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Maxcimillian
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Maxcimillian



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS 7D

settings Aperture f/7.1 ISO 100 Shutter 1/250 

upload_dateJan, 2015

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3304

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Awards

Contest Finalist in The Face Of A Man Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in A Hipster World Photo Contest
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Superior Skill
candiscamera kittyrunstedler ryanmagdanz andrewjarwick SarahLigia1 Gavin873Photography Shirlyn +1
Magnificent Capture
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Genius
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7 Comments |
vojce
 
vojce August 07, 2015
excellent congrats
VHiggins
 
VHiggins August 07, 2015
wonderful lighting! congratulations on your Feature!
iceman2
 
iceman2 August 07, 2015
Beautiful lighting in this portrait capture!
Bishoop
 
Bishoop August 07, 2015
Soooo coool !!!
Remraf
 
Remraf August 08, 2015
Great portrait!
kurtisssmith
 
kurtisssmith August 21, 2015
Nice
edstines Platinum
 
edstines September 02, 2023
Wonderful, i should give you a 10 if you turned his head a smidgen to the left to show a little more of his left eye, instead i give you a 9. Very good!

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo is the result of a rainy afternoon with my kids. I had been reading about different types of photography and since I only own a single flash and I like the look, I decided on making an attempt at some low key single light shots. After a few attempts and some light shaping with a umbrella and a blanket we were able to get a few that we liked. This picture is only one of a few fun results.

Time

I remember It was a rainy late morning or early afternoon when boredom starts to sink in.

Lighting

Lighting, that was tricky, I only had one Flash and a simple stand with a white umbrella. we shot this against a white wall, so I had to cover the back and sides of the umbrella to keep the light from bouncing all over the room. After several tries I was able to figure out that I needed to cover almost the whole umbrella leaving only a slit of light open to the subjects. Once I had the light shaped I positioned the kids just right and had them look off tho the side of the room then snapped a few off. I almost didn't post this shot because of the way he's looking at me. (DAD are we done yet?) but after thinking about I really love this picture, it shows his patience and character. After respectfully putting up with my experiment for quite some time and not wanting to disrespect me he simply gave me a look to politely let me know it's time.

Equipment

I am not a wealthy man, only by the grace of God do I have the gear that I own. This was shot with a Canon 7D and a "plastic fantastic" 50mm cannon 1.8. I locked it down to a tripod and used an inexpensive shutter release. I also used one of those $20 hong kong flash remote set to trigger a strobe on a umbrella stand and I cant forget the blanket draped over the umbrella, it was actually the key to shaping the light.

Inspiration

I love my kids, the funny thing is I hadn't taken many pictures of them in quite some time. We were bored, sitting in the house staring at the walls, mom was at work and I wanted to take some nice pictures of them. I have always admired the low key look it really showcases the depth of the model's face. This type of picture brings your attention into to the eyes and lets you really see the dept of who you are looking at. So many portraits are so shallow, yes you may shoot a perfectly sharp focused shot and see a pretty face but where's the depth? When I look at someone, I look into them, who are they, where is the real person inside? This is what I try to achieve in a portrait. I am still learning but always striving to capture that depth, leaning away from the superficial we so often see and searching for more of the depth in my subjects.

Editing

Post processing was almost nil, a little blemish clean up and some adjustment to the color balance. I was able to setup the shot how I wanted it and did not need to do much in post.

In my camera bag

This is a great question, I want to take as little as possible but this is almost never the case. I usually try to plan for the shoot and bring only what I need. However I inevitably pack heavy when going out looking for something to shoot. My 7d is my go to camera, I like to use a 70-200 for almost anything outdoors, even portrait's. My next go to lens is the cheap but awesome 50mm 1.8. I also take a 75-300 for macro's a 28-135 for the basics and a 10-22 for my wide angle. It's always handy to have a few filters, I like kokin's because of the versatility, I can stack a few different ones if I need to. Of course I take some Cleaning and maintenance "stuff", a few extra batteries and CF cards are also a must. Lastly I think a good sturdy tripod and a shutter release is also essential.

Feedback

I don't know if I should be giving advice this was my first attempt at this type of shot. I will say that if at first you don't succeed, keep on trying, learn from your mistakes and when you get that perfect shot, try and remember what you did and keep repeating it!

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