cayze

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My son, Logan, hanging out on top of a hay bale at sunset.

My son, Logan, hanging out on top of a hay bale at sunset.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 140/1

upload_date

Oct, 2015

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My son, Logan, blowing bubbles on top of a hay bale at sunset.

My son, Logan, blowing bubbles against a sunset.

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took my son, Logan, to a field near our house in Kentucky around sunset. There were hay bales all around, so I put him up on one of them and took a bunch of photos. I ended up liking this silhouetted version.

Time

Like most people, I love sunset, and am always wanting to take photos at that time. This was actually taken after the sun had set and while the sky was turning to a dark orange color that I love so much.

Lighting

Well, I had taken a bunch of photos using my speedlites, which also turned out well. However, there was nothing special lighting-wise about this photo, other than deciding to continue shooting long after the sun had actually set.

Equipment

I took this with my Canon 5D Mark II and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L lens.

Inspiration

Whenever I'm driving around, I'm always paying attention to great locations that I might be able to use for photos, particularly for photos of my kids. I believe the hay bales were lying there for a couple days or so and knew that I had to get my son there before they were taken away. Of course, nothing beats golden hour/post-sunset light, so I knew I wanted to shoot at that time. I did not pre-plan this photo; it just occurred to me while we were shooting to snap a few silhouettes, and those ended up being the ones I liked the most.

Editing

I believe for this one I just did the basic amount of post-processing. I darkened the shadows even further to make sure I got a total silhouette. I also set the white balance to get more warmth out of the sunset and boosted the vibrance, but that is pretty much all the editing this one required.

In my camera bag

In my bag, I typically have my Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L, three speedlites, a Lastolite Ezybox softbox, Radiopopper PX triggers, and a Canon ST-E2.

Feedback

My only advice is to always be paying attention to locations for beautiful photos. Make sure you shoot at the best times of day, around sunrise and sunset, as you will not get this type of photo in the middle of the day. While taking photos, always visualize how you can use the light to create interesting photos; don't just limit yourself to the photos you have in your mind before you start. For me, I had planned a lot of lit photos, but it occurred to me to try the silhouette in the middle of the sessions, and this ended up being one of my favorites.

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Deep Thought