Discussion on Chicago Photo Shoot within the The Sarlacc Pit forum, part of the Community category; Some of my TDH buds from Chicago invited me up
Some of my TDH buds from Chicago invited me up to take photos of their costumes. Thought I would share with you.
Day 1.
After staying up until 4:30am Friday morning watching dgasser get his butt kicked continually at Ghost Recon, sithcamero came over and we shot non-stop for almost 10 hours!!! Here are a couple of the pics of his costumes.
GREAT photos! Love the Jack Sparrow shot! Looks like it was from the promotional photo set!
Awesome!!
***! He's come along way on Willie Wonka! Where did he get the goggles, I'd love a set of those!!
You as Mike TV that is hilarious!!!
Great Pics thanks for sharing... love to see some more.
Those are some great pictures Braks!
WOW!
Those costumes are great and he looks the parts!
Oh wow Art, those are really fantastic and Toby, you look awesome!!!! But who on earth is that crazy kid with the Golden Ticket???
10 hours of shooting? wow, that's a lot of pictures, very well done too!
...INSANE...great costumes Tobey!
And Art...great shooting!
ROBBLE...ROBBLE!!!
That's an interessting take on the Hamburglar.
Oh and that Braks guy is one OK photographer, and not gay no matter what you have all heard.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
That Elvis trooper..... what an :moon .Originally Posted by obi1kenny
Day 2: Quick pics of SWFreak. And yes, I am not very good at making sabers...
Great shots! :-) Lighting looks awesome.
That Colonial Marine shot is AWESOME!
As usual,
You guys look awesome!!!!
Brak`s does some fantastic photo work.
I can`t wait to see the rest of them.
JK3
I was there this afternoon, Art was bushed, so Jose and Dana took the pics. I brought My trooper... however, I never seemmed to get it on, most of the pics were taken on the bed.. er, um.... nevermind!
Toby, Turo, Jodo, Dana and everyone in that group are some helluva talented artists, somehow calling them costumers just dosent seem to befit the talent, time, effort and love they pour into this hobby and their costumes.
As usual , looking fantastic
You guys are an inspiration to us all, amazing stuff
Great pic's Brak
If you want I could teach you how to do a great looking saber in less then 5 min if you have photoshop, there's actually several ways of doing it.
Wow, you got those up fast!
Big thanks to Art, Dana and Jose for helping me with the photos and direction with the poses.
Wow!
Awesome pics, guys!
What kind of camera are you using, BB?
Hector
Thanks so much for all the compliments guys but the credit goes more to the subject than the photographer.
I am using a Canon Digital Rebel XT.
Yes, but the photographer can make or break the image
Wow! Those costumes and the photos are fantastic. You're all really talented. It's fun to check out your work, and thanks for sharing.
While Art was away, let's just say my pug couldn't help herself...
sorry its not touched up, (I don't have photoshop because of a certain Gasser element)
oh and if you haven't figured it out yet, my Pug's name is LILO.
Indiana Jones Pug says Grrrrr
Like this? I kinda messed up stich's hair but what are ya going to do?
that's it !!! that's my new desktop !
Frank!!!
Dude, even your dog is a prop.
See you guys in a few hours!
Day 3. Took most of today off but got pics of Goat, Seeker, GotMaul and DGasser tonight. Even got pics of Goat in a snowy alley outside GotMaul's place! Even managed a small TDH group shot.
Very cool....Love the camera work, looks fantastic Braks
One more of goat in the alleyway.
yeah, that is by far one of the coolest pics I have EVER seen. Thats just creepy, I'm awaiting some huge Sabertooth guy to pop out of the background...
Sweet!I am loving this thread, all these costumes look freaking excellent 8) I'm loving the Depp ones at the top, they look just like the real thing!
That Wolverine one in the snow looks awesome!
Keep up the good work
DA
p.s Not only does this want me to get into photography, it makes me also want to buy a Pug!
What's a Chicago brutha gotta do to get invited to these things?
Oh, gotta have a costume, right?
I could have been Alfred Molina's character from Raiders - y'know, a Latin American pheasant.
LOL !!!!
Its all time Hector...we're real limited so only a few this time around, but I think Art wants to do this again so we could definitely make arrangements !
Those snow shots came out awesome!!!
Thanks for having me you guys! I had a blast!!! It was a fantastic time!
I am really loving how that last batch is cropped- really dramatic. Goat, that last one of you in the alley just rocks- what a great idea!!
Very nice pictures. Wish I could be there with you guys. Was this at a Con or are you all neighbors?
