We met at the Roswell Mill for this nature safari. This location gave us so many options: waterfalls, covered bridges, and old brick buildings to use as scenic backdrops. Many photographers love photographing nature, but where it gets tricky is putting a person into the shot!! THAT changes everything. So, I wanted us to go out on a shoot and use models with nature as our backdrop, in variety of different lighting conditions and capture AMAZING images. I also wanted everyone to learn how to see light and find the backgrounds which are vital to the success of your images. Equally important is how to communicate with your subjects to get the shots you want….. How do you get the milky look of a waterfall? How do you get good light in someone’s face when the the subject is surrounded by trees? What do you do when the lighting is part sun and part shade? Some of these answers are listed below and the rest you will learn when you come to the next workshop.
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We shot most of the waterfall shots using a tripod at 1/8 of a second on the shutterspeed to blur the water.
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PLAY and get your models to laugh and have fun !! EXPRESSIONS can make the shot! This shot was also captured with a 200mm lens at F2.8 to blur out the background.
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This shot was also taken on a tripod with a shutterspeed of 1/4 second, so the water would blur around her legs and in the background.
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Eyes draw you into the shots!! So make sure you ALWAYS have great light in their eyes. We bounced light into her eyes with a silver reflector to give this shot the look it has. AWESOME!!!
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Look how the reflector created these wonderful catch lights in her eyes, without them the shot would not be the same……..
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Pay attention to textures; which could be the wall of a building, the pathway you are walking on or even a rusted dumpster. In this shot, we had her lay right on the walkway because I loved the pattern and texture of the bricks.
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Do not always direct the shot, wait and be patient. Then, you can capture a real moment. Shooting with a long lens allows you to observe while you wait for just the right moment.
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The weather got very gloomy. We were afraid it was going to rain half of the time during this workshop. I liked this rock wall, but there was not any light to bounce in with a reflector. So, I used a small softbox and a portable flash off to my right to create the light I needed.
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