Platinum

davidsantangelo

Photo

NIKON D850

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 100 Shutter 1/125 Focal Length 850/10

location

Saint Petersburg, Florida, US

upload_date

Apr, 2020

Views

163

Likes

+13

Awards

Contest Finalist in Fashionista Photo Contest

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Emotions

Impressed

Happy

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was shot in downtown St. Pete in Florida. The model and I were just walking around downtown and searching for places to snap a few photos, nothing was planned for this session. We stumbled upon this alleyway with a staircase that had the best textures on it, and even though there was a garbage can and trash just a few feet from us we still had to find a way to use it!

Time

This was shot later in the afternoon. The model and I were friends and had just met for coffee and food earlier in the day. We hadn't planned on doing any sort of shooting, but since we both had the rest of our day open we decided to walk around downtown and see what we could come up with.

Lighting

The lighting of this area played a large role in the inspiration for this image! We stumbled upon this alleyway, and while the textures of the staircase were amazing on their own, what really caught our attention was the sun shining through the gap between the buildings. It was cloudy, yet the sun shone through and helped to make some really striking environmental lighting while keeping the model evenly lit.

Equipment

Since the model and I hadn't really planned on doing any shooting that day, I didn't bring much along with me. I just had my Nikon D850 and an 85mm lens. I was also wearing a plain white shirt, so I used that as a makeshift bounce light when shooting with the sun behind my subject.

Inspiration

We had been looking for interesting places to snap a few photos during our walk around downtown. Prior to this we had been in a long alleyway with puddles scattered around, and when shooting down that alley we saw this amazing staircase. The rust on the railings contrasted the blue paint peeling off the stairs from years of decay. And that peeling paint matched the model's ripped jeans perfectly! What really sold us though was the sunlight pouring through. It was shining down perfectly through the gap in the buildings, and we had to climb up and shoot whatever we could while we had that angle of sunlight in our favor.

Editing

For this image I did a small amount of color editing, just smoothing out some of the tones and lowering a bit of the vibrancy. The model already had very naturally smooth and flawless skin, so I didn't bother with any retouch work for her. I did attempt to play a bit with the orange/blue tones in the rust and paint by upping their saturation while desaturating other tones, but I lowered that effect before the final render.

In my camera bag

Normally I carry my camera bag with my D850, my backup D810, and several prime lenses. I currently have a 14mm fisheye, a 35mm, a 50mm, an 85mm, and a 105mm. I also carry a few portable lights and lens filters for play. Though on this shoot it was very barebones, just the single camera and a single lens did the trick!

Feedback

Always be on the lookout for clever settings! These stairs were right near a few trashcans and dumpsters, that's not normally what one would think of when trying to figure out a place to shoot. But we were adventurous and didn't care that the full location wasn't aesthetically pleasing because the specific shots that we went for were perfect! You can find amazing settings for your photos in the most unexpected places, so don't ever be afraid or ashamed to see the beauty in the mundane!

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davidsantangelo

davidsantangelo

Photo

Behind The Lens

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