Lou fairground

Lou fairground5, originally uploaded by UrBen Images.

Loving the colours and strong contrast with this pic. So glad we decided to make the most of Goose fair as a backdrop. I really enjoyed this photo shoot. Even though the image originally came out quite dark, a bit of magic in photoshop soon lifted the highlights.

Lou lou CU

Lou lou CU, originally uploaded by UrBen Images.

Had great fun today working with Lou lou. I thought she looked so cool I had to ask her if she fancied a photo shoot. As soon as she realised I wasn’t chatting her up we were fine. I’m so glad I plucked up the courage as we are both really happy with the final result. I achieved this look with one umbrella (to soften the light) to the right of the camera, natural light coming from the window, left of the camera and a macro ring flash mounted on a 100mm macro lens. Finally a little bit of post production in Photoshop to add that final touch. We have already planned our next shoot with the goose fair amusement rides as a backdrop, should be interesting, Lou lou was such a pleasure to work with.

Macro ring flash outdoors

I’ve found that breaking the rules in terms of photography can often produce great results. It helps me if I know what the rules are before I’m breaking them. The macro ring flash was designed for macro photography, however when turned up to full strength I think it can produce some pretty interesting shadowless, even, model type lighting.

Me up close

Me up close, originally uploaded by UrBen Images.

My first award on flickr!

580ex strobist here we come

I am about to enter the world of off-camera flash photography. Anyone also interested should visit strobist.com for some really useful tips and info