All the Classics
Used bookstore with rough wooden stacks, classically trained dancer in worn pointe shoes. One light off camera.
Used bookstore with rough wooden stacks, classically trained dancer in worn pointe shoes. One light off camera.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in an old second-hand bookshop in Kelowna called, "High Browse Books". I have done several shoots there. This particular shot is of a classically trained dancer who worked all summer to make her arms strong enough to handstand.Time
It was midafternoon and the ambient light was coming from overhead tungstens . I mounted a diffused strobe on a tripod so that the brightest part of the beam would fall on the dancer's face, highlighting her profile and casting shadows to show the strength of her body. The strobe was triggered by an infra-red trigger mounted on the camera.Lighting
Just the stuff I said up there. I was hoping for fall-off which ended up working really well.Equipment
Canon D7, Canon Speedlight, probably a Gary Fong diffuser, slick tripod, speedlight bracket on a cheap tripod and some sort of infra-red trigger.Inspiration
I was doing one portrait per day for 2015. Some of the portraits were pretty straight forward but with a lot of storytelling and impact. They were all very personal portraits for the clients. This particular woman had been in a professional company and switched to social work. She loves reading and reads classics, fiction, non-fiction...everything. As always, the art is inspired by the person in the image.Editing
Sure did, but not much. It was opened in Photoshop Raw where I darkened the blacks and crunched the details a bit. That's it.In my camera bag
My bag generally holds a bottle of Tylenol, some lipgloss, two camera bodies, an assortment of lenses though I usually use my 70-200 L series lens because I like the "secretive" way that it feels. Kind of paparazzi, like stolen moments. Though I am starting to love my wideangle. I also have a bunch of change for parking and a frequent coffee-er card for my favourite coffee shop. Wait, my cell phone. It is in there too. And TicTacs. (I bribe people with those.)Feedback
For good portraits you have to develop your intuition and go slow enough for your subjects to trust you. Sometimes you need to match your energy to theirs. I find exuberant clients more challenging because I am very mellow. I prefer scared clients or people who usually hate their own pictures. Learn light and posing. Even if your style is candid. People pose themselves and the light will find them but you have to know what you are trying for or the moment will pass you by.
