BASN1313
Feb, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at home against my living room wall with a small speedlight and a little softbox. For me this photo goes to show that it really isn't about the equipment you use, but about your connection as a photographer with the person on the other end of your camera. Like Edward Steichen once said; "A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it. I believe the honesty and sincerity of this connection will make a photo stand out.Time
This was shot in the evening because with the power of the small speedlight I used back then (I have studio strobes now), I wasn't able to overpower the sun, so I did all my portraits in the evening.Lighting
The lighting setup was really simple. Just one speedlight to her right hand side just out of the frame, with an apollo softbox. She is sitting on a chair which I angled slightly toward the light. That's basically it. When someone smiles with such conviction, you simply don't need much else, you just focus on making her smile.Equipment
I shoot with pentax. I have a full frame camera now, but this was shot last year when I had the pentax k3 which is an aps-c camera. I had the small Pentax AF-360 FGZ II flash on a small inexpensive lightstand with the apollo softbox attached. I used my pentax fa 77mm 1.8 portrait lens.Inspiration
The girl in the photo is my girlfriend's best friend. At the time I was building up my portrait portfolio so I asked friends to model for me. She really liked the photos I took of my girlfriend so I asked her to model for me too. I always try to capture some sort of essence that makes a person who he or she is. In her case it doesn't take a genius to know this essence is in her smiles she throws in the air like confetti.Editing
Besides some color toning and fixing a few blemishes I didn't have to do much. She has good skin and bone structure, so I just let the light do its work.In my camera bag
Today is a different story than last year. For a typical portrait shoot, I will bring the following: - Pentax k1 - Pentax dfa 70-200mm 2.8 zoom - Pentax dfa 24-70mm 2.8 zoom - Profoto b2 location kit with two heads - Profoto portable beautydish - Profoto deep umbrella with diffuser - Profoto Acute B 600r with one head - Some lightstands For traveling I take my set of tiny but gorgeous primes: - Pentax f 28mm 2.8 - Pentax fa 43mm 1.9 - Pentax fa 77mm 1.8 - Pentax dfa 100mm 2.8 macroFeedback
When shooting for portraits, focussing on your model is your most important job. Try and really connect with your model and find out what makes them who they are. It's your job to create a situation that allows them to be who they are and (momentarily) forget the self-consciousness that everybody experiences during a photo shoot. I really believe it is about capturing a real moment that gives a great photo its appeal, so making these moments happen, is 80% of the job. The other 20% is actually technically capturing those moments and dressing them up in beautiful light.
