Claire Maternity
Jun, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in my home studio. The studio was a DIY project I started in 2012, converting our detached garage into a place I could play with light.Time
Time of day isn't as fun to talk about as opposed to the actual day it was taken. I believe the image was taking around 11am, but this photo was taken on my birthday. My wife asked me what I wanted to do on my birthday and I told her I wanted to take pictures of her. It was the best gift ever.Lighting
I wanted to emphasize the amazing shape my wife (and soon to be son) had developed over the 9 months of her pregnancy, so I thought a silhouette would do that nicely. I set up two strobe lights, behind V flats pointed directly at a white seamless background. I metered the spots on the white background to ensure there was an even amount of light distributing the surrounding area. The V flats kept the light from bouncing onto my wife body, so the only light that was exposing her was the light reflected off the paper. I edged her closer to the paper so she wasn't completely a silhouette, allowing the light to softly bounce onto her.Equipment
Shot on a Canon 5d iii, with an 85mm 1.2. Two Elinchrom HD 500 strobes. 2 Black V Flats with metallic interior (for bounce). Sekonic L-358 Light meter.Inspiration
I took a workshop at the Sante Fe Photographic studios a few years back led by David Robin. He introduced this type of lighting technique to me and I've loved it ever since. It forces the viewer to look at the subject and the subject only. With silhouette lighting, your eyes don't wonder. My wife grew a lot during the pregnancy of our first child... to give you an idea, he wasn't born until 1 month after this image was taken. Many people commented on her size throughout the pregnancy and it only ever left her with fears and tears. People insisted that she was wrong when she said the due date. Strangers commenting that she must be having twins. Even friends joking 'Are you sure it isn't twins'. Every time anyone commented on the growth of our son in my wife body, it left her thinking, 'Maybe something is wrong' 'This is my fault' 'We won't have a healthy baby'.... it got so that my wife didn't want to leave the house... but what I saw every day was one of the most magical transformations ever. My wife and all pregnant women are the definition of beauty and strength. My wife was very hesitant about taking this photo and the rest I took on that day, but we're so grateful to have them now. In short, my wife inspired me to take this photograph.Editing
Yes, I converted the picture to black and white and cleaned up the image in photoshop with a Wacom Tablet. The seamless paper on the floor was a little worse for wear, with dirt and rips, so I quickly cleaned it up and pumped up the exposure/highlights to give the picture a bit more of a dreamy quality.In my camera bag
My go to lenses are the Canon 24-70mm f2.8L II USM, Canon 70-200mm f2.8L II IS USM, Canon 85mm f1.2L II, a colour checker passport, additional batteries. The body I mostly shoot with is the Canon 5d iii, but when I'm wanting to travel really light, I carry around my Fujifilm x100t. I also have a Hasselblad 500cm and a Rollieflex TLR that I take with me on special occasions, when I'm wanting to document in medium format film.Feedback
You don't need to have strobes to get fantastic silhouette shots. Get your subject in front of a window and you can get very similar results. Get your camera in manual and check your exposure. Make sure you're not exposing to the light, if you do that, your image will be underexposed, but also make sure you aren't exposing to the face/subject... because that can lead to an overexposed image. Check and re-check. Silhouette lighting is not about the face, it's not a portrait... it's about form, so regardless of who your subject is, try new forms with the body, the eyes are less important, so allow the subject to internalize a bit (looking diagonally down etc), if it's maternity, definitely get them profile... we want to see that bump... that bump is magic. Know if you want to convert the shot into black and white, and if so, be specific with the clothes. For maternity, it's nice to have something a bit more flowing from the waste down and if your subject is comfortable in a bra, then get them in it. Baggy clothing does nothing but harm in silhouette lighting, so above all, make sure you can see the curves and lines of their body.
