Whattheduck
Sep, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Rome, in Mirko Dettori's (the subject of the photo) bathtub. "What the duck is going on?!" is a project I was shooting directly in each subject's bathtub and his one turned out to be more perfect for the photo than I could have ever imagined!Time
It was around late afternoon, we first had a couple of drinks once he finished work to talk about my idea and then, literally, dove in!Lighting
I often use this photo as an example of using minimal lighting gear to achieve complex results. By using what I had at my disposal, I managed to place my speedlight in a gridded softbox in a position that allowed me perfect lighting on him while creating mood and interest in the overall scene.Equipment
At the time I was shooting with a Nikon D700, a 24mm ƒ2.8 prime lens, one speedlight and a gridded 28" softbox. This particular time I had to use a tripod to make sure I could capture the "flying ducks" properely in case I wanted to comp some in later (which I did)Inspiration
At the time, I had a real fascination with the gigantic inflatable duck that appeared in the harbour of Hong Kong as an art installation. When I first saw photos of that in the news, I realised that rubber ducks were something that I always wanted to work with, so in the spur of the moment, I bought 251 of them and patiently waited for them to be delivered to my door. When it came to do this shoot for Mirko Dettori, a burlesque performer, I knew the rubber ducks were the perfect prop to convey his humor and personality. This was the first photo of what later became a series.Editing
Yes, I wanted to achieve a very AD like post production so I worked quite a bit on the color correction and localised adjustments. But the most post processing was done to composite in some more ducks to achieve the perfect amount and spread in the air.In my camera bag
First thing I pack for all my shoots is my main body, a Nikon D810 and my three prime lenses: 24, 50 and 85mm. Then, it's time for my YongNuo speedlight, my modifiers and my pocket wizards. Add a couple lightstands, rolls and rolls of gaffer tape, and i'm ready to tackle even the most complex of shoots.Feedback
Trail and error. Do it, do it often, fail, fail harder, try again. It took me literally no time to achieve this shot because I had tried SO MANY TIMES in the previous months with similar things. And I failed every single time. But from failure, you learn and you get better.
