Jay

I'm a photographer who shoots portraits and editorials, and have been wanting something a bit nicer, and longer than what I currently have (35-70/2.8D -- 50/1.4D -- 85/1.8D on a D700)

I've always wanted the 70-200VRII of course, but it's way out of my price range. I've seen this lens mentioned recently: Nikon 80-200 f/2.8AF - http://shootingonabudget.com/nikon-80-200mm-f2-8af...

From what I have seen, the AF is a bit slower, but I don't shoot sports, or events, and ISO400 is "low light" as far as I'm concerned, so it shouldn't be much of a deal breaker for me. Push pull is fine by me, my 35-70/2.8D is the same, and I'm used to it.

Seems like a nice lens, definitely seen some good shots with it. Just haven't met anyone with real-life experience with it. For $400ish (amazon and KEH prices for good / EX quality) isn't a bad deal.

Thoughts?

I started branching out from Glamour, and my wife convinced me to try shooting some art nudes. What do you guys think, and which is your favorite?

http://www.jayleavitt.com/art.htm - Images are 18+ for partial nudity

just a random question, since I've just read more rumors about the Canon 3D. Oh and please keep things realistic, no 100GP 20 fps!!!!

Mine:

18MP FF for a 7ish µm pixel pitch

built in flash commander

vertical grip

1 fps

19pt cross type AF

that's about it. Don't need super AF or FPS in any situation I shoot in. I could easily see the above camera priced sub $2000, it's just a basic, solid studio camera, all I need.

I just got a 3rd light for my studio (all Vivitar 285HVs) and so I have main, fill, and the 3rd for background light on my white vinyl wall.

My question is this. When gelling the flash, should I just set the flash to wide angle and aim at the backdrop, or put it in a reflective umbrella and bounce to the backdrop, or does it matter, since it's just a backdrop light? I'd think straight flash would cause a hotspot, wide angle or not.

OR.. hang from the ceiling, bounce to the background, so the color spills to the white vinyl floor as well? (cyc wall 10'wide+9'tall+18long')

I'm starting to think the ceiling, myself, I hope I can get the entire vinyl set colored.

http://www.jayleavitt.com/isabel1.jpg

In January, I decided to start taking my photography seriously. I invested in a DSLR, a few basic lenses, and halfway through the year, flashes that I got off camera. I'm happy with my progression so far this year, and just thought I'd share (if beginners see, and are somehow impressed it might give them more desire to push themselves) and see what you guys thought.

*Note, I shoot primarily glamour, so if you're offended by girls in scant clothing or exposed skin, please look elsewhere.

Photographic timeline, January-December

http://www.jayleavitt.com/yearinreview

I'll soon have about $1000 to spend on camera gear, and I'm debating what to get.

Currently I have a Canon Xti with grip (75,000 actuations) ::: 50mm 1.8 & 28-105 4-5.6 ::: 2 Vivitar 285HVs with stands/umbrellas/other mods.

option 1 - I'd like a 40D or a 50D for a body upgrade, 75k actuations is 25k past what an XTi is rated for, so I'm kinda leaning in this direction... can't shoot anything without a camera.

option 2 - 24-105 f4L or 24-70 2.8L or 70-200 f4L + 85 1.8... I love my 50 1.8, but the 28-105 is really soft. A better lens will improve my work more significantly than a body will, and I'm leaning towards the 24-105, I love the range.

option 3 - Alienbees Kit. I've got a 12x24 space for a studio with a white vinyl cyc wall. The 2 vivitars + reflectors I use now do quite well (and portable) but improved light never hurt anyone. I'd get 2 AB800s and an AB400 (or a 1600 / 800 / 400)

If I were to gauge my own priority, it'd be the lens, then lights then body. (XTi can be replaced for $250 or less, and the lens helps NOW, but replacing it is $250 more that isn't going towards my next upgrade) Lights are sufficient now, but I could spend another $150 for a 3rd light + stand. And a 40/50D won't do anything in particular better than my XTi in studio, but better ergonomics and low light functionality can't hurt.

Opinions?

Current stuff:

http://www.jayleavitt.com/lisa_portrait_censored.j...

http://www.jayleavitt.com/lisaonabike.jpg

http://www.jayleavitt.com/sunny_s.jpg

http://www.jayleavitt.com/glamour2.jpg

http://www.jayleavitt.com/bwredheels.jpg

I recently got back into film with a Minolta Autocord MF 120 camera. I plan on buying a photo scanner rated at 9600x4800 dpi. So if the slide is 6cm x 6cm...that's 2.36" @ 4800 dpi... that's an 11,338 x 11338 pixel image? A 128mp image?

Am I doing something wrong with the math, or are the digital scans really that big?

So I've got a photo series in mind all about Damsels in Distress (and no, not that fetish bondage stuff) More like flapper girl with cement shoes with a mobster behind her. tied on train tracks with the oily bank tycoon, etc. These would be either with 2 girls, or one girl photoshopped into both villain and victim roles. I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas, maybe supplement my ideas, and find things i may have missed.

As en example, here's a test shot i did to practice photoshopping one person into 2 places on the photo:

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/Jayphotos...

I've been involved with photography as a hobby for quite some time now, and I love portraiture. Check out some of these and tell me how you think I'm doing!

http://www.jayleavitt.com/Photos.htm

So I've got a spare 18x18 room available that i want to convert into a studio. I plan on using vinyl flipped over and painted white to designate the shooting area, and along 2 walls behind it for a corner studio like this:

http://www.agstudios.co.uk/gfx/studiopic.jpg

I was planning on having it be 12 feet wide, and 8 deep, which to me seems sufficient for most applications. If i were to shoot from the corner, I'd have the whole 12 foot section to my left and the 8 foot section to my right, giving me an effective 14" wall, while I'm able to back up 12-15 feet from my subject.

I'll be shooting a Canon 40d with either a 50mm 1.8 or a 28-135 4.0 lens with 2 Alienbees b800s and a b400 lighting the white backdrop.

I was just wondering what some experienced folk thought about this setup, as I've heard a lot of "OMG don't ever shoot with less than 20' of backdrop" on the interwebs, which i think is overkill for single model up to small family pictures. I'd love to have a warehouse for a studio, but i'm a little limited by what I've got.

I'd love to get some input.