Against All Odds - Profoto B2 Review

In my short few years as a photographer, I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of things that many do not have the ability to see. On the same token, I’ve also been in quite a few perilous weather situations fighting the odds. In this profession, there are so many positions and people involved to capture a professional advertising campaign, re-scheduling due to weather costs a lot of money. So, it’s my job to take what’s given and make lemonade from a lemon. In other words, I make it work. 

During my stay in Las Vegas for WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Conference and Expo), I met with David Crewe of the educational brand Phlearn to discuss a fun and laid back photoshoot in Red Rock Canyon. 24 hours later, we had a beautiful model Nanako Hawley, a gorgeous parachute dress from Lindsay Adler and Dream Shoot Rentals and the brand new Profoto B2 system which had only been introduced hours before.

I had no inclination of how to use the system and to be honest, I was quite skeptical. I have been a loyal Profoto user since 2012. I love my D1 500 set and when Profoto introduced the B1, I was floored and was definitely into it. Then Profoto announced the new lightweight B2 head and pack. I was excited, but was disappointed when I saw the native battery pack and looked at the power specifications… it was only 250w/s. 

That skepticism all changed when we left the canyon.

As we came over the ramp and looked out to the top of the canyon we could see some severe cloud cover. I was worried, but ready to face the elements. Once we entered Red Rock Canyon and began to drive up the mountain, we soon realized we were in for a real treat. The cloud moved overhead and we started to notice small pellets of ice smacking the window. Before long, we were trapped in a dramatic hail storm with freezing winds and soaking wet conditions. But, we weren’t giving up. Once we reached out destination and setup, we realized that this would be a very short shoot. The temperature was near freezing and the wind was strong. A stream of rain and hail continuously beat down on us.

Despite the nasty conditions, we dove in and began snapping shots with little zero testing and pre-lighting. I fumbled around with the Profoto Air Remote and the B2 Battery Pack until I found a suitable setting. But, by the time we pinned the dress and began getting what we wanted the beautiful mountains had completely disappeared in cloud cover, I knew we had to move. After a brief second set, I called the shoot and we headed back to the car. We could barley feel our hands, I was covered in mud and Nanako needed to get warm. For the first time in a long time, I was disappointed and felt completely inadequate. I didn’t have time to acclimate to the B2 system and the weather had just got the best of us.

We packed our gear and hit the road with full intention of leaving the canyon. As we headed out and down the mountain, the hail had stopped and suddenly we hit a patch of dry area. I asked to stop the car and capture another quick set, luckily everyone was on board. I was ecstatic. We unloaded and began breaking out all of the gear. Our clothes were soaked so we striped off our wet jackets and hung them over cacti. The sun was slightly peaking through the clouds and I had a beautiful clear background; I could finally relax and enjoy the shoot.

The Profoto B2 Kit turned out to be a lifesaver for myself and my assistant Jacob. The B2 head is about a third of the size of a B1 head and it weigh’s less than a Canon 600EX-RT Speedlight. The battery pack is about the size of a macaroni and cheese box and weighs much less than a Paul C Buff Mini-Vagabond or any lithium battery pack. The portability and quick-to-setup system helped save time and gave us the ability to move sets with zero hassle. I shot most of the images at half power which was plenty for a nice balance of ambient and artificial. The pack was easy to use and navigate as the buttons are clear and simple. Since the B2 head was running on battery, I was worried about the recycle time and potential misfiring. Well, there was zero recycle time and I didn’t have one single misfire. Call me impressed.

Near the end of the shoot, I started messing around with the Air Remote controls and my camera settings. Almost instantly, I figured out how to achieve High Speed Sync and suddenly the game changed for me. I was able to bring down the ambient level of the sky and still maintain my depth of field. I captured every shot at 1/1000 shutter speed. This was my first time ever using High Speed Sync and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a strobe and more.

Finally satisfied and confident with the results, we packed up and hit the road back to the Vegas strip for a hot shower and a cold beer. Excitement was in the air and both my assistant Jacob and I were enthralled with the B2 system. My skepticism had been left at the canyon. The Profoto B2 system is real deal. if you need proof, just scroll down and watch.

