38 Responses to “Father & Son :: Turning The Strobes Off! ::”

1. Joe Reed, on November 21st, 2008 at 10:47 am Said:

   Great shots window light shots Zack. Love the feeling of the second shot and the B&W conversion is excellent. Well done as always.

2. Bliss, on November 21st, 2008 at 11:00 am Said:

   Love them!! All of them!!

3. Andy Schwartz, on November 21st, 2008 at 11:05 am Said:

   These are stunning! I love the last one. I am so jealous of your windows Zack.

4. matt miller, on November 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am Said:

   wow. that natural light is PERFECT!

5. Clayton, on November 21st, 2008 at 11:35 am Said:

   You nailed these Zack. Great work! Can’t wait to hear more about the new studio.

6. daryl brewton, on November 21st, 2008 at 11:36 am Said:

   Awesome images. Very cool as always!
   Colors popping! They look great!

7. Photo News Today » Blog Archive » Father & Son :: Turning The Strobes Off! ::, on November 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pm Said:

   [...] Source and Read More: zarias.com [...]

8. steven noreyko, on November 21st, 2008 at 1:08 pm Said:

   Me likey the blue background shot. Great texture.

   Zack – do you notice the 105 f2 is way more awesome wide-open with the full-frame sensor (of the D3)? I love the look I get with my D100/D200, but I figure the focus fall-off would be much better with full-frame.

9. Ken Falk, on November 21st, 2008 at 1:14 pm Said:

   These are simply outstanding, well done. What are your thoughts on the D3 AF system?

10. zack, on November 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm Said:

    @Steven – I love it much more on a FF sensor.

    @Ken – Other than the AF points not extending to the edges of the viewfinder, I love the D3 focus system.

    Nikon really has the best AF system on the market. I don’t mean to bash Canon, but I have stood side by side with many a Canon shooter at workshops and I can lock on in a lot of low light situations where Canon can’t.

    Cheers,
    Zack

11. Tim, on November 21st, 2008 at 3:41 pm Said:

    Zack, the Black and White photos in this post and the Elekta post are outstanding. What are you doing to get such awesome conversions? Great work, glad to see you posting again and can’t wait to see the finished studio.

12. zack, on November 21st, 2008 at 4:13 pm Said:

    @Tim – The B&W conversions are typically done in LR. For the Elekta post below I did those in Photoshop with the B&W image adjustment in CS3. I use the default settings with that tool.

    I always find that the contrast drops when I convert a color image in either LR or PS so I always give the image a boost of contrast in either levels or curves. Levels if I just need to adjust the shadows. Curves if I need to tweak the shadows and midtones.

    Cheers,
    Zack

13. Janine, on November 21st, 2008 at 8:58 pm Said:

    Beautiful portraits Zack.
    Can’t wait to see some images of the studio…must be exciting!

    Cheers,
    Janine.

14. Erik Miguel, on November 21st, 2008 at 10:22 pm Said:

    I really think the last two images have awesome color combos and facial expressions, great job.

15. Justin Evans, on November 22nd, 2008 at 2:00 am Said:

    Hey Zack,

    Awesome work here.

    What kind of reflectors do you use? I’ve always wanted to have available light shots that look like this. Was there a lot of light, I assume? Did you do much tweaking in Lightroom to get your pictures to “pop”? I’d love to hear more about your technique if you have a chance.

    Thanks,
    Justin

    P.S. I know you’ve heard this from dozens of people already, but I’ve watched my OneLight DVDs several times now and still get something out of them. It’s truly been a wealth of information for me and helped me take my photography places I never imagined! Thanks so much!

16. zack, on November 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 am Said:

    @Justin – I have a 60″ pop-up reflector on a stand. One side is silver, one side is white. I typically use the silver side. I also have 2 4×8 sheets of foam core that are scored down the middle on the long side so that they can be slightly bent and stand up on their own. Those make pretty nice reflectors.

    I wouldn’t say that I do “a lot” of post on them in LR but my RAW images are never ready to deliver right out of the camera.

    I adjust highlights and shadows first. I make sure I’m not clipping any information in the highlights or very little at least. I don’t want to see any channels blowing out in the skin for sure. Then I make sure there is a deep pure black somewhere in the photo. My files tend to come out very flat from the camera so the shadows need to be boosted.

    Once the highlights and shadows are in the range where I want them, I’ll slightly tweak the highlight recovery and fill light. Even though I don’t have any highlights blown, I have found the recovery slider is nice way to just “tone” the highlights down a bit. The fill light can give a boost to the midtones.

    Now that exposure is set I adjust the color. I’ll start with the WB slider to get it in the neighborhood. I’ll tweak the tint a little. Then I go into the camera calibration tab and bring the red channel saturation down and take the hue more to the yellow side of the spectrum. My Nikon files are always too red for my taste.

    From here I may add a little vignette, a small amount of sharpening if needed, and I’m done. I apply those settings to the rest of the similar images and move on to the next set up.

    Cheers,
    Zack

    PS – I’m glad you have enjoyed the DVDs!

17. Carin, on November 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 am Said:

    aaaaaah…the light! it is GORGEOUS!!!!

18. Martin, on November 23rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm Said:

    You are the man! and after 3 trips through the DVD I’m still picking up pearls. Ever think about writing a book???

19. Ali, on November 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 pm Said:

    Hi Zack!

