points of light
Oct, 2016Views
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trevorellis
January 31, 2019
Thanks for all the comments regarding this image which is still one of my favourites of all the images I've taken
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken during a shoot with the wonderful ballet dancer and model Tillie at a large private house in Bedfordshire. This too is one of my favourite shots which contains beauty elegance and dance.Time
To be honest I can't remember the time of day, but may have been early afternoon with the sun shining brightly through the nets against the window of the bedroom we were working in. As an amateur photographer my lighting equipment was limited and with Tillie in white, against a white background it was going to be challenging.Lighting
With two options available in my kit bag, a reflector or flash unit, I opted for the reflector, which was positioned to bring Tillie out from the bright background. So basically this turned out to be a natural light shot, with the main light from the window and the reflector used to bounce some of that to act as a fill light.Equipment
Next was to set the Nikon D600 camera with 50mm lens on a tripod and take a few test shots and adjust reflector until we arrived at a correct exposure to balance everything to an acceptable level. Shutter speed was a 13th sec with aperture F8 and an ISO of 100. The ISO of 100 was used to keep the noise levels very low, whilst F8 keeps the sharpness of the lens to a premium and the shutter speed set to match the other two settings and a number of good shots taken before arriving at this one.Inspiration
I knew I was going to working with a ballet dancer, as I had worked with her on a previous occasion as well as some since. At the location I didn't know what to expect until arrival. On looking into the room and seeing the window with the light coming through the net then this was a WOW!!, and with the cupboard to the right and chest of draws to the left with the flowers on made this a perfect set. So a sit down with Tillie and discussion about outfits for a shot to be taken en-point and Tillie and I both agreed white against white was what would work if we could get it right. So it was off to get changed for her whilst I set the equipment up.Editing
Post processing was very simple as I do try to spend the time to get the shot in the camera. On the post processing from shooting in Raw any white balance issues were corrected and any spots removed that offended the eyes. Then I used levels to make an adjustment to perhaps increase the contrast.In my camera bag
The equipment carried in the bag are a Nikon full frame camera with a 50mm prime lens. An 85mm prime lens for doing portrait work. A 24-70 zoom which is used for any thing from Landscape to working with models and a 70- 300 zoom which I don't use very often. I do love working with the two prime lenses which give very good results but it does mean to alter the view I have to move. I also carry a speed light and lots of little gadgets which may get used like a remote trigger.Feedback
If you are out and about thinking of a back-lit shot also think about how to get light on to the subject. This can be from a speedlight. reflector or even any reflective material. To get it right take your time and take test shots making adjustments along the way and then when you are happy you get the WOW shot. I always work in manual mode as then I am in control, not the camera.
