Polar explorer
May, 2017Views
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Awards
2020 Choice Award
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
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Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo, as many other my photos, taken in my home studio in Moscow. Thanks to talented makeup artist Elena and handsome model Timur, we created set of images with north, snow and brave polar explorers in mind.Time
Seems it was middle of the day or maybe later. We spent alot of time with preparation, makeup, lighting setup, so it wasn't too fast.Lighting
I spent about hour or so with lighting. It was two 60x60cm double diffused and gridded softboxes, as far I remember. Finding right color gels and set up right power of speedlights was a tchallenge for me also.Equipment
I made this shot with my Canon EOS 450D with 55-250mm EF-S telezoom, two Canon speedlights with Rosco Strobist Collection color gels, Phottix Strato II radio synchronization. Two iShoot 60x60cm double diffused and gridded softboxes used. Manfrotto 550 tripod.Inspiration
I saw Timur's face and his previous works and decided that it must be strong image of strong man, man on the edge of extreme.Editing
I increase overall contrast and sharpness of overall image and made it more on the face where artificial snow appeared. Also increase contrast on fur and make shadows on the face less visible.In my camera bag
Usually I am "overequiped" to be sure that in case of any problem I have solution in my bag. Because I am switched to Canon EOS 80D I have more functionality to shoot without flashes even in low light conditions. Usually I use Sigma 17-55mm f2.8, Canon EF-S 55-250mm and Canon EF 50mm f1.8 both for studio and outdoor. I also have old Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.8 and Canon EF 70-210mm f4 for beautiful bokeh, old school and nostalgic smoothness of the image. These two lenses I use only for slow shooting with tripod, for still life, food photography. Also I need to note that 70-210mm good for outdoor portraiture. But because most of my shootings are studio sessions, I have four Godox 860-II speedlights, Godox WISTRO 360 powerful speedlight, many stands, soft boxes, beauty dish, 120mm softbox and umbrella, Godox transmitters, both manual and TTL.Feedback
You need good strong references in mind, good professional and motivated team around you and good lighting. It must not be expensive, but anyway robust and good lighting equipment. Also consider flexible lighting equipment which you can use everywhere: in the studio or in the city, in the hotel, in the pool or in the field. And because I am fanatic about home studios, I urge you to make your own home studio and make experiments there. You'll save a lot of money and learn how to light with better results. You will not stress yourself and your team regarding limited timeframe for preparation, makeup and shooting.
