Beauty in the woods
Timeless beauty called for timeless processing. I love how her eyes shine.
Timeless beauty called for timeless processing. I love how her eyes shine.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in a beautiful wooded setting in Mystic Beach. Four of us hiked through the woods until we found a nice clearing that let in nice shaded natural light.Time
Although we started out early in the morning, had to leave home at about 7am, it took time to get to the site, hike in and then do makeup in the woods. That was an interesting sight for other hikers going by. This photo was taken at 10:17am on May 21st so the light wasn't directly overhead and it still felt soft and flattering.Lighting
Because in was taken in the woods at mid morning the light was soft and shaded from harsh shadows. The sky was also overcast which makes it even better for photography. I did use a reflector to capture some of that soft light and shine it back on to this beautiful woman's face. You can see the catch lights in her eyes from that.Equipment
I used my Nikon D90 with a 105mm prime lens, no tripod or flash in this image. My image metadata tells me I was about 1.5 meters from my model with ISO at 400. My other settings were f/5 and speed 1/320 sec.Inspiration
Four of us (two photographers and two models) decided we wanted to do a woodland elfin shoot as well as a beach shoot in one session. We planned online for a while and inspired each other through sharing of other images, discussions of what we were looking to capture and generally built up an excitement about how the day was going to go. As with all well laid plans, some things don't always work out that way. This image was indeed part of the woodland elfin shoot but it was "after" that shoot was completed that this beauty sat on a log and I noticed how great the light was around her. We picked up the reflector, and took a few photos. She is a great model and went with it and this is one of the resulting images.Editing
I use Adobe Elements 10 for most of my editing now and that's what I used for this image. I shoot in raw and cleaned up the white balance a bit, sharpened the overall image a touch, upped the clarity and saturation a little. After that, I did sharpen the eyes a bit more to get that very clear look. I loved the image in colour (red hair with green leaves in hair and green background) but thought I would try a preset filter in the Nik collection called Antique. Wow! I loved the look. It was hard to choose between the colour and this one but ultimately this version won me over for the clear focus on her eyes.In my camera bag
What's in my bag varies slightly based on how far I have to walk with it and just what my plans are for that shoot. On this particular shoot, I brought everything despite the long hike because I knew if I didn't, I would really want the one thing I didn't bring. So, what is everything? I have my Nikon D90 body, 105mm, 50mm, and 18-200mm. I also carry my SB800 flash and sturdy tripod. Of course, spare batteries and cleaning supplies as well. One small trick I learned is to carry a sparkly piece of jewellery (necklace, bracelet) that you can put in front of your lens when shooting to add a different dimension to the image. This can create a nice blur to one side or you can shoot your subject through the jewellery for an unique shot. So I always have that on hand as well.Feedback
I would always recommend you plan and prepare for the shot. Know what you are looking for in the final image but don't be afraid to deviate from the plan if you see something really interesting come up. As always, we can't control nature and sometimes that can make or break your images. If you are flexible and able to move around, find another spot, you can make that image with what you have on hand. That takes me back to the recommendation to be prepared...bring a reflector to capture light, an umbrella (or several) for the rain or sun, and lots of creativity.
