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.
Read detailsThis was by third photoshoot with Black Ink Crew Chicago star Katrina Jackson. Stylist and art director Stephanie Alexis wanted to create a sexy wet look which I married with a behind-the-scenes looking images shot on a Gravity Backdrop and paired with a Mole-Richardson 1000 Watt Baby Fresnel on location at Lacuna Artist Lofts.
Read detailsJefferson’s high cheek bones and dazzling hazel eyes are makes striking close ups a piece of cake. I lit the image above with a 60″ Photek Softlighter II Umbrella (review) and then edged out west with a 3′ Profoto RFI Octabox.
Read detailsShooting the album cover for Chicago singer Marcus Matteo’s debut EP Break Free was fun to say the least. It must have been the first time I photographed someone cutting off their own clothes.
Read detailsNew York Dancer Gabriel King hired me specifically to execute the look above after he saw images online from my photoshoots with Gravity backdrops.
Read detailsMy friend and fellow Chicago photographer Jeff Haynes tried to get me to join Instagram over two years ago, but I didn’t and boy was I wrong! That’s how I met Fitness model Tristin Johnson, who was the first person I worked with from the platform.
Read detailsFeature Photo Service, a public relations photography firm, hired me to shoot a series of images for the office sharing company WeWork to help promote their new Chicago-River North Location. This assignment provided me with an opportunity to create a series of HDR (high dynamic range) architectural images of the companies interior. The images were there shared with and published by local media like the Chicago Tribune:
Read detailsChicago actor Isaias Perez is the second model I found on Instagram who I have worked with on a headshot photoshoot. I’m not going to lie, it was his hair that drew me in. I knew immediately he would be perfect for some catalog style suit photos as well as standard actor headshots on a white background.
Read detailsWe started off our headshot photoshoot with Chicago Fitness Model Isaac McKinley doing a 4 light look that was a mix of hard and soft light modifiers on Profoto D1 Air 500 Monolights. The main light was a hard source created by a CheetahStand 48″ RiceBowl RB-120 Deep Para with their Chopstick zooming rod.
Read detailsWhen 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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