Trouble in the Underpass
Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in an underpass in my home town of Weston-super-Mare, in the south west of England. The subway joins the local secondary school; Priory School Academy Trust and the underpass graffiti was a project by the school itself. There are lots of little hidden treasures to use for photographic scenes if you look for them.Time
I took this photo at around 8:30 in the evening. I drove past it when the inspiration hit me so I rushed home to to grab my 7 year old daughter, who was in her pjs. I asked her to get dressed and come out with me to do the shoot. She was happy about getting some extra awake time instead of going to bed!Lighting
This was my first time experimenting with off camera flash. I placed a canon speedlight on the ground behind my daughter's legs as I wanted to light her up from behind to create a darker more edgy appearance and I didn't want to lose any of the depth of the tunnel. It took a few attempts to get the shot right because I had to make sure that the light from the flash wasn't visible. Though I did get some really cool shots that do show the light shining through her legs too but that's another story.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and my favourite Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, I love shooting wide! I also used my Canon Speedlight 430ex and the shot was handheld. I wanted to use a tripod but using my daughter as a subject means time is of the essence. She is very lively!Inspiration
I am part of a local photography Facebook group who run weekly themed fun comps. The theme that inspired this shot was 'multicoloured'. I like to try to do something different when themes are set but I was stuck for original ideas until I drove passed the subway with all its glorious colourful graffiti. From my experience, people generally use subways in connection with homeless or harder subjects so I took my daughter along instead with her favourite soft toy, Spotty the Dog. Little girls and soft toys at night are out of place in subways so I thought the idea worked well with my desire to be different. To add to the scope of being out of place I dressed my daughter in an urban style hoody and brightly coloured leggings.Editing
I used Adobe Lightroom to darken the shadows and highlights to bring out the detail in the graffiti. I adjusted the clarity and saturation to make it all pop and then pushed the noise reduction right up to smooth it all out. Again being different as grainy, gritty effects seem to be the preferred go to effect in this sort of scene. I generally played around with the sliders to get an effect I really liked. At the time I had little experience with Lightroom.In my camera bag
As well as my beloved Canon 5D Mark III I always carry my Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens because it has a good range for many types of scenes. I never leave home without my Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM. I love shooting wide as I said before. Wide angle lenses can bring home some really fun creative shots. My other favourite lens is my Canon 180mm f/3.5L USM macro; macro is my passion but I've recently discovered that this lens also doubles up as a great lens for outdoor portraits too as it's razor sharp but creates beautiful soft bokeh.Feedback
I would say just have fun experimenting. I used the OCF to bounce light in different directions and light up different parts of the subway with my daughter leaning against the walls or stood in the middle. It was very much experimental but the shots I got from the shoot are some of my favourite to date. Just go out there and have fun! Also, if using a young subject, bribery with a treat works well!
