Thought I would repost this as a YouTube video to get a little wider distribution....This is actually the first day in the life of portrait type shoot I did and I still love it. I think the combination of the images and the music ("At the Hop" by Devendra Banhart) just yanks on the heartstrings.
Showing posts with label portrait photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portrait photography. Show all posts
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Typewriter Woman...
I had an interesting assignment today. I photographed a woman whose typewriter repair business was forced to move from a store front to her garage (after her rent was raised exponentially due to new development...familiar story).
Over 20 years ago, she purchased the business from her husband whom she divorced. He thought that she wouldn't last two months, much less two decades. It was a real touching story about perserverance and quiet determination.
I wanted to photograph her with some lights to give the editors an option for a slicker contrastier photo, but also a softer and more sentimental portrait. For the former I set up an old typewriter on the desk and had her lean against it. I shot a few wide shots, showing more of the garage, but decided to get in closer and use the typewriter to draw the viewer in. For the second look, I found a large window and positioned her next to it to get some good light and asked her to hold a smaller typewriter. It was perfect. Nice and symmetrical. I loved the shape of her hands on the keys so I took a quick detail shot of it.
It's always these little windows into people's lives that I love about photography.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Another quick session....
Today was busy...had a 10am headshot shoot...client meeting...and then had to swap out my gear and load my stands and lights for a portrait assignment....I can't complain. It feels good to be busy. I just wish every day was this full of business. It's been a bit tough getting the gears rolling again since the bike tour and I took quite a bit of a financial hit for those three weeks. I was spending money and I wasn't bringing any in. Not that we were dining on caviar, but buying all the equipment for the trip during the last few months put a dent in the finances. C'est la vie.
This is a portrait of the two owners of The Gaslamp, a restaurant in Long Beach that has been threatened by the new development around it. The city seems to be trying to find things wrong to shut it down. They narrowly managed to retain their dancing license in this week's city council meeting, but their problems seem to be far from over.
Lighting for each was a single umbrella. For the shot outside, I had my foot on the base of the lightstand to keep it from being blown away.
This is a portrait of the two owners of The Gaslamp, a restaurant in Long Beach that has been threatened by the new development around it. The city seems to be trying to find things wrong to shut it down. They narrowly managed to retain their dancing license in this week's city council meeting, but their problems seem to be far from over.
Lighting for each was a single umbrella. For the shot outside, I had my foot on the base of the lightstand to keep it from being blown away.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Just a little compositing...
Well, still bummed about my lost memory cards. I was going to spend the money on a new tent for the tour, but that will have to wait. No cards. Can't shoot.
I can't really do much about the lost images, but I can work with what I have. I reworked one of the images from the shoot. The sky was totally blown out if I adjusted the exposure for the subject. Luckily, there was enough info in the RAW file that I could darken the top part of the image and bring the barbed wire and sky into better view. I think it definitely adds to the image to have that ominous barbed wire running across the frame.
I can't really do much about the lost images, but I can work with what I have. I reworked one of the images from the shoot. The sky was totally blown out if I adjusted the exposure for the subject. Luckily, there was enough info in the RAW file that I could darken the top part of the image and bring the barbed wire and sky into better view. I think it definitely adds to the image to have that ominous barbed wire running across the frame.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Photography is Improvisation...
Plan but don't over plan.
Have a vision of the final image, but be willing to let go of it.
This is usually the mantra going on in my head as a I pedal to a job. Most of my assignments require me to shoot in a limited amount of time with a limited amount of information. Most of the time I have no idea what my subject will look like, what the environment will look like, if the light is good or bad, if my subject is willing or ornery.
At first I found this extremely stressful. I would stay up the night before and storyboard, or dream up different approaches and contingency plans, all of which I either forgot or went out the window once I got to the location.
Needless to say, I've learned to deal with it. I simply accept things won't be perfect, that there will be constraints, but within those constraints is my arena.
