Welcome back to the second part of the Magic hour post. If you missed part one then please check it out HERE. To continue on from my previous post I am showing you what the light is like at the magic hour and why its the best natural light to shoot in.

Our next venture with Stephanie A. Cook leads us to a location about a block away from my home. A small but long alleyway built in the 1960’s I believe. On some weekends the alley can be filled with children playing football and playing with their toys. Every time I would walk past this location I had always wanted to shoot their, whether it be with a video camera or my Nikon.

I had tried a few new techniques with this location using the sun. I was shooting for some natural lens flares and glows along with some great skin tones. Since we had already shot at another previous location the model was nice and relaxed and more comfortable around me, and it shows in the pictures.

This first set of photos are just headshots. Remember these were all shot at the same location, using the same available light, just at different angles. At 200mm the DoF is so great you can make all the shots look like a different location.

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 250

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/350)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 200

These next photos were taken al around the location as well. Some may repeat but were at different times so you can see a drastic amount of light differences. I tend to push the rule of thirds a bit when I shoot. For me though, thats what helps make the images a little more unique from the rest. Also on a side note/question, could this be my first real attempt at fashion photography? I’ve never shot fashion before.

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 60 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 72 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 60 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO Speed: 125

Thanks you for checking out the second part of the magic hour. Hopefully soon when I get back from Washington I will be able to do a part dealing with morning light. Let me know what you think!

- Travis Sackett