Set up a tripod, clip on camera, then snap, snap it's in the bag, camera, chip.. whatever? Finding the perfect clump of subjects (mostly the easy part), stopping suddenly or rather screeching to a halt (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)...parking and gathering up the necessary gear (easy) - then my least favourite part, lugging everything over hill and dale. Tripod, camera bag with several lenses which never seem to get any lighter and then fun, fun, fun...It seems, seemed a short distance across three fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with tripod in hand and weighty camera bag over shoulder? In theory perfect but as is often the case when I'm out ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera clipped in, slung over right shoulder legs extended, spread ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe with ungainly neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!. So, how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping of my precious digital genius first? Result? The air rapidly turns blue around my head and expletives neither original nor inventive start erupting unbidden from my person. Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary, and hope that the ravages of the previous night haven't wrought havoc with traditionally rock steady hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two and three, I stride toward the perfect clump of yellow. It's late in the season, so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow it is.
Selecting the perfect specimen is next. Perfection with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the ability to try everything because one can! Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning but one can also argue in return that it extends one's vision, increases one's output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the challenge!
Back to the world of yellow! Perfection...mmmm. Unable to settle on which of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don't need to worry about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid isolation.
A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in ½ stops or thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall, a wall anywhere. Digital genius is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is the basis of professionalism. Get the shot! The satisfaction is immense.
Don't end up taking twenty splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things if ignored!
So perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land of Flash wizardry it's back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we're off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!
Download and backup!!! Forget at your peril.
So a gorgeous yellow daisy mesmerises me, swaying elegantly in the light afternoon breeze, bathed in the warm light. Mmmm...emotions gently bubble to the surface, excitement foremost, followed by the deep satisfaction that I've been able to make time to return to this spot to revisit my yellow daisy. I've already shot her once...but...now another chance to create another feel, another image worthy of my wall.
As before I dispense with my tripod. An odd decision? Perhaps... but here's my thinking on the subject. A tripod slows the process down (a good thing), it allows for greater reflection on composition and it creates the freedom necessary to style the shot without losing the angle of view one has chosen. It also has the added benefit of helping to steady the camera considerably so that camera shake is avoided. Easing swiftly on to my preference...
Shooting fashion was my world for a number of years and even though I used a tripod a lot in the studio, more often than not on location I preferred to hand hold my monster of a medium format camera (GX680). Good stuff! And oddly now that I'm shooting my mostly inanimate gorgeous yellow daisy and the like, I feel incredibly fettered when using a tripod. Discipline is in your approach and consistency of approach rather than just the tools.
There is another factor in the mix - DIGITAL...A little rant last time, a repeat now...Freedom! To me digital spells freedom - access, creativity, lack of stress about mundane matters like money i.e. cost per frame "wasted". I urge you as a budding or even a relatively experienced photographer to shoot lots - life is too short to stuff a mushroom (if you get that you get my point), and shoot at the highest res possible. Be disciplined, shoot smart. It's the little things...you try explaining to a client that you forgot the charged batteries at the studio or even worse, a whispered aside to assistant "Herm where's the film?" Checklists rule okay!
So to the gorgeous yellow number...Another decision, another choice. Shoot the natural view or create an instant outdoor studio background with flags, fills and scrim. I like the deep orange fuzzy card in the background with my model languishing, exotically garbed in yellow organza, in the foreground. Daisy perfection!
Now for some forward planning...don't ever restrict your ability to shoot by not planning ahead. I grabbed a series of different colored cards before I left, A4 sheets as the work is close and my subjects mostly small, and I cut a slit down the vertical centre line to 1/3 into the page, then carved out a small round hole (a keyhole in effect),a perfect fit around the stem of most flowers, without doing any real damage. Don't worry about the slit, Photoshop will clean that up! For the purists out there sorry if that's cheating in your book, but hey if you've got it, use it, is my feeling.
I also stuck a bit of foil, white card and black card in for good measure. A tiny mobile studio - flag and fill! The foil can be well used to create pattern or glitter on an otherwise dull surface, the white card to fill in the shadow areas and the black card to define edges on white/light subjects. On really bright, sunny days it's worth adding a sheet of scrim to the mix to soften the light over the subject. Diffuse light created by a cloudy day or by a decent piece of scrim is so much easier to work with - color saturation is deep and satisfying without huge loss in shadows or highlights. Be prepared!
It can be awesome to work in direct sun - huge drama, brilliant glitter. Give yourself a break - luxuriate in choice. Never loose site of the point...GET THE SHOT...the shot that's beautiful enough to grace the wall...any wall!
Selecting the perfect specimen is next. Perfection with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the ability to try everything because one can! Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning but one can also argