First Try at Fashion Portraits

Having become accustomed to shooting cars for the past few months, I decided to mix it up a bit the weekend before last and try some portraits out. I had been trolling the "People" section of various forums, gathering styles, ideas and tips from all of the shooters whose work I admired. I enlisted the help of my lovely girlfriend, who beyond being completely dedicated to watching America's Next Top Model on an almost nightly basis, has no experience modeling whatsoever. Brave girl!

We picked the Houston Arboretum as a location since I had decided that I wanted a natural and soft look to the photos, with no off camera lighting or flash. I had seen the stunning work from the following Flickr contacts, and wanted to base the shoot off of this general style:

• jojo2fast
  
• monique_photography
  
• will manning
  
• g_pinho
  
• leninglass
  
• desertrose76
  

With everything set and the dog in the car, we headed off to the Arboretum. I brought along my D700, a tripod, a 32" reflector an 85mm 1.8 and a 50mm 1.8. I brought along other gear but after walking with it for a few minutes, decided to run back to the car and leave it as it was unnecessary and heavy. I also liked the idea of packing light and using as little equipment as possible to get some nice results.

We started just by walking down the trails and looking for interesting scenery. Without any type of off camera lighting, I was forced to pay close attention to natural light - something I don't think I've given enough credit to in the past. I looked closely at how the light fell on the background as well as on Asheligh before I shot, and angled the reflector back onto her so that the sun lit her warmly from the front.

This was one of my first shots of the day, and it was slightly too warm, but I liked it nevertheless.



Having little portrait experience under my belt, it was a bit tough at first to come up with visually interesting (read: not awkward) poses. I tried to remember not to cut Ashleigh off at her extremities, and paid close attention to framing. Luckily, Ashleigh seemingly adapted knowledge of modeling out of nowhere and began to produce stunning photos that were posed perfectly!

We continued down the trail until I found a long, snake-like vine crawling up the length of a large tree. I loved its braided texture, and instructed Ashleigh to lean against it. She leaned up on the tree, raising her arm to the vine, and I captured my favorite shot of the set, which I think looked good with no editing whatsoever (I still indulged a little, however).



With the sun effectively blocked by the tree canopy for the most part, the reflector came into play for the next few shots. We found a little cove off to the side of the trail, and Ashleigh gingerly (and bravely) climbed down into it. I shot from above for the effect that she was entangled deep in the woods. I didn't notice until afterward that there was a thin branch in front of her face...damn!



I then moved into the cove with her and shot a tighter shot, which minus the rogue hand behind her (gotta remember that for next time!) I love.



Then we came upon a clearing, where there was a large marsh with lilly pads, tall grass and other plants, all surrounded by tall trees. Right as we walked up, the sun peeked through the clouds and brilliantly lit everything. We quickly ran onto the wooden dock snacking through the water, and fired off a rapid succession of shots. It was here that I tried my first sunflare shots, of which I am happy with as a first attempt!





Don't shoot up the nose, Theo!





While the sun was still shining, I had Ashleigh lay down on the dock and I stood over her to snap this one, with the reflector gently lighting her face. I think her hair is really, really beautiful in this shot.



With the sun slowly being covered by the clouds once again, Ashleigh sat on a bench to rest her feet for a bit. I noticed that the sun was still burning through the plants in the background, and grabbed this shot, which I think has great bokeh.



As the sun again diminished, We walked back down the trail towards the exit. I had Ashleigh stand against the lush green scenery for these shots.





And finally, one of the last shots of the day, she was walking in front of me, ready to go home. I asked her to stop for just a second so we could take a couple more, and she spun around to tell me that she was tired and ready to go home. Luckily, I was able to snap it as she was smiling, and got a very "Marilyn Monroe-esque" shot that I later converted to black and white, which I like very much.



All-in-all, it was a great first experience, and I am really happy with the outcome of the photos. I am excited to delve more into this facet of photography and see what I can come up with! I am looking to book as many portrait/engagement/wedding shoots as possible, so if you or someone you know is needing, please let me know!

Thanks,

Theo

Light Painting Part II

I went out to shoot last night with the intention of getting a better grip on light painting. I hadn't really done any since my last post and was itching to try it again. I wanted to get the Houston skyline (cheesy?) in the background, so I did some hunting on Google Maps first for locations that I thought might work.

After driving to the location, I found that the view was perfect; a nice, unobstructed view of the skyline - rare to come by in Houston, it seems. There was only one issue that turned out to be a real problem though. The parking lot had large overhead lighting that bathed the car in an intense white light, which I was worried would make light painting very difficult.

It did.

I spend about 15 minutes painting the nose of the car with limited success, and completely struck out on painting the sides of the car. No matter what settings I used (I mainly stuck with 10sec @ F8), the overhead light simply overpowered my little torch. I decided to take a few ambient exposures to get as much detail as I could, then packed everything up and headed home a bit defeated.

Looking at the photos in post however, I saw that they might actually have a chance. The skyline looked great, as I caught it right at the last hint of dusk and the exposures of the nose when combined added up pretty well.

