Sarachemet & Film Noir
/Avant Garde Inspired Photo
Model Abi Rose
Assistant Bahram E.
Location Cardiff, Roarth Park.
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| "Sarachemet" |
Maleficient Noir Shoot
We picked up Abi in the morning near Cardiff Castle and I drove us to Roarth Park. The weather was quite gloomy from the start so my original location, which was located quite far in Brecon seemed like a longshot.
I did Abi's make up and hair on location, unfortunately I forgot my pins so I had to be Very creative and resourceful with the veils. Fortunately, I had presown the shape of the veils which made things easier.
This was the first time I was going to work with an alternative model so I was rather excited to try something different. Needless to say, Abi was lovely, very open minded and took directions well. The shoot went quite nicely, despite the continous light rain showers that came and went.
My handy assistant held the reflector above my flash to make sure it didn't shortcut, though it was protected from the rain it wasn't protected from me. I accidently bumped it and it went flying down to the ground. Surprisingly, it was fine, just a scratch. oh, Amie..
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The Lighting Setup for this shoot had to be very flexible so I opted for one off camera flash, a Metz 48 AF 1 for Canon camera and a reflector to bounce it off.
I had a sketch somewhere of one of the images accurate setups but can't seem to retrieve it. So, I'll explain it in words.
The flash was positioned 2-3 meters away from the subject. Distance in flash photography is crucial and depending on the position of the subject, the setting and creative effects you wish to employ for the shoot you need to constantly evaluate and take into consideration.
I usually bounce off the flash with my reflector for a bit of backlight, an assistant or reflector stand helps. If you are one of those who usually work without an assistant and found that the reflector stand tilts over a lot, I recommend you use sandbags ( I do a big "no no", I use my camera bag along side one sand bag to keep the stand in place if I'm without an assistant, it works just fine though ^.^)
With my single Metz flash I don't use diffusers, softboxes or umbrellas outdoors as I've found it to be just powerful enough to light the subjects as I like it without light burning the images or making too harsh shadows.
I've noticed some photographers start by using diffuser caps on their flashes for outdoor photography. There is no need or use for it unless you can bounce the light off like on a white wall, which is quite rare for on location shoots. It simply drains your batteries using unnecessary power. Best thing is to stick with a softbox or economically with an umbrella. (home made tip for now in PhotoTipTricks)
PhotoTipTricks You can also be creative with an umbrella and turn it into a softbox by using a bit of foil and thick shower curtain material, sow an eleastic band around it and pop it right at the back of the umbrella, make sure to pop a hole for the handle.
A good trick is to get some ball bungees to make use of the tree branches around you, it will steadily hold the flash and it's very reliable.
I've found such good use from it as it provides greater flexibility and now, sometimes I don't need to bring my lightstand with me which makes my equipment lighter for my poor back. Though that wasn't an issue for this shoot when I still had my lovely Tiguan Volks Car :P
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