Dark-Portrait
Jul, 2015Views
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Awards
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Monochrome Masters Project
Contest Finalist in Expressive Faces Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Everything In Black And White Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Fluid Self Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Black And White Compositions Photo Contest vol2
Contest Finalist in Redefine Selfies Photo Contest
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in my families basement next to our wood-stove. It was during the winter so we had it burning wood to heat our house and it was common thing for me to go sit down by it to warm up. The sweat that you see on my brow wasn't there because I just came in from exercising, it was there because I was sitting right next to the stove that was burning at a sweltering 500 degrees, trying to get the perfect photo. :)Time
This shot was taken around 10pm at night, just before I normally hit the sack.Lighting
Everything about this shot was made possible by two light sources: the light that was cast from the flames in our wood-stove(we have glass doors so we can see the flames), and a hand-held flashlight. The rest of the room was completely dark with no other light sources.Equipment
I shot this using my Canon 50D with a 24-105mm lens, attached to my tripod. At the time I didn't have a remote shutter release, so I had one hand on the shutter button and in the other hand I was holding my flashlight.Inspiration
My inspiration for this photo was truly the shadows that were created by the light that was cast from the flames in our wood-stove. As I sat next to the stove warming up, I casually studied the movement of each shadow as the flames danced around which caused the light and shadows to change every second. The idea of capturing those shadows on an object intrigued me, however I needed something that had depth to it. What better subject was there then the human face and all the depth that is shown on it as well as hidden. I thought about using one of my family members as a subject but, I kind of liked the challenge of being the photographer and the photographed all in one photo.Editing
Portrait photography can go many different ways, two of them being; heavy editing or light editing and this was definitely a lightly edited photo. Personally I don't really do a lot of heavy editing to my portraits and this wasn't any exception. Originally I shot this in color, so I converted it to black and white and brought in some contrast by adjusting the curve levels and overall sharpness of the photo. Afterwards I removed a few spots, cropped it a little and then I was finished.In my camera bag
I have since upgraded my equipment from when this photo was taken, although I still have all of my original gear. Currently my bag consists of a Canon 5D Mark III, my trusty 24-105mm 4.0 L Series lens which is one of the hardiest lenses I know of and has easily traveled over 20,000 miles with me and still takes wonderful photos. My other lenses are a 16-35mm 2.8 L Series, 100mm 2.8 L Series Macro, 70-200mm 2.8 L Series and a Sigma 150-500mm 5.6-6.3 for any long telephoto shots. I absolutely love all of my lenses and use them in many different circumstances. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses which I love cause it creates an incredible challenge when viewing a scene and deciding which lens to use and what type of perspective I want to create in my photo. I also have a remote shutter release, a tripod, and an external flash that I can use when needed. 30lbs of gear is a lot to carry around but, it's totally worth it when you see the photos that you're able to capture in one scene.Feedback
This definitely wasn't a one-shot, great-shot photo! Since I was in front of the camera and the only thing I could see was my reflection in the lens as a reference, I took a good amount of shots before I even saw anything close to what I had in mind originally. Figuring out the composition, focus, lighting and exposure all took time and patience, and it challenged me to think outside the box and to really understand how my camera and ambient light works. So to any photographer that is looking for advice, be patient and be persistent, use the light that is in the scene to create depth and if you don't have a subject, be the subject. Think outside the camera!
