Photo
Mar, 2015Views
207
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Awards
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was actually taken on byu campus in Provo, Utah. Mom was here from a deployment in the Middle East to pick up her daughter before returning to her duty station in the us. I captured the homecoming at the airport the evening prior but due to it being so late we did a mini session the next morning to get some beautiful images such as these.Time
It was around 11 am in February. So cold and pretty bright outside.Lighting
I have one speed light off camera on a stand with a large umbrella off to camera left to balance out the sun. I love my neweer tt850 flashes- so reliable and inexpensive. I use them for every shoot.Equipment
Canon 5d mark iii, canon 24-70 2.8 ii, neweer tt850 flash on manual with regular trigger and receiver.Inspiration
Mom and daughter were separated for 7 months while mom served a deployment to the Middle East. I wanted something to show how happy a reunion this was and make sure that it represented her deployment as well as her service to our country. So, we draped the deployment flag around her daughter and had her hug her mom and wave the American flag. Mom was crying in a lot of photos she was so happy to be holding her baby again and it just melted all of our freezing hearts into puddles and warmed the soul.Editing
Most all of my images are just raw adjustments. I occasionally add in a sky if I need to with some images but this particular shot is just minor adjustments and saved.In my camera bag
My all time favorite item is my canon 70-200 2.8 ii lens. I can't live without it and I literally shoot every image I can with it. It's basically my heart living outside of my body. I always have my 5d mark iii, my canon 24-70 2.8 ii, canon 50 mm 1.4, canon 50 mm macro, the 70-200, four neweer tt850 flashes with three different types of triggers/receivers, and a sigma superflash as a backup. Beyond that it is various items such as batteries, a rain cover, outex system, umbrellas, an ice light, medicine/Bobby pins/etc for brides.Feedback
Go with the moment. Try to feel what your subject is feeling. It will clear your head to see the image that will ultimately speak to their heart. You want people to feel something when they look at your image. There are a lot of things I would have done differently, but we didn't have a lot of locations the family was willing to go to with it being so cold outside (they wanted somewhere indoor for the big family portrait so this was just close by that worked). Either way, it worked and this image is one of my favorites.
