luttymoreira

The stare

Oct, 2015

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken during an impromptu session in Santa Monica, CA, circa 2008. I had just started with photography and a friend of mine gave me the contact of this beautiful russian girl who was taking english classes with him. Two days later, we were shooting.

Time

We started mid afternoon, and this one was towards the end of the session, so late afternoon. We were in a small street coming back from the beach, and as she got into the plants, there was no sun hitting her directly.

Lighting

Absolutely! It was simply bouncing off the little street in front of her, and possibly off the walls or gates a few feet across the street. That's why it was so soft and gloomy, and that's why the catchlights are all over the eyes. It was some gorgeous light.

Equipment

I was just starting with photography, so I was using my Canon Rebel XT - yes, the first (second?) budget Canon dSLR!. As for the lens, at that time I only had the 18-55mm kit lens and a 70-300mm cheap telephoto. I'd assume I was using the telephoto, otherwise there would be a lot more distortion, and probably closer to the 70mm side, as I remember not having a lot of room behind be step away from her. Nothing else, this was as simple as it gets!

Inspiration

To be very honest, nothing specifically inspired me. Again, I was just starting and had no idea what I was doing. I had had a lot of practice shooting my ex-girlfriend, but still, it was a lot of hit or miss. On the other hand, I would say I was inspired by everything, by PHOTOGRAPHY! All that thirst for knowledge, all that eagerness to learn to take great photos, that's an inspiration as well! I was free, I had no expectations and I wasn't stuck to rules or anything else. That was spontaneity, and a bit of luck too, I guess.

Editing

I don't think I used Lightroom by that time, so the editing was all in Photoshop. She naturally had an amazing skin and bright blue eyes, and the light was so beautiful, that I didn't have to do much. only a tiny bit of skin clean up, some contrast and vibrance tweaking, and voilà!

In my camera bag

Here we are, 8 years later, and of course I'm not shooting with my Rebel XT anymore! At the moment, my bodies are a Canon 6D and a 60D, and lenses are the Sigma 15mm fisheye f/2.8, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Sigma 85mm f/1.4, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 and a Canon 430 EX flash.

Feedback

A bit of luck won't hurt you! But in all seriousness, now that I understand a lot better what made this one of my favorite images, I can tell that the soft light was my best friend there. There are essentially no shadows on her face, that's gorgeous light! Also, which is no credit of mine, her look, her intense stare into the camera contrasts with the softness of the light, and that's great too. And last but not least, the green of the leaves and the blue of her eyes, being complemented by her tan skin tones and that purple flower make the harmony all that much interesting. Yes, it was luck, but my luck was that all elements were there, I guess!

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The stare

Behind The Lens

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