Millar_Images

Spring Fashion

Jun, 2018

Views

418

Likes

+28

Awards

Contest Finalist in Spring Fashion Photo Contest 2018

Peer Award

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was part of a fashion shoot in a very remote farming region of the small country of Moldova that sits between Romania and Ukraine. This particular location is in "Old Orhei", and is what remains of an ancient Turkish bath that dates back to the Ottoman Empire. The ruins were discovered by a farmer in the area who was plowing his field and came upon a small section of wall. It was later excavated to discover a large, multiplex of different rooms, some of which were used to heat water that would run to other rooms through an ancient plumbing system that was much like the ancient Roman style baths of that era. The site is extremely hard to find and is not on any map, as it is not a tourist destination. We drove around for hours trying to find it, using photos and landmarks we've seen of it to locate it's exact location. We were just about to give up before we happened to look over an embankment as we were turning around to leave, and just so happened the model, Vladlena, caught site of it. Such an incredible location and plan to shoot there much more in the future.

Time

The time of day was kind of late, just before the golden hour, around 5-6pm. Not the most ideal sun at this time, but by the time we found it, it had gotten so late, we had no choice but to shoot quickly!

Lighting

With this harsh of shadowing, I had to use flash on highest setting. One Nikon SB800 flash unit with 51" Profoto silver parabolic umbrella to light the shadowed side of the model. The lighting had to be positioned so the reflection from the flash did not end up in the glasses. Camera settings for this type of lighting situation should always be set for the highlights. This is done to not over exposed and lose details in the highlights. Adjusting fill light,(flash), as a fill for the shadows to even out the subject, and to add depth without overexposing. Balance to make it look more natural comes with the amount of fill light. In this case, the light was at full power, but kept back away from the model as to not lose the natural look. If the light was too close, it would have left harsh shadows from her right hand onto the skirt, much like the shadow on from the left hand on the skirt. Adding just enough light to the shadows leaves a much more pleasing image with a natural look.

Equipment

The camera was a Nikon D810, hand held. Lens was a Nikon 85mm 1.8f prime. The flash was a Nikon SB800 speed light with a Profoto 51" Deep Silver Umbrella.

Inspiration

The location was awe inspiring, and so many ideas just flow with the surroundings so much that the possibilities are endless. Since we were in such a hurry that visit, we could not take full advantage of the entire scene there. This is now one of my most favorite locations in that country, and very secluded for any type of photography.

Editing

Post was very minimal, some color adjustments to cool the image slightly. I like to do most of my work on location in camera so I don't have to spend so much time editing later.

In my camera bag

My favorite tool of all is my Nikon D810, and incredible piece of equipment that can handle anything. I always carry the holy trinity of Nikon lenses with for any situation. Rags, rain gear for camera and lenses. Lens cloth, brush, backup batteries, backup SD cards.

Feedback

My advice for anyone is to have plenty of options at your disposal. In my experience shooting fashion, you never know what to expect. that goes for indoors and outdoors. You may have to scrap a whole location that didn't work in favor of another one. The key is to make sure you are prepared for those situations with enough gear with you to accommodate whatever may arise. In this situation, many would use a reflector to capture light from the sun onto the model. The light at this angle made the model's face less visible, and did not provide enough light to fill the entire body as well. Fortunately I had the umbrella and flash units on standby.

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Millar_Images

Millar_Images

Spring Fashion

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Millar_Images

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