Annaclara 1 B&W
Impromptu photoshoot in Malmo.....amazing diffused light coming through the curtain in the hotel window...
Impromptu photoshoot in Malmo.....amazing diffused light coming through the curtain in the hotel window...
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Apr, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
So, this shot was taken in a hotel room in Gothenburg. It was a hi rise hotel, where the entire outside wall was a window, Hence the large catchlights in Annaclara's eyes.Time
This was taken mid morning, in winter....it was a very cold day, with very grey light outside.Lighting
This was a demo shot for Annaclara and her boyfriend, of how an F stop of 2.8 can blur the background. It was a daylight only shot, but the reason the light was so soft was, it was a wall of very flat daylight behind me (I was shooting into the room), further enhanced by the curtain that hotels put up so that nobody can see into the room. It acted as a fantastic diffuser!Equipment
This shot was taken on a Canon 70D, with my beautiful Canon 70 - 200mm f2.8 L mark 2 lens, at f2.8, and 70mm because the room wasn't that big that I could increase the focal length. It was handheld, and I increased the ISO to 400 to achieve a fast enough shutter speed that it wouldn't blur.... 1/60 second was enough with the in-lens stabilisation.Inspiration
This photo just started out as a training exercise as Annaclara was going to take photos of our band, Champions Of Rock, at our gig that evening, and I was lending her my equipment! When I saw the light through the lens, I knew it was going to be a lovely shot of a pretty Swedish girl!Editing
I processed this shot in Photoshop, using the in house B&W layer, and a plug-in of an early version of Portrait Plus. No frequency separation, or anything like that, Annaclara is fortunate enough to have almost perfect skin, so there really wasn't anything to do!In my camera bag
If I'm out and about, I normally just have my little Sony Rx100 mk5 in my pocket (and a spare battery lol), as this is a ridiculous quality camera for its size, and almost unnoticeable, it's so small! If I go out for the day to take photos, my bag varies with what I think I'm likely to encounter. For portrait work, my Canon 85mm f1.2 mk2 L lens, and my Sigma Art 50mm f1.4 lens are my first lenses to be packed. Then, if I'm not going to be far from the car, the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 mk2 L lens goes in. If I've a long way to walk, the Sigma 105mm Macro f2.8 goes in instead. That's a great lens, very light, and a very useful focal length with great bokeh. More folk should try it for portraits! If I'm landscaping, I pack the above Sigma 105mm, my ultra sharp Canon 16-35mm f4 lens, and my Sigma Art 20mm f1.4 lens. I have a Velbon travel tripod which is very steady and does me ok. I don't use filters apart from a 10 stop sometimes, and/or a circular polariser. I prefer to exposure blend with luminosity masks these days. My camera these days is a very beat up and scruffy (second hand) Canon 5D mk4 that I took a chance on, and traded in my pristine Canon 5D mk3 for. It's working fine, and I love it. Always take a cleaning cloth, a lens blower, cable release, and spare batteries with you on a landscape trip.... you never know what you'll find, or what could go wrong!Feedback
The reason this photo works so well for me, is the light. Flat grey cloudy conditions outside, an edge to edge wall of glass, and a full size diffuser curtain meant totally even light and very soft shadows. Perfect conditions, everything came together! And if I may be so bold, a beautiful blonde blue eyed Swedish girl can't hurt! Thanks for your interest, and I wish you the best of light!