This assignment today was a good example. I had talked to the PR person for the two DJs and had anticipated being able to shoot inside the club. When I arrived it was in full swing and there was no way I could set up in there. Luckily, the club had a foyer with a big green wall. Unfortunately, there was a whole bunch of stuff in front of it. So the first fifteen minutes was moving stuff away from the wall and then dragging a speaker from the other side of the room into the frame.
Also, there was a lot of outside ambient light coming in, which wasn't helping the picutre. So I had to dial down to my lowest ISO and my hightest flash synch speed so I could make my strobes the only light source. But to do that, I had to pump the strobes up to almost full and bring them in really tight, giving me a limited number of shots and slow recycle times.
It's organized chaos.
I feel most alive when I'm shooting, it's as if everything in my head turns on and I'm observing and judging variables all at once to create the picture. It's turning the survival instinct into art.
Have a vision of the final image, but be willing to let go of it.
This is usually the mantra going on in my head as a I pedal to a job. Most of my assignments require me to shoot in a limited amount of time with a limited amount of information. Most of the time I have no idea what my subject will look like, what the environment will look like, if the light is good or bad, if my subject is willing or ornery.
At first I found this extremely stressful. I would stay up the night before and storyboard, or dream up different approaches and contingency plans, all of which I either forgot or went out the window once I got to the location.
Needless to say, I've learned to deal with it. I simply accept things won't be perfect, that there will be constraints, but within those constraints is my arena.
This assignment today was a good example. I had talked to the PR person for the two DJs and had anticipated being able to shoot inside the club. When I arrived it was in full swing and there was no way I could set up in there. Luckily, the club had a foyer with a big green wall. Unfortunately, there was a whole bunch of stuff in front of it. So the first fifteen minutes was moving stuff away from the wall and then dragging a speaker from the other side of the room into the frame.
Also, there was a lot of outside ambient light coming in, which wasn't helping the picutre. So I had to dial down to my lowest ISO and my hightest flash synch speed so I could make my strobes the only light source. But to do that, I had to pump the strobes up to almost full and bring them in really tight, giving me a limited number of shots and slow recycle times.
It's organized chaos.
I feel most alive when I'm shooting, it's as if everything in my head turns on and I'm observing and judging variables all at once to create the picture. It's turning the survival instinct into art.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Portrait Kit....
I carry different permutations of gear for different assignments. This is my single person portrait kit. If I know I'm shooting just one person this is all I'll bring. Basically, the camera, a wide lens (17-55), a portrait lens (85mm), some light to give me more control (Nikon SB-800, SB-28 with pocket wizards), some light stands and an umbrella or softbox.
With this setup, I can shoot a nice available light portrait outside in the shade. A dramatic portrait where I over power the sun with a little help from the Nikon speedlights. Or I can also shoot inside and get a nice studio-ish portrait with the umbrella or softbox.
All this fits in my Xtracycle. Brilliant. I don't accelerate or climb hills as fast, but I can still move at a good clip (cruising around 18mph). Which means, I can get from my apt to City Hall in about 12 minutes, or to Belmont shore in about 15 minutes and seal beach in about 25 minutes.
This particular setup I took to shoot the Garden of Eva portrait (see the entries below) which is at the border of Long Beach and Paramount. It took me about 35-40 minutes via the Los Angeles River bike trail.
With this setup, I can shoot a nice available light portrait outside in the shade. A dramatic portrait where I over power the sun with a little help from the Nikon speedlights. Or I can also shoot inside and get a nice studio-ish portrait with the umbrella or softbox.
All this fits in my Xtracycle. Brilliant. I don't accelerate or climb hills as fast, but I can still move at a good clip (cruising around 18mph). Which means, I can get from my apt to City Hall in about 12 minutes, or to Belmont shore in about 15 minutes and seal beach in about 25 minutes.
This particular setup I took to shoot the Garden of Eva portrait (see the entries below) which is at the border of Long Beach and Paramount. It took me about 35-40 minutes via the Los Angeles River bike trail.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)