.415 still life

the earlier you can catch the natural light (sunrise), coupled with the DIY softbox, makes for a cleaner overall image. finally. an expensive and natural way to produce the images i see in my mind when taking stills. another benefit of early morning risings, especially when you have a toddler, is the calm and quiet that exist in that hour (this is also a good time for vlogging, with no boom mic needed, as the world is, typically, at it's quietest).  

however, if my toddler happens to be awake when i shoot, i simply bribe her with whatever i'm shooting. have a strawberry. play in the milk (as she doesn't drink cow milk). turn the whisk into a wind. eat the fortune cookie, then stuff the fortune inside your slipper for you to marvel at later. wear the slap watch. make up stories as you pretend to read. have a ball (just have it a little over there). i find that it's much easier to submit, just a bit, than having to say "no", "don't touch", "please, toots, not in my light" every other minute, for in the end, she's happy, i'm happy and life is good.

i retook the picture of the stopwatch to get better lighting this time.

.409 DIY soft box

photography can be expensive, especially when you realize that the quality of photos you wish to produce sometimes require more than just your camera. at some point, i'll go into detail on how i've learned to use simple household supplies to create backdrops, reflectors, studio lighting, soft boxes and more. this post, however, is dedicated to the homemade soft box i just created. there are many videos and step-by-step instructions online, like this one, to get you started on the basic structure. for my softbox i used: cardboard, tin foil, black electrical tape and tissue paper. i decided to paint it (with $1 paint from the dollar store) just because i love dots and why not have something on my camera that reflects my personality? 

i tested it using a large, white poster board and this cool slapwatch i found while thrifting.

for examples of how it looks on night portraits, check out this blog i posted a few days ago.

ISO: 200  f/3.5