chadmcmahon
FollowEnjoying a summer evening with my niece and nephew.
Enjoying a summer evening with my niece and nephew.
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Children In Nature Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Sunlight Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Just Friends Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Family Love Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol2
Runner Up in Summer Adventures Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Soft Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Summer Adventures Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Feeling Hope Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Visual Poetry Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Rural Portraits Photo Contest
Winner in Best Child(ren) Portriat Photo Challenge
Winner in Backlight Portraits Photo Challenge
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Love it
Virtuoso
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nicolabarbagli
February 20, 2017
great job and especially excellent composition, are surprised bright colors. when you have time if you want you can visit my profile to follow me in my shots. best regards
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in beautiful Fish Creek Park in Calgary, Alberta. We're extremely lucky to have this park in Calgary, as it's the largest urban park in Canada and one of the largest in North America at 13.5 sq. km, (5.2 sq. miles).Time
This photo was taken back in July, 2015 on a beautiful summer evening as the sun was approaching the horizon.Lighting
This photo was captured with extreme back-lighting and the original sky in the image was completely blown out and over-exposed. As a result, this photo is a composite photo comprised of the original image taken of my niece and nephew, and a second image of a different sky. The sun was still in about the same position in the original photo, but the dynamic range was too great to capture any of the details in the sky, hence the composite.Equipment
The camera used was my Canon 6D with my absolute favourite lens in the world, the Canon EF 135mm F/2L USM. When it comes to portraits, especially outdoor portraits with a very small depth of field, the Canon 135L is one of the best lenses in the world in my opinion.Inspiration
I've always loved the gorgeous natural light outdoor portraits and artistic mastery of photographers like Jake Olson, Lisa Holloway and Adrian Murray. In fact the particular sky used in this image comes from Jake Olson's "Nebraska Skies" package, (http://www.jakeolsonstudios.com/jakeolsonstudiostutorial if you're interested). It's the inspiration I have looking at their incredible work that gave me the idea for capturing this photo and many others I've taken.Editing
This is a composite image composed of a RAW image of my niece and nephew captured at 135mm at F/2 and ISO 100 for a very shallow depth of field, and an image of a sky from Jake Olson's "Nebraska Skies" package. Initial white balancing and contrast adjustments were made in Lightroom CC and the combining of the two images into the final composite was done in Photoshop. Final colour/contrast adjustments were made using NIK's Color Efex Pro 4.In my camera bag
My camera body is the Canon 6D. While it doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the more popular Canon 5D mk III, it has a very similar full-frame sensor with almost the exact same image quality for about $1,500 less. If you're like me and have taken up photography as a hobby and not a profession, I would recommend using the $1,500 you save on the 6D to pad your pocket, or for better lenses. Most of my images are of my beautiful children, so I'm either using my Canon EF 35mm F/2 IS USM or Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM indoors with my Canon 430 EXII speed light. Outdoors I use my absolute favourite lens for portraits of the kids, PERIOD! The Canon EF 135mm F/2L USM. This lens is by far the sharpest lens I own and creates gorgeous images, even wide open at F/2. Most of the photos of my children on ViewBug were captured using the Canon 135mm. I also own a Canon EF 70-200mm F/4 IS USM that I use mostly in my home studio, and a Canon EF 17-40mm F/4L USM for landscapes.Feedback
Start to follow and take the time to study the work of photographers and photographs that resonate with you. In my case, I take lots of time to study as many photos from greats like Jake Olson and Lisa Holloway as possible and try to get proficient at emulating their styles. Once you feel you have a decent grasp of a particular style, you will start creating your own style based on your own personal artistic expression. I also can't understate the need for an emotional message within your image, especially when the image captures people. The thing that struck me the most about this image when I first viewed it in Lightroom was the strong emotional message of sibling love. You can have the most beautifully colored, technically perfect image, but if it lacks an emotional message that resonates with the viewer, it becomes a very average photograph.