levitation
levitation
levitation
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Jan, 2013Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in my room back in Shanghai. I put my camera on a self timer and ran into the photo to pose. I used to live on the 21st floor in Shanghai, and the views were amazing, so I've always dreamt about being able to just fly outside and see what it's like instead of just looking out through a small window.Time
It was around 3 PM in the afternoon on a weekend, and it was raining outside like it always does in Shanghai. I wanted to do something fun but couldn't go outside to take pictures so I got real creative and tried to take a bunch of pictures in my room.Lighting
I remember I thought that the lighting looked really good. I don't really own any fancy studio lighting, so I would always just look for the best natural lighting possible, and luckily from this window it looked really good and gave the picture a really fantasy, dream-like look.Equipment
I used my camera and a bunch of furniture because I didn't own a tripod. I stacked pillows up on my bed and set it on self-timer, then I ran into the shot and leaned on a chair to look like I was floating and finally photoshopped the chair out on my computer. I used the kit lens 18-55mm, which was the only lens I had at that time.Inspiration
I took this picture when I was just getting into photography, I received my camera as a christmas present and was really obsessed with photoshop. I've always been really interested in photos that are surreal because it's a way to show the world we live in in a slightly different and magical manner to remind people that it's beautiful and mysterious. I looked at the window saw magical the lighting was at that time, and wondered what it would be like to just defy gravity and float outside.Editing
I edited this picture in photoshop. I took a picture of me leaning on a chair and another one with just the setting so I layered them together and erased the chair out of the picture. I also had to extend my dress so that it doesn't look like there was a chair to begin with. After that I played around with the colors a little and added a slightly vintage look to it.In my camera bag
Normally I bring my prime lens, 50mm f/1.8, with my Sony Alpha 33 camera, plus an extra battery since I normally take portraits. I also like carrying a stool because I am a short person (155cm, 5ft.), and if I am shooting a taller person I want to get a nice angle of them instead of just their chins. If I am on a vacation or hiking I like to bring my kit lens so it's more convenient if I want to zoom in.Feedback
I would advice them to really envision what you want the final product to look like first because knowing what you are trying to capture or create really helps the process. I had to retake so many versions of this because I knew that It wouldn't work in photoshop if the two pictures are slightly off, or that it just didn't look like what I wanted it to look like. There were many times where I was leaning on the chair at a really awkward angle and it didn't look like I was floating or flying. So really just envision and think about what you want the final picture to look like and go for it!