Special Thanks to Chris Fain with Profoto, Lindsay Adler with Dream Shoot Rentals & David Crewe with Phlearn for all the help and assistance with making this shoot happen.

CamRanger: An Essential Tool For Capturing Creativity

When I first heard of the product in October of 2012 in New York City at PhotoPlus Expo I was immediately intrigued.

I don’t actually own a laptop, so tethering to an iPad tablet has been a long awaited process with trial and error. My first experience was with the Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card; a memory card you place in your camera, the card transmits a wireless signal and supposedly you connect to that signal source, boom, your tethered. Except it didn’t really work. Even set to low-res JPEG, transfer times were grossly long. Also, conflicting signals would constantly kick the connection. Among the many times I tried to make it work, it actually performed as it should, twice.

When I saw the CamRanger and all it could do, I was severely skeptical. However, I couldn’t help the excitement. I pushed for Outdoor Photo Gear to stock the product and as soon as the demo’s arrived I grabbed one and went to work. What I found was not only a flawless tether and transfer but also a multitude of options and control. I’ve had it for nearly 6 months now and it’s become such a crucial piece of gear that I’ve had to actually rely on it, both for capture and client.

HARDWARE

It’s all a very basic setup. The physical CamRanger is a palm size white dongle that connects to your camera via USB cable. That device then creates a wireless signal which your iPad, Android, Laptop or PC can connect to and there is no need for an existing internet connection. The free application, which CamRanger offers with the purchase, provides complete control of your camera and I mean complete control. The device is provided with a padded black satchel to carry or clip the device to your belt or tripod. The CamRanger runs on a rechargeable and replaceable battery, which will run 12 hours of usage before requiring a charge.

SOFTWARE

After registering the software with the dongle, the app opens to a very clean interface, with extreme ease of use. On the right, my camera settings, I can switch into live view or focus and even fire my shutter. On the top menu I can easily switch to bracketing, focus stacking and even time lapse, all with one touch. Diving deeper into options, the ability to rate images and even make notes has become a really exciting feature for clients. Transfer time is quick, If your shooting RAW + JPEG CamRanger will only download the JPEG and transfer time can run about 3-5 seconds. If you shoot in Continuous, simply turning off the feature “Auto Thumbnails” will prevent the build up of images downloading. However, the images don’t actually download to your iPad, they are simply “streamed” right from your memory card. With that said, it’s more of a viewing and control platform than tethering system, which I’m perfectly fine with. After all, who would really want to re-touch a set of images on their iPad with their finger? Not me. 

ON LOCATION

I was hired to shoot a cover feature for a Louisville publication called NFocus Louisville. They wanted to put a unique aesthetic on Louisville’s theater and arts community and wanted a massive group shot, but not your traditional group shot. Knowing the dimensions of the large format cover and weighing in options, I threw out the idea of shooting the actors and their “characters” from directly overhead on a theater floor. With the help from creative director Gunnar Deatherage we formulated a plan and scouted Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center For Performing Arts. 

During the scout, I was sort of taken aback by the fact I was walking on the stage of which I had seen a number of touring Broadway shows. The stage was huge and lighting was plentiful. Luckily, they had a great staff who led us on the few catwalks hanging over the stage, some 60 feet over head. However, the catwalks were not completely overhead, so we made arrangements to use a combination of a lift and boom stand on the stage floor. I wasn’t completely confident that we could make it work, but one thing I did know is that I could fire my camera remotely with ease and could see the results in real-time.

The day of the shoot, we arrived early to setup. I began explaining what I wanted in the image with Terry, a staff production and lighting engineer. I described my gear list and we came up with the brilliant idea of rigging my camera to one of the lighting poles which could be lifted directly overhead. I was ecstatic and that is exactly what we did. With the help of some gaffers tap, metal rods and a few security lines including the Vulture Equipment Works A4 camera strap, we rigged the camera to point straight down. Lastly, I secured the CamRanger to the camera and set my focal length to 35mm as Terry lifted it 60 feet.

I switched on the iPad and set the CamRanger to live view, we went to every 4 corners and marked position with white gaff tape. This would be where the actors and actresses would lay. As long as they we’re inside the “zone”, they would be properly framed. Once the camera was rigged Terry brought up the house lights to 90%. Although it was flat light, it was more the enough to fill and provide a well lit shot. I fired a few test shots with the CamRanger app and everything was displaying as it should, I tweaked a few settings including ISO and shutter then “radioed” over to Gunnar to escort the subjects in. I headed up to the catwalk overhead to get an idea of posing.

