The Smoker
Jan, 2016Views
1796
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Portraits in Black and White Photo Challenge
Featured
Spring Selection Award
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Love it
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Virtuoso
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
My friend, Andy, had set up a photography studio in a large shed at the back of his garden, and invited me round to see it. We then spent the evening playing with lighting and photographing each other.Time
(see above)Lighting
This was done with a 2-light set up. The main light was a strobe (I'm afraid I can't remember what make) and a beauty dish, with a honeycomb grid on the front. It was the first time I'd seen one of these up close and he explained how it allowed a soft drop-off in the light at the edges, allowing you to just light the area you wanted. In this case you can see his face is lit up on the left (as we see it), but by the time you move back to his ear and shoulder, it's already dropping into a soft shadow. I set up a 2nd light behind and off to one side to create a rim light on the other side of his face and to capture the smoke more effectively. If you've not done it before, the best way to capture smoke is to have a dark background, but a light behind it - obviously out of shot. The same trick applies to rain - you need a light source behind it (out of shot), but a dark background.Equipment
I was using a Canon 7D with a Canon 24-70mm 2.8 L lens, 1/125th, ISO 100, f/11 and the two lights already mentionedInspiration
I've always been a fan of moody black and white portraiture, but I was really after the addition of the smoke. He is one of my only friends who still smokes and was happy to puff away to generate enough smoke for the image.Editing
Basically all I did was convert to black and white and play with the levels a bit. The biggest thing was bringing down the highlights on his cigarette which had caught the full impact of the lights and became the brightest part of the image.In my camera bag
These days a Canon 7D mark 2 is my main camera. My Canon 24-70mm 2.8 L is my workhorse lens and is used more than any other. I also have a Canon 70-200mm 2.8L which I use mostly for nature and event photography. Finally I have a Canon 10-22mm wide angle which is mostly for being playful with.Feedback
In addition to the information above about the lighting, I would say pay attention to the composition. In this case if you follow the line up from his shoulder, it points to his front eye - almost always the most important point in a portrait where the subject is looking at the camera. That point is also occupying a traditional rule-of-thirds place in the image, while the negative space to the right is offset by the smoke.
