Wassenberg Camera Club News 3/2/11

By Rex Dolby

Possibly you remember that I reported on a presentation made January 27 by Bill Gallaway about the photo equipment he uses in his work.  I had consistently spelled Bill’s name as “Bob” in that article.  I certainly apologize to all concerned.

Now, to Jodi’s demonstration.   She had prepared a handout that provided many of the facts concerning camera settings and the placement of the lights and subject.  She emphasized the need for a camera with manual settings for setting the shutter speed (125-160), f/stop (5.6-6.3), ISO (100-200), and having a hot shoe adapter for a wireless radio remote or sync cord to connect to the lights.

When the sync cord was not working properly, it was suggested it was time for the club to replace it.  Other suggestions were:  Turn the room lights out to get a better impression of the subject in the view finder, Turn the camera’s preflash off so the lights will sync properly, and When the lights are set up the way you want, stretch a string to the base of each so if there is need to reposition them, they will be at a distance where they will still illuminate with the same intensity.

Jodi said that the main light should be powerful enough to light the whole set.  It should be about as high as subject’s shoulder and aimed at about 45 degrees to the subject.

The fill light is not as bright and is set up on the other side of the subject to soften the shadows.  It may be omitted to obtain a more dramatic lighting effect.

The hair light is a smaller spot light to shine on the subject’s head to high light the hair.  This will be especially important if the subject’s hair color has little contrast with the backdrop.

The subject should be placed about 3  feet from the backdrop to avoid harsh shadows and have their shoulders positioned at an angle to the camera.

Jodi stressed that all lights are to be unplugged at the conclusion of the session.  Members reconvened in the main gallery to view the shots Jodi and Chloee Gamble had taken.

The club’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at the Wassenberg Art Center on 643 S. Washington St. in Van Wert.  Geometric Shapes will be the competition theme in prints and slides that evening.