Not Your Average Character
Feb, 2016Views
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Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Volume5
Member Selection Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in A Black And White World Photo Contest
Spring Selection Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
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Platinum
JohnBilling
February 06, 2017
Stunning detail, great composure and the lighting really compliments the subject. Awesome job.
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in The French Quarter in New Orleans at the corner of St. Peters St. and Royal St.Time
The time of day was around 3:00pm Central US Time.Lighting
The lighting is completely natural sunlight in a slightly shaded area of the street.Equipment
The camera I used was a Nikon D7000 with an 80mm Nikkor Prime lens and was hand-held.Inspiration
I go out looking for interesting characters and people to take their portrait. So the man himself inspired me to take his photo. He was telling me about two books he had just purchased for what he thought was an excellent price.Editing
I use lightroom to adjust contrast shadows and highlights and then ran it through Nik's Silverefex for structure and detail. After that I'll export it look at it again and touch up some very small parts in Lightroom using the brush.In my camera bag
I general only take my Nikon D7000 body and my 80mm prime lens. I don't carry any other lenses unless I'm expecting to stay past dark in which case I'll take a wider faster lens than the Nikkor 80mm.Feedback
I have to engage my subjects. I'm there not just to photograph them but to also meet them to learn about them and get to know them and hang out with them. Sometimes, because of that, I get photos of them looking directly at me and sometimes I get photos when they're looking away. I don't ask if I can take their photo I just sit down I offer them a cigarette or I just let them talk to me if they're talking. I never raise myself above them socially or intellectually or judge anything about them I engage them as an equal. If they're sitting in dirty water on the curb of the french quarter that's where I sit also. I shoot with an aperture of F5 to F6 to ensure I get their entire face/head as sharp as possible but still manage to get a nice depth of field also. I've found this aperture to be the best for myself and for my lens but finding that sweet spot increased the number of usable photos I went home with by a large amount. It was a game changer for sure.
