Her Spirit
This is a picture of my daughter I took (as my homework assignment) after the first day of class with Sue Bryce.
This is a picture of my daughter I took (as my homework assignment) after the first day of class with Sue Bryce.
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo of my daughter was taken in the corner of my bedroom as part of an online class I was taking from Sue Bryce on Creative Live. I am a self-taught photographer whose love for photography started with the birth of my twins. I prefer natural light (you can read "intimidated by studio lights") since I started with a dSLR and have been challenged with learning light all along. I most often turned my subjects to face the light source, which most often resulted in ease with exposure but very flat light, not as appealing to the viewer as is the depth that is created with more shadow and highlight. The west wall of my bedroom is mostly all windows, and the late afternoon light is warm and flattering. I had her stand in the southwest corner of the room and also placed a 24x36 white canvas (to act as a bit of a reflector) on her right side (picture side left) to fill in some shadow. I stood straight in front of her and cued her to "see if she could see her reflection in my lens (it's a good way to get kiddos to connect with the camera) and snapped the pic sans tripod.Time
This image was taken in March in Illinois, at 3:30 in the afternoon. I knew when I took this image that it would forever be one of my very favorites. You know when you take THE image. It's like stars aligning.....you know you nailed every part of it. That's the way I felt with this picture. I couldn't wait to pop the card out of my camera and look at the RAW image on my computer screen!Lighting
After reading books on exposure, one of my all time favorites, Understanding Exposure, practicing, trying to learn from any photographer I could watch, read about, or try to emulate, I still felt like I struggled with "seeing the light". But looking at my set up, the light was hitting my daughter at about a 60 degree angle. This lighting set up also helped to highlight those gorgeous catchlights that will show up between 10-2 o'clock if the eye was a clock, when natural light is used.Equipment
I shot this with my Canon 5D Mark III, with a Canon 24-70mm "L" lens. The aperture was 2.8 with a focal length of 68mm and a shutter speed of 1/1000 with ISO at 1250. I did not use flash or tripod.Inspiration
The video lesson on natural lighting I had taken that day had really inspired me to try something other than posing my subjects exactly opposite to the light source. The concept of bouncing light with something as simple as a white canvas and the use of shadow and highlight to help create mood just clicked. My daughter (8 years old in the picture), has always been such a trooper when it comes to letting me practice my new skill or insight so I grabbed her and set up the space and shot.....this was the third picture I took out of a series of 5. THIS photo has inspired me to take so many more photos and to use light more creatively as my skill set continues to grow.Editing
I shoot my images in RAW. I did do some post processing in Photoshop CS5 to sharpen her eyes a little, smooth her skin a little, and brighten the catchlights. I also used a Totally Rad action to change to black and white with a warm sepia-ish tone. In 10 years of shooting families and children, I've learned that "less is more" with post-processing and really aim to get it right in camera.In my camera bag
I carry a Canon backpack with my Canon 5D Mark III, my Canon 1.2 50mm prime lens, my Canon 2.8 24-70,, "L" lens, and my Canon 1.4 85mm prime lens. I always have a 5-in-1 reflector, extra memory cards, a notebook and pen, a bottle of water, a gray card, altoids (since I'm posing families and kids), and lots of pony tail holders that not only work to hold my hair back on location but also serve to tailor the look of baggy clothes or windblown hair.Feedback
Practice capturing images in different types of light at different times of day. On-location shooting, whether at a client's home or at a park can vary greatly, even during the timespan of your shoot. Learn to see the temperature of the light (or you can search online for what temperatures in Kelvin can roughly equate to what time of day) and how the temperature affects the mood of your image. Shoot with light opposite your subject, than at a 30, 45, or 60 degree angle to your subject, then with the subject backlit (spot metering is good here) and then look at those images on your computer and the settings and how the affect the image. For most portraits with a single subject, I try to shoot right below their natural eye line and keep the focal plane of you and the subject the same or else focus on the eye closest to the camera to keep both eyes sharp (remember that focus falls back). Lastly, learn, ask, and keep at it.....photography is too awesome not to.
