Photos that Inspire me

 

I like the way the photographer has used the time of day to add mood to the shot. The tone of the background perfectly distinguishes the athlete from it making the viewer look at the athlete instead of any other distactions. The sillouete of the trees against the skyline create an interetsing line for the viewer. The use of flash on the athlete gives an even clolour and tone of the skin and the clothes. The composition of a three quarter legth shot s perfect in capturing the key elements for the shot.

Photos that Inspire Me

 

I really like the way that Robert Seale has mixed sport and landscape / architecture in this shot. I feel that the photographer has used the line well as when I look at the picture I look first at the athlete but I then get drawn to the building in the background. I also like the lighting used in the picture especially the time of day and the subtle lighting used to light up the athlete. I enjoy looking at pictures of people when the photographer using dusk as the time of the day. It adds a great mood to the shot.

Final Photo Shoot (Part 2)

Venue
Grace Dieu Priory, Thringstone

Equipment
Sony Alpha 200
Jessops 360 AD Flashgun
Tripods x2
Remote Flash Trigger and receiver
Off camera flash cable
Reflector (5 in 1)

Models
Kelly
Terry
Becky

Lighting Setup
Please see separate blog

Comments
Following on from the morning session at Bradgate Park we arrived at Grace Dieu Priory in the early evening ready to take photos around the ruins with my models as the sun was setting hoping to get some shots during the golden hour.

As we were early it enabled me to fully explore the site selecting the aspects that I hoped would produce the best results. It helped that I had my sample sheet which made matching up the areas easier. I would also be using the sample sheet to show my models what I was hoping to achieve.

As the sun was setting it was still producing a bright light that still gave me concern about blowing out the models skin. I decided to use a flashgun in some of the locations as a fill in light to even out the skin colours but in the others I decided to use the golden colour from the sun (it was getting better as it was setting) to light my models.

The first part of the shoot went really well with my models being as supportive as always making my job easier, that is if trying to get that creative shot on your camera that you're visualising in your head can be classed as being easy.

The challenging and time consuming part of the shoot came as the sun hit the horizon. I had to try and balance the output from both my flashguns to give me the even lighting on my model but not too strong on the historical building. This took longer than I expected as the light from the waning sun was changing constantly. I managed it, eventually, by having the output from the model's flashgun set at half power, whilst the flashgun for the buildings was set at a quarter power. These settings gave me the best results, or so I feel.

I have to admit that this was my favourite shoot to date as it was matching two of my favourite things - football and ruins. I will be looking for other local historical spots to due further shoots. I also loved shooting as the sun was disappearing over the horizon, the colours in the sky were beautiful.

To see the photos from this shoot please click here.

Final Photo Shoot (Part 1)

Venue
Bradgate Park, Near Shepshed

Equipment
Sony Alpha 200
Tripod x3
Jessop 360AD Flashgun x2
Reflector (5 in 1)
Remote Flash Trigger and receiver

Models
Terry
Becky

Lighting Setup
See separate blog

Comments
Had the assistance of my models local knowledge of areas that would give me an interesting venue to do the first of our shoots. They suggested Bradgate Park as there is an old Watch / Signal Tower on top of a hill that could give me a good background to shoot against. After walking out the car park and looking up the hill I liked what I was seeing as I had a couple of options of angles that would give me different connotations with clouds and position of the sun.

I was glad when walking up the steepening hill that I had been unable to borrow the college's portable lighting kit as it weighs about 4 times as much as my own flashguns and tripods. The natural slope of the hill also meant that I could get a low vantage point to take my shots without having to lie completely flat. I was slightly concerned that the sun (yet again) would be my nemesis as it was very bright but luckily there was a good covering of cloud which helped diffuse the harshness of the sun and give the sky a bit more contrast.

Having chosen where I was going to start my shoot I took a few test shots to make sure that my metering was ok. I then decided to use a mixture of flashgun or white reflector to balance the shadows and give the models more natural colouring. I really enjoyed the challenge of finding the best location to better show what I had in my head. Steve had suggested taking a page of thumbnails of the shots I was trying to reproduce to better aid me. It worked really well with the models too as they could see what I was trying do in each picture. My models were great and very patient which helped me no end.

Overall I am really pleased with the majority of the photos and they are a definite improvement of what I had taken previously. I feel that I am gaining more confidence in my ability and the use of my equipment which is making the whole process more manageable.

To see the photos of this and the later shoot please click here.

Photography and the Law

Free expression versus the right to privacy

A photographer is a citizen with a camera who, like everyone else, has to abide by the law. In most countries, the law attempts to balance the right to free expression and a free press with the individual's right to privacy. In essense, if a subject is on their private property, such as in their house or their garden, a photographer cannot take a picture without permission. Photographers are also not allowed to take pictures in certain zones at airports or in court.


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So you want to be a Portrait Photographer

Portrait photographers are curious about people. They must have empathy with their subjects, make them feel comfortable in front of the camera and engender trust. Portrait photographers usually love working with others, possess charm and good humour, and are at ease in the company of many different types of people.

It is probably due to the characteristics described above that Portrait Photography appeals so much me. I love working with people of all ages and backgrounds. I find the interaction enjoyable as well as challenging and try and bring the best out them so it is reflected in the photos I take. Something that I hope to achieve as my skills and experience improve.


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Finding Inspiration

The word 'inspiration' comes from the Latin word meaning 'to breathe life into'. It breathes life into our ideas and can come from a well fed imagination. Our imagination needs to be fed by exposing them to the creativeness of others.

