Levitating Jessica
I wanted to have a go at this levitation thing. I'd had a quick go with my kids but wanted a proper attempt at it.
I wanted to have a go at this levitation thing. I'd had a quick go with my kids but wanted a proper attempt at it.
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May, 2015Views
1875
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Awards
Legendary Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in The Art Of Levitation Photo Contest
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 20 rank week 1
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Top 10 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
I dragged my model into Sandwell Valley, a park near where I live. I scouted the location the day before looking for the right spot in the woods where bluebells were flowering. You wouldn't believe that this is pretty much in the heart of the industrial Black Country, it feels more like a national park.Time
My model (my niece) was only available for a few hours during the day so this wasn't taken at the best time of day. It was pretty much noon and the sun was directly overhead. I wanted the feel of the sun bursting through the trees so ad to do this in post using Photoshop.Lighting
The lighting was entirely natural though it did get a bit of manipulation in Photoshop to produce the light beams etc.Equipment
This was taken with my Nikon D90 using the kit 18 mm to 105 mm lens. Because it's a composite I had to use a tripod.Inspiration
I'd seen a number of levitation images on Viewbug and wanted to give it a go. For a first "real" attempt I'm pleased with it. I've recently taken a panel of art nude levitations in the studio with a great model I found on one of the photographer/model websites. I'm looking forward to sharing those.Editing
Being a composite this took a little post processing. It's two images. The first being the background taken without my model and the second with the model posed on some crates. I layered the images up in Photoshop and masked out the crates. The image was then toned and I used adjustment layers to add a shadow (to sell the levitation) and create the beams of light.In my camera bag
I don't carry a great deal of equipment about. The D90, lens, speedlight and ND filters are pretty much all I use.Feedback
The more planning you put into an image like this the more successful it will be. Take care at the time you take the picture, remember that where any support is in contact with your model it is likely to leave an indent. If the model can position themselves off the support on the camera side you can avoid a good deal of post process work. Take care to make sure that clothing hangs naturally. Set your camera on manual and mount on a tripod. use a remote to make sure that there's no movement between taking the shots that will make up the composite. And Enjoy!
