byrnephotography

Princess Of Purple

My beautiful little princess

My beautiful little princess
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Canon EOS 5D Mark III

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 250 Shutter 1/6400

upload_date

Jul, 2014

Views

3149

Likes

+351

Awards

Contest Finalist in Wtfocus Photo Contest

People's Choice in One Is Good Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in One Is Good Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Outdoor Portraits Photo Contest

Superb Composition

+59

Peer Award

+54

Top Choice

+29

Absolute Masterpiece

+18

Outstanding Creativity

+12

All Star

Superior Skill

Magnificent Capture

Jaw Dropping

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo on a nice hot summers day in Hitchin, Heartfordshire, UK.

Time

I took this about 15:30 in the afternoon. The sun was still up quite high in the sky but the intensity of the sun wasn't as strong as it was 1-2 hours before, so this made it perfect for my daughter to model in with enough suncream applied. It only took about 40mins to travel here. I hadn't been here before so I didn't know what to expect of this lavender field.

Lighting

As the sun was still very high in the sky it was still very bright and it can sometimes be tricky to achieve decent looking images when the light is very harsh. It can cause highlights to be blown out as well as unwanted shadows. I was lucky to have the sun pretty much in front of my daughter so it exposed my Poppy perfectly.

Equipment

I used my Canon 5D MK III, Canon 70-200mm, Giottos Tripod.

Inspiration

I've always had a fascination about shooting lavender fields and never got around to shooting them. In France they have some amazing lavender fields which I've seen many times in images on the web. I think I saw this on someones FaceBook account and as soon as I did I wanted to know more. Clearly I got very excited when I realised it was 30-40 mins away from where I live. I knew there wasn't much there as a focal point so I needed a model and my daughter does love being in front of the camera (thankfully). We had to think of colours that would enhance or go well with the purple of the lavender. After a quick discussion with the wife, white was the obvious choice as it portrays innocents and that angelic look. The lavender field wasn't as full as I would of liked it to have been, but there was definitely something I could work with. Something we didn't encounter on was bees. The field was covered in bees. This made us think that we might have to reevaluate my daughter going into the field. We asked her did she still want to do it and she bravely said yes. This is why the expression of her face looks a little concerned and scared. But in a photographer sense it was the perfect look as it makes it even more adorable. Within a few minutes she realised being in there wasn't as bad as it looked. Me my wife and son all joined her as we walked up one of the lavender corridors. The only person to get stung that day was ME!! Haha.

Editing

As I always shoot in RAW I need to to edit the images to bring out the depth and colours I saw. So to do this I always use Lightroom. I enhanced the colours and vibrance, added more detail and clarity within the focussed area of the image and then used Photoshop to clone more purple lavender within the foreground as there was too much green for the look I wanted.

In my camera bag

Canon 5D MK III Canon 24-105mm Canon 50mm Canon 70-200mm Canon 100mm Macro 15" MacBook Pro & Charging Cable Manfrotto 190 Go Aluminum Tripod Battery Grip GoPro Hero 4 Black, Remote and 4 GoPro Batteries 12 Canon Batteries Canon Remote Lucroit Filter Holder Hitech Reverse Filter Hitech Soft Grad Hitech Firecrest IRND Hitech Prostop 6 IR Lee Filter Holder Lee 1 x Big Stopper Lee 3 x Hard Grads

Feedback

Use the colours of nature for that natural look. Also look at using leading lines or depth of filed techniques as it really adds so much more to the shot. Try and use lone objects/subjects as focal points, this adds a sense of scale and mystery to an image as well as opportunities for a great composition. Research the internet for locations as you may be surprised that there might be something you're interested in right on your doorstep. Last but not least, have fun and explore. It's Never Too Late To Follow Your Dream.

See more amazing photos, follow byrnephotography

byrnephotography

byrnephotography

Princess Of Purple

My beautiful little princess

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow byrnephotography

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