If you’re anything like me, Pocket Wizards are a far, far off dream constantly shoved further back by bills and feeding those short people you are in charge of…THREE times a day! Savages! Anyway, I’ve been using Cactus V2’s for a while and the fact that I didn’t smash them against a wall a few times should nominate me for the patron saint-age of patience.

Anyway, in spite of better ratios from friends I could never get the V2’s to fire more than 5 or 6 out of 10 times. After playing with the V4s today I’d say it’s more like 9 out of 10. They fired almost every time!

Other excellent improvements?

• AAA batteries! THANK YOU! If I never have to buy another overpriced C2 battery again I will die a happy woman.
• The piece you attach to your flash is (gasp) FLAT. It sits on a table. Amazing!
• Slightly less cheap feeling, but only slightly.
• Batteries are WAY easier to get to! I used to have to do what all females hate doing and pass them off to my husband to wrestle the battery door off so I could change said overpriced C2 battery…now it just slides right off!
• Did I mention they actually freakin fire?

I also FINALLY got my shoot through brolly umbrella from amvona.com. If you must shop there (I won’t again), don’t be shocked if you order something that says “in stock” only to receive your “Thank you for your purchase” email noted with a “item is currently out of stock”. Apparently I was lucky only having to wait about 3 weeks…I have friends that are going on week 8.

ANYWAY, crap service aside the brolly umbrella is cool. I forgot to snap a pic of it but it looks like this.

As I was about to set it up I realized at some point during this wedding season, the hot shoe plate on my umbrella shoe mount multiclamp. I am PISSED! So I hand held it to camera left and snapped quickie shots of the kids.

Since I was so mad about losing that piece I put the brolly away and just played with some back/rim lighting with bare flash off-camera via the V4s. Got some cute dreamy-looking pics of the baby while he stuffed his face.

Here’s the ambient light [f2.8 @1/80 ISO1600]

And with the flash behind him pointing upward.

[f2.8 @1/80 ISO1600]

[f2.8 @1/60 ISO1250]

[f2.8 @1/60 ISO1250]

I would have liked to have done this longer but alas, the boy just doesn’t appreciate photographic expirimentation! Kids…

Get off my lawn.

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Noticed an incoming link from Weekly Photo Tips , Scott runs a pretty sweet blog over there and linked my DIY Gridspot tutorial in his post on DIY grids! Go check out his blog, I did…when I should have been working…Thanks Scott!

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OK! I’m finally getting to posting some pics from my June weddings! I’ve got one more to edit and another I’m waiting on the OK on some stuff before I post (and those are gooood ones, can’t wait to post them!)

Jeff and Liz got married June 20th, they were my first super-formal/traditional wedding so they did the church thing and all that. It was my first time shooting in a church…the priest snipped at me for going behind the altar. Sorry dude! I’m sort of a heathen, I don’t know these things!

I also took a 2nd shooter with me who is starting out and that was great. She got some wonderful couple shots at the reception (Honesty time…I hate trying to shoot those AND follow the couple!).

Here’s some favorites! Full set on Flickr here.

Liz’s dress was NO JOKE, folks…

Congratulations Jeff and Liz!! Thank you for letting me capture your day!

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I’ve collected quite a pile of links and haven’t gotten a chance to post them yet! I’ve been finishing up Ben & Molly’s wedding and catching up on paperwork…well…and reading trashy vampire novels but that is beside the point.

Photos from Ben & Molly’s wedding coming, once they see them! I’ve also got a shoot at a Belly Dancing rehearsal coming up and I’m working on scheduling a day to shoot a friend of mine doing Silks. Silks performance is those incredibly badass women roll themselves up in and climb the long panels of silk suspended from the ceiling. Very cool. I’m hoping to get a wide angle lens by then.

I have two more weddings this month, one this weekend and one next weekend and a possible product shoot coming up. I’ve been busy, busy! It’s great!

Anyway, bring on the links!

