Katy-1
Apr, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this portrait at a rural farm in the Carolinas.Time
This was taken in the late afternoon around 5 pm.Lighting
Since this was just a casual shoot with my daughter and her horse I really did not do anything special. Now I utilize flash outdoors in addition to the ambient light but back then I only used the natural light that was available to me.Equipment
I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II and a 2.8 L 200 mm Canon lens.Inspiration
Well the obvious inspiration was my daughter of course! At the time this was taken I was just beginning to get my photography business started and was experiencing quite a lot of hurdles in my personal life. My daughter remarked to me later that she hoped this would help my portfolio and it did!Editing
I use Lightroom first for all the basics. Then I use specific actions in Photoshop quite often but not for this image. For this image I also used Color Efex Pro. Her face definitely needed brightening since the image was heavily backlit and at the time I did not use flash outdoors like I often do now. Her skin is perfect so there is no retouching here other than a tad bit of skin softening. Because of the background placement and her hair being so golden I did darken the shadows to create an even darker backdrop for that contrast.In my camera bag
Now that my portrait business is growing I have added more equipment but I do still like to keep it simple. I think too much can be...well... just too much! I use a Canon 5D Mark II. My go-to portrait lens is the Canon 70- 200mm L f/2.8. For weddings or events in addition to the 200mm I use a Tamron 24 - 70mm f/2.8. I also love my wide angle lens for weddings and real estate photography. I use a Canon EF16-35mm L f/2.8 About a year ago I began to utilize flash outdoors as a fill. I was dissatisfied with my consistency and wanted brighter faces and sharper images. Natural light is great for moody shots but for classic family photography if you are going to run a business & generate a profit - consistency in lighting is key & it is very important to learn flash. I am still learning - there is a lot to know about working with a speedlight and studio lights. I have added a cheetah stand, C stands,studio lights, a rapidbox diffuser, umbrellas and triggers so I can operate my speedlight off camera both indoors and outdoors.Feedback
I really, really like to backlight my subjects. I am still learning. Even today I just read an article on backlighting and learned something new. Now that I utilize both on camera fill flash, diffusers and off camera flash I am getting better and more consistent results and spend less time fixing ( dark faces mostly) in post. I am finding I then have more time to engage in the creative process - the backgrounds, filters or B& W conversions and that is the fun part! This also enables me to worry much less about the lighting during my sessions and I can then focus more on posing or interacting with my clients which again produces a better result in the images. Another tip is to find a model or friend that is willing to spend time with you - preferably someone you know personally & who is very comfortable in his or her own skin. That way you might be able to gain some really great expression that is meaningful versus something that looks "model-y" or posed like you might see in a catalog. Every once in a while I will photograph a client who has that something and the energy that results makes all the difference in the photos.
