sarahallegra
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Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this in a field in rural Kansas. The wide open skies were a perfect backdrop!Time
This was shot later in the afternoon after driving for a while to get into the country and find a promising-looking field. A herd of cows was grazing on the other side of the road I pulled off from, which I also got photos of but did not need for this image! It was a very cold, windy day and I almost decided to not shoot when the wind first hit me in my flimsy, flowy dress, but I stuck it out and I'm glad I did!Lighting
I prefer more of a golden hour lighting, and this was an hour or two before that. Thankfully some very helpful clouds came and gave me some softer light which was exactly what I'd hoped for! It did create some uneven lighting between shots as I combined them later in Photoshop, but I was able to deal with that better than light that was too harsh.Equipment
I used my Nikon D5100, a Nikkor prime 50mm lens, a tripod, remote shutter release and a "stepstool" (which was actually a food cooler I'd found in the garage as I was packing up) to stand on and give me a little extra height.Inspiration
This was inspired by one of my favorite books, Spindle's End, by Robin McKinley, and the character of the trapped white hunting merrel, which is a fictional bird of prey. Although he's a fairly minor character in the book, he plays a very important role and one which I can barely think of without tears coming to my eyes. He always makes me want to create; this isn't event he first self portrait I've taken that's inspired by him, and they always fall a little short of my vision. But the important thing is to keep trying, even if you never quite reach perfection... the journey is the important part! I learn more, both about myself, the character, photography and editing, each time I do try and create an image inspired by the merrel.Editing
Quite a lot! I didn't want any of the field I was in to show, so I replaced the whole background with a new sky stitched together from several photos I had of cloudy skies. Multiple shots of my hair and skirt were combined to get the exact movement and flow I wanted. I even used a shot of my head, shoulders and arms from one photo and body from another! It was a lot of work to blend together seamlessly, but the end result was worth it. There was also quite a lot of adding color layers, texture layers and color grading.In my camera bag
I've since upgraded m camera body to a D810, but I still carry by D5100 with me since it has such a fantastic screen the flips around, perfect for self portraiture. I always have my 1.4 50mm prime lens, my favorite lens, along with a 35mm prime and a 70-400mm zoom lens, more for capturing the occasional wild animal I come across! Extra batteries, a tripod, remote shutter release, external flash and collapsible reflector are also in my bag. Then I also have a selection of "fun thing;" odd, translucent items I've collected to create interesting effects when you shoot through them. Gels, iridescent Christmas ornaments, plastic bottle tops, plastic bags, all kind of things!Feedback
Shoot at as low an angle as you can to make the subject hanging in the air feel more believable. Make sure that you get images of your feet hanging in natural poses or pointed; anything other than obviously standing on a step stool! Take lots of images of your skirt and hair to make sure you have everything you need when you get in Photoshop. And if you're shooting on a windy day in winter, have a warm jacket for your model very close by and possibly something warm to drink! :)