Nana Violet 2
Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
My lovely model asked me to do a boudoir shoot in her home. The apartment was not built for a photo shoot so there weren't too much space to work with. We needed to remove a heavy wooden chest to her kitchen and pile other furniture on top of each other. Finally we cleared enough room to start shooting. As you are shooting in tight spaces your position is quite uncomfortable and shorter lenses are needed. One tries to become one with the walls to get every inch needed for the shot.Time
This was shot in the afternoon and because we were inside I wasn't worried about harsh daylight. Well, that room had one window and conveniently it pointed straight to the sun. It was very beautiful day and naturally no clouds in the sky. Luckily she had blackout curtains so sunlight was blocked. However there was a slight color cast from the curtains but that was dealt in post processing.Lighting
Lighting setup was really simple. One flash with shoot through umbrella on the left side of the photo. Walls were white so bouncing light gave enough fill light. It was clear that we couldn't build very complex setup because of the tight space. We did try a second flash during the shoot but most of the set was light with this one flash setup.Equipment
Canon 7dmk2 was used here with a basic 50mm f1.8 lens. Sigma speedlight to light the scene and of course that shoot through umbrella and a flash stand. Not much needed to make this one.Inspiration
As I mentioned this was a boudoir shoot. The idea was to capture routines of a show girl getting ready for the show. Set contained a makeup table and a large mirror. Reflection from the mirror adds a lot more depth when your'e in a tight space but I wanted to isolate only part of the face to add mystery. This small make up mirror fits perfectly for that. Camera pointing over models shoulders into the mirror creates also natural frame for the picture.Editing
Because there was a color cast from the curtains I had to correct that in post. Slight skin softening was made and also dodge and burn. A bit cropping but nothing special was needed.In my camera bag
It depends if I'm going to do portraits or a hike in the woods but there are always my Canon 7dmk2 with a sigma 24-70 2.8. When shooting stars or landscapes I use Samyang 10mm f2.8 lens. I think it's one of the best wide angle lenses for cropped sensor. It is also quite inexpensive so I really recommend it if you need wider angle. You shouldn't be terrified for its manual operation. Canon 50mm 1.8 is also very cheap and does great job. In nature my preferred lens is Canon 100-400L. Tripod is almost every time packed no matter what I'm going to shoot. You just never know when you might need it. Of course few extra batteries are packed. Cleaning cloth and a blower travels with me so gear stays in condition. I always have few plastic bags, rubber bands and straps in my bag just in case.Feedback
Try to use the space you're in as creatively as you can. Especially when in small rooms and other tight spaces. Mirrors create more space as in real life. Try focusing in details and go close. There was many shots before I captured this one. Different compositions and angles. Keep trying and find the best position and don't stop until you're satisfied with the result.