I started with the original shot of the skyline and built upon it:



I added all the individual exposures that lit individual parts of the nose:



After that, it was a TON of editing to remove annoying and distracting elements like light poles and fixtures. Heavy use of the clone stamp and healing brush here!

As far as editing, I did some minor individual RGB curves adjustments, some sharpening, minor gradients and fiddled with the selective color settings a bit. I also raised the levels just a touch so that the image wasn't TOO dark, although I kind of liked the dark look for this one.

With all that said, I now know that I need a more powerful light source or need to shoot somewhere that is close to pitch black. I did find a good spot though, and I plan on using it again soon in future attempts.

Thanks for looking!

Theo

First time photographing kids...and I'm the one who needs a nap.

I shot my first birthday party for a client two weeks ago. Having never before photographed kids, I was apprehensive about where to start. I knew that I would need a good zoom lens in order to keep up with the little buggers, so I affixed the 28-300 in hopes that it would allow me to capture action nearby as well as any good shots that were across the yard/room/whatever.

As soon as I arrived I realized that I had my work cut out for me. It was a western themed party, and all the kids were dressed up as little cowboys and cowgirls. They were all running and screaming; it was like walking into a beehive!

Having no experience in this subject, I simply just started shooting. I wanted to get lots of good candid shots since I feel like staged shots with kids doing their best "Crest Kid" smiles are a bit cheesy. It was about 4 p.m., and the sun was just right, giving off a nice warm glow in the back yard. I shot mostly crouching or on my knees since I wanted to have the perspective of a 3 year old, which I felt would make the photos more authentic.

When the ponies arrived, the kids all went nuts clamoring for a spot on them. All, that is, except for the birthday boy who was not so keen on climbing onto the beast's back. He slowly came around though after one of his friend's who was a year younger appeared to be having the time of his life. On the horses, the natural emotion was easy to capture, and I feel like that is where my strongest shots came from.

As far as editing, I wanted to recreate the warm sunlight of that early evening and create a nostalgic feel so that the family could look back on the photos fondly. I used RGB curves (each individually modulated) and a masked layer of yellowy-orange to warm the images a bit, applied some high-pass sharpening, and a few masked gradient layers to push the focus onto the kids. I desaturated the images just a touch and....I think that's about it.

I have included a few of the final shots that I feel have the most artistic merit to them. I took many, many more, but I will spare you from them, haha.

On to the photos!

2008 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet...Scary Fast

I was fortunate enough to shoot my first Porsche last weekend. I've always had a "thing" for Porsche; I've always seen them as the quintessential sports car whose lineage can clearly be seen in the simple and clean body lines that are instilled into the long history of the brand. I'd never gotten the chance to drive one until now, so up to this point, my opinion on these cars was based solely upon the raving reviews from most auto magazines that I receive on a monthly basis. Seeing them on the street or in a parking lot was the closest I'd ever come to the experience of a Porsche.

I was very excited when the owner contacted me for a shoot. He owns a stunning example of the 997 model - a 2008 Carrera White Turbo Cabriolet. It has a six-speed standard transmission (as God intended) mated to a twin-turbo flat six that produces 480hp and 460 lb/ft torque. With a talented driver, (present company excluded) it will sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. Its body is purely Porsche, with wide hips, a raked roofline and almost goofy looking "bug-eyed" headlights.

The interior is swathed in beautiful, rich black leather with glossy carbon fiber trim on various bits throughout. A chronometer and lap timer sits perched on the center of the dashboard for the few weekend warriors who may see actual track time. The thick rimmed steering wheel sports a few handy controls for the radio and cruise control, both of which most drivers will find are negated by the soundtrack of the flat six out back.

After settling into the driver's seat and acclimating myself with the controls, I was set to go...That was if I could figure out what secret passcode or sweet nothings I should whisper to the stubborn shifter in order to engage reverse. Having driven German cars before, I assumed that it involved the usual push down, over-and-up motion, but the shifter refused to budge. After a couple off-color words and repeated attempts, I coaxed the shifter into reverse with a motion that can be best described as a "W".

Once on the road, it became very apparent that this was a supercar that had not forgotten its manners. Steering required just the right amount of effort, the ride was firm yet pliable over imperfections and the clutch was easily modulated so as to save me from the embarrassment of stalling in the middle of an intersection. I quickly realized that this was not just a car for ripping around a track; it was also perfectly comfortable to cruise on city streets at a respectable (and legal) rate. Only one gripe came to mind, and that was from the considerable noise made by the soft top when the car was placed on an uneven surface, such as pulling in and out of driveways. It creaked and groaned in ways that were pretty unbecoming for such an expensive car. Having never before driven a convertible, I passed this off as normal but something tells me that might not be the case.

Once my girlfriend (my trusty "flash-girl") and I entered the freeway in second gear to head to our shooting location, I was able to dip into the reserve of power the Porsche had on hand. It accelerated dutifully, if not a bit anticlimactically. Then the turbos spooled up. In the blink of an eye, the Porsche's demeanor changed; the nose raised what felt like six inches, the rear end hunkered down and the tach needle banged off the rev limiter before I could even register that I was traveling at nearly 90 mph. The whole time, the Porsche made no fuss about any of this, with minimal road noise and only a faint hiss from the turbos lurking behind my ears. Seeing as this was not my car and it would be a shame to spend such a beautiful sunny day in jail, I kept the speed under 80 mph for the rest of the drive to the location.

