Darlene and Joseph Tan

Darlene and Joseph has been our friend for quite some time.  I met Darlene last year on a badminton game and Joseph I met a long time ago back in Manila.  Both of them are now residing and working in Hong Kong.  We decided to do a couple's portrait over the weekend and both of them were happy with the results.   According to Darlene this is the only decent photos they had after their wedding.

Creating my Twilight feel (Tutorial)

New Twilight Character ")
Originally uploaded by Jun Madayag

This is a shot I have done last October with my favorite teen model Nikki. My objective of this shot was to create an edgy look. so i have lighted the model so.

For the lighting I have used Elinchrome Ranger Quadra positioned on the left and the right side of the model to create the edgy feel.

My Camera setting was:

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200

On post processing I used Photoshop CS3 and the plugin of Niks software. Below is the workflow:

1. Resized the image 8x12
2. levels adjustment: Image>adjustment>levels>options under algorithms click enhance monochromatic contrast then ok. Still on levels go to Channel and shoose blue and adjust the middle slider to left then choose channel red and adjust middle slider to the right. All adjustment is to my taste. Then press ok.
3.Unsharp Mask to remove the hazy look: Filter>sharpen>unsharp Mask>A=20 ar=60
4.Instead of niks software to adjust contrast you can add an adjustment layer and choose Brightnes and contrast and adjust contrast to taste.
5.Flatten the image
6. Final sharpening use this method:
Duplicate Background layer
Background copy
USM 18-40-0
USM 150-.3-0
Edit>Fade USM 100% in Darken Mode
USM 150-.3-0
Edit>Fade USM 50% in Lighten Mode

The final sharpening could create a little noise. If so just add a a layer mask with black and using a white brush tool just reveal the areas you want to appear sharper like eyes, hair,texture of the clothes etc.

Let me know how this works with your image.

Again I am not a pro in PS and what I do is based on what I have learned throughout the years in the net.

Strobing a Triathlete

I have been so excited when I spoke to my client/friends from Philippines last month when they agreed to let me take their photo as a triathlete. These are my banker friends who are very active in the sports.

I finally did the shoot last weekend when I had my business call (to my full time job as a financial broker) in Manila.

Trina and Jojo met with me at Mandarin Hotel Makati for breakfast. I also called one of my friend, Mikey, to help me out with the lights. Sort of like an intelligent tripod. Mikey is a fellow hobbyist who was based in Hong Kong but moved back to Manila just recently.

This shot on the right is Trina. I used Elinchrom Ranger Quadra A to light Trina positioned at front top of the model acting as a spot light. I used the sun as a back light and under exposed the ambient light to create drama. This was shot at 1/200 @ f18 iso 100.


This shot is Jojo. I used two 580 EX II one positioned on the left of the camera and one on the right. I used the new Pocketwizard Flex and Mini to trigger both flashes at 1/1250 f2.8 iso 100.


Mikey posted some behind the scene on my flickr photo page here












After about 90 shots of Jojo and Trina we were interrupted by a roving security patrolling the are. I was told that we needed to get a permit to be allowed to do photoshoot in the area. Oh actually you needed to ask for a permit to do photoshoot in any area in Manila. If you are a photog and using an SLR I can assure you that 90% you will be asked if you have a permit specially you have a model with you. Kinda weird for me considering that in HK you can shoot a model anywhere without being hassled. Anyway I pretended not to know the rules and told the guard just a few more shots. After a few minutes I asked the guard to join in with Jojo and Trina for the last photo. He was reluctant at first saying this might appear in a magazine (yeah right!) but after convincing him that it was just a fun shoot he gladly joined. See the shot below.

Since we cannot continue the shoot on the open field we then decided to do some swimming shots and The Serendra courtesy of Trina's friend. Tina and Lionel joined us for this part and here are a few shots on the pool.

The lap shots were really tiring. I asked Mikey to follow the swimmers while pointing the flash to the swimmers trying to capture them when they were gasping for air. The flash were triggered by Pocketwizard Flex and Mini on ETTL mode. On the last photo I used two 580 EX II to the left and the right of the subject triggered by PW on ETTL.

Check my flickr set to check the rest of the photos.