forest princess
Oct, 2017Views
637
Likes
Awards
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Legendary Award
Summer 2020
2020 Choice Award
Great Shot
Contest Finalist in Love That Dress Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Behind The Lens
Location
My model had this perfect dress and I knew the best location for it would be Sope Mill Creek in Marietta, Georgia. This was my first time shooting there and it was absolutely perfect! Such a beautiful place.Time
I took this close to sunset and the light was stunning coming through the trees! There is this amazing paper mill ruin in this location and the whole shoot felt like a fairytale.Lighting
Getting Kelsey into the light out on the water was definitely the way to go with this! The sky just opens up above her and having her turn her face toward the light gives it a warmth and brightness I couldn't have gotten at the shoreline.Equipment
I love my Nikon D800E! I shot this with my Zeiss 85mm lens which requires me to manually focus which can be really difficult from far away. The part I like about having to manually focus is that it forces me to slow down a bit and be more deliberate about the shots I take. I can't just fire off two dozen and hope a few turn out ok. I actually have to sit, be still and think through what I'm doing.Inspiration
My model and I had this idea of a sort of princess in the forest with her abandoned castle. I loved the idea of doing something more monochromatic with all the greens. Her skin and face becomes the main focus because all the rest blends together like she just pops out of that scene.Editing
I always edit my RAW images in Lightroom first where I warmed up the temperature a bit and added a radial filter to emphasize the light on the left side. With RAW images there is almost always a bit of contrast that needs to be added and to bump the saturation a tad for a bit of drama.In my camera bag
I shoot primarily with my Nikon D800E along with my Zeiss 85mm lens. This combination is my favorite for background compression and amazing skintones since I shoot portraits almost exclusively! I also keep my Nikon 50mm 1.4 with me and I bring along a reflector for diffusing, blocking or bouncing light when necessary. I prefer to travel light and this setup allows me to do that.Feedback
This location, Sope Creek Paper Mill Ruins, is such a beautiful location! It has this beautiful topography around the creekbed with twisted roots and the rocks in the creek are really great for getting out on the water. Don't be afraid to wander around your own neighborhood and look for state and national parks that have a variety of settings and are easily accessible to the public but also kind of off the beaten path. For an image like this, having a sense of serenity was really important. We actually went out on Easter Sunday when most people are spending time with family or friends and are less likely to be out wandering around. We had the whole place to ourselves!
