MaggieClaire

Orange Heart?

Canon EOS Rebel T6i

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 400 Shutter 1/60 Focal Length 48/1

upload_date

Mar, 2017

Views

311

Likes

+21

Awards

People's Choice in What's your best Creative Photo!? Photo Challenge

Peer Award

Outstanding Creativity

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo in my home one afternoon. I'd never tried any kind of in-studio work before, and I decided to give it a try.

Time

It was in the afternoon one rainy day, when the weather was not cooperating. I wanted to try something new, so I grabbed a few black-out curtains from our linen closet, and I set myself up a studio space in our bay window. I experimented with different camera angles, subject matter, and light settings. It ended up being a very successful afternoon!

Lighting

For this shot, I was able to use my camera's built in flash, but having the blackout curtains really made everything a success. There was no extra lighting or backlighting, and that made the orange's bright tones really shine. Using an external flash yielded an overexposed shot too...It just proves you don't have to have a lot of extra equipment to take good photos.

Equipment

I used my Canon Rebel with the flash enabled, and a Canon 18-55 mm lens. At the time, I was just starting out, and I had no tripod. I improvised and sat backward on a chair, using the chair's rails back to keep my camera steady.

Inspiration

I had already taken all the photos of the whole orange, so I decided to peel it and try arranging the pieces. I took the pieces and pulled them apart...and I immediately regretted that decision. I had planned to take some photos of the whole orange after it lost its peel, and I just messed up. So, I decided to try and place the orange slices back together. Then, I noticed that the orange peel was one long strip, and it had maintained its shape. I started manipulated these pieces, allowing my creative side to take control. Eventually, I'd made this heart shape, and I loved the symmetry of the whole peel and the whole orange (in its pieces.) It was my interpretation of two different, distinct parts making a unified whole.

Editing

I did some cropping, and a little color contrast enhancement.

In my camera bag

My camera bag has significantly grown since I took this shot. I have a Canon Rebel t5 and a t6i. I usually have my Tamron 70-300mm lens and Tamron 150-600mm lens attached to these camera bodies. But I keep my Canon 18-55 lens on hand for studio shots and landscapes. I also have a Polaroid wide angle lens attachment that I carry for panoramas and landscapes too.

Feedback

Rainy days don't have to be a waste of time - experiment with indoor photography and studio shots. Your subject matter can be a common place item in your house. Just try to be creative and see those subjects in different, unique ways. Indoor work is a great way to play around with the settings in your camera too. Experimenting with aperture, flash, and ISO in a studio setting gives you complete control over your surroundings.

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MaggieClaire

MaggieClaire

Orange Heart?

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow MaggieClaire

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