As we began situating the group into their positions, we’d have to carefully move people around to make clothing, shape and their character pose work with the next person. We wanted it to resemble a child who had laid out his or her action figures on the ground. Not perfect, but organized. Once everyone was set I traveled back down to the stage floor and began snapping away.

You could hear the shutter fire every time I touched the “Capture” button in the CamRanger app. I switched to Continuous Mode, again right from the app, and rattled off a series of bursts to guarantee I had an image. The shoot wrapped to applause and the publication was floored and very happy with the results!

I went back to Whitney Hall for a second shoot the following week and struck up a conversation with the production head, Peter Bell. He was the one that suggested shooting from the catwalk and we shared a laugh as he said; “Well, I didn’t know you had this fancy technology to shoot from your iPad!”.

As I shook his hand and walked out, I smiled to myself and a warmth of pride came over me.

OVERALL

With any type of photograph you may be attempting to capture, this is a wonderful tool to guarantee you’re getting the shot right. I’ve showed the CamRanger to many photographers and every photographer that has used it or has seen me use it in action, has purchased one. I foresee it becoming one of those “essential” accessories in every photographers bag.

If you’re a photographer and have any questions regarding the CamRanger system, feel free to email me at info@claycookphotography.com

SUMMER SIZZLE

Things are moving at a pretty fast pace these days. I have so much work I’ve shot and most of it being publication work, I have to wait… and wait for release. Nevertheless, a shoot like this comes along and its quite the opposite. Shoot, Edit, Share. Time is everything.

Chris Caswell contacted me a month or two ago to shoot another campaign for Heyman Talent Agency. The last campaign was such a success and so much fun, I immediately cleared my schedule and agreed.

Not only would the advertisement be for Heyman, but also a portfolio piece for the 6 models that are set to head north to New York City for agency meetings at the end of June. Planning started immediately and we came up with several ideas and locations. It wasn’t easy by any means! We went back and forth on who was apart of the team, where we would shoot it and what date the shoot would be scheduled on.

That seems to always be the hardest part, it’s never the execution, its simply the planning beforehand to make it happen. After a week or two and a couple of meetings we finally landed on a date and had our team in place. But, location was still up in the air. First, we had our eyes on a rock quarry on the east end of the city, then we had plans to shoot at a beautiful poolside location called Lakeside, both turned out to be broken leads. Chris finally made the executive decision and set the location to a remote part of Waterfront Park. Honestly, I wasn’t confident we could make it work, but, we had to make the best of it. 

Since Heyman Talent photographer and coach Chris Kaufman would be on board and on location, whom mentored young stars like Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence and Nicole Scherzinger famed Pussycat Dolls, we reached out to WHAS11; a local news channel to potentially cover the shoot. It wouldn’t be the most enthralling news in the world, but future stars and any news about J-Law can attract an audience quickly. The bouncing of dates and locations made scheduling a live report nearly impossible to plan. Nevertheless, after a plethora of emails, in the end we were able to get a crew out to film the shoot and work a couple of interviews.

Day of the shoot; I woke up worried about rainy weather, I went to bed worried about the deathly sunburn I had received as a result of the head pounding sun. The day was flawless and everything went off without a hitch. We managed to squeeze in two very different sets on the Waterfront without the result looking as if we were actually in a park.

For months I’d been eyeing a Westcott Scrim Jim and it finally arrived a few days before the shoot. I was anxious beyond belief to break it out on a hot mid-summer day, this was perfect opportunity. The 2-3 stop silk created a gorgeous overhead light and its the sole reason these image came out as they did.

The entire team played a crucial part in the success of the day. I want to personally thank the fantastic team we had on board that day, as well as a special thanks to Cheryl Franck who brought in a king’s feast of food for the models and staff.

Below, I display the side by side comparison of the SOOC version and the edited version. This is a composite image and I spent a lot of meticulous time with the highlights and color.

