Flash Photography

So I’ve been playing with flash photography and since I’m new at it my model had to be easy to work with and takes instruction easily. So I decided to photograph a Black Labrador Retriever. I do some volunteer puppy training for an organization called Puppies Behind Bars and i was volunteering this past weekend so Sophie was my subject for this photo shoot. She was great model and easy to work with 🙂 For this photo shoot I tried some new toys that I acquired lately like Nikon 105mm, Westcott Apollo Softbox, Nikon SB-900, and Rogue Flash Bender. I also used 24-70mm and SB-600 for a second speed light for some of the photos. For the photographs with just one light the light source was on my right side and I used the Westcott Apollo Softbox on all of the shot. I really like the Westcott Apollo Softbox, it was easy to setup and folds up into almost nothing (folds like an umbrella), very light and I had fun playing with this soft box. The soft box had a silver lining so the flash (the SB-900 in this case) was facing the soft box and the light was reflected. It created a very soft even lighting on my subject. I used both aperture priority and full manual on the camera and on the flash. I was also playing by adding flash with ambient light. I had great time and learned a lot. If you have any question on the photos, equipment and setup just leave a comment or email me. Thanks!

Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
Black Labrador Retriever
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Service Pups

Nikon D80, 42mm, 1/500 sec at f/4.8, ISO 800

I don’t usually shoot photos with people or animals. But I just love this picture. I volunteer for Puppies Behind Bars, which trains drug and bomb detection dogs and psychological service dogs for veterans with PTSD. The amazing part of this program is that the dogs are trained and raised in prison. Dogs are matched with a prisoner who raises them for 12-18 months As a result of the hands-on training, these dogs are very well behaved, trusting and very sweet. On weekends, volunteers, like me, socialize the dogs by taking them around the city. They have service jackets, so they can go places other dogs can’t, like museum, buses and stores. Annabel, the dog in the picture is a 6 month old black lab. The volunteer and the pup were walking around the Time Warner Center and Annabel is curious, but reserved. This photo captures how focused the volunteer and Annabel are on each other. I love this picture because it shows the bond between the pup and the volunteer.

I hope you like the picture as much as I do. Please leave me comments and/or questions.

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