Playing with Light

Last week I talked about playing with constant light. Today I am going to continue talking about light and not flash. We were in Chicago and had the opportunity to work with some models and develop our skills using constant light. For me, I wanted to experiment with my 50mm 1.2 lens and using 1.2. I was also using a Kelvin setting of 3600. Kelvin is color. Using a block with a mixture of light, we sat the model down, and I wanted her head to lean towards the light. After watching her for a while, I needed more light. With that said, I brought an Icelight with me. This is a constant light made by Westcott because I was using Kelvin 3800 and counter my main light with an orange gel on it.

Icelight with a orange gel for more light to the face

Now time for the pictures. I had my assistant and had them bring the light in as close as possible but still have it out of my picture.

The Final

I have always wanted to take pictures like these. Living in a small town, and they don’t have the constant light you see in the bigger cities. That does not mean you can’t do it, and it was just not what I wanted. I am glad I brought the Icelight with me; we found later that no flash was allowed in this area without a permit. I have used the ice light before at a wedding and for some product shoots but never for an event like this. I enjoyed the practice I had that night and the pictures that came about. Making it look natural for me is what I like.

Happy New Year 2021

Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year.

Imagination

It's not a photo because you use photoshop. That is what we read and hear, which is fine; that's someone's opinion and not mine. What photoshop did for me is use my imagination that I could never draw or make. With my recent travels to Youngstown, Ohio, I went to visit the Lanterman's Mill. I was here a few years ago, and this time I wanted to create something different—a different version of the Mill that no one else has. I wanted a nighttime version that had this winter feeling. It was late afternoon, and like always, I look at where the light was coming. I saw it, and in my head, this will be my moonlight. I wanted the sky in the picture, and with it being mostly cloudy, this will be easy to change out the clouds to stars in Photoshop with sky replacement. Next was to look at the angles and find what will work the best. I came up with this.

Lanterman Mill Youngstown,Ohio

Now time to work with this idea in Photoshop and make it look a little more real. I thought to myself; I think I will use this picture as my greeting for Christmas. I did some dodge and burn, and if this were an accurate exposure at nighttime, the water would have been blurred. I added this in my final picture.

Some call this cheating; some call this fake. I call it art and using my imagination that Photoshop allows me to do. I like it, and that is what matters when it comes to Photography. Please get out and use your imagination and do it the way you want to do it. Merry Christmas Everyone