Delmi 41
Nov, 2014Views
277
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Awards
People's Choice in Backlit Portrait Photo Challenge
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken on a windy spring day in Piermont, New York right on the Hudson River.Time
We had been shooting up and down the pier for about an hour and on our way back as the sun was disappearing behind the cliffs, I couldn't help but take a few silhouettes with this gorgeous dress. This was taken right before dusk, so probably around 7:30pm on May 18th 2014.Lighting
I adore the way the light is coming through her dress, lining her face and arms, silhouetting the cliffs, and accentuating the texture of the rock she is standing on. This is the type of lighting that I so love to shoot with.Equipment
This was shot with Nikon D800 body and a 35mm prime Nikon lens. I am a handheld and natural light photographer so I generally just carry a few different lenses and a reflector around in place of a tripod and flashes.Inspiration
The location, lighting, and the model's dress all came together and really made this image what it is. I love shooting at the pier whenever I get the chance because I've never gotten a bad image here. The lighting was so perfect as it was disappearing behind the cliffs, it was so tempting to take more shots as we were walking back. The model's dress was the best thing I could have asked for in this location. Because it was so windy, we had these beautiful moments of the dress and her hair blowing back, I could never recreate it with any fan!Editing
I didn't do much as far as post processing for this image, I try to do everything in camera. I like to keep my portraits natural and soft generally but this image begged for a little increased saturation to really make that sunset pop.In my camera bag
I always have my Nikon D800 body with a few extra batteries and memory cards (the true key to being a good photographer is to never be stuck with a dead battery or corrupt card), I take my Nikon D3000 body out if necessary but not very often since I upgraded. My go-to lenses are Nikon 35mm 1:1.8G (favorite), Nikon 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G (kit lens), Sigma 28-300mm 1:3.5-6.3D (another favorite), and Tamron 200-400mm 1:5.6LD (for nature and sports). I will break out a tripod for the bigger lens and if I know I'll be doing longer exposures but I am definitely more comfortable shooting handheld. I also have a Bower flash, flash bounce, a Neewer 5-in-1 reflector, a 2.2x super tele lens attactment, a .43x super wide angle lens attachment, and assortment of marco filters, warm and cool graduated neutral density filters, a circular polarizing filter, and a few other small things that I keep in the studio unless I know I'm going to need them for a shoot.Feedback
Silhouettes and backlighting can be tricky for anyone who has never shot them before. My suggestion for this, and for all types of photography, is to go out and shoot it! Try it out if you've never done it before and if you have tried it and don't like how your images are turning out, try it a different way. There are general rules of thumb in different photographic situations but every location and natural lighting situation is different. My journey with photography is to learn a technique and use trial and error until it's something I like.