Looks like Willy Wonka has a pair of Jango gloves on. Very nice costumes.
great having you Jason...leave it to the goat to lighten the mood ! Cheers !
This is NOT a con, just a buddy flying into chicago and even more friends getting together for pics. Except for DGasser, everyone hates him, but he just doesn't know it yet.
Very impressive. I especially like the snow shots (seeing as how it never snows in San Antonio). Like someone said earlier, it makes it seem kinda creepy, but in a good way. Great costumes all around.
Wes
I LOVE that pulse rifle!! What's the source???
Also, the Happy Bunny patch on the USCM BDUs just kills me.
All the pics are excellent.
Eric
Those pictures came out so great! You guys look like you jumped right off the movie screen. The picture in the snow is really great........it reminds me to appreciate the fact that I'm sitting here in my shorts and t-shirt about to go for a surf at the beach here in sunny So Cal.
Fantastic shots guys!! Yeah,the alley shot is cool8)
Steve
Amazing! as always.
Great pics. post more. Every single costume looks amazing.
I like the group shot! Really awesome guys!
Good job Braks! You are a good photographer too!
Day 4: Last day. Actually I am home already but thought you might like to see some of the shots we took today. I might post a few more later this week but for now, I am beat. Took over 2600 shots in the past 4 days. That isn't much compared to some of our more seasoned photographers but for me it is quite a bit. Enjoy!
Wow. I see some quality costumes and photography here. Great work! No matter how many times I see it, The Clone Emperor's Durge blows me away...
Love the Fetts, Jodo and Durge. Go Durge!
I hear ya man....Great pics guys
Hey Chicago guys. Don't feel bad if you weren't "invited." This was really a test run to see if it was worth doing. If all those who had pics taken agree that it is, I am more than willing to come back and do it again. I specifically bought my lighting equipment and camera for the sole purpose of photographing people's costumes so I will be doing it more and more as I get more skilled. Right now, I have a LONG way to go!
It's nice to finally get some quality photos in a controlled setting. How many times have we gone to cons and gotten a few candid shots with more than a few people in the shot wearing street clothes. I mean, we go to cons to wear our stuff, but we rarely get some really good shots in out gear. It was nice to have a chance to participate and get some great pictures for a change, I'm sure everyone who participated will agree. Thanks for the oppertunity to participate guys.
You want to get better??? I want to see that!
Braks . . . .
What sort of lighting did you use? Do you use tungston lighting?
I am just speechless from these awesome pictures.:thumbup
its the photographer ...I am just speechless from these awesome pictures.
I use 2 Novatron ML500-2 lighting kits which gives me 4 lights total.
ML500-2 Lighting Kit
I'm loving that shot of Boba behind Jodo!
Art, that pic of Jason in the snowy alley friggin' ROCKS! Talk about looking like its straight out of a movie!
Well done guys!
Man... I gotta make it out to Chi-town to hang with you guys sometime... wow!
Don't sell yourself short! You may not consider yourself to be as good as others but they are VERY VERY impresive photographs.
I love the Twin Engines of Destruction reconstruction and the Clone Emperors Durge looks better everytime I see it.
Anyway, great shots and great costumes.
Hmmmmm . . . Even the "Sniffer" himself is in awe of this "Braks" person.
Aside from his model Fett, he continues to go into different avenues just to turn a new leaf.
Which is a wonderful thing.
This "Braks" is a man of many talents.
But the question remains:
Can he make good coffee?
Seriously though... These pictures are very well and professionally done.
I just keep coming back to this post to see the pictures again and again!
Hey Braks, I haven't seen you on IM so I will jsut post here.
So you are useing all 4 of your lights right, and what is your setup?
What is the wattage on each light?
And what type of connection are you using to sync your XT to your strobes?
Are you still useing the standard wide angle lens that came with the XT?
Do you shoot tight to begin with or do you crop afterwards in photoshop?
And have you had any problem with focus when shooting wide, as I have had a lot with my 2 hot light set-up?
HOOOOOLLY **** GOAT!!!
LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!!
Are you using all 4 of your lights right, and what is your setup?
On the dark backgrounds I use all 4 lights, 2 at the front at 45s to the subject and 2 at the back at 45s to the subjec. For the White background I use 2 at the front at 45s to the subject and one at the back, turned at the background to blow it out. This also reflects off the background and backlights the subjec. Because the depth of our studio was so narrow the subjects sometimes got a bit blown out by the backlight when on the white background.Live and learn... Oh and on the shot of Jack on the black background, I believe there is only a single light.
What is the wattage on each light?