• DPS has turned 3! Check out their top 10 articles from the first 1,000 DPS posts!
• Are you looking to flatter your subjects every time or just look better when (shriek) someone takes YOUR photo. Tyra Banks has some tips…if anyone would know, I suppose she would!
• Want to try your hand at pinhole photography? Check this store out for affordable kits!
• Mother’s Day has come and gone but you never need a reason for good photography gifts for Mom, Dad or another person in your life!
• This is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen ever.
• DPS introduces you to time lapse photography here.
• And shows you how to make the ever-popular triptych in Lightroom here.
• Here is an article on 5 “keys” to taking great maternity portraits.
• Stuck with hard light on the go? Check here for finding a DIY softbox in your surroundings.
• Obsessed with texture? Lacking texture? Check this article out.
• Scott Kelby’s response to that fighter jet scare in NYC made me laugh.
• Photojojo shows their favorite 10 online photo magazines.
• Does white balance hate you? This is a pretty cool, pricey, but cool product.
• Ever wonder how people make custom watermarks? Learn here.
• If you’re thinking of advertising with brochures, why not make your own in photoshop?
• Scott Kelby has a quick tute on making photo posters, which is easy and kind of addictive!
• The Pioneer Woman explains how she nails focus when shooting groups.
• This guy has been making waves lately for his amazing commercial and concept work, and my friend Adam just re-designed his website! Check it out at thatsthespot.com.
• Want sharp eyes without sharpening the whole shot? Check out this tute on selective sharpening.
• Feel like a photoshop master? Check out these amazing photo manipulations and eat humble pie!
• Here’s a list of the 12 most iconic photos ever taken: GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING.
• Leningrad’s tragic past burns through modern photos here.
• Fairy tale princesses take a turn for reality in this amazing series.

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Here’s a few from the Rampant Decay show at the New Wave Cafe in New Bedford last weekend:

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I was given the honor of taking the PRD’s annual league photo at Sunday’s game. I was really stoked to get the chance, I am a big derby fan. My buddy Christine (aka Burnin’ Helen) didn’t make the photo cause she ran late so you’ll have to imagine her awesome self in there.

The light was pretty ruthless and with only one flash, I wasn’t attempting to light this huge group but I think it came out pretty good anyway! I was nervous, it looked soft in my camera but once again my preview screen was screwing with me!

I was looking forward to shooting the bout, but 2 jams into the game the sky opened up and poured on us. The game resumed after the shower but I’d left by then, I had the baby with me and didn’t want him to be cold and damp just so his mommy could shoot pictures!

Thanks for having me, PRD! Congrats to the Old Money Honey’s on their game opener win!

For what little I shot of the bout, go here.

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Colleen and Jeremy are one of my September wedding couples and we went out Saturday evening to take their engagement photos around Fairhaven, MA…where Colleen and her family are from. Jeremy proposed to her on top of this rock so it was only fitting to take most of the shots there. We had a great time, they’re a funny couple and very easy to shoot. They live on a boat in CT, how cool is that?

More photos here.

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Gratuitous baby content ahead.

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Here’s some favorites from Chris & Betty’s wedding. They’re a fun couple and had probably the greatest Irish blessing I’ve ever heard given by a guy who looked just like my Grandpa Kinsley (which was kinda bumming me out and making me smile simultaneously.)

I have some show pics from the New Wave Cafe show last weekend to do and an engagement session next weekend! Gotta love the busy season!

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Had a quick shoot at Stephen & Co. yesterday to grab an outdoor pedicure shot for an advertisement in SOCO magazine this summer. My model was my stylist’s daughter, who has dimpled you could fall into and a beautiful smile. She did great. My most favorite smile unfortunately fell to poor composition from me, I amputated the bottom of her heel and have been beating myself up about it since yesterday. I will bear my horrible screw-up to you, blog readers, because I need some accountability for my mortal photography sins.

Ugh. Way to suck, Pam. BUT I did get these other two that are better composed and still pretty. For all of these I had a 3/4 CTO gelled flash behind a shoot-through umbrella to camera right. We were in 9am daylight, in complete shade.

I also was assigned to get a new shot of the front of the salon. I saw the older one in ads before and it was shot in seriously harsh light, portrait orientation and tight on just the front door. I did the complete opposite. Complete morning shade with the sun just about to come over the roof so it backlit the trees really nicely, landscape orientation and got the whole salon in the frame. I tried to get some nice greenery framing the shot. I had my lovely assistant hold my flash, still gelled, over a puddle to light up that sign on camera right. I’m pretty happy with it.

Now I’ve got to get back to editing Chris and Betty’s wedding photos! More on my first wedding shoot later. Wedding photography: not for the easily stressed letmetellya.

OH! Almost forgot, you can head over to http://www.stephenandcompany.com and see my shots up on their brand new website! There’s a few that are not mine, the group shot on the main page isn’t me though I think I’m doing their next one, there’s a few stock photos here and there and obviously the old salon front shot isn’t me but the rest are! Yay!

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About
I am a student at UMASS Dartmouth studying photography, currently shooting portrait, concept, event and concert photography. Contact me if you're interested in working with me!

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7/18/09 - Troy & Lori
7/19/09 - OFF
8/08/09 - Nate & Amanda
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10/17/09- OFF
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10/31/09- OFF
6/12/10 - Dave & Melissa
7/17/10 - Trevor & Sarah

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