benjaminrossphotography

Frenchie

A photo I took of my wife in our front room in her full Renaissance Faire regalia.

A photo I took of my wife in our front room in her full Renaissance Faire regalia.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

settings

Aperture f/1.8 ISO 640 Shutter 1/80 Focal Length 85/1

location

Pasadena, California, US

upload_date

May, 2020

Views

163

Likes

Awards

Action Award

Zenith Award

Curator's Selection

Top Shot Award 21

Spring 21 Award

Celebrity Award

Outstanding Creativity

+11

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Peer Award

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo in my living room. I hung an ottoman cover off of our bookcase for the backdrop and was thrilled with how it came out!

Time

This photo was taken around 7pm in the evening as the last of the day's sunlight was coming through my west-facing windows.

Lighting

This shot was taken using natural light. The sun was low and coming in through the windows on my left proving a large soft light source. That said, there was not a lot of light, so was at ISO 640 to capture enough of it.

Equipment

This was shot on a Canon 5D Mark IV, with the canon 85mm 1.8 lens at f1.8, 1/80th of a sec, at ISO 640.

Inspiration

My Wife has been an actor at the Southern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire since 2008, and worked with friends to create this costume in 2019. With the pandemic in full swing in the spring of 2020, and the SoCal Renfaire cancelled, the Faire community decided to create a "pass the cup" ticktock-style video that gave folks a reason to put on their costumes. It also created a fantastic opportunity to take a few photos of my wife in her amazing Faire regalia!

Editing

The raw image here was came out pretty well, so I didn't need to do a ton of processing. I used Lightroom classic to adjust the color and improve the overall contrast. I also used photoshop to retouch her face using the frequency separation technique and did some basic cleanup on her hair.

In my camera bag

I rarely know what I will be shooting when I head out, so I pack my camera bag accordingly. Along with my 5D Mark IV body, I always have my four core canon lenses: my 24-105mm F4, 85mm 1.8, 70-300mm f4-5.6, and I recently added a nifty-fifty (50mm f1.8). With these four in tow I can typically shoot anything from landscapes to portraits pretty well. In addition to my lenses I always carry several spare batteries and I used to carry my canon 580x flash, but with the addition of the 70-300mm it no longer fits in my bag. I guess I'll need a bigger bag. ;) The Manfrotto be-free tripod with the be-free 3-way live head is strapped to the outside giving me a lightweight and tremendously flexible setup for both photo and video.

Feedback

Honestly, this image is a great example of seizing the moment. Don't be afraid to take advantage of an opportunity, and don't worry about needing to use a higher ISO if there is not enough light. I know it sounds a bit cliched but we often have more tools at our disposal than we recognize. I have to remind myself of that whenever I hesitate to pull out my camera because I am not "prepared" or don't have the "right" gear, or the right light. I often find myself making excuses when what I need to do is take the leap and make the image.

See more amazing photos, follow benjaminrossphotography

benjaminrossphotography

benjaminrossphotography

Frenchie

A photo I took of my wife in our front room in her full Renaissance Faire regalia.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow benjaminrossphotography

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