Thursday, December 24, 2009

one light techniques

 The first image below was shot using a bare light to the right of the subject.  There was a tremendous amount of fog which provided for some interesting back light.   I adjusted the hues to get an even more moody effect.

The second image was created by using a 28" Apollo softbox directly above the subject.  When out on the streets looking for locations I don't have the luxury of carrying around a c-stand so I can put the softbox directly above.  Solution...ask someone nicely on the street to be your human lightstand.  In return I offered some nice portraits for the man holding the stand and his wife.  Notice that the 28" Apollo creates a nice gradient and natural vignette effect.

The third image was also taken with the 28" Apollo.  This was a tough shot because I was trying to get that flying horse in my shot and come up with a nice composition.  I really wanted the blown out portion in the clouds to frame her head;  I just couldn't quite frame it the way I wanted.  But,  this is probably my favorite shot of the series.   You may also notice that I have been experimenting with blue hue in post production.  I haven't mastered this technique yet and I may ditch it all together because I don't want to be known as the guy who turns all his pics funky blue.

Happy Holidays!
Michael







2 comments:

Unknown said...

I like the blue hue, Michael. It's really interesting. One of these days, I'll have to get a softbox. It makes for beautiful portraits. Love your style!

18Z5L said...

So, using a D300, RadioPoppers, SB800 in a soft box, over the subjects head, set the shutter speed to expose for dramatic clouds, set the aperture for the DOF and let CLS do it's thing?