jambajim8

A Modern Spin on Red Riding Hood

This photo was the Grand Champion, Best of Show, and First Place in the Lake County Fair Amateur Photo Contest. This image also won Honorable Mention in the Ph...
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This photo was the Grand Champion, Best of Show, and First Place in the Lake County Fair Amateur Photo Contest. This image also won Honorable Mention in the Photographer's Forum Magazine Photo Contest. First Place Winner in the 2016 McHenry County Fair photo contest. Accepted into a gallery at the Illinois Board of Higher Education's headquarters in Springfield, Illinois.
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Aug, 2014

Views

4103

Likes

+288

Awards

Action Award

Chatter Award

Zenith Award

Creative Winter Award

Top Shot Award 21

Legendary Award

Featured

Winner in Popping out! Photo Challenge

Contest Finalist in 1K Edited Shots Photo Contest

Winner in The Best HDR Photo Challenge

Winner in only creativeHDR portrets Photo Challenge

People's Choice in HDR Photo Challenge

Way To Go

Outstanding Creativity

+71

Peer Award

+62

Superb Composition

+44

Absolute Masterpiece

+32

Top Choice

+29

Superior Skill

Genius

Magnificent Capture

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

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Behind The Lens

Location

I captured this photo in my backyard behind my old house. I had a forest preserve that backed up right to the boundary of my backyard. This was perfect for me since I am a passionate photographer. I took this right at the entrance of the preserve due to my sister freezing during the photo shoot. The forest preserve is beautiful because of the ponds and different paths it has on the land. I would have gone further in, but I needed to keep my sister happy.

Time

I took this right after school, so around 3 PM. Since daytime never lasts in the winter, I had to get out there as fast as I could with as much daylight to use as possible. The afternoon is the best time because of where the sun is and the angle of light through the trees. Also, the wind was not as strong at that time, so it helped with the red fabric my sister used as a hooded cape.

Lighting

The early afternoon is best for lighting because the sun is not too low or too high. As I played around with the camera angles and the angle of sunlight, I knew I had opportunities to either incorporate the source of light in the photograph or use it to light up everything evenly. The trees and the ever-so-slightly cloudy day helped because they forced the light to distribute evenly. The snow also helped with distribution because it turned into fill light. It lit up her legs and her cape a little more, which made it easier to edit later on.

Equipment

During this photoshoot, it was just the camera, I, and my subject. I did not utilize lens filters, tripods, or flash. I had my Nikon D200 on ISO-auto because I did not know much about my camera at the time this image was captured. I did not solely stand, I knelt down in the snow. Low angles make almost any image a ton better. I did not want to stay standing because I did not want viewers to notice a higher angle that looks as if a beginner took it. I also wanted to make my sister look taller by using a lower angle.

Inspiration

During my photography class in high school, I had to come up with a theme for a triptych assignment. All I could think of were fairy tales and classic children's stories. I successfully completed triptychs with themes of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, so I wanted to use that idea for a photoshoot I did for fun. I thought of Little Red Riding Hood because the bland and monochromatic scenery in my backyard needed a pop of something in my potential photograph. I searched around in my sister's closet for red clothes and found a skirt and a long-sleeve shirt. That was all I found of hers that did not have designs all over them. I wanted to create a more modern version of Red Riding Hood, so I used the skirt to find leggings that somehow matched. The polka-dotted skirt would make the modern idea come true, so I found leggings with polls dots also. In many portraits, viewers never really focus on legs, so I wanted to use a contrasting color to make the eye look all around the composition. The only thing I was missing was the cape! I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some fabric to act as the hooded cape. I got her all dressed and I had her walk to the spot with a warm jacket on, and once we were ready to start I took off the coat and quickly clicked the button. I just told her to walk. That's it. I love candids, so I wanted no posing whatsoever. Posed photos are not very enjoyable for me. With any of my subjects, I either tell them to walk towards me or away from me. That it sole order I give them and their natural motions do the rest of the work for me. The way my sister walked through the snow, she was struggling very slightly, which made her candid, frozen motion very intriguing. The way her knees are close plays a large role in her candid poise. She was shivering during the shoot, and I told her I was almost done. She wrapped her arms in front of her to keep warm, and she grabbed the cape too because it kept blowing in the wind. She grabbed the cape at the perfect spot, which made the cape blow in the wind in the best way possible. I guess you could say it was an accidental photo, but that is why I love candid photography. What also inspired me was my interest in the "faceless portrait" concept. I love the mystery of it, which makes me want to dive into the idea. I like taking pictures of the backs of people because then they are not shy. If the camera was in front of them, they would not know what to do. Since I was behind my sister, she knew she could do whatever she wanted and she knew that no one would see her face in the picture, so that made her much more comfortable and cooperative.

Editing

I post-processed very much! I used photo-editing apps on my iPhone, especially the Snapseed app. I used the HDR filter and played around with the brightness, contrast, smoothness, and intensity. After that, I wanted to add the effect of film, so I added texture (or "grunge," as Snapseed calls it) around the sides. Since Little Red Riding Hood is an old story, I wanted to add that filmy-type look. I used another app, Cinema FX, to edit it even more by using a filter that took out every color except the reds, browns, and skin colors. I wanted to keep that pop of red and I wanted to intensify it, so that filter was crucial in post-processing. I love that filter because the subject is not the only thing that has color on it. The filter leaves colors on the trees also, which keeps the photograph consistent with those shades all around. After this process, I put it in Photoshop and used the burn and dodge tools. I also played around with the curves, which brightened up the specific parts I wanted to be brighter. I also added another film overlay to emphasize the filmy look I was going for.

In my camera bag

I have a Lowepro bag that had a strap that goes around my body like a sash. Inside, I have my Nikon D200, my NIKKOR 18-200mm lens, two full-charged batteries, some granola bars, a water bottle, my Olympus OM-10 my grandfather gave me, and three Rocketfish advanced series lens filters: an eight-point-star filter with a 72mm step-down ring, a circular polarizer, and a multicoated neutral density filter with a 72mm step-down ring.

Feedback

With children, use low angles unless a higher one will help with the message you are trying to convey. With portraits, it is not always the front of the person that needs to have the lens in front of him/her. When using HDR, make sure you have plenty of lighting to minimize the grain. When figuring out what the subject should wear, use what you have. Do not buy anything until you absolutely need it. I wanted my sister to wear all red, but I had a polka-dotted skirt which gave me the idea to use leggings with something of polka-dot sort. With children as the subjects, plan ahead. Carefully plan the location and how you will take this. Make sure it is an area that is closest to shelter so he/she can warm up fastest after the photoshoot. Be creative. I did not need an actual cape for this shoot, I just used fabric and folded and wrapped it around my subject in order to make it look like a cape. Plan the composition ahead too. Plan where you want the subject in the frame. I kept into consideration that there may be wind. I wanted my model to be off the side because the cape will blow to one side of the person inevitably.

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jambajim8

jambajim8

A Modern Spin on Red Riding Hood

This photo was the Grand Champion, Best of Show, and First Place in the Lake County Fair Amateur Photo Contest. This image also won Honorable Mention in the Ph... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow jambajim8

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This photo was the Grand Champion, Best of Show, and First Place in the Lake County Fair Amateur Photo Contest. This image also won Honorable Mention in the Ph...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.