Circus Vargas 2013

Went to check out Circus Vargas at the Irvine Spectrum this Saturday, bought a front row seat ahead of time so I could get a really good spot. The whole show was a lot of fun, I really loved all the acts they had, especially the new magic acts with disappearing/reappearing people.

Shooting was a bit of a challenge because of the constantly changing lighting. I was initially going to use my 50mm f/1.4 but I switched to the 24-105mm f/4, even though I sacrificed a couple aperture stops. That meant I had to work with a slightly slower shutter speed and higher ISOs, but sitting this close I needed a wider angle to be able to capture some of the larger acts.

Camera: Canon 6D with 24-105mm f/4L IS

Drew & Karl Groupshoot in Corona, Part 2

My third groupshoot this weekend, held the same house as last time. A few more new models this time around, including Anna and Ashlin. Krisana and Kristin from last month were there too. It was another cloudless day with the sun shining down, making everything really bright and hot.

This time I’d bought a light setup (from Paul C. Buff) the week before, so I was able to use it for several indoor shooting sessions. When outdoors, I still used my 580EX II if needed. I also used a 70-200mm lens, to see how much of a difference it would make. And while it certainly was convenient to use outdoors, it turned out to be a bit tricky to use indoors. The long focal length made it a challenge to take full-body portraits sometimes, especially in locations without a lot of room to move around.

And as it turns out, I really like taking pictures of people’s portraits up-close, especially of their eyes. They’re so varied and I love the textures.

Camera: Canon 6D with 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Light: Einstein E640 with 22″ white beauty dish.

Drew & Karl Groupshoot in Corona

I went to my second groupshoot, this time at a house in Corona. This place had an even larger pool, complete with a waterfall and small grotto beneath it. There were a lot of places to shoot in, both indoors and outdoors.

Cindy and Dolly, two models from from last month’s shoot were there again, and there were a few new ones also, such as Krisana and Kristin.

There was a lot more outdoor shooting this time, and the sun was out in full force with no clouds to be seen. Any areas with shade was very welcome, as the sunlight tended to cause a lot of blown out highlights. I’d brought my 580EX II flash with a diffuser dome this time, to see if I could use it as a fill-in flash and it seemed to work well. Not enough to overpower the sun but enough to lighten any spots where the shade would be too dark.

Camera: Canon 6D with 24-105mm f/4L IS

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