detailed info for people who are new to video.
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Part I: Canon EOS R5 Settings for Studio Photography – Complete Guide
I wanted to share with you how I setup my new Canon EOS R5 as a commercial studio photographer. My last camera was a 5DIV, so this video will take a deep-dive into the settings and features of the first Canon professional mirrorless camera and how it compares to its DSLR predecessor.
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Do CFexpress cards cause Canon EOS R5 overheating? Tested w/ Atomos Shogun + BG-R10 grip & batteries
I wanted to test is the CF Express or SD cards cause the new Canon EOS R5 to overheat when recording externally, plus I wanted to explore if leaving the camera’s screen on while recording causes the camera to overheat.
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Don’t use Electronic Shutter with a Canon EOS R5 – Sports Photography Autofocus Test – Football
I wanted to test out the auto focus capabilities of the new mirrorless camera with a real world test featuring the EF 400mm f2.8 IS II USM.
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Canon EOS R5 – First Impressions and Behind-the-Scenes on a Studio Portrait Test photoshoot
I got to play with my new camera on a Portrait shoot and the new eye and face detection auto focus rocks!
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Unboxing the BG-R10 Grip for the new Canon EOS R5 mirrorless camera
I just got the grip and camera, which will replace my 5DIV. I will have a full review soon!
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Unboxing the Canon EOS R5
I just got the camera and my first shoot starts in an hour! I will have an intial reaction video and a full review soon!
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Light meters: How flash meters can speed up your workflow and help you properly expose your images
When the topic of light meters comes up, many photographers are surprised to learn that I used them. While TTL and trial and error can be an effective way to nail an exposure, nothing can be more effective than manually and precisely dialing in your lights before fine tuning them on screen.
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The hard truth about softboxes
Breaking down how I use my 14 softboxes to modify my lights during my photoshoots
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Review: Elinchrom’s new ELC 500 Monolight, HHS, TTL, and an LED Modeling Light
Elinchrom’s new studio flash adds High Speed Sync (HSS) and TTL to the manufactures compact monolight plug-in-the wall line-up. A technology pairing that was previously only offered with their battery powered ELB 500.
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RocknRoller Multi-Cart R12STEALTH – Stealthy solution for a simple task
At the end of 2019, I purchased a RocknRoller Multi-Cart R12STEALTH. It’s called Stealth because everything on the cart is black. The casters and the main wheels are larger than the Rock N Roller Multicart Model R8 and the cart sits a little taller. But these design improvements don’t take up a lot more space when the cart is folded.
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Am I a good photographer or am I just projecting?
Projecting patterns on your subjects and backgrounds with an optical snoot can be a fun way to boost your creativity and freshen your feed!
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Which cameras and lenses should you use for portrait photography?
People always ask me which cameras and lenses I use. Here are the answers!
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How I travel with my photography / lighting gear
How I travel with my Elinchrom lighting gear, including my ELC500 Pro HD monolights, ELB400 and Quadra Ranger. Plus a ton of modifiers using Pelican and SKB cases.
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How to Fix Your RocknRoller MultiCart’s Top Shelf
Modifying a RocknRoller MultiCart R8 so the top shelf, Quick Set Shelf, assembles with ease in seconds rather than minutes when you get to your photoshoot.
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Hardware Studio: equipment that will make your photo studio hum!
Everyone has a light stand, even make up artists. Some photographers have boom arms but when you really want to refine your work, or make your life easier in the studio easier you’ll need an arsenal of hardware. And for the most part I am not talking about the durable goods you can pick up at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
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A garbage can full of modifiers, that’s perfectly normal right?
Let’s pretend for a moment I am sitting inside a reality show confession booth. Instead of disparaging the other characters on the show, I’m going to disparage myself (not really, actually. In my garage I have a garbage can full of modifiers. It looks like an episode of Hoarders in miniature, only instead of holding on to teddy bears and half-full beer cans, I collect things that make hard light look soft and in turn, make me look good.
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What ARE those lights I keep putting in my photos…
One of the most popular questions I am asked is: what are those lights in the background of my portraits? Aside from the one time that I used a Profoto Monolight unsuccessfully, every other occurrence I can recall featured a vintage light designed by Mole-Richardson.
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Powering a Canon C200 with Gold Mount Brick Batteries
After picking myself up off the floor following my discovery of the sticker price for Canon’s C200 batteries, I decided to look at other options. I have seen people using V-Mount and Anton Bauer Gold Mount batteries for while, but they remained a mystery to me until push came to shove once my new camera was on its way.
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Upgrading to the Canon C200 (Test Footage) from the C100 and 1DX Mark II
I recently purchased the new Canon C200 and decided to shoot some test footage to compare it with the Canon C100.
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Broncolor Siros 800 S v Profoto D1 500 AIR Review
The first time I showed my old assistant my Profoto D1 Air 500 Monolights he remarked how sexy they were…. that’s all he kept saying… “these lights are so f&*king sexy!” I can only imagine his sophomoric reaction if he got his hands on the more attractive Broncolor Siros, which comes in multiple flavors from the battery powered 400ws and 800ws Siros L to the 400ws and 800ws Siros S.
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Elinchrom vs Profoto: Why I Own 4 Octaboxes
If you were expecting a side-by-side head-to-head comparison of these modifiers, this review is not for you. Over the course of 10 or so years I have owned 6 different octaboxes made by Profoto, Elinchrom and Photoflex. I will discuss below why I changed horses midstream to arrive at where I am today and how I felt about using each modifier.
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The Photek Softlighter II Umbrella… the Best $115 You’ll Ever Spend
When I received a Photek Softlighter II for Christmas in 2015, it quickly became one of my most treasured tools. I first became aware of this miraculous modifier when I discovered my favorite photographer, Art Streiber’s work on Instagram and I noticed him using a ten sided umbrella while shooting Placido Domingo for Vanity Fair. I loved the way it looked and rather than just asking him in a comment what he was using, I went on a day long journey to find it and once I did I never looked back.
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Does using a Profoto Glass Cover D1 Frosted dome or a Acute / Pro head make a difference?
Test results & review showing if using a Profoto Glass Cover dome or a Profoto Acute or Pro head makes a difference compared to using a D1 500 air monolight head.
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It’s Christmas in March – New Cameras!
It’s an exciting day! Right before I left town I got a call from Adorama saying two Canon 5D Mark III cameras were on their way and now they are here!It’s an exciting day! Right before I left town I got a call from Adorama saying two Canon 5D Mark III cameras were on their way.
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