Tomas Mendoza Photography

Ever had your camera in front of you and no idea what to shoot, how to compose the shot or even the desire to shoot at all?
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges we face is related to motivation and consistency. In one word: Discipline
How do we refresh the ‘batteries’? How do we keep things fresh and interesting? How do we get inspired or how do we come up with ideas of what to shoot?

One of the pivotal elements in our Digital Photography Workshop is the weekly assignments. After discussing theory, creative application and how to make those changes on each individual’s camera, each week students get a specific assignment. The objective is for us to spent the weekend shooting with a concept in mind.

During class a couple of months ago I was asked what to do after the workshop was over. So, I suggested to cycle through the assignments we had and re-shoot them in the same sequence. However, I ended up making a list of projects to use acquired Phographic skills: PAD (picture a day), a Blog where you write then shoot to illustrate your point, document family history, dedicate the weekend to shoot someone’s hobby, shoot your valuables for inventory and insurance, shoot for online sales, and others

It was such an energizing meeting that when I got home I had come up with a new project of my own: Cleaning, organizing and sale as much online as possible.

In the past I had used my 10-foot backgrounds and lighting setup for product and commercial applications but I had the whole floor so space was not a problem. This time, however, as soon as I begun bringing all those unopened boxes (from the last time we moved) my home studio got cluttered. I had thrown my hat over the fence so I had to jump… I was not going to move those boxes again. So it became apparent that I needed a small setup to take pictures.
Frustrated and tired then I begun checking out accesories for table top photography. Some pretty cool stuff out there but despite their appeal (assuming I could decide on a model) they were not cheap and it would take a while for shipping. By midnight my cleaning idea gave way to a new project: I was going to build my own Table Top Setup.

Next day I begun sketching the requirements and specifications: Light yet sturdy, easy to setup and store, versatile and economic. I debated between wood similar to the posts I used to make some light stands but I settled on PVC because it was easier to cut and adjust without making a big mess (also cheaper). Originally, the table and the background ‘holder’ were going to be a single piece but I couldn’t decide how far back the background should be so it made sense to make two pieces to separate them as needed. I was having problems deciding how tall, deep and wide it should be but the hardware store made it easy for me.

for less than $20 bucks we got:
They sell Plywood in 2×2
Precut 2-feet PVC40
Plexi glass 24×18 inches
10 ft regular PVC for the cross bars and the backdrop holder
A roll of Banner Paper which is also 24 inches (thanks to my wife Kari)

The kids helped on this project and a couple of hours later we built a ‘table’ that is 32 inches tall and the background holder stands 62 inches

And here is the whole setup shooting sample pictures to use in my Digital Photography Workshop

Here is a shot posted on an online auction

What do you think?

The other day one my students mentioned that he was looking for mannequin’s online. I asked why and he said to practice.

I remember when I first begun learning I would write meticulous notes and diagrams. I would even use rulers, measure tapes, etc just to make sure I was doing things right. Of course, one thing is to know the theory and other to be able to generate consistent results and be able to deliver time after time.
I would shoot toys and action figures and pretty much all sort of things inside the condominium because I lacked the confidence to go outside. However, soon enough a dreadful reality became apparent: I needed a model.
Nevertheless, even though I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to shot (I had created a list with a series of diagrams) I wasn’t sure I had the courage to actually shoot a model not to mention I didn’t have the money to hire one even from Craigslist.
One good Saturday morning I woke up late as my family had gone out of town, showered and when dressing I found the perfect model…in the mirror…

I forgot about breakfast and everything else I could’ve done on my ‘home-alone-Saturday’ and rushed to get dressed. I was determined to produce a three light portrait

First I set up my tripod, Canon 50MM 1.8 lens and using a remote cable fired a couple of shot in Program Mode. Since I didn’t have a light meter I was using the camera’s built-in light meter to gauge the exposure settings. Using white masking tape I marked the exact spot I was sitting on the couch and electrical tape to mark the spot on the wall where I would look at. I kept moving the tripod until I found an ‘acceptable’ framing.

Once past the frame the next step was to determine the lighting setup. The fill light was going to come from the window so I kept changing the manual settings on the camera until I found enough detail on the ‘window’ side. The next challenge was to light the other side of the face (and avoid harsh reflections on the glasses) with a flash so I mounted my Sigma 500DG Super and set it to eTTL. Pointing the flash straight on or bouncing of the ceiling would ruin the project so I had to place a reflector on a light stand and keep moving the light stand but couldn’t get satisfied so I switched to an umbrella instead.

I know I could’ve done a better job but was running out of time so I had to settle with what I had accomplished so far. I met my goal and in the process I managed to have a rather interesting learning experience as a photographer and as a model

The other day I was contracted to take pictures of Baby Bags to post on their E-commerce site.  Everything was going fine until I noticed that my background lightstand legs wouldn’t fit between my ‘platform’ and the backdrop.  So, I had to get creative set my flash on its stand and pile up a bunch of books until it was high enough to work.

It was obvious I needed more light stands.  However, even at $30.00 bucks light stands are kind of expensive and the feet require some space to extend.  So I decided to build my own.

I took my camera and my Cactus Remotes to Home Depot and tried different screws until I found one that would fit: 1/4 coarse screw.  I bought several lengths but the ones that would work are 3 1/2 inches long.  For the ‘stand’ I ended up picking 3 2×2 3 feet long.  For the ‘base’ I got a Quickcrete bag and some of my baby’s empty formula cans.

Including a soda (for me) and a chocolate bar for my assistant we spent about $15.00 bucks or something like that

I cut one of the posts and made it two: 1 feet and 2 feet long.  From corner to corner I drew an ‘X’ and with a 1/16 bit drilled a hole in the center; replaced the bit with 1/8 and then with a 1/4 until it was 3 inches deep.  By beginning small I made sure I didn’t split the post.”

With a ruler and a sharpie I measured the screws and marked 3 1/4.  Then with dremel I cut the heads off.

Finally, we attached a level to the post (using a rubber band), placed the posts in the empty cans, filled them with quickcrete and poured water…then waited for the cement to dry.  Home Depot’s web site says it takes a couple of hours to dry but we let them dry overnight just to make sure. We made three stands: 1, 2 and 3 feet long (the picture shows 1 and 2, the longest stand is holding the reflector).

My beautiful assistant and I were happy with our little project and to celebrate we took some pictures for this post.  Here she is with the 2 feet light stand right behind her head