This was something of a trial run for me as we will be filming some new tutorial clips in the New Year and this shoot enabled me to scout some potential locations and run through some ideas together as a team.
The first image was shot using natural light at ISO 400 using a lastolite tri-grip reflector to bounce light back into the shot. With an intense sunset happening behind the model flooding the bridge, the opportunity to use that strong light is too good to miss. This was shot on a Canon 50mm F1.4 lens using the MK1 5D. Compositionally I've framed Gayna between a couple of vertical posts and positioned her head on a strong focal point. The image was post processed in Lightroom and CS3 and the sunglasses were cloned and patched to remove the reflections of myself and my assistant. In the full res file you can see the reflections of the Tyne Bridge still in them.
In this second image I have gone with a more central composition, and have removed the sunglasses to create direct eye contact. This time I move Gayna into an area of shade, allowing me to use the flash unit to create seperation between the model and the background. Quite often central compositions aren't as effective, however used correctly they can have bags of mood and impact. This was shot using a 580EX fired through a 15" lastolite Ezybox triggered with an ST-E2. WB in both shots was left on auto however by using the flash instead of a gold/silver reflector the skin tones have been rendered differently, creating two unique looks.
On the subject of WB this next shot was creted using auto WB with a gold reflector providing the return light. The image was shot to look like a movie still and I had scene from Miami Vice or CSi Miami in mind when taking this one. It was back on with the shades and that relaxed and confident look shines through here. The sunset was intense and although I could have used flash and held the background I decided to let the highlights go. Shooting at around F1.8 on the 50mm and then post processing the image with a gold layer over the top to give a warm glow across the deliberately blown highlights in the image.
As the sunset faded and night was upon us we decided to continue shooting movie style images. Of course to keep some ambient light coming through you have to increase the ISO settings. A lot of these images are shot at around ISO 1000 or 1250 with wide apertures and slow shutter speeds. I find myself using the flash to freeze te subject and retain sharpness and letting the ambient come through in a softer way. The light in the backgroun here is from teh bridge lighting and Gayna was shot from below using a snooted 580EX and a 580EX through a softbox. ISO was set at 1000 and the image was created using a Canon 70-200mm lens. The composition makes use of diagonals and vertical lines and has a strong sense of drama and danger .. created through the low angle, Gayna hanging off the ledge and the darkness of night.
The following image had the background light colour changed in lightroom and CS3 and uses the low shooting angle again. Notice the repetition in the arch shapes throughout including in the shoe. I did deliberate cloning the strip of trainer showing just above the ledge but decided that it didn't distract enough. Movie style images should retain some realism for me and of course I like to keep my workflow to a minimum where possible. ISO 1250, 70-200mm, F4 were the settings used with 2 580EX flash units on manual.
Hopefully these images give you an idea as to how the shoot went and how we worked the one location from sunset onwards. Shooting into the night can give you an opportunity to create different, modern looks which clients will love. Increasing your working day isn't always a good thing however it's good to be able to make use of the time when desired.
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