Dark Kiwanu
Oct, 2015Views
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Bensphotographykiwi
August 08, 2016
Thank you CWphotos5 and ovosphotography for the positive comments. I stared at the photo for long periods at a time to see how else I can improve on this image.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I had earlier seen an image that really fascinated me of a silhouetted guy in a hat emerging out of the darkness. The image looked to me like it was painted on darkness and I wanted to create a similar image .I reside in Auckland, New Zealand where I have my home studio and this particular photo creation dictates that I needed to be indoors where I can have control of the lighting. At the time, I was experimenting with off camera flash which worked out really well with my creation.Time
I needed darkness for my experiment and I waited for late evening with the blinds drawn to eliminate the street lights from seeping through the windows. I had my assistant (grandson 1) on light switch duties to turn the studio light on and off for setting the manual focus MF. I had my model (grandson 2) pose for my composition with head tilted forward to cut a diagonal line through the image and to be void of emotions. I had another assistant (grandson 3) on re-positioning the light stand duties. As you can imagine, this project is pitted with adventures or mishaps perhaps. To keep everyone interested and focus, I had them rotate duties.Lighting
I am forever experimenting with my photography and it's different techniques with what minimal equipment I have at hand and controlling my lighting is very important to me. For this photo I expected to be a difficult experiment but after several trials and errors, it wasn't so bad. Orienting the flash head to a portrait position I had started at mid flash power 1/16 and found it too bright that it washed over the background and too much of the model's face. I reduced my flash power every time I took a shot until I was finally satisfied with the final result. In hindsight I would use a snoot with a higher flash power.Equipment
I used my trustee Canon 60D with a EF50mm 1.8 II Prime Lens on a Tripod to eliminate movement, a Phottix Mitros Flash mounted on a light stand triggered by a wireless transmitter and receiver. I also utilized the build in reflector in the flash gun to block light from washing on to the background.Inspiration
I came across a photo that caught my eye of a guy in a hat emerging out of the darkness (that's how I saw it) and it looked a lot like he was painted on a dark background and I thought after some mental calculations that I have the bare minimum equipment to achieve such image. It's more of a challenge to see if you can create images that you really like.Editing
Because of the introduced light from the speed light there was bound to be some unwanted aspects of the composition being lit by the flash. I had placed the speed lite in a position where some light flare was visible and I used the Photoshop burn tool to burn it away. Some light had also fallen on my models blue shirt which I also did away with the burn tool. I also tweaked the Exposure Adjustment layer to further sharpen the rim light around the face. This photo could easily pass for a B&W but if you look closely, you can still detect some color.In my camera bag
I am always indecisive as to what to carry at any given time and if I could, I'd take my studio with me....just in case. My Canon 60D is along for the ride and my EF50 mm 1.8 II Prime for when I needed to be discrete and it's not too bad for Portrait Photography either. For some artistic and wide angle shots I also carry my Tamron SP 10-24 3.5-4.5, another lens I can't leave home without. At this stage and time I have another Prime Lens the Canon Macro EF100mm 2.8 L series with all it's bells and whistles glued to my camera. I had broken the hot shoe off of my Phottix Mitros Flash gun and I can't find anyone to fix it without costing me an arm and a leg so I had substituted it with a Yongnuo 568EXII Speedlite.Feedback
It's all trial and error, position your off camera flash to minimize flash flare and light washing over the background. Your goal is to get that knife edge rim light around the face. I recommend a couple of black flags positioned to eliminate light escaping to the background and around the face. I plan to recreate this image, this time experimenting with a snoot.
