Ooh to Be A Gooner ...

Somebody asked me before what my dream job would be. My reply was quick and simple: in-house photographer for my beloved Arsenal Football Club. I pictured it in my head ... taking photos of new signings, shooting portraits for the Annual, editorial type photos for the magazine and matchday programmes, etc. I was mostly likely smiling during the brief silence when I daydreamed all of that. I was then asked if I orgasmed from thinking about it. Actually, yes ... twice.

I am active member of the L.A. Gooners, which is the Los Angeles Arsenal Supporters club. I was tasked to shoot our initial shirts for the 2010-2011 season. The first shirt is a take on the logo of Arsenal Football Club. The second one features fan favorite, Emmanuel Eboue. There will be more as the season progresses.

You can support the cause and be in style by purchasing a shirt or two at: http://lagooners.bigcartel.com/




The shirts were shot on white seamless with the following lighting set-up:


My key light was a Calumet Travelite 750 with a Calumet Soft-Lite Reflector, on camera axis, and high. My two rim lights were Calumet Travelite 750s with strip softboxes. One was bigger than the other. There was no science to this, it's just that I only have two strip softboxes and they were not of the same size. For the background, I used an Alien Bee AB400 with a 20 degree grid. Camera-wise, it was a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens.

This was a quick, simple set-up which provides me with good separation, even with the white shirt on a white backdrop. The lighting was primarily for a portrait. In hindsight, I probably needed an on-axis fill such as a ringflash or a speedlite with an umbrella. The light fall-off is discernible around the chest area.

Anyhow, if you're an Angeleno or visiting Los Angeles and wish to catch a match, visit LAGooners.com or our Facebook page for our match fixtures and venues. You can also follow @LAGooners on Twitter. Enjoy the early morning pint (or two) and sing with us as we cheer on the mighty rip-roaring reds!

You can follow me on:
Twitter - geraldgonz
Flickr - Gerald Gonzales

Or view my work at:
GeraldGonzales.com
or my Wordpress PhotoBlog - GeraldGonz

Questions?

I regularly shoot Marianela for her portfolio. I lit this set of photos with a Calumet Travelite 750 with a large (32" x 40") softbox as my key light from camera right. I cross lit her with another Calumet Travelite 750. The rim light had a strip softbox (9" x 36") with a grid. For the background, I used an Alien Bee AB400 with a 20 degree grid.

This was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8. Lately, I've only been using the 85mm lens and my Canon EF 35mm f/2. Right now, I feel like all my needs can be met by those two lenses.

Here is the pull-back shot:


And a diagram:


I set up the lights before I knew I was going to shoot her in lingerie. She didn't mention this beforehand. If I knew, I would've set up the lights differently. I would've gone for a darker, more dramatic, and hopefully sexier feel. I don't really know how to handle a situation like that. She takes a bit of time to relax and I didn't want to unsettle her by re-structuring my lighting set-up. I was afraid she might lose confidence in me, so I stuck with this lighting set-up.

Lesson learned: asking thorough questions is part of pre-planning.