Lady in blue
Available light portrait of the beautiful Angelina Petrova
Available light portrait of the beautiful Angelina Petrova
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Aug, 2017Views
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Awards
Winner in Seducing with eyes Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
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Behind The Lens
Location
This picture was taken in a home studio in Germany with available light.Time
It was late in the afternoon on a rainy Summer's day. Despite the cloudy conditions there was enough light to get good results without having need for artificial light.Lighting
I had the model face the window so that her beautiful eyes would have a catchlight. The room had a high window so that I could be sure that her face would get most of the light, at least not more than the rest of her body.Equipment
I used a Nikon D800 with a 58mm Nikon lens, a great lens - like the 85 mm from Nikon, for portraits.Inspiration
The model, Angelina Petrova, was staying at a friend's house and we planned a shoot. I knew Angelina only from other photographers' pictures and I had noticed that her eyes are a very distinguishable feature.. So I wanted to capture her eyes; therefore I chose a grey and smooth background (a handpainted backdrop) so as not to distract the attention. I thought the colour combination of her eyes, the blouse and the background would be great.Editing
Only a tiny bit in Photoshop. I removed some tiny spots on her skin, made the whites of her eyes a little brighter and I did the same with the iris.In my camera bag
I have two Nikon D800 cameras and different lenses: two zooms (24-70 mm, 70-200 mm) and different prime lenses (50 mm, 58 mm, 85 mm). In order not to lose too much time changing lenses I use both cameras on a shoot, mostly one with the 58 mm and the other with the 85 mm).Feedback
My advice would be to search for the best light first. If you don't know the location where you are going to shoot, inspect every room for the good spots. Sometimes you have to change your original idea a little bit in order to adjust to the lighting conditions. I think you learn more from working with available light than with flash. Of course the principles are the same, but with available light you have to be more creative and 'think around' your original idea. I also advise you to pay attention to the background. It happened to me more than once that I thought I had a great picture and then at my computer I noticed all sorts of disturbances in the background (objects that should not be there, too many colours, etc). The less I have to do in Photoshop the better it is.
