billthornhill

Red Retro

Pin up style shoot in a beautiful 1957 Chevy

Pin up style shoot in a beautiful 1957 Chevy
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X-T1

Aperture f/1.6 ISO 200 Shutter 1/400 Focal Length 5600/100

upload_date

Nov, 2015

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287

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+28

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Behind The Lens

Location

This image was taken at a local park here in Wooster Ohio. It was actually the first time I'd used a model for a shoot and I was lucky enough to find someone who wanted some 50's style shots and someone else who owned a beautiful 1957 Chevy that I was able to loan. I actually had shot the car a month earlier at a car rally, so it was cool getting to use it for this shoot.

Time

We'd agreed to meet in the early evening as I wanted to catch the last hour of sunlight. It was a cloudless day so I had to used the shaded area of the car as best I could to stop the light from being too stark. I had speedlights with me but this was just in natural light.

Lighting

I wanted the image to pop but not with hash light. I turned the driver's side of the car away from the sun and just shot her as you see. It was in an open space so the car was the only shade available.

Equipment

I shot the image on a Fuji X-T1 with their beautiful 56mm f1.2 lens. It was shot at f1.6, ISO 200 and 1/400th. The 56mm needs to be shot at over 1/250th for the sharpest results when hand held, so the bright day helped. I had not long bought the Fuji when I shot this. I've since replaced all my Nikon gear for the Fuji X Series now and have no regrets. The image quality from Fuji lenses is just beautiful.

Inspiration

My model Ashley had contacted me and asked if I would like to help her put some shots together for a charity she helps with call Heels for Combat Boots. They fund raise for veterans by selling pinup images and calendars, as well as other merchandise. I'm now proud to be one of their official photographers in Ohio.

Editing

I edited the image in Lightroom, but not much needed doing. I lightened the shadows a little and toned down the colors for a retro feel, but that was mostly it.

In my camera bag

My bag is usually light as I don't like carrying around loads of gear. I tend to take what I specifically need for a job. For portrait work I will take a 23mm f1.4 and either a 56mm f1.2 or 50-140mm f2.8 for full length and close in shots respectively. I also have a 16mm f1.4 for enviromental style portraits with me. For general walkabout I usually just take the 35mm f1.4 and the 16mm f1.4. Every now and then I may wander the street with just a 10-24mm f4 as I love the great angles and perspectives this gives. Some lens wipe, spare batteries and a puffer bottle are the only other things in there. Travel light and move fast as we used to say in the army.

Feedback

I would say keep it simple. I had speedlights and modifiers with me for this shoot, but really they wouldn't have added the same feel as I achieved using just natural light in the end. Have an idea in your head of what you want to achieve also helps. It's easy to just blast away and hope for the best, especially when you're first starting out, but it saves everyone a lot of time if you can get what you're after in 30 minutes or so of being on site. Also, getting out of your comfort zone is important (and I still struggle with it at times), but it's well worth it in the end. I was hugely lucky that my buddy was neighbours with the car owner, and all I had to do was ask. Don't be afraid to ask, the worse outcome is them saying No. This is still one of my favorite shots and although I'll probably tackle the subject again someday, this will probably still be my favorite.

See more amazing photos, follow billthornhill

billthornhill

billthornhill

Red Retro

Pin up style shoot in a beautiful 1957 Chevy

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow billthornhill

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