Baroque Berry THREE
One part of my Baroque Berry series showcasing, a handmade blouse by Katelyn Yoder (myself). Model is my sister; my muse. ...
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One part of my Baroque Berry series showcasing, a handmade blouse by Katelyn Yoder (myself). Model is my sister; my muse.
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Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the woods outback my barn. I'm both a lover and self-taught practitioner of photography and fashion design.Time
This was a spontaneous shoot due to my sister sneaking in a trip home before going back to her home. We were able to catch this just before sundown in the low shadows of the trees.Lighting
Since the garment is a little heavy in details and bold in color, I wanted the scene to be slightly dramatic or eerie, so into the woods we went. I don't usually like to use artificial lighting, so I only played with the natural shadows and spots of broken sunrays to light the shirt and face.Equipment
I shot this one with my Sony a6000 and my 55-210mm f4.5 lens. Since it was spur of the moment I didn't bring anything extra due to dressing up my model before we ran out of sun light.Inspiration
My inspiration simply came from the garment and my sister. She has a naturally 'hard', editorial type of look that I felt really matched the boldness of my shirt creation. Since the two are quite dynamic, I needed a place that was as well and I found that outback. As a kid growing up I was always intrigued by sunrays, and the most dramatic ones I've seen have always been in the woods; especially over a little hill which is where I took this one in particular.Editing
I usually always adjust hilights and shadows, but for this one I also added a bit of a matte finish and a black and white conversion. Although I loved the original shirt color, this photo looked more like I caught her in a moment, rather than truly composed. Because of that I wanted to create a feel of this being a moment in time, and what better way to do that than in black and white.In my camera bag
My typical bag usually contains my Sony a6000 of course and my 16-50mm f3.5 lens. That lens is my 'go-to' because it's a perfect range for most of my portrait work. I love analyzing details, and with that lens I can get everything I want and more, even for landscapes. The second lens I have is the 55-210mm f4.5. This one creates a very soft background for my longer range shots. I usually use this for my animal and pet portraits since it allows me to get up close without scaring or aggitating them. Last lens I always have with me is a fixed 50mm f1.8 don't manual focus. This is my favorite lens because the fixed range allows for the most crisp details because it locks onto the subject instead of jumping around like an auto focus. The other things I usually have in my bag are timing remotes, small reflectors, diffusers and always a tripod.Feedback
Portrait photography to me, is all about the connection. No one likes a photo that feels forced. That makes the photographer, model and viewer all uncomfortable, and not in a good way. I always like to tell anyone photographing people, and animals even, for any events, spend time with the client before and build a connection. If you can't do it in person, at least make a phone call, or few emails and chat a bit about the session. Ask them questions like: what is the inspiration? Have you done shoots similar? Are you comfortable being posed or being seen in public while shooting? Questions like these reassure the clients that you're putting them into consideration, and that you really care about the final outcome. Last piece of advice, I shoot on a low continuous cycle for periodically for some of the shoot. I love doing this because it allows me to capture those in between moments which are the most genuine. This is also great for younger kids who may not sit well for long and animals.
