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.

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

Attended my first groupshoot last weekend, which also happened to be my first time taking pictures of people. Previously I’d always photographed landscapes, still life, or crowds, but never just one person. The event was located at a really nice, large house in Tustin, with plenty of interesting backgrounds.

This type of photography took me some getting used to, although working with experienced models made things easier, since they all knew what to do without needing much input from me. They were friendly and patient, even though I felt a little unprepared and unsure of how groupshoots worked. The hosts and other photographers were really helpful as well, letting me borrow some of their lights to try out and see what a difference it makes. I ended up doing a few 1 on 1 sessions with Cindy, Dolly, and Francesca while some other photographers helped me out and gave me tips on how to position the lights and getting the camera settings right.

Most of my shooting was done indoors, with natural available light in most places, and borrowed strobes in others.

It was definitely a fun experience though, and I’ll probably be attending another one. I may eventually get some lights of my own too.

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