WhiBal Cards-We use these in the LITTLE LIGHTS -BIG RESULTS off camera flash seminars

There are still places in the next LITTLE LIGHTS-BIG RESULTS off camera lighting seminar.Be quick its this Thursday Evening 6.30pm-9.30pm.Cost is $70 for ProAM lab customers and $80 for others. Bookings 02 4962 1066.

We use the Whibal Cards in our studio for great exposures.

Factory info below.
WhiBal Certified Neutral Gray Card for White Balance
We designed the WhiBal® White Balance Reference Card to be the best Gray Card for White balance available. WhiBal® technology is now Patent Pending and all WhiBals® are made in USA. What makes it so different?
Having a "Gray Card" reference is the best assurance that the digital pictures that you capture will have the ability to be properly White Balanced. Only with a proper White Balance can you be ensured of proper and accurate color, regardless of lighting conditions. Unlike your eyes, a digital camera does not automatically see whites as white. It sees the color of the light reflected from it, hence blue-ish in Daylight and Orange-ish in incandescent lighting. By photographing a Gray Card reference for each lighting situation that you are in, you are assured of being able to achieve a proper White Balance for all of your pictures. The Gray Card reference picture can be used with today's software to balance the color casts that various lighting conditions produce with all digital cameras. The best method to properly White Balance your digital pictures is by using a Gray Card properly and shooting RAW. RAW Conversion Software such as Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom can then perfectly adjust all the captures that were shot under the same lighting conditions. And the beauty of the WhiBal® is that it is small enough to fit in your pocket or around your neck, so that it will be used on a regular basis, as above. Remember that the most accurate Gray Card is useless if it sits in your camera bag. What are the criteria for selecting a good Gray card?
It must be spectrally neutral. In other words it must be Gray! Not close, but actual Gray. This means that they reflect all colors through the spectrum equally. The Gray Cards within the WhiBal® system have both *a and *b Lab channel values of less than 1 at D50 and are spectrally "flat". The WhiBal® RAW Gray Card is spec'd at less than +/- 0.5! And each card is individually measured to certify this spec.
It must maintain its spectral neutrality under all reasonable temperature and environmental conditions. WhiBal® does.
It must be physically rugged. Waterproof, scratch proof (color goes all the way through, not just a coating on top).WhiBal® is.
It must not respond to UV light any differently than the visible spectrum. WhiBal® does not.
The Gray Luminance value must be in a range that is good for digital cameras. WhiBal® rules!
Beyond technical specification, the most important aspect of a Gray Card is that you use it. WhiBal® Pocket is the size of a US business card (2x3.5 inches) so that it fits in your shirt pocket or hangs around your neck with the included Lanyard. WhiBal will be used and not be an accessory that lives in your camera bag.

LITTLE LIGHTS -BIG RESULTS...a seminar on the off camera flash

Maree and myself ran the first of hopefully many photography seminars last night. Ebony was a fantastic subject and all enjoyed the course.

This session was based on using off camera flash to create several different end products.We showed how to make a pure white ( knock out ) background to provide graphic artists with clean images....if you provide them with clean images like this they will love you forever and it DOES general repeat commissions.

Behind the scenes look at the set we built for this shoot.

Here is the cropped image we were looking for



Next we changed the lights again to create a street grunge look


Many of the students captured Ebony is strong images

Here is a quick video grab of the students in the studio setting

The next seminar is in 2 weeks, there are a few spaces left. Those interested can contact Maree by email maree@ricwoods.com or call the studio on 02 4962 1066.

Its a great night

"The Crew" Little Green Frog Marketing-less director jamie

Its become a tradition of mine now to photograph the staff of little Green Frog Marketing on the morning of Melbourne Cup Day. They approach the day like tigers of fun.

HUGE softbox over camera,silver umbrella high camera right for some POP. white reflectors left and right of subjects.D300 nikon

Fine Furniture-by Rod Jackson

Its not very often I get to see such fantastic workmanship.Rod Jackson creates fine furniture.This piece we photographed to present to a panel of judges, these judges "invite" you to present your furniture in an exhibition.

This mostly handcrafted piece is wonderful in the "flesh".The only lathe work was to separate the ends on the legs and the collared grooves.These legs are had crafted from square lumber.OUR goal was to make images that show case the finer points of his work and get his piece selected.I feel we have achieved the brief.

Its valued at $10,000.00

What did my client think?

"G’day Ric,

Well, what can I say, except they are brilliant !!!!! It will be hard for me to select the number back to ten as they are all so good.

I can’t stop smiling and showing the photos to staff.

Kind Regards

Rod"

Thats how we like it .....

Lttle Lights -Big Results-lighting seminar

Hi it’s maree,
I’m excited to announce that I am now taking bookings for

‘Little Lights, Big Results’ – a seminar based on off camera flash.
The seminar will take place in the Carrington studio on;
Thursday 19th November 2009 from 6.30 – 9.30pm
The seminar will cover;
• Light Shaping
• Light Modifiers
• Creating a pure white background
• Working with grided spots
• A Great Studio experience
The seminar will be structured as follows;
• Studio set up before students arrive
• One hour of the " Nuts & Bolts"
• Two hours of practical, participants shooting
• Two sets / lighting changes
• Model Supplied
• Students will be paired with a shooting partner to maximise time with the model. Shooting time will be structured to ensure everyone get equal opportunities to shoot.
• Certificate issued to all students who complete the seminar
• Special voucher to save money on future seminars
I have limited the group to 8 students to maximise learning and more importantly shooting time!!!
Plans are already in place for a dynamic set, theme and model for the shoot session.
The cost of the seminar will be $70 for pro-am students and $80 for others. This price includes your worksheets for the night, tea/coffee and the guarantee that your memory card will be loaded with outstanding and unique images.
Spaces will fill up fast so contact the studio asap to put your name down and bring your money/credit card along on Tuesday to pay your deposit and secure your spot.
maree nichols – production manager

contact :maree@ricwoods.com