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Veronica

My first shot on a borrowed Sony A7rII. The focus was so sharp, I bought the camera!

My first shot on a borrowed Sony A7rII. The focus was so sharp, I bought the camera!
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SONY ILCE-7RM2

settings

Aperture f/4 ISO 100 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 900/10

upload_date

May, 2017

Views

1919

Likes

+258

Awards

Contest Finalist in Creative Reality Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Her In The Studio Photo Contest

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Peer Award

+190

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Behind The Lens

Location

I recently converted my detached garage into a makeshift photography studio where this photo was captured.

Time

Most of my studio shoots are at night due to the oppressive heat during the day. My garage is in Florida, and not air-conditioned, so I'm actively looking for new space!

Lighting

I had recently seen a trick at a Lindsay Adler workshop where she hung window sheers behind her subject and put a light behind that to wrap her model in light. After $8 and a quick trip to Target, I had what I needed. I used two Flashpoint XPLOR 600 lights for this shoot. One is behind Veronica with the white curtain sheer hanging off of a boom arm halfway between her and the light, while the other is fired through a gridded 24" beauty dish (with sock) overhead in front of her.

Equipment

Up until this point, I had been using a Canon 1DX for past studio shoots. I had just met the Southeast US rep for Sony, Hector, and in talking about my photography, mentioned this upcoming shoot and how I had considered renting a Sony camera. He offered to tag along, and brought the Sony A7rII and a second mortgage worth of Sony lenses. I was a bit intimidated going into a pre-planned shoot with new gear, but I went all in and am so glad I did. This shot, and most of the others would not have been possible without EVF (electronic view finder) and Focus Magnification. Such an amazing combo! This shot was the sharpest photo I had ever captured up until that point. Later that week, I bought the Sony and have not looked back since!

Inspiration

Whitney (@wacart) is a fabulous makeup artist with whom I have collaborated on several projects. It was her idea to integrate the makeup with the pearls, and, coupled with the Lindsay Adler trick, the photo was born!

Editing

I retouched this image in Photoshop using frequency separation and dodge/burn, with the finishing touches done in Lightroom. If you are considering a model shoot, or need help with post-processing techniques, I recommend checking out youtube for some great tutorials on Frequency Separation. Phlearn and Vibrant Shot have some excellent videos that are easy to follow!

In my camera bag

For studio work, I'm currently limited to the 85mm f/1.8 as my only Sony native lens, but since I've kept my Canon glass for concerts/sports, I occasionally pair them up to the Sony with a Metabones adapter. I've also recently added a DJI Mavic Pro drone to my kit which gives me infinite new possibilities for angles I had only dreamed of in the past!

Feedback

When using multiple lights in a studio, take your time to see what each light is doing individually. Since the Flashpoint XPLOR mono lights have high speed sync, I usually start by choosing a fast shutter speed that ensures I have no ambient light in the room before I even turn the strobes on. This allows me to keep my overhead garage lights on during the shoot, and ensures they do not cast color or light on my subject or background. From there, I dial in each light individually, taking photos of the subject in place to see where the light falls. Once all of them are leveled individually, I fire them all simultaneously, and 9 times out of 10, the shot looks exactly as I want.

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Veronica

My first shot on a borrowed Sony A7rII. The focus was so sharp, I bought the camera!

Behind The Lens

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