    Love your work! Its just amazing and very educational too. I haven’t seen the use of light like this anywhere else.

    Am in the process of purchasing a pro camera, one with a full frame sensor. Why nikon over canon?

    ~Cheers!

20. zack, on November 24th, 2008 at 7:26 am Said:

    @Ali – Why Nikon? No real reason. I’ve always used Nikon. I like the ergonomics better than Canon and the AF system is about 100% better than Canon. Especially in low light.

    Other than that, they are both super fine camera systems.

    Cheers,
    Zack

21. Bill, on November 24th, 2008 at 8:04 am Said:

    Zack,

    The 105 F2 is a get lens. Sadly mine was stolen last week. Quick question: how do you generally determine how much defocus you use? Is it a hard and fast rule or just whatever strikes you at that moment?

    Thanks,

    Bill

22. Chad Pennington, on November 24th, 2008 at 11:52 am Said:

    Zack when doing available light shots indoors since it is cold out now what is the best way to do family portraits. All I have is a Wescott 60in – 43in and 28in softbox (Apollo of course)

    Canon Speedlight 580ex II and ONE AB 1600 What would you do to make these look good I shoot with a Canon 5D , Lenses 70-200 f/2.8 IS
    24-70 f/2.8
    85mm f/1.8

    Also where do you get your back grounds

23. zack, on November 24th, 2008 at 6:03 pm Said:

    @Bill – That sucks about your lens! Sorry to hear that! I’ve tested the defocus control over and over and just set the dang thing to zero. I never use that feature.

    @Chad – I buy them at fabric stores.

    Cheers,
    Zack

24. Chad Pennington, on November 25th, 2008 at 3:21 pm Said:

    Zack can you do a video for us sometime so we can see you in action. Also how about selling your BW technique as an action

25. Fredericksburg Wedding, on November 27th, 2008 at 11:31 pm Said:

    Great shots, and thanks for sharing the lens info… very helpful as I’m considering some additions.

    Philippe

26. Jeremy, on November 28th, 2008 at 6:32 am Said:

    Zack,

    Can you offer a little insight into why you might decide to use natural light for a shoot vs. strobes? Is it just a “I feel like shooting with _____ today” sorta thing or something else? Obviously there are times when one may be required over another, but in this case I assume you had a choice.

    Just curious! Excellent work.

27. David Marquez, on December 1st, 2008 at 8:33 am Said:

    Hi Zack! Congratulations by your shots!

    I like very much all images, but, I have a doubt with the second B&W, the face of the child is not complete: What you would say to a any father if he asks why is not complete the face of his son?

28. Okke, on December 1st, 2008 at 2:34 pm Said:

    Zack, those portraits are absolutely stunning. All of them. Your friend Chad must be extremely happy with how the pictures turned out. The natural light in your new studio is awesome. Hope I am able to attend one of your workshops next year. You keep surprising me…in a good way . Still have lots to learn.

    Btw, that 105mm lens is amazing. I currently own a nikkor 85mm f/1.4 and am using it with a D300. I might be able to get a 105mm dc for a reasonable price. Do you think it’s worth it on a DX?

    Regards,

    Okke

29. Tom K., on December 2nd, 2008 at 5:15 pm Said:

    You must have gorgeous window light to work with. These photos are as good as it gets. I continue to admire your work. Your DVD is pure gold. I have watched it numerous times.

30. zack, on December 3rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm Said:

    @ Okke – I prefer it on the FX body. The DX crop makes it feel too tight for me. But that is subjective. If you feel your 85 is too wide then try that 105.

    Cheers,
    Zack

31. zack, on December 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm Said:

    @Jeremy – Stobes vs. Available Light – That sounds like a great basis for a full blog post. I’ll work on that this month.

    Stay tuned!

    Cheers,
    Zack

32. Jen Hunter, on December 7th, 2008 at 6:26 pm Said:

    These are some kick-ass shots, Zack! Your friend must have been really stoked. Your use of light continues to inspire me! Happy holidays

33. Theresa, on December 8th, 2008 at 6:47 pm Said:

    Zack –
    i’m an old portfolio center ad school friend of chad’s and an art director in chicago. i absolutely love the images. the natural light is gorgeous and the use of negative space is beautiful. (I also love the prop styling!)

    ciao.
    -T

34. Debbie, on January 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pm Said:

    Beautiful. The one of him biting his lip brought an instant smile to my face. I am so glad to have found your site through Melissa Jill.

35. Stephen, on February 6th, 2009 at 10:41 am Said:

    Zack,
    The blue and black (patterned) backdrops are awesome! I know some background places sell these types of things, can you be more specific on where you get yours?

36. zack, on February 7th, 2009 at 12:28 am Said:

    Hi Stephen,
    The blue BG is stained concrete. The black and white is a piece of material bought at a local fabric shop. The pattern is commonly referred to as “damask”. It can be found in a number of colors and pattern variations.

    I often joke that I’m in my damask period because I love this stuff. I love it too much. I just told my wife, Meg, that I probably should burn that piece above because I use it too much.

    Cheers,
    Zack

37. Stephen, on February 7th, 2009 at 12:36 pm Said:

    Thanks Zach, you’re a legend!

38. Julie Janssens, on February 25th, 2009 at 1:41 am Said:

    Love those pics! The B&W is excellent!
    Greetzz Julie

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