to the river she turned
Follow me on Instagram (@ishotthisforyou) for new content, sneak previews of upcoming sets, and story posts where I cover editing techniques or critique work!Read more
Follow me on Instagram (@ishotthisforyou) for new content, sneak previews of upcoming sets, and story posts where I cover editing techniques or critique work!
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Sep, 2017Views
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Awards
Editor's Choice
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was in Richmond, VA shooting this near the James River.Time
We were out fairly early to catch the sun before it hit it's peak for the day - sometime around 10am.Lighting
The most important thing to note here was the use of the angle the sun was at. The sun wasn't so low that it didn't hit through the trees, but it wasn't so high that it cast straight on top of them. That sort of >45* angle is what allowed me to use it for the cast shadows through the leaves. It gives the photo a more tropical feel than the environment actually was!Equipment
I used my Canon 6D, Tamron 28-70 2.8, and my arms.Inspiration
This photo is a shining example of why I love to cut off faces at the nose. That's been my "thing" for years now and you can see just how effectively it's used in this shot. The focus isn't on eyes (which have a tendency to steal attention) but instead on the shadows and textures - both soft and crisp - and the playfulness of the color palette - warm tropical greens and also soft colder blues and reds. The way her face is turned combined with the posture of her hands gives a feeling of being saturated in calm deep thought. She's lost in her surroundings but not lost in her mind. This photo makes me feel many things!Editing
Of course. The original picture was honestly not terribly off from what you see here. The biggest impact was from pulling the top of my red curves down a little to introduce color into the shadows; everything else was minor tweaking. Shadow colorcasts - to me - lend a cinematic quality to a photo.In my camera bag
Honestly, the backup batteries/memory cards are almost never required. I finish every shoot on one battery and one memory card. The extras are mostly for emergencies like a memory card corrupting or a battery malfunctioning. As for lenses, I don't have any others currently. I'd love to expand with a Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART lens though, that thing is a champ!Feedback
Practice makes perfect. I harp on this to everyone, always, all the time, and for forever. You will not be a genius picking up a camera. You just won't. Don't go in with such high expectations. Shoot what you like, enjoy every small PERSONAL achievement (don't wait for awards, those come later). When you shoot and look at your photo and say to yourself "WOW that's my new best shot!" then you've got something there. Do that again. And again. And again. Keep doing it because it's always been that way with me. I created this saying a long time ago that has always rung true for me when I stay true to what I enjoy shooting: "My next shoot is my best shoot."
