African Hair WEB CMDPHOTOS ©2014-8723
Feb, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on one of my visits to South Africa. I was shooting a wedding and this gentleman was the parking lot attendant.Time
The photo was taken around 7 pm.Lighting
Late sun gave an interesting feel to the subject and helped emphasize the lines in the subjects face. I believe it helped to tell a story about this mans life.Equipment
I shot this subject with a Canon 5D and a Canon 24-105 f/4L IS USM Lens. The focal Length was set to portrait range of 95mm which also helped to give a shallow depth of field.Inspiration
I think the most obvious reason for shooting this subject was his eyes. The eyes were so unique and along with the grey hairs in his beard, told a story about age and complexity of African life. Even his cloths and hair style made this subject irresistible to shoot.Editing
Most of the post processing was done in Adobe Lightroom. The main thing was turning the image into BxW. Then I added a border which I felt would further help emphasize the portrait and "look" this man had.In my camera bag
My equipment obviously depends on the job or location. My standard walk around is currently the Canon 5D3 with a Tamron 28-105mm f/2.8. I will often carry around the Canon 100-400mm and my Canon 24-35 f2.8. If I'm shooting a wedding or event, I'll use my Canon 24-35mm f/2.8, Canon 28-70mm f/2.8 and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8. If I'm not using studio strobes, I'll carry my set of Canon 600 Ex-RT flashes, Pocket Wizards, bracket and various accessories.Feedback
There are basically two different methods to shooting people. You have to make a decision on which one is going to work best for each particular situation. The first approach is "Found". In other words, you come across an interesting subject and shoot the subject due to what you originally saw that made it so interesting. Then you approach the subject and ask their permission to use the image. A lot of times you will get a yes answer if you are friendly, courteous and even show the subject the image and explain what was so great about it. However, some times a subject can get upset that you took the picture with out their permission first and you don't get the picture at all. The second method is "Approach". This was the case for this image. The gentleman was busy parking cars. He was working. Rather than just shooting him and possibly distracting him from his job, I took this second approach. By confronting the individual and politely requesting his cooperation, the willing subject is then often happy to help you out. Sometimes you can even get a better shot than what you originally saw in the subject. However, there is the fact that you lost what ever shot you saw in the subject and situation to begin with. I didn't take many shots of this subject because I knew he was busy, but I did take enough to get the result I wanted. The typical result that happens when you ask a subject to pose for you is what? Yep, you get their "photo pose". So, I took just enough shots for the subject to let down his pose and let me see "him". This is the quick method of getting a real "look". If you have time, the best way is to spend enough time with the subject to get them to trust you and be comfortable around you and your camera. Often portraits are shot with the normal tele range of 80 - 135mm. This helps to flatten the subjects face rather than distort it with wide angle. Telephotos also help to give a more shallow depth of field so attention is placed more on the subject. Their are cases for using wide angle for portraits, but in this image, the story was more about the mans face. So I used 95mm.
