jambajim8
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Behind The Lens
Location
I captured this photograph right in my backyard, where there was a beautiful field of prairie brush and other wild plants. This was taken right around spring and summer, which allowed for an abundance of natural light as well as larger growth of wild plants. This was a planned photo shoot, but this image was a candid moment.Time
I planned for the photo shoot to be right around midday, so I could have the most amount of light above my subject. I enjoy midday because I have an array of opportunities for how I want the completed composition to look. This was also the right time for no one to be on the bicycle trails, which gave me freedom to use any areas as my workspace.Lighting
With the sunlight above my subject, this created ideal lighting where I could post-process my image in almost any way I wanted to. The light was just perfect on my subject's hair, which emphasized her hidden face as well as the clean line that just missed her nose. The target was to make the composition look mysterious, and overhead lighting made this possible.Equipment
This candid moment was captured on a Nikon D200. With the natural lighting already available, a tripod, flash, and lens filters were not necessary.Inspiration
When I was in school, my A.P. photography class required a project involving our "concentration," which is a series of images (visually connected in some way) my classmates had to turn in for the final assignment at the end of the year. My theme for my concentration was the faceless portrait. With this in mind, I wanted to do a photoshoot that conveyed my idea. Even though this photo shoot was revolving around my concentration's theme, this image was not planned, meaning posed. I carefully chose the dress, but every other aspect was not planned. My subject was my little sister, and while preparing the settings on my Nikon, she was distracted by the white plants near her. Once I turned and saw her by the plants, I went for that moment of her not knowing a camera was pointed at her. This ended up being one of the best compositions I ever captured.Editing
I utilized much post-processing with Adobe Photoshop. My subject's dress was originally a vibrant blue hue. I wanted the focus to be only on the subject and not the plant she is holding. Afterthoughts of the Cinderella slippers in her arms were aspects I felt the need to incorporate and keep as a low-lying detail, so to speak. I needed balance in the composition, so I carried the shades of color towards the top of the frame, rather than solely keeping the subject in color. In Photoshop, I utilized brush tools in order to spread the color around the image. I then used an overlay in order to add a glowing effect that complemented the mysterious feel I wanted to convey.In my camera bag
Equipment I bring with me on photo shoots are my Nikon D200, and also my 18mm-200mm and 80mm-400mm lenses. A tripod that is a dual-function monopod and lens filters, such as a neutral-density filter, a polarizing filter, and a star filter, are the other equipment I carry along with me.Feedback
My advice, in terms of capturing something similar, would be to have abundant, even, natural lighting that is above the subject. This will make it easy to make edits like mine that need much light in order for it to not look too dark after post-processing. When you think about selective color editing, make sure to balance it. In other words, make sure you add a hint of your selective color(s) somewhere else in the frame. Always have your camera with you because you never know when there will be candid moment right when you turn around. Remember, my motto has always been ANYTHING is a photograph. You just have to see it at an angle that no one else does. Also, utilize the elements and principles of art in a way where at least one is emphasized. For example, this image I captured has an emphasis of texture and balance.