Cain's Camera

One Thing I Like To Do During My Down Time

Jabari Cain — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:11:47 +0000

When I have a little down time, there is one thing in particular that I like to do: experiment with photography. This past weekend my assistant (Sylvia) and I shot some pictures in her backyard and at the local park.

I wanted to use this time to experiment with my beauty dish and I LOVE the results. Sylvia did a wonderful job as usual playing the role of model, plus it was pretty cold outside. We had three wardrobe changes: pink dress, black dress, green winter outfit.

The beauty dish that I was using is made by Profoto and has a white reflector. You can tell from the shots that the subject’s face has been lit with a proper exposure, while the background is underexposed. You will also notice the subject’s face has a white tone to it because of the beauty dish. For a majority of the shots the beauty dish was camera left around a 45 degree angle to me, hitting the subject straight on. I also used a grid within the beauty dish to cut down on the spilling of the light. This was extremely helpful when I used a wide angle lens for full body shots of Sylvia.

Overall I am really pleased with the results and look forward to more experimenting with this light modifier.

- Jabari

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How Jabari Got Started in Photography

Jabari Cain — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 17:35:37 +0000

A lot of people ask how I got started in the area of photography, so here is my rundown.

During the year of 2010 my brothers’ and I needed to purchase a Christmas gift for my father. My father is an avid photographer dating back to the 70′s and he still keeps up to date with the digital age. Khari (the middle brother) said that my father wanted a camera. We all chipped in and purchased a Canon T2i and were extremely excited to present this new camera to our father. Unfortunately when my father opened his Christmas gift, he blatantly said that this was NOT the camera that he wanted. “The camera that I wanted is $5000″, he said to our surprise. So yes, we couldn’t get that camera for our father and now we needed to decide what to do with the camera.

… side note, remember when Christmas was fun and you didn’t have to pay for anything? You could just run downstairs in your pajamas at 5AM to see what Santa brought. No worries about paying off your Christmas gifts, just take, take, take and be happy!!!!…..

So back to the 2010 Christmas, all the gifts have been opened and the payments for my gifts have pretty much balanced out.

This basically means I spent $750 in gifts and received $750 in gifts. Not complaining, still very thankful for everything received…..but I wanted something else to open. Low and behold, there was a brand new camera ready to be opened and this brought back some joy into my 2010 Christmas:-) I truly did not know that by me opening this 2 pound box, I was also opening a number of opportunities.

With my new gift opened my father assisted me with some of the basics of photography. This includes bouncing the flash off the ceiling instead of direct on camera flash (he also gave me one of his old flashes), altering your ISO and the trade off that exists (grain), and the difference between the camera modes (Green Box, AV, TV). I can not thank my father enough for getting me started in the field of photography (whether by accident or not).

Fast forward to the current day, I do my best to consume as much information about photography as I truly feel I am a lifelong learner. I am a teacher at heart, as I love teaching others, but I am also an advocate for learning as much as possible. I look forward to the years to come as I evolve my style through the lens:-)

- Jabari

PS Below are some of my first shots in 2010 when I started playing around with the T2i. Captions are within the rollovers. Always curious about learning:-)

CAIN’S CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY IN JEZEBEL MAGAZINE!!!

Jabari Cain — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 00:22:20 +0000

I had the pleasure of shooting two statuesque models in Piedmont Park for Bridge Boutique in Midtown, Atlanta. The advertisement is currently in Jezebel magazine. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Bridge Boutique previously, and it is always a pleasure to come together with a team of professionals to create beautiful imagery. Thanks to everyone who helped make the shoot a success. Check out the August Bridge Boutique gallery on Cain’s Camera to see more from the day!

Make Up Artist: Lady Makeup Inc.
Model: Onira

Tiffany Staples – Fitness Instructor

Jabari Cain — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:01:55 +0000

Tiffany Staples is a personal fitness instructor based in Monroe, GA who also travels to Atlanta to train. We planned a shoot a couple of months back and we were finally able to shoot this month. I traveled to Monroe to get some inside shots of the gym that Tiffany works out of and also some outside shots. I wanted some shots within the gym with Tiffany on the workout equipment, but also some shots with her posing within the gym. For the outside shots, I knew my time was limited because of the heat. We settled on three different locations within the area and we were both pleased with the results. I had a fun time shooting Tiffany as she is a highly energetic, fun and positive person.

Tiffany runs a fitness blog and it can be viewed via www.tiffanystaples.com .

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Jordan and Jonathan – Skateboarders

Jabari Cain — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:58:16 +0000

I was out practicing with my wonderful assistant at Inman Park and we stumbled across two random skateboarders. We asked if we could take a couple of pictures of them skateboarding and they agreed. This was an impromptu mini photo shoot and the pictures turned out great. Thanks again Jordan and Jonathan!

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Edward Hales’ 80th Birthday Celebration

Jabari Cain — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:03:03 +0000

I was invited to shoot Edward Hales surprise birthday party and there was a great turn out for his 80th birthday. Many people were there and Mr. Hales was very surprised. There was great food, a gorgeous cake, a ton of laughs and even a book signing by Mr. Hales. During the event many of his co workers, friends and family spoke of his many accomplishments and what he meant to them. Overall it was a wonderful occasion and I’m glad to have captured those moments.

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Ivy Prep Academy 2012 Father Daughter Dance

Jabari Cain — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:12:16 +0000

Ivy Preparatory School invited me to shoot their annual Father/Daughter Dance this past weekend. It was great to see so many fathers there with their daughters. The night was filled with food, music, dancing (Soul Train Line) and a whole lot of fun. The girls had a great time seeing all their friends dressed up. The pictures turned out great and I look forward to shooting the next Ivy Prep event!

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Molly and Jarred

Jabari Cain — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:21:56 +0000

I graduated from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln) and I try to visit once a year. This year two of my friends are getting married this July and I am very excited for them. The second day I was there a huge snow storm hit, but I was able to capture some moments before then. The pictures turned out well and I look forward to my visit back to Nebraska.

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Atzert Family Portraits

Jabari Cain — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:00:30 +0000

It’s always great to see babies grow and this was the case with Baby Cooper. I took some newborn pictures of him in September of last year and he has grown four months later. This particular shoot involved the parents and all three did a wonderful job putting Cooper at ease. The photos came out nice with close-ups, bird’s-eye view and medium shots. I look forward to seeing Cooper grow over time and getting more photos of him.

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The Heidelberg Project

Jabari Cain — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:45:41 +0000

I went back to my hometown of Lansing, Michigan and went shooting with my father. He decided to take me to the The Heidelberg Project which is a huge collection of street art in the heart of Detroit. When you stumble across the site it seems like a collection of junk just scattered around, but once you take a further look the artist definitely has a message. This includes the demise of police brutality, government corruption, the downfalls of smoking, etc. For more information about The Heidelberg Project, check out the video below. I could have stayed at the site longer because there was so much to shoot.

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