Max
Feb, 2020Views
1235
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Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Summer Views Award
Flawless Summer Award
Achievement in Originality
Top Pick Award
Staff Favorite
Halfway22 Award
Curator's Selection
Judge Favorite
Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Photo Contest Volume9
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 53
Editor's Choice
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Genius
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in an abandoned parking lot in east Los Angeles. The couch was found in the parking lot as well. It was grimy and filled with bullet holes, but made a great prop.Time
Dusk. I've been shooting a lot of similar photos in the evening time in that small window of ambient light. I like the potential colors of the sky. This type of light makes a fun and interesting balance when used with a speed light or strobe.Lighting
For this I used a single speed light with a soft box. I just wanted a large bright wash. I like the idea of shooting sort of a low down dirty character in an urban environment but give it sort of a high fashion feel. With the low light in the sky it's a fun and dynamic balance. Also there's a battery powered quasar tube in the suitcase working as sort of a lower frontal fill. It's less noticeable in this particular photo of the set, but in the other's its also a fun practical light making the suitcase sort of a glowing box of light - There's some implied magic in the theme.Equipment
Sony a7ii with Zeiss 35mm 1.4, no tripod, a godox ad200 speed light with octogon soft box, and a 2' battery powered quasar tube.Inspiration
All my photos are a bit on the surreal side. I like them to be grounded, but have a dream-like quality. This particular set was inspired by my friend Max who is the subject in the image. He always comes up with wild characters and impressions, and is a talented actor, so I wrote sort of a short story about a down-on-his-luck car salesman who is also a bit of a psychopath, and his adventures leading up to a car accident and a magic briefcase that put him in this parking lot. We also played with different versions of the character and discussed this set also being a bit like a twilight zone episode which further inspired the vibe. I just let him perform, improv monologues, while giving him a few directions. This is one of my favorite of many from the setEditing
I have sort of a style that I've been dialing in more recently. I process in light room. While it's against what a lot of how-to's will tell you, I actually prefer kind of a flat image. It makes it look strange, and painting like. The more you follow the rules of how to use the tone curve and what ideal contrasts are, the more you're guaranteeing your image is going to look like everyone else's. I like to pull the highlights and push the shadows. I like to play with different ways to achieve interesting textures without photoshop. I keep all my work in light room. I like pushing textures while pulling clarity. I have fun in there. Its always something different.In my camera bag
I shoot everything on my Zeiss 35mm. My main job is in film lighting. I work on set and have lot's of contacts in the lighting world so a lot of the time I'm using film lights. It's different every time.Feedback
Find a subject worth shooting. There's so many interesting characters out in the world that bring an image to life with their personality. Sometime's we pick a model because they are beautiful, but their personality might not light up the world. And I think that's all the image will end up being; a picture of a beautiful person and nothing else. Keep your eye out for people with star qualities and it will do amazing things for your photos, especially if you're trying to give your picture a bit of a narrative like this one. Also I realize the way I phrased this might have suggested that Max is not beautiful. That is incorrect. Max is beautiful.