Each light is capable of 500 watts but has a dimmer switch that allows for a wide range of wattage. I generally just take a test pic, then adjust, then take another test pic and repeat until I am happy. For certain looks I will turn one light way up or way down or turn one completely off.
And what type of connection are you using to sync your XT to your strobes?
I have seen many expensive radio slave units but I bought a nice cheap one (about $20) off eBay and it works just fine! About 1 out of every 200 shots it will fail to make the strokes flash but I can accept that. They are readily availble with BIN on eBay.
Are you still useing the standard wide angle lens that came with the XT?
Sadly, yes, but I have to tell you that I hate it. Perhaps my Sony F828 spoiled me, but going from a 28-200mm lens to a 18-55mm is pure hell for me. I was CONSTANTLY using sneaker zoom to get the closeup shots I wanted and while some might not mind that, I do. I want to be able to place my tripod and never move it and still be able to zoom all the way in for the shots I want. For the distance I was shooting 18 was WAY too wide. I don't need a lens that wide for studio shots. I would like to find something in the range of what I had on the Sony. Something around 25-35 to 185-200mm...
Do you shoot tight to begin with or do you crop afterwards in photoshop?
I do both. I have a TON of fullbody shots and while these do show off the costume well, they generally aren't very eyecatching. I personally love the zoomed in shots like the Boba vs Jodo Cast or the Jango pics above. For any pic I do try to zoom all the way in to the subject and leave as little background around them as possible. The nice thing about having 8pegapixel is that sometimes you can crop a fullbody pic into something more interesting but I rarely do it. What you see is generally the original zoom/crop.
And have you had any problem with focus when shooting wide, as I have had a lot with my 2 hot light set-up?
I have not necessarily noticed trouble focusing at a wide shot but I have noticed that it I have a very dark subject the camera has GREAT difficulty focusing. Did a lot of manual zoom for those type of images.
The answers I have given above are what I do but it doesn't mean they are the RIGHT answers. As I have said before, I still have a LOT to learn.
Oh noes!!!!
lol
Since everyone loves the snowgoat.... errr.. I mean goat in the snow pics, here is another.
The rifle belongs to Got Maul, he was nice enough to loan it to me for the shoot. You'll need to contact him to get the details. I can tell you this, that thing must weigh 50 Lbs! My arms were starting to shake for some of those shots.
Thanks! That was my personal touch. The patch reads "You suck and that's sad." You can pick it up here.
Beautiful photos! I Love the Boba Fett and Twin Engines recreation! You got that depth of field so perfect for that! Amazing job!
Perhaps the "Sniffer" can encourage The "Braks" to have his photo shot with a nice number of Slave Leia's. We will make sure the lights are real hot, therefore the ladies will have no other choice but to retire their costumes -AND- only to add them to the collection of the "one and only"
Dang I am back here again and Boba Goat looks awesome!
Thanks for the kind words you guys
Seriously Goat, you gonna be at ComicCon this year...I feel like striving for a Sabertooth Outfit now...just need some lift boots.
Braks, you come back to Chicago, I'm in man! Plus, I'd just love to meet ya!Your shots are almost too good because you can end up seeing each flaw in a costume that the usual photos don't catch (not that any of the fine gentlemen in the photos have any flaws in their costumes...I was refering to my own costumes
Ok,
I was there the last day of the shoot.. bright and early. I have to say that posing for those pics was not as easy as it looks. Some of the shots you guys have`nt seen yet were very demanding.
But I have to wholeheartedly agree with everyone who was there. Brak`s takes amazing photos! If he could get a stiff board like myself to look as good as I do in those pics...then that says he can do amazing work!
My thanks to Got Maul and his Fiance (who I finally met) who opened their home to all of us for this shoot. It was a freakin blast, and it was the first time I got to eat Thai food...it was delicious.
Anyway, again, a big thank you to Brak`s for coming in and doing this for a bunch of us....It was great seeing you again Art.
And hell....it was the most fun I`ve had on an early sunday morning in ages.
Now...here`s to hoping he posts more of the pics...Including the group Mandalorian pic.
JK3
TDH Group shot per Craig's request.
Beautifull!!!
Michelle said "WOW! that looks like it should be on the cover of Starlog magazine or something.
HOOOOOLLYY Sh..................!!!!!!!
man oh man this is one SICK shot !!
That's the image I was waiting for. Thanks Art for coming up and sharing your tyme and art with us. Thanks to José and Jennifer for having us. I was delighted to be able to participate in this gathering. The group photo was my favourite, and I had a lot of fun with the beat-down shots.
Funny thing, I found myself scowling and clenching my teeth under my helmet for the poses. I don't know why.
