lisawiza
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Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 29
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Behind The Lens
Location
Hi I took this image in my garden. I love to use what is available. So I use my curtain as a backdrop. I love the soft diffused light that I often find when shooting in this spot.Time
This was taken at 4pm in January so the light was beginning to fade. I had a window of around 45 minutes to nail this shot.Lighting
I find the light really even in this spot and I was shooting slightly down on my subject. She had no unflattering shadows so I didn't feel the need for fill flash or extra lighting. It was lovely and even so that was good enough for me!Equipment
I used my Nikon 610 for this shot. Normally I would have used my 50mm for this kind of portrait but I went with my faithful workhorse lens the 24-70. ( insert a love heart or kissy emoji here!) I really do have that much love for this lens. It's so versitile and gives me consistent sharp images.Inspiration
I like images that have contrast. I wanted to produce an image that gave the viewer something to look at and think about. The face is calm and serene and the hair is the opposite, wild and 'stormy'. I love movement and with hair it has a life of its own. I find that exciting because I couldn't shape it. It was introducing a random element which makes me want to keep checking my viewfinder!Editing
I wanted this image to be dynamic and I felt it had that in camera. However I really wanted to introduce tones that supported my artistic vision. I think of Browns and greys when I think about stormy, so I used split toning to achieve the feel as well as upping contrast and some dodge and burn to get more dimension in the models face.In my camera bag
My bag usually has my Nikon 610 and my D750 camera bodies. My bokehlisious 105mm ( creamy bokeh is the best) I have a 35mm, 50mm and my zoom 25-70. Two SB900 flashes and a host of memory cards complete my bag of treasure.Feedback
Advice to capture this kind of shot? I love movement so achieve this in a way that suits you. I wanted my model to feel part of the process so she flicked her own hair as opposed to using a wind machine or dryer. I think you get more random shapes within the hair. I asked my model to find her serene facial expression and try to maintain that while flicking her hair up. I used a high enough shutter speed to allow for any movement. I wanted an edgy feel so I had that in mind from the start. I didn't want to settle for some else. In terms of posing I had the model push her chin forward to increase seperation from her top. I shot down slightly as I felt I was getting a more interesting angle. I don't think we always need complicated light set ups. Sometimes it occurs naturally you just have to find those spots. But it encouraging for photographers to know that we can still achieve our vision simply sometimes!