Batch 9 and a Kayak…and Not Much Else

Last Saturday, Advanced World Systems and Advanced World Solutions, collectively known as AWS, had their company outing in La Luz Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas.

I went along for the ride because…well, by day I work for AWS.

Anyway, I was also set for a day at the beach. Goggles and beach shorts ready for a day of fun in the sun. When the guys from Batch 9 asked me to take their picture shortly after lunchtime, I’m guessing they weren’t expecting that I’d be prepping my mobile studio when I said, “I’ll just get my camera”.

The Girls of Batch 9 By the Rocks

Shooting at high noon was quite a challenge. A lot of books and internet articles out there would tell you not to shoot at high noon, and for a good reason: the high and bright source of light we call the sun shines intense on anything it hits, and casts dark ugly shadows where it doesn’t, like beneath the eyebrows and the nose, effectively uglifying whoever you’re taking a picture of.

In order to control the sun, I set my shutter to the max sync speed of 1/250, with my aperture set to around f16. At that small an aperture, and since I couldn’t bring my flashes any closer in order to evenly light everyone and the kayak, I had both my SB-600s working half- to full-power.

The Boys of Batch 9 Over At The Rocks

We had the next set of pictures over a small rock formation jutting out of the water. Since I was shooting a smaller group this time, I was able to move my flash closer to the subjects, allowing my flashes to relax a bit on 1/4 power. I also asked some of the idle guys to hold a gold reflector, just to reflect back some of that bright golden light.

Light Setup On The Rocks

The last set I had with the Batch 9 guys and girls was on a much larger rock formation near the end of the stretch of beach. As you can see in this test shot, this time the bright sun wasn’t my only problem. Finding a secure, flat rock to place my light-stands was a problem.

Climbing Carla

Another thing was that in order to properly light my subjects, I had to extend the light-stand all the way up, which didn’t help its balance at all. To make matters worse, I needed to use shoot-through umbrellas on some of the shots to even up the light a bit. You know how you’re umbrellas drag you around on a windy day? Yep, same problem.

Edot Having a Zen Moment

Batch 6 Group Picture

In the end, the guys took turns keeping watch over the strobes while I shot the others, and it was a pretty rewarding challenge.

Much later, and back near our cabanas, I took a picture of me and my batchmates for the memories. This time, the sun was much lower. For this shot, it wasn’t even directly hitting us. I shot this with two SB-600s left and right with reflector umbrellas. Pretty standard lighting.

Afterwards, my friend Pearly asked me to take a picture of her daughter, Ruthy.

This was lit by a shoot-through umbrella up-close.

Little Ruthy

And here are some more of the pictures. Enjoy!

Tinkle and Carla

The Girls of Batch9

The Boys of Batch9

Brian Contemplating Life

Angel Just Sittin’ Groovy

Tinkle All Posh And Poise

Arlee Just Chillin’

Art, Pearly, and Ruthy

Just Me Jumping Around

Ruthy Jumping for Joie

Ruthy Playing In The Sand