ADAM
Sep, 2015Views
1945
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Movember Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Dramatic Portraits Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 1
Contest Finalist in Fill Flash Photo Contest
Curator's Choice
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at my day job. I was actually experimenting with different lighting setups while preparing for a shoot with our CEO.Time
I came into work and was told that I needed to prepare for a shoot with our CEO, and they wanted to try something different with the photos. My bosses wanted to see a bunch of different options, so I booked a conference room and got started! The "dramatic" lighting was not one we ended up going with unfortunately. I LOVE this photo because it represents the start of me taking up portrait photography (prior to these I mostly shot product). After I took these, I realized how much fun it was and I got hungry to do more and more! I'm still just starting out, but I'm at it almost every weekend now. :)Lighting
I really tried to go for dramatic/mysterious lighting on this one. I tried to shoot with just a back light and a fill flash, and this is what I got.Equipment
This photo was taken with a Panasonic GH4Inspiration
My coworker is super awesome and decided he would model for me while I was testing different light setups. I told him to look more noble, and this is what he gave me :) Thanks Adam! When I told him this photo was a finalist in a view bug contest he couldn't contain his laughter (or his blushing).Editing
I really enjoy portraits with a cooler feel to them. On this one in particular I took down the vibrancy and applied a curves adjustment, bringing in more blues in the shadows and slight yellow hues into the highlights. Coming from a video background, I really enjoy color grading, especially in more cinematic/dramatic ways.In my camera bag
I generally do more video work on a day to day basis than photography, so I really needed a camera that could do both well. I decided the Panasonic GH4 would be the best choice for my purposes. I find myself using the Panasonic 14-42 and 35-100 lenses very frequently. Bare minimum, I keep a rode mic, on board LED light, Ring Light (AW 14" Dimmable Ring Light 45W Fluorescent Photo Video Studio Portrait Light), reflectors, and a large role of velum paper (for light diffusion) with me. I recently picked up a PR-1 Prime Video Shoulder Rig Kit, which I have fallen in love with. This should rig is super versatile and extremely helpful when running back in forth between video and photography.Feedback
Honestly, I would recommend anyone to just take a "model" into a room and experiment with different lighting setups. Start with a back light (to separate your subject from the background), and from there play with the height, placement, and number or lighting sources. It's extremely important for understanding how lighting affects the mood, and the shape of a person's face. You can read blogs and tutorials all day to try and learn more about how to get certain moods with light (and I do recommend this as well), but at the end of the day all lights, bulbs, and light modifiers are different - and what I have is probably different then what you have, and that's okay. Sometimes you just need to play with what you have and use it in creative ways to get the mood and photo you want.
