Cornered
Cornered
Cornered
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Nov, 2013Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
A dear friend of mine, later to become a model for this image, invited me over at her place to catch up as we haven't seen each other in a long time. Those days I used to carry my newly acquired Canon 60D everywhere I could, if only for a chance to capture some portraits of my friends and practice my skill further. She lives in an old house, Austrian based architecture style, huge ceilings, rather spacious and designed in a unique european tradition, stairs being one part of that interesting architectural wonder. After initial cup of tea and news exchange we went on to try out the ambient of her home and if at all possible make some nice photographs, just for fun. It was very frustrating to make anything worthwile as the lighting was altogether not so great, and at that time, still a DSLR newbie, I tried to get away from high ISO as much as I could, but alas. As it happened, this particular corner was lovely for its unique geometrical combination, and it did take me a while to compose the shot. These stairs and angles captivated me so much that we almost made a proper session trying to squeeze out every creative possibility offered by that spot. In the midst of her posing, much casual, she did her own thing and we danced along, I stopped her from moving. Much more used to the geometry of the space I was now oriented on her and when the pose was right I took the shot.Time
It was somewhere between 7pm and 9pm, can't recall the exact moment. But being an interior shot in a corner far removed from any external light, no windows and no spilling from other rooms it isn't something that's relevant for this image. You wouldn't call it a studio shot, for no strobes were used, but the room would be dark without the simple bulb lighting so it can serve as a studio lighting analogy.Lighting
As I believe is obvious, the light coming from above, with those big walls surrounding her acting as reflectors for the whole scene. It is a simple ceiling bulb burning with power of no more than 100w. However, bare bulb with no "home modifier" on, no lamp, just a bulb hanging on a wire, one would expect some harsher light and edgier contrast, but the distance of it and surrounding walls softened it in a beautiful way. I love the shadow on the wall to her left, the viewer's right, barely there but noticeable.Equipment
Like previously mentioned, a DSLR newbie, had no external lights, I introduced myself to flashes and flash units much later, so at that time the only equipment used was my faithful Canon 60D with a kit 18-55. I now regret not bringing a simple tripod, for light was not at all intense. I had to compensate with high ISO as shutter was on 1/25, anything less made for a blurred photo, so I had to make do with what I had.Inspiration
The model's way of acting in front of camera did all of the work, so to speak. The moment camera moves up she becomes a character, much detached from her own persona, being able to use her body to express a more universal emotional state different to that of a model who just plays beautiful, or coy. Rare are the photographs where her face is shown clearly, for she wishes to depersonalize the image to present a higher principle. And that sort of dynamics was present throughout the whole shoot. It was also a kind of a personal homage to her, for she was the one who supported my photo journey from the very beginning.Editing
Not as much as I like to :) I adore photoshop play, but in instances like this it becomes rather unnecessary. Noise reduction was the first thing to be done, shot at 3200 and still a bit underexposed you can imagine the initial noise level. The downfall of that step was loss of detail, so I dodged and burned some parts of her skin in small increments, stamped away some wall element, like the light switch, or a clothes hanger. The last thing I did was put some texture overlay, as subtle as possible, very low opacity, only as to emphasize the grungy feel of the concrete and marble materials around her.In my camera bag
A very different story nowadays to a few months ago. I am a proud owner of Nikon D750 and most of my recent imagery is done with 85mm 1.8, fantastic portrait lens, yielded some fantastic results, I love it! A kit of D750, Nikkor 24-120 f4 is following, which I use mostly for landscape. On my previous 60D I once put a tamron 28-75 f2.8 and NEVER took it off, I adore that lens, and am looking forward to obtaining a nikon version as well. I'm still using my canon 430ex II flash, and it is a must have in every situation, one never knows when a fill or even a main light can be required, two packs of batteries, flash connected to my D750 via simple non e-ttl triggering system (I'm a huge fan of manual everything, flash is not an exception, which explains why I never bothered to make a switch to a nikon flash).Feedback
Should you aim for anything similar, combining unique surroundings with a human interest as is the case with this image, I'd advise on feeling the scene without a person in it first. Get to know the geometry of the place, let it guide you silently. Once a model comes in he or she needs to be able to feel the whole, become like a statue that's been an intricate part of that place much longer than the shoot, as if though the architect sculpted him/her on that spot. And most importantly make sure it is someone you can communicate with in such a fashion that makes for a flowing conversation. Though I'm rather specific when posing people for portraits, in a situation like this one I want my model to be someone who can read between the lines and not expect me to direct any part of their body to the perfect pose combination but move in a more general flow, to understand the language of feelings I am trying to convey and be able to symbiotically allow the surroundings to act like a living dance partner. This is fine art modality of thinking, and, in my opinion, human is but one element to it by whose presence the whole scene becomes a bit more alive, so the usual anthropocentric portrait approach doesn't work in these instances. The way you'd use the light is entirely up to you, your style and liking.
