JH,
Incredible shots! Makes me think that if I go buy that lens I will get pics like yours. Then I come to my senses and realize it's 20% equipment and 80% the person behind the camera.

Regarding your focusing you mention you use the joy stick to focus. I am assuming you are on a tripod and in "Live View" and manually focus on a spot using the 5x or 10x zoom, no?

Thanks,

Jim

"Then I come to my senses and realize it's 20% equipment and 80% the person behind the camera."

More like 5% - 95%

"I am assuming you are on a tripod and in "Live View" and manually focus on a spot using the 5x or 10x zoom, no?"

No. Handheld, autofocus set to single spot, using the joystick to navigate the 19 focus points inside the viewfinder. I move the focus point to the eye, rather than center focus and recompose. Because I never shoot with a tripod, the chance for error is greatly reduced this way.

The photos are lovely!! but the 100% crop shown is kind of disappointing, looks very blurry and mottled and water colour like

Wow dang... Sometimes I wish my 70-200 @ 200mm can do that... Loved your close up face shots!

Really nice work!

Dawei Ye wrote:
The photos are lovely!! but the 100% crop shown is kind of disappointing, looks very blurry and mottled and water colour like

What crops are you looking at?

Some of these kids look computer generated

You have an amazing skill here. These shots are very inspiring. I do have a question on your lighting though. How did you get the background to underexpose at f/2? Were you shooting late in the day, or using high-speed sync? Even in the shade @ ISO 100 I could never get flash sync speeds at f/2. I would greatly appreciate any info.

"How did you get the background to underexpose at f/2?"

That's the magic of high speed sync. Check out the exif data on each photo. Most were shot well above the 1/250 sync limit. With HSS you can dial in any amount of underexposure for the ambient light for complete control of the background. Note that in most of these, the main light is barely obvious. That's because there's generally no more than 1 stop difference between the flash and the ambient. So the ambient light is the 'fill', and your flash becaomes an infinitely positionable main light - no more waiting for the 'sweet' light. It's now wherever you want it to be.

jh

Great set of portraits! Can you elaborate on your 2-3 light setup? What kind of softbox on the main light? And how are you aiming the hard accent light(s). Thanks!

jhartman wrote:
"How did you get the background to underexpose at f/2?"

That's the magic of high speed sync. Check out the exif data on each photo. Most were shot well above the 1/250 sync limit. With HSS you can dial in any amount of underexposure for the ambient light for complete control of the background. Note that in most of these, the main light is barely obvious. That's because there's generally no more than 1 stop difference between the flash and the ambient. So the ambient light is the 'fill', and your flash becaomes an infinitely positionable main light - no more waiting for the 'sweet' light. It's now wherever you want it to be.

jh

Thanks! I need to rent an STE2 and start experimenting.

I did notice that the main light looked very natural. Even the hard light kickers were not "hard" and created a nice sense of depth. Great set!

"You should post these in the "show your 200/2 shots" thread."

Andrew, I've posted a whole new set of images here:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/765147/4

There's really quite an amazing range of images in the thread.

gearhead5 wrote:
Wow! Will you take my picture?

No joke! Sign me up!

Your years of experience have been put to good use with Canon's finest equipment. These are some of the best images I have ever seen here at FM.

Why have you chosen to use the 200F2 wide open?

What do you use to fire your 580s?

Truly spectacular, John!!!

WmPat wrote:


What do you use to fire your 580s?

He already answered that question.

The lens is awesome but the lighting rocks on all of these.

"Why have you chosen to use the 200F2 wide open?"

Because I can. ;-) Actually, I want a look that is not easily duplicated. No plug-in can create this look. It's not easy, and it's not cheap, which helps keep my style unique. Also, my clients really like this look. And since beauty is in the eye of the checkbook holder, I like it, too.

"What do you use to fire your 580s?"

I use an ST-E2 with RadioPoppers.

" beauty is in the eye of the checkbook holder"

And the congregation said Amen...

The best AF & MTF you can get from a canon pro set. Awesome shots - thanks for sharing.

The runner, and the hoodie girl (though looks like a bit heavy on the shadow/highlight boost) are my favorites.

WebDog wrote:
Grantland wrote:
wow.

if i buy this lens will my pics look this good?
+1

Now these pics are awsome, but I would love to see the same pics taken with a 135/2, using the same lightning and post proc. Admit though those 1:1 crops are gorgeous!

How large must the picture be to see the difference between a 135 and 200?



These are very, very nice portraits. Well done!

I do think you could probably achieve close to the same look with a 135L, though
you' have a little less compression of facial features, but I also admit to never having
shot the 200/2. The bokeh is special.

I think it's mostly your posing and lighting that are paying the bills for you though.
Great skill is the determining factor, but that lens doesn't hurt.

Thanks for posting. My senior portraits weren't even close to these. My photographer
didn't even manage to nail the focus on my formal. .

Great work!

John,
One question: Have you ever shot the 200/2.8L in a similar way, and how did
you like the results? I know the 200/2L is in another league, but I personally
like a little greater depth of field for most of what I shoot, and I'm curious how
close to this look I could get with the (much) cheaper lens [which I already own].

Regards,
Tim

Great photos you have there, but I do have to say, some things are distracting like bra straps and chairs in front of the person. Also on your skin retouching, you blurred some parts and not the others so there is a patch of sharpness where there shouldn't be (no, this wasn't DOF).

Just helping

I'm mighty envious of your skill and gear lineup.

Fantastic photos,
are you using the flashes in ETTL mode or shooting manual with the highspeed sync?
have you had a chance to try out the pocketwizards version of radiopoppers yet?

Any issues with range on the radio poppers one thing holding me back from the wizards are the reduced range with my first gen 580's

very, very nice

that lens sure creates BG separation!
ina couple cases so much it almost looks like a fake cutout pasted onto a backdrop, maybe it's too good