Just Amber
Another shot of the amazing @ambermaep, once again from the UK Shooters Newcastle meetup.
Another shot of the amazing @ambermaep, once again from the UK Shooters Newcastle meetup.
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Jul, 2019Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Top Choice
Virtuoso
Superb Composition
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken behind The Sage in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear during a UK Shooters / Sony / Jessops event, I had no idea the location existed until we arrived there.Time
This was taken around 8:30pm on a July evening so it wasn't quite golden hour, thankfully it was a summer evening so it was bright enough to get exposure without sacrificing too much shutter speed.Lighting
Thanks to the mainly consistent cloudy skies we seem to have, even in summer, the sky was acting as a giant softbox which is my favourite type of lighting for outdoor portraits because of the soft glow it can give skin. Even though the light was very diffuse, it was strong enough to kick back from the coloured containers behind Amber and give a nice kick of colour to her left side.Equipment
I shot this handheld with a Canon 77D on the EF-S 55-200 f4/5.6 IS STM lensInspiration
This was the first photography event that I attended and I didn't know anyone there. Throughout the whole thing, I was always away from the main groups but didn't want to miss out on the opportunity, so I chose to work with my longest zoom and try to capture different moments to everyone else. In this particular case, I was off 90 degrees to Amber and the group and felt like the moments between poses were an important part of the story. Even when Amber wasn't posing, the contrast of her light skin and the dark background behind with saturated colours behind Amber made for an eye-catching image.Editing
I did minimal post-processing on this, there was some basic correction with a slightly exaggerated s-curve and small saturation boost. The bulk of the post-processing was focused on reducing noise in the image while trying to maintain sharpness.In my camera bag
Currently, I'm carrying the Panasonic G9 because it has a combination of excellent autofocus, great video capability and superb battery life, although I always carry 3 spare batteries and 4 SD Cards, just in case. For lenses I have the Lumix 14-42 f3.5 -5.6, Lumix 25mm f1.7, Helios 44M 58mm f2 and Soligor 85-205mm f3.8. The Helios and Soligor are heavy and manual only, but I love the quirkiness of the Helios and flexibility of the Soligor, it's amazing what you can get for your money if you go vintage!Feedback
I think the most important thing is not to focus on the shots you can't get and make the best of the ones you can. In a group setting like the one I was in, less confident people (like me) tend to get pushed to the edges, but this shouldn't stop us from enjoying photography, we just have be more creative with the tools and options we do have. Generally, as a photographer, as an artist, I think the most important thing is to capture images that appeal to you and not get caught up in what everyone else is doing. From those images and styles that do well on social media, take inspiration but not rules. Like every art, it's by making it our own - finding those angles, that interesting play of light or that leading line that everyone else has missed - that we can show the beauty of the way we see things.