PEG BOARD CHALLENGE

Many of my blog posts start of with philosophical statements or they dive right into a backstory, but this time around I’ll be breaking the trail and venturing into technical details. If your not a striving professional photographer, then this post probably won’t keep your interest.

The shoot came out of left field. A student from Manual High School, Meg, touched base with me about doing a photo journalism project on my photography. I was both flattered and delighted. I immediately started planning a shoot that would fit within Meg’s deadline. Several days later, we had a shoot booked and plans in place. I took the opportunity of a fashion forward shoot to experiment and try some new lighting techniques that had been on the back of my mind. Several months ago, I happened on a photograph in which the photographer used industrial peg board to build a set and shoot light through the holes. The images were pretty poor, but the idea was definitely there. I wanted to take the idea, put it in the realm of fashion photography and expand on it.

I stopped by Home Depot and stumbled onto 3 decent size peg board sheets. I knew I needed something large but also mobile. So, I decided to create a 3 piece section using hinges, so I could fold it to fit in my car. The construction took every bit of 3 hours to piece together, but once the assembly was complete, my confidence was raised.

Day of the shoot. The models arrived and styling began immediately. Meg showed up and I made introductions then started working on my setup. I kept my cool, but was slightly frantic. Everything was improvised, first thing was first; I didn’t exactly know how I would hang the peg board to cover the 3 quarter portion of the models body. So, I went to the first thing that came to my brain, duct tape. Fortunately, Josh had some white duct tape laying around. I setup a background set and duct tape the center sheet to the horizontal bar. Then set up stands on the corners to hold the remaining weight.

I knew I needed to shoot light through the board, so I started with bare bulb Alien Bee B800 strobes bouncing of the parallel walls for a wide span of light. First test shot, nothing. The light simply wasn't wide enough to pour light through every hole and not nearly powerful enough. So I turned the lights around directly to the back of the board, it worked, but I only had a 14 inch diameter of spotlight coming through. So I started messing with modifiers to cover a greater area.

An hour into hair/makeup I was still locking in light. I had finally landed on a large Octobox and small softbox to cover the right side of the peg board, this would be my main source of lighting. Behind the center sheet and left sheet I placed two large stripboxes for fill. 

My next challenge was key light. I messed with grids, bare bulbs and even beauty dishes in front of the boards. Granted it was perfectly exposed and looked great, but it really washed out the back lighting and nothing was creating the drama I wanted. So, out of pure experimentation, I setup a 30-inch silver reflector in attempt to bounce all the back-lighting to the subject, just like that I had the drama I wanted. But there were still several issues…

Because of the shape of the octobox, the entire right side was peering out from behind the peg boad and created some nasty blow out highlights. So I taped a double thick white diffuser on the right side of the octobox to reduce the light and it worked perfectly.

After every bit of two hours messing with the power levels and diffusion of the strobes through the peg board, I had it tested and ready to go. Conveniently, as I locked in the lighting, the models were ready to rock. 

The first set, absolutely rocked. I gave myself a pat on the back and was proud of the setup. I knew it would require some slight post processing, but I was very happy with what I was seeing on my camera. By the second set, I knew I was forgetting something… fog. My original intent was to have the lights gleam through the peg board and have a mysterious aura about them with fog rising from below. Instead, I got a much better result. A consistent washed out look that couldn’t be done with post processing. The fog acted as a natural diffuser that played in my favor.

This what I was seeing on the back of my camera. This shot is 100% straight out of camera with ZERO editing:

As we blazed through sets, I began experimenting with the position of the stripboxes and changed it up many times. However, the bulk of the final images used the exact setup throughout. The styling really played a crucial role in the look of the images. I’m so happy with the team we had that day, the images shined because of everyone’s part in the shoot. I think Meg walked away with a fun understanding of how we spend our days with lights, models and makeup.

We closed the evening with another set in which I solely used two lights with stripboxes. A true experimentation, but that’s for another day.

I use shoots like this to both challenge myself as a photographer and also to find new unique ways to use artificial lighting. Many photographers get stuck using the standard 3 light setup and get wrapped up in client work to much to have fun. I’ve learned to step away and use opportunities like this to step outside the box.

Everything was captured on video by photographer and now videographer, Josh Eskridge. Check out the behind the scenes video below to grasp a bit more of the actual peg board challenge.