It was the last farmers market of the season in Uptown Westerville and although I’d visited the market every Wednesday afternoon I wasn’t pleased with most of the portraits, or attempted portraits, I’d taken during the three hours it was open for business.
This day I tossed my Lastolite EzyBox in the trunk of the car hoping to find a worthy subject.
As is the tradition at the final market, kids in costumes were awarded Trick-or-Treat candies from vendors, some of whom decorated their booths in Halloween dressings or themselves in costumes indicative of their product.
Such was the cheese maker who dressed in a cow costume to offer candies and cookies to her younger customers.
The crowds are usually much smaller at the end of the season, attendance dropping quickly after the last of the fresh corn and then to a trickle when the final freshly picked apples are gone.
That made it a little easier to pull the bovine out of her booth for a quick photo session.
Shot with the 14-24mm lens to include the market, minus half the vendors who stop coming at the end of the season.
Lit with an Nikon SB-800 shot through the Lastolite EzyBox with camera and strobe set to Nikon Creative Lighting System settings.
Underexposed the background by 2/3rd of a stop. Strobe set to normal output.
The EzyBox is mounted on an extension handle so it is about 40 inches over my head and slightly to the left so the light comes from slightly above .
The higher angle makes the light at her feet and slightly behind her less than it would have been at a lower angle. Less light makes the shadows disappear into the background. The softbox light slightly wrapped around her so the shadows are less pronounced than a straight strobe or a what an umbrella would have provided.
Great thing about the EzyBox is how simple it is to setup and teardown. It fits into a small pouch, even with the extension handle.
I have used it at the end of the small monopod used as a strobe extension but it wasn’t in the car as I thought.
The one thing that made this shoot more enjoyable was the enthusiasm of our subject. I’d shot her a little earlier with my iPhone for a different portrait so she was eager to see what was next in my shooting portfolio.
