It was a blast creating images for the Greenfield/Weems real estate team photo session. While they need to project professionalism they want to add personality to their ad campaigns. Here’s an image that is just a bit different going all out for the personality!
Jolynn, Robin and Jackie from Greenfield/Weems Real Estate office.
I work in a fairly small (16’x16′) shooting studio so I take advantage of that and use my walls as lighting modifiers. In this shoot there’s one Paul C Buff light with a 7 inch reflector just to camera right pointing to the corner and ceiling of the room. This is metered to be about 2/3rds of a stop less than the main light. Another PCB light is forward of camera left just in front of the clients and pointing straight toward the wall. The reflecting light from these surfaces gives solid modeling and very soft shadow edge transitions. If I was photographing males or wanted a more dramatic lighting pattern I could lower the power on the fill light or increase the power on the main light or both. Since these images are going to be cut out I used a Super White background paper from Savage. Camera was the Lumix GH4 with a 12mm-35mm f2.8 Lumix Vario Lens. (24mm-70mm 35mm equivalent)
The clients were stripped out from the background and a soft drop shadow added.
That’s how most people describe their foray in being in front of a camera. I believe that three quarters or more of my job is to get people to open up their real personality… And the only way to do that is to coach people through the experience and have them feel good.
I can do that. I know, because when I was working on a nude art calendar to raise money for the Sedona Arts Center people were SO comfortable that halfway through many sessions I would have to remind them to cover up while we were reviewing images.
Alberto Salas wanted a quick solid business portrait for use by the marketing team for Wells Fargo. He came with very specific instructions on the file format and cropping. But within that I think I caught the sparkle in his eye and by taking a slightly higher camera angle made him look friendly and approachable. The person in the photograph is looking up at the viewer making the viewer be above in a more powerful position. Think about camera angles when trying to sell what your subject wants to say. If you want to portray more powerful, strong personality take a lower angle so the person in the photo is looking slightly down at the viewer. Remember it doesn’t take much…
Alberto walked in the door, I set up the lighting, got him comfortable with conversation, created his portrait, retouched the image and burned the files to disk. And, he was done in about one half hour.
I choose a modified split lighting pattern. Note the shadow side of Alberto’s face. Shadow creates form and depth and what is usually missing from a non-professional executive portrait.
I highly recommend that you do the black and white conversion so someone is not tempted to push the grey-scale button that causes the loss of contrast in the image.
That’s what I call it. The closing party at Imaging USA was graced with models that held different poses while on lit podiums. It was an interesting exercise to try and capture images with the low ambient light and the glowing stands. I was surprised how well the Lumix GX7 performed in these conditions. I cranked up the ISO to 3200 and added a little bit of light with a small LED flashlight for some of these.
Captured as a vertical panorama in very contrasty low light conditions. There was one spot where the model moved during the capture but I was able to fix where the stitching went wrong. No fault of the camera. I was surprised it was able to do as well as it did!
ISO 3200 hand held almost dark room… Black and white preset on camera
ISO 3200 hand held almost dark room… Black and white preset on camera
Shadow edge transition. Origin and source of light. Specular highlights. Split light. Rembrandt light. Harsh light. Soft light. Nummy light (that’s one of my own!). Inverse Square Law. Fall off. Lighting ratios.
When I started to study auxilliary lighting for my photography I found that seeing the light and working with the light became easier when I learned the language of light. The brain seems to need more ways of expressing what you see in words in order to expand possibilities.
The reason this comes up is because I am reviewing information to share with a couple of Pre-Convention classes I am teaching at ImagingUSA in Phoenix. This led to looking for other people to study from and some book selections that would be a good addition to anyone’s library.
Names to watch for when looking for photography lighting – Dean Collins who is only available through videos captured while he was touring. Some are online available via searching or you can order his complete set of Finelight Videos from Software Cinema Joe McNally, John Hartman, Tony Corbell, Scott Kelby, Mike Fulton, Fuzzy Duenkel and more…
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Fotopro tripods are well worth checking out. You can learn about the ones I use and recommend by clicking on the Fotopro Tripods link at the top of this page. If you want to see what other tripods might fit your needs check out the Fotopro.com website. Check back with me before you buy as a Fotopro Ambassador I’m able to get you discounted pricing including complementary continental USA shipping for my followers that you won’t find through retail outlets.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Lightning, waterdroplets, sound, time-lapse, HDR sequences, smiles and much more control for your camera!
Cameras Get Smarter -
A High Speed Smart Camera Remote
Best embroidery ever. Give Queensboro a try, get a $20 instant credit to get started by clicking on the logo! They specialize in great quality custom logo apparel and promotional products with the best customer service.
Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
Jolynn, Robin and Jackie from Greenfield/Weems Real Estate office.
