Making new Friends
A cute little composite to make the scene more magical :)
A cute little composite to make the scene more magical :)
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Jan, 2016Views
3476
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Awards
People's Choice in I Coexist Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in I Coexist Photo Contest
Member Selection Award
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Love it
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
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
To a photographer, any spot can be magical. This location was just a long stretch of grass separating a quiet little side street from a wooded gully. Thick with maple trees, it became the perfect site for our magical orange coated imagination!Time
Halloween, and it was about to get busy! Our little model was excited to go trick-or-treating so we were fighting light and attention span! We began the shoot around 3, which turned out to be perfect for this last day of October.Lighting
This is definitely the best time of day to shoot. The sun is getting low in the sky, which brings out the warm tones and gentle golden glow of the afternoon. We were lucky it was just a little cloudy and perfectly patchy with soft sunlight.Equipment
This was an all natural shot! With a little girl on the go, you have to be ready to shoot at a moment's notice. I left the reflector, the flash and the tripod. It was just me, my D10 and trusty 85mm 1.8. On my belly. In the leaves, trying not to laugh and distract her!Inspiration
It was towards the end of the shoot, and my little model was running low on patience. I asked if she'd like to toss leaves at her momma, and of course she agreed. It worked like a charm! My intention was to add a little magic in post production :)Editing
I intended of course to remove momma from the original photo and add in something a little more magical to show the beauty of a child's imagination. And when I was a kid, I loved Sitka deer. They were so tiny, almost like puppies, and adorable with their spots! So that was why I chose the incredibly teeny baby deer for her composite companion.In my camera bag
I normally just carry a few things with me, one being my camera and the lens that never leaves it. The other thing I usually have with me is my enormous reflector, that has turned into a shade, a picnic blanket, a runaway kite, and a backdrop.Feedback
Any image can be special. Even ones you don't think should make the cut. Looking through the session, I originally didn't like this one. I knew I had wanted to make it into a composite, but it still wasn't perfect. After a few days, I came back and looked again. Give yourself time! When doing a golden hour photo, the hour before sunset is best. Make sure you are ready to shoot because that sun can disappear fast! You also want to shoot wide open, so up the ISO and drop the shutter speed, you want a creamy bokeh and will need to make sure you have a lot of light coming in. And if you are going to composite, use similarly lit images, try to match color and shadow. This will make the final product look much more realistic. I've gotten a few people tell me this composite is bad because the deer is so small. Its art, its subjective, but do your research. The deer is small because it is a species that is very very tiny, and abundant where I grew up. I was familiar with it, and knew what I was doing. But you want to make sure you are matching light, color, and scale. It's tricky to make things looks seamless, but it is possible! Most of all, have a vision. And if your end product makes you and your client smile, it was all worth it.