Be well,
Thomas
I can't tell you how many pics I had to throw away because you guys were blinking behind your masks...
Guys, that shot is why we got into this crazy hobby
And what would a get-together be with out "the ceremonial banging of the plastic toys." Don't even ask what we were doing here... I don't know. I think beer was involved. I hope so. Otherwise I have no excuse...
the worst part, we actually HELD that pose until the shot was taken.
Its drunken jamaican lightsaber fighting.
***!!!
And I thought it was funny when the pic was being taken!!!
Thats funny as hell!!!
JK3
Yup, got me a new desktop picture!
Brak's, you are one heck of a photographer. All of you are just awesome. I just loved the Durge beat on photos, though.
Jen
Craig has a really good point here. Having your picture taken can be extremely demanding, especially if you want to have pictures that are interesting and dynamic. In general our costumes are built to look good but not to function and as many of you know all too well, the costumes give you limited mobility, range and visibility. All of this comes into play when you are being photographed. I would STRONGLY encourage anyone who is considering doing a photo shoot to first really study your character, then begin to practice in front of a mirror, then take test photos. You may be very suprised to see that you are not posing the way you think you are! Additionally, the camera tends to make you look more dull and boring than you do in real life because you are still and frozen in place. To get a dynamci picture you must hyperextend and greatly exagerrate all of your poses. It may look ridiculous and feel silly, but it will turn out great for pics! The biggest thing is to practice a lot. I would suggest getting the help of a significant other (or use a tripod and timer yourself) and take a lot of test photos and review them, noting where you can make improvements. Really notice which poses show you off best and which do not. A lot of times a pose you THINK looks good will not and you may be suprised how some you didn't expect to be winners will really turn out amazing. I am no expert, but if I can be of any help to anyone, please let me know.
I call that last photo "can a lightsaber really ignite a fart? Let's find out."
Art posted some awesome information and I have done this quite a bit at home. I even bought some clamp lights like you can find at Home Depot to give some more light and make my pictures look a bit better too and bought a sheet to use as a back drop. I also have a full length mirror that I set behind my camera and tripod that I use when taking pictures so I can actually see what I am doing when I take them and it helps tremendously.
Yeah, no kidding. I needed a nap after my shoot.
BTW - That group photo is AWESOME!
We'll I've been a bit quiet this whole time becuase I need a few days to recoop and seeked out some consouling from the verbal abuse all weekend. but what I can say is WHAT A DARN GREAT TIME!!!!
Thank YOU:
Jose & Jennifer for opening their house and being so nice in letting us shot there.
ART you are master in my eyes in taking these shots and helping people pose for the best picture ever.
Turo & Michelle for the hospitality!
I think my favorite one of all is the one with Brak's and Toby.
Braks actualy LOOKS like Mike Teavee in that pic. LOL! I LOVE IT! And the expression on Toby's face is PRICELESS! great pics and even better costumes folks! BRAVO!
Holy ****. You guys rule. I'm moving to Chicago and drinking lots of the water.
Also, top form Art!
Just for your info, today there's a high of 18 degrees and we won't break the freezing mark around here until maybe Saturday. But we'd love to have you!
Awesome pictures! I have got to get a digital camera one of these days! I imagine you'll be getting prints done eh? If nothing else there's a print shop out here that does amazing digital work. www.laslight.com Their Fujiflex supergloss prints are absolutely amazing. Is it ok if I have that group image printed Brak's?
I think the one with goat that is a bit more grainy is actually very cool, almost reminds me of snow swirling through the image. No more snow for me out here though :P
"... and bought a sheet to use as a back drop." I've made quite a few backdrops now and depending on the use a backdrop with texture can really make an image pop out. Basically, take a sheet and a couple small cans of latex, one black and one light grey or any other combination of colors though generally grey has a wider application than say...yellow. Mix a little of each in a roller pan (don't stir it) then roll it onto the sheet semi-randomly. After it dries, remix at a different ratio and do it again.
Then again if you're editing digitally a solid color may be easier to manipulate.
....uh oh, I'm rambling... *end transmission*
Last edited by arkkien; 12-06-2005 at 08:43 PM. Reason: Cause I'm an idiot who can't seem to post a picture.. :P
Beautiful photos as always. Particularly love the ones of Goat in the Alley.
Shame I don't have any photos like that....
The shot of all the Mandalorians is really, really awesome.
Beautiful photos as always. Particularly love the ones of Goat in the Alley.
Shame I don't have any photos like that....
So where is the next stop on the Brak's Traveling Camera tour?
<< hint hint Indy hint hint >>
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