These are some of the areas that could provide INSPIRATION:-

• cameras
• history
• others photographers' work
• watching other photographers at work
• looking at others prints
• colour
• locations
• mistakes

This is just a brief list. I know that I have been inspired by looking at others work and how they created their photos as well photographers use of colours and locations.

Hopefully, one day, people will look at my work and find some inspiration.


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Final shoot discussion with Steve

Had a really good chat with Steve about my practise shoot, what photos inspire me and my ideas for my final shoot. We first discussed my practise shoot and what I thought had gone wrong. I told him how the bright sunlight had thrown me and even though I had tried to work around it I still found that it had blown out some of the highlights. I also told him how I thought that the busy backgrounds distracted from the models. What was reassuring from this initial discussion was that Steve told me that I had already found out what was wrong with my images, something I was pleased with as perhaps I was developing my critical eye along the right line.

We then moved onto my inspirational photos and discussed what aspects of them I liked and would like to recreate. Throughout this part of the discussion it became apparent that it was lighting aspects of the pictures that appealed most, especially the ones shot at dusk and in the evening. The placement of the model and how much of their body was included in the shot was also important to me.

We finally discussed the location I was going to complete some of my photos from, Grace Dieu Priory, and after looking at the location via the Internet we highlighted a few of the areas that might produce some interesting shots. Steve also helped me with some lighting ideas and possible problems that may occur.

I came out of the discussion feeling more positive about my final ideas and how I was going to achieve them - Cheers Steve!

Final Shoot Practise

Venue
Shepshed Dynamo Football Club

Equipment
Sony Alpha 200
Bowens Portable Lighting Kit
Sync cable
Battery pack

Models
Katie
Terry
Becky
Kelly

Lighting design
See separate blog

Comments
Using the ideas I gained from my research and inspiration pictures (see Inspiation Blog) I decided to take some pictures of my footballers after match and try and duplicate the types of shots that I enjoy looking at.

The shoot didn't start well as I was using a new lighting kit and it took me nearly 10 minutes to work out how to remove the protective cover from the lights. This of course made me feel flustered and didn't make me lok that competent in front of my models. Luckily they are my friends so were more than understanding, it was me who felt bad.

In the morning the sky was full of clouds so I thought I was in for the perfect conditions. Unfortunately for me, great for spectators the sun came out and all the clouds disappeared. There was no way of getting away from the direct sunlight, which was too bright so I decided to setup the models with the sun coming from the right and getting them to look to the left. This would hopefully remove the chance of the models squinting. I then useed one of the flashes as a fill light aimed straight at the models face.

My models were great and made the process of shooting easy, something I am very thankful for as my brain was trying to come to terms with not the best lighting conditions, new environment as well as trying to get some great shots for my final portfolio.

The shoot went well although I struggled to come up with some great poses for the models, I felt that I needed to do some more researc into possible poses to better show what I had in my mind.

I found that the harsh, bright sunlght and my models wearing our home kit, black and white, was blowing out the highlights so I had to experiment with my f-stops so not to allow too much light in. I used the skills I gained from my studio shoot with Sam to set my shutter speed, metering and autofocus points. I was very grateful of having done that shoot as it enabled me to spend more time taking pictures and less time making caera adjustments.

Overall, I found the shoot really useful as it agained highlighted the importance of the correct lighting to make the final images successful. One other useful point that I gained from this shoot was that the background can also make or break a picture. In some of my shots the background is too busy and therefore the viewer loses the model as the main focal point because their eye is taken all over the place.

I feel better equiped now to complete another shoot that will hopefully produce my final images. To see the pictures from this shoot please click here.

Studio Shoot - Low Key Lighting

Venue
Burton College Studio

Equipment
Sony Alpha 200
Bowen Esprit 500 Studio Lights
Pulsar Flash Trigger and receiver
Black background
Soft box
Chair

Model
Sam (fellow student)

Lighting Design
See separate blog

Comments
The main objective I wanted from this shoot was that I wanted to experiment with the use of lighting to help express shadows on a model. I really like the look that Low Key portraits give so with the help of one of my fellow students I was able to try a variety of lighting to set ups to experiment their placement to help so what I was looking for. Although there was a lot of pleasing results from the shoot I was only able to duplicate a few of the final results that I wanted to do.

Using the studio lights is still hit and miss but I do feel I am gaining a better understanding of the effect light has on the overall result of a picture. I especially learnt how the lighting can assist in setting the mood and that low key lighting can really display the moody look of a model.

Using the black background and having model in black really made the placement of the lights crucial - not only to highlight the model but also to separate the model from the background. Too strong a light from the front made the models face too harsh but not enough light meant that the model became just a face, the clothing and background blurred into one. That is where the use of the rear light aimed at the models hair helped separate the head and gave the hair a nice natural sheen.

The other important factors that affected the overall look was the aperture. Too open (low) f-stop number allowed too much light onto the sensor therefore blowing the highlights out. The best results came from using a middle f-stop number of around f8. I also had to remember to use the correct white balance (flash in this instance)and not to set my shutter speed past the flash maximum 1/160.

I made sure that I used the eyes as my focus point setting my camera on a spot point focus pattern and used the centre metering option on the camera.

I learnt a lot about the power lighting has on the overall feel of the finished picture and how as a photographer has to ensure that he has full control of his camera (ie. remembering to change the white balance etc) to make the pictures that he really wants to make.

To see the shots from this session please click here.