Work with what you've got.

When life is taking you in the direction it chooses go with it and make the most of it. As my wife is now released from bed rest, we had a routine tests at the hospital just to see how things are coming along. Lucky for us this time, we had the testing done in a birthing/surgical room. Right away I noticed these cool lights hanging from the ceiling. They pivoted all around and you could focus the beam of light from wide to super tight spot light.

So I went about playing with the lights. Really I was getting some more maternity shots as we didn't get a chance to do that while Nina was on bed rest. With these lights I had fun adjusting the intensity and came up with a couple shots I kinda like.

This room had a great '70's vintage look with these light turquoise tiles and this wall clock. Again, all the lighting in these photos is from these surgical lamps and have not been photo shopped or re-edited at all.

I came away with a new respect for continuous lighting. However, I also came away understanding the limitations, such as heat they radiate and the squint factor (having a light shining in your eyes).

What could have been just another visit for tests provided some interesting shots that I would have missed completely if I had not packed my camera. You just never know what opportunities you may stumble upon. 

A couple evenings ago, while Nina was still on bed rest, Kole and I snuck into the back yard for a little fun. I just wanted to play around with some lighting using a speedlite and my softbox and get some silly shots of Kole and myself. I know the photo above is a touch out of focus and I'm over-exposed, but who cares. The photo is about me and my son having fun together.

This was Kole's turn to be a star.

And my turn for a great facebook profile shot...

So what if you are in a situation that you might not think is optimal for pumping out stellar photos. Work with the situation and you will come up with something. And chances are, the situation will be unique and you'll have more interesting photos as a result.

http://www.kurtknock.com/