The location we picked for the shoot was the same place as we photographed the 1978 Ferrari 308 earlier on. There has been one thing I've discovered about Cypress, and it is that good scenery is very hard to come by. With seemingly never ending expanses of concrete and strip malls, it was a challenge to find a worthy backdrop for such a car. So I stuck with the safety location that I'd chosen just in case. It is simply an empty country road minutes from 290 where I am free to do what I please with the car.

This shoot was a tough one. The owner was only available to shoot at high noon, when there were no clouds in the sky. The light was harsh and direct, and the shadows were pretty unforgiving. I noticed with my polarized sunglasses on that the sky appeared very deep and saturated at the top of my vision, and it reminded me of the fantastic stlye that BBC's Top Gear uses. Their tack sharp subjects surrounded by a shallow DOF and a high gradient in the sky make for a great visual that I've long been a fan of. I decided to try and duplicate that look with this series. I affixed my 3-stop ND filter and polarizer to the end of my 50mm 1.8 lens and got to it.

Shooting in a sparse location makes you work for interesting angles. There was a culvert on the side of the road where I could get 10 feet below road level, and I used that in a few shots to gain a perspective that I thought was interesting.

I used off camera flash only on the front shot of the Porsche, to light up the grille which was getting lost in the shade. Other than that, all the shots were taken with natural lighting.

Since it was too bright to attempt a rig shot at that location, we drove around a bit more to find a location with a bit more shade. We found an office building nearby with some trees covering the parking lot, and decided that it would have to do. It was tough getting anything over a 1" exposure, and the wind was picking up which made a lot of shots far too blurry to be of any use. It was a frustrating experience to say the least!

I shot the interior shots back at the owner's home, where the sun was blocked by other houses and trees, which made for very pleasing light in those shots. I was very happy with how those turned out, especially for not using any sort of off-camera lighting.

All-in-all, my love for Porsche has been nothing but affirmed. Now that I have had the pleasure of driving one, I can appreciate even more the every day driveability of this beast. It never once felt like a twitchy, nervous sports car that makes you walk the knife's edge the entire time you're driving. It was white-knuckle fast, fun and easy to live with. It was a shame to relinquish the keys to its rightful owner at the end of the day.

On to the photos!

Thanks to AutoInsane.com for the feature!

I received word today from AutoInsane.com that my RSX photo has been featured in their daily blog. You can view the posting here.

Many thanks to AutoInsane.com for the feature! Please go to their blog to check out all the other great photos and information they have.

New Rig Shots with the Acura RSX

I set out last weekend to get a little more practice with the rig. I hadn't used it since the Ferrari shoot and was itching to give it a try again. The RSX hadn't been washed recently, but due to the lack of rain was still decently clean.

I set out to find a good location and settled on an industrial area in North Houston that had railroad tracks and a nice open area next to them. It was a Sunday, so I figured that traffic would be fairly minimal in the area.

My girlfriend Ashleigh was nice enough to tag along, since it's much easier to set up the rig with two people. We call her the resident "flash-girl". As we were setting up the rig, I saw a worker from one of the factories pop his head out of a door on the side of the building to have a look. He came walking over, which I figured meant that I wasn't going to be able to shoot there. But the first thing out of his mouth was "What the hell is that thing?". He was fascinated that these are the types of tools used to create rolling shots in ads, and had a lot of questions about how the final images comes from this huge "thing" hanging off the car. After his curiosity was satisfied, he walked back towards the door and disappeared into the factory again.

Once I started shooting, I realized that in my haste to get outside and practice, I really didn't think logically. It was midday and the sun was beating down in full force, limiting to no more than a 2 second exposure even with a 3 stop ND filter stacked on top of a CPL. The car was under the cover of a roof extending off the factory, which helped to cut some of the harsh shadows and highlights, however.

As I was shooting, I heard the whistle from a train coming. I quickly set up the car for the shot and was able to take a few with the passing train as a backdrop, which I thought was pretty cool.

I tried taking a few static shots, focusing on different portions of the car so that I could graft them in if the rolling shots had some soft spots. I also took a few while spinning the CPL around to minimize reflections on various body panels and windows.

In post, it was just a jumble of layers, layer masks and cloning. I learned my lesson on using a shorter exposure on rig shots - all the photos still had recognizable backgrounds which made it pretty tough to clone the rig out. Next time I will definitely stick with an exposure time of at least 3 seconds so that I get a nice blur and cloning doesn't take another few weeks off my life.

Once everything was cloned out, I dropped in some donor sky images that I took while in New Mexico to get a more dramatic effect. I also did some high-pass sharpening, some color overlays and slight desaturation to get the final look. I think they both came out well, but the rear rolling shot is clearly the best one. A bit disappointing, as I'd hoped the rolling train would be a great backdrop, but the lack of light on the side of the car in that shot keeps it from being the best it could have been. I'm still happy with both, however!

On to the images!





And the before shots:





Thanks for checking in!

Theo