Miss Hilary Hoover
Australian Burlesque performer, Miss Hilary Hoover poses with Model A Hot Rod
Australian Burlesque performer, Miss Hilary Hoover poses with Model A Hot Rod
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Apr, 2015Views
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Awards
Lucky 3 Award
Staff Winter Selection 2015
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a warehouse/industrial shed where we had enough room to move the hot rod into a position where we could shoot it from all angles.Time
We shot this mid morning, however it was lit with studio flash, so natural light doesn't really play a role in this image.Lighting
The shot was as much about the car as it was the model, so lighting was et to pickup the metallic fleck in the paint work, but also to give flattering light for the model. The cars roof height is only about 1200mm (48in), therefore I set the light fairly low, but still wanted to produce a 'Rembrandtish' effect, because it's such a flattering portrait light and gives dimension to the face. The door is opened to eliminate a 'hot spot' on its flat surface, which would have blown out and taken the viewers attention from the model. It also made the opening wider to allow more light to enter the car and light our model, by way of eliminating the window frame from partially blocking the door way, but also creating a frame within the image, drawing the viewers gaze to focus attention on our model.Equipment
I shoot with Canon...I believe this was shot with a 5D mark 2, with 50mm f1.2 L series lens. Lighting is Elinchrom BX500 with a white umbrella, using Pocket Wizard Plus 3's as trigger and receiver. I shoot hand held because I'm a always moving around the subject looking for the best angles.Inspiration
I like cars, motorcycles, girls and photography (not necessarily in that order!) and therefore any chance I get to combine any of these is an enjoyable experience.Editing
I always shoot RAW, whatever I'm shooting, after all, storage is pretty cheap, so why not get all the information your equipment can give you? This gives me the largest possible file for any image I capture, because you just never know when someone might want an enlargement of even the most mundane image! I also try and get the elements right 'in camera' so that there isn't a lot of work to be done to enhance it. Therefore post processing is always required and for this I use Lightroom. But I don't manipulate images too much (sharpness, clarity, cropping, contrast, vibrance) and am careful not to overdo it, while trying to add some WOW at the same time...it's a fine line sometimes! I will use Photoshop to do some skin smoothing if the model is large in the image, but I don't go in there often. Scott Kelby ha s agreat book on skin smoothing techniques.In my camera bag
I have 2 bodies usually, but for the most part, only use 1 camera on a shoot to keep the images all in a flow on the one memory card. Nowadays I have a 6d Mark 2 (I like the idea of a full frame sensor)and a 1D mark 3 which I use for shooting sports images mostly and usually has a long lens permanently attached to it. I had 5d's mark 1 + 2 but they have both died. I have a 50mm f1.2, 16-35mm f2.8, 100mm f2.8, 24-105mm f4. I had a 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 but recently traded up to a Sigma 120-300 f2.8...it's a behemoth, but has the advantage of being a zoom with constant f2.8 aperture. I was looking around for a 300 f2.8, but finding one that hadn't been flogged was a bit of a mission, plus I wanted to be able to check it out before buying as it's quite a hefty investment. Anyhow, the Sigma is a great option with the added bonus of zoom, and abut the same price as a 2nd hand 300mm f2.8 prime. Outside of the Sigma lens, I have all Canon equipment. i also have a 580EX flash gun, but I'm not a fan of on camera flash and never rally spent too much time learning how to use it to it's full capacity, so it stays in the bag most of the time. I tend to use natural light when not using studio lighting.Feedback
Shoot what you love, regardless of what that might be. You'll find there's someone out there that loves the things you do and would be willing to be part of the process...and don't get too caught up with having the best gear. There are plenty of folks out there with high end kits who couldn't shoot to save themselves. The most important piece of the process is the vision and your ability to capture it...translating thoughts to images...that's where the skill is, so work on improving your skill set.
