Secrets
Jun, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photograph was taken in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. We went for a walk along the shoreline of lake Ontario and came across a beautiful willow tree.Time
The shot was taken at around 7pm, on May 19th, 2014. My favorite time to shoot is at dawn, but unfortunately that time ends fast. This shot was taken while the sun was still up, but it was partially cloudy, so I waited for the sun to hide, and we were also hidden under the willow tree. Also some of the light reflected from the lake and gave a nice effect.Lighting
I didn't use any artificial lighting in this shot, so a lot depended on the weather. The light was perfect and there was a meter long border so I could take a picture from below without much effort. It took me about an hour to get the right shot waiting for the sun to hide behind clouds and playing around with the wind and branches.Equipment
I used a Canon 7D and a portrait lens: EF50mm f/1.4 USM for this shot. Didn't use a tripod since it still very light.Inspiration
I wanted to take a surreal looking portrait with the willow tree that we came across. I couldn't find the shot I wanted with a horizontal perspective, so I decided to try to take a photo from below. I was going for a walk with friends, so we set up a picnic under the tree while I attempted to get the shot I wanted.Editing
I experiment a lot with post production and this photograph was not an exception. I work a lot with how an image is perceived and try to make look how I see it, even if in reality it sometimes couldn't be possible. I did some work with manipulating the jaw line, since the shot was taken from below and enhanced lighting. After that, instead of correcting colors and using filters, I looked for images to use as layers to give a bit of a magic look to the image. All together the image consisted of about 20 layers.In my camera bag
Canon 7D EF50mm f/1.4 USM Lens EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Also carry a tripod and a reflector with me. Specially when it's closer to dawn.Feedback
There are several things that make a portrait taken from below difficult. One is lighting. If you are using natural lighting, then you find the face of the model being dark against the sky. It's best to have a reflector, artificial light, or water near by as it was in this case. Also I would advise to plan the shot in the shade. The other problem is that you will come across a problem where the forehead looks small and the jawline looks large in scale. Prepare to digitally manipulate the image to get the desired proportions. Also don't hesitate to experiment with texture layers for effects, but it's easy to get carried away with your image starting to look like digital art instead of a photograph. It's hard to see the imaginary boundary between the two sometimes, but worth the risk.
