brianagardener

Magenta is an earth tone too

NIKON D600

settings

Aperture f/3.5 ISO 125 Shutter 1/320 Focal Length 350/10

location

San Francisco, California, US

upload_date

Jan, 2020

Views

336

Likes

+21

Awards

Legendary Award

Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 53

Peer Award

Superb Composition

Outstanding Creativity

Virtuoso

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

Platinum

Beautiful

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

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Diverse group of 30+ women stand together. Challenged to wear no makeup and posing in outfits styled to match the color of their skin, these women try

Pregnant mother stands, reminding us of our original home

Behind The Lens

Location

I was driving down a busy urban expressway with a friend and we saw this giant flowing plant covered in purple blooms. We pulled over on the side of the road and took this photo.

Time

When we came across this spot, I believe it was a bit before sunset.

Lighting

I'm always one to go for natural lighting. I've never really gotten into studio light, although I think that's a whole new world of creativity that I'd love being tapped into. That being said, I've gotten pretty good at finding good natural light now. I think the key trick, that I'm still learning, is to be able to be flexible with your photography style, according to the lighting you're given. If it's a cloudy day, you can take one set of shots, but if it's golden hour and you're right in the sun's route, you'll get a whole other set of shots. My advice is to create space to let the light be an unknown variable and take photos accordingly.

Equipment

I believe I used my Nikon d600 and probably my 35mm lens.

Inspiration

It was the color that definitely pulled me in, which conveniently matched my friend's hair so well.

Editing

The longer I've done photography, the more I realize editing has become second nature; I tend to fall into the same practices. I should brush up on some new tricks, but I generally tend to edit photos by fixing up the lighting to make sure the white-balance is solid. Then I boost the brightness, contrast, and clarity a bit. If there's a specific color that I'd like to highlight (in this case, purple), I'll boost the entire photos vibrancy, or the vibrancy of that one color family. Then I'll usually wrap up by adding a subtle black vignette to round out the image.

In my camera bag

I have a Nikon d600 and generally use a 35mm and 85mm lens. For editing, I rely on Lightroom and VSCO, although the further I dive into graphic design, the more I play with Illustrator. Photography can be an expensive hobby, but also one with a good pay off if you do it right. I'm a big believer in skill overpowering equipment. Photography is so much more about the creative eye and skill than expensive equipment. Long story short, if you're interested in photography, don't let money by a barrier to entry or a source of intimidation.

Feedback

I think that being able to build a connection with the person you're working with is so underrated. The relationship between photographers and the people they're photography are human. You're not interacting with an object, there's a full person in front of you, who is taking in their own experience. If you want to get a good shot, take time to build a friendship before you throw a camera in their face.

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brianagardener

brianagardener

Magenta is an earth tone too

Behind The Lens

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