14" Lumodi Beauty Dish Review

                                                                                                                                                                                                  I received my 14" Lumodi beauty dish for Christmas this year and was a little disappointed at how flimsy it seemed. I took it out of the storage bag it came with and put it back thinking I would return it after Christmas. I had read a lot of good reviews from some reputable photographers and I didn't understand how they could steer me wrong.

A few days after Christmas I took it out of it's storage bag, watched the video on the Lumodi.com website and figured out how to attach it to my Canon 430EX II flash. After I mounted it I took a few pictures of my Loyal Chihuahua and it seemed to be OK. I still wasn't convinced that I would not return it.

A day or two later my sister came over as I was setting it up to do some self portraits with it. I shot a few pictures of her and uploaded them to CS5 and began looking at the light it produced. Very Nice. I had forgotten about the Diffuser that went over the front of the light, but I really liked the light that came off it bare. Very even, unlike an umbrella you don't have to worry about over spill and it is so light weight you can pick it up and move it to a different spot without worrying about it toppling over.

I again tried the same setup with my daughter, only this time I used the diffuser. Wow! Very lovely lighting. This beauty dish is now one of my favorite things to use for portraits. Thanks Lumodi.com for making this AWESOME beauty dish.

If you would like to see more of my work you can do so on my website, sharnaleephotography.com

Sharna

Pictured is an example of the even, soft light this beauty dish puts out. Thank You Rebekah for your willingness to go out in the freezing cold morning and let me take this & other amazing pictures of you. <3

10 Things To Blog About

1. Do I get nervous before a photo shoot? Yes! I will work myself into a frenzy and my husband will tell me, "Honey, you know this stuff. Just go do what I know you can do!" *Thank You Honey, I love you so much* And I learned something very interesting yesterday. Even the Pro's get nervous before a big shoot.*whodathunkit?*
2. How did I start out in photography? When I was in my teens and my family would travel to the East Coast to see my Aunt & Uncle, my dad used to hand me a 110 point & shoot and I'd take pictures of everything. I enjoyed it then too but had bigger fish to fry.
3. Who were the first people to inspire me? My father. He took a photography course one year and after that he got the bug. He was very good and I enjoyed viewing his photographs. My husband Kevin. He bought me my first DSLR camera in 2006 and I haven't put a camera down since.
4. Who are my biggest inspirations today? David Hobby strobist.blogspot.com, Joe McNally, Syl Arena, Bryan Peterson, The People on www.photographycorner.com/forum who give honest and noteworthy critiques on my work, friends from a different forum where I learned how to use my new camera and all the settings. (Thanks Tim)
5. My Equipment? I shoot Canon. Mostly my 7D but at times I'll take the 40D out for a spin. I have an array of lenses. I have an Alien Bee 800 studio light, Plus I have 3 Canon 430 EX's one I & two II. I fire my flashes with my Pocket Wizard flex TT5's (3) and that in turn fires the Alien Bee. It hasn't failed me yet, (knock on wood). I also have 2 studio backdrops with stands to hold them up.  Plus odds and ends here and there.
6. What Equipment is on my list for the future? I'd love to get a couple of faster lenses for my portrait photography, one lens in particular is the 24-70 f2.8 IS. *little rich for my blood right now though*
7. My favorite Setup? It depends on what I shoot If I'm shooting Motorsports I use my 100-400 L IS. For Portraits I have 2 lenses I like to use, for the portrait above I used my 85mm IS. VERY nice portrait lens, For other portraits I like to use my 28-105. Also I love to use a 14" Lumodi beauty dish on one of the 430EX II's and either an umbrella or a Gary Fong Lightsphere diffuser on my second flash. I also learned something about equipment, it's not what you have it's how you use it. Learn your equipment, learn how to light, take your flash OFF CAMERA, Enjoy!
8. My worst critiques & My biggest Fans? I am my worst critique, I see fault in everything I shoot. I try hard to look at it as though someone else has taken it but I am still hard on myself. My Family and Close Friends are my biggest Fans! They all love my work and think I should always be published in magazines.
9. How long has photography been an obsession? Since my daughter was born really, almost 17 years. I always had a camera with me for important events. Always a point and shoot but still a camera. Then after a football game and seeing how the photo's mostly turned out blurred, I pouted until I got my first DSLR.I haven't put it down since.
10. My Toughest Challenges? Lighting! Portraits! I vow this year to practice more and pay closer attention to where the light falls, and how to see the light before it happens.