Birthday photoshoot

On Saturday I did a photoshoot for my sisters friends 25th birthday. I didn't do anything special, just a quick shoot of everyone who wanted their picture taken. Since the room was kinda small, I didn't have much space to play around with the lights, but I think I did get some decent images and I hope the people who attended are happy with the photos.

 My setup was pretty simple. I used 2 studio lights and a speedlight for triggering. One light was set up right hand side of the subjects and the other was in front. The speedlight was on top of the camera, pointing to the ceiling. I used my Nikon 18-105mm VR since the room was kinda small. Otherwise, I would have used 50mm 1.8G, because I think it gives so much better looking images.

 I said on Friday that I might post some images on Sunday, but I just didn't have the time to process all the photos that fast. Now I'm finished processing, so here's some of them :) 2 of the photos here are actually made with 50mm 1.8G before the party.

Lowepro fastpack 350AW

 Fastpack 350AW is a great backpack for traveling if you need to carry a lot of equipment. It's pretty big. It fits nicely all your first needed photography equipment(camera, lenses, flashes...). It also has a pocket for a 17" laptop and space for personal items(or whatever else you need to carry). You can also attach a tripod to the side of the bag with some straps. It's really awesome.
 Furthermore, this bag can be used in all weather. If it's really pouring, you can just pull out the bag cover from a small pocket underneath the bag, making it waterproof.

 I just got this bag today and it is even bigger than I imagined. I needed something where I could carry my photography stuff and personal items all in one bag when traveling. I looked around for some time and since I had heard good stuff about Lowepro before, I decided to get this one. It's my first camera backpack, so I really can't compare it with others. But what I have read elsewhere, it has served many people well, and they have been really glad to have this bag.

 Anyway, I'm sure I'll have many great trips with it, and I think that I won't run out of room too soon. :)

Here's some images I took of it

Tomorrow I'll have a small photoshoot for my sisters friends birthday. I will set up a small photo corner and then I can test out my studio lights :) I think you might see some images on Sunday.

Just a little longer

So here's a quick update. I ordered the D7100 in the end of last month with Tamron 24-70mm f2.8. I know my order has already arrived in Finland, and they tried to deliver it, but my relative is on a vocation right now :) So I'll get them on 1st or 2nd of March. Can't wait :D

 What I didn't say before is that, I also ordered a set of studio lights from Amazon. They have already arrived and I did a quick test with them. The lights are from a company called Walimex. In the set there was one 200W and a 400W light, 2x softboxes and 2x lightstands. I tested them to be sure everything was working and in order. I didn't know much about this set because there weren't any reviews about these products. But as much as I read about these lights on their site and compared to others out there, I thought these were the best for the money. First quick test showed me that I did a great purchase. But I think I still need to further test these out to get to really know them.

 First, the lightstands are pretty great, sturdy and heavy. They also have springs inside, so if I accidentally open the screw that holds the barrel up, it wont come down too hard and break my lights.
 The softboxes are also great. It was little hard to put together the first time, but I think I'm good now. The material seems very strong.
 The lights are made of rubbery plastic(felt a little like rubber when I held it). The modeling lights have 6 adjustable levels and are 150W. The flashes themselves go from 1/1 to 1/32. It can be set as a slave, so you can use other flashes to trigger it. It came with a long power cable and a flash sync cable. Also if you don't like it to beep every time you shoot, there is an option to turn it off.
 As i said, I still have to further test them. I'll post some images too when I do :)

Here's a link if anyone is interested: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walimex-Pro-VE-200-Studioset-Softbox/dp/B004YITYJ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392574063&sr=8-1&keywords=walimex+ve200

And couple of images of the lights and a test shot:

Still waiting for my new stuff to arrive :) In the meanwhile working on my lightroom skills and learning new techniques.