The Look
Aug, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Smithfield Studio in Sheffield, they were offering 2 hours of free time. I'd done my first ever shoot a few weeks before as I'd decided to push myself out of my comfort zone to regain my confidence and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to do another.Time
It was taken around 1pm, but as it was studio lit there's no natural light being used at all. No anecdotes about being in the right place at the right time on this one I'm afraid.Lighting
Melissa was lit from both sides and from behind using constant lighting. The most important part was the backlight as we wanted to create a silhouette on the newspaper. It took some fiddling to get it right but we got it eventually.Equipment
This was shot using a Canon 1000D, tripod and a Tamron 90mm lens.Inspiration
Melissa and I had worked together once before and this time we wanted to try a pin up style. While surfing for inspiration I came across a picture of a 40s style pinup girl dressed as a sailor (I say sailor, but she was only wearing a sailor hat and stockings), she was lit from behind creating a really sharp silhouette on the naval poster she was holding. We both loved it and decided to try to recreate it in our own way.Editing
Yes, I used Nik Software to smooth Melissa's skin and Topaz Black & White to apply the Milk Memories Opalotype preset for the desaturated pale look.In my camera bag
Depends on what I'm planning on shooting. I only camera is a Canon 1000D so that's the first thing in the bag, for this shoot I had my 50mm Prime and Tamron 90mm Macro lenses too. If I'm shooting landscape I'll put my wide angle, Lensbaby Spark and Holga lenses in too. If I'm shooting wildlife I'll pop the Tamron 300mm zoom in instead. The rest is taken up with spare memory cards, batteries, remote triggers etcFeedback
Go for it. The most important element is the backlight to create the silhouette. However, it is worth noting that the pro photographer who runs the studio believes the picture we were using for inspiration was photoshopped to make the silhouette sharper than was achievable in camera. That said though, it was still a lot of fun to shoot and I'm really pleased with what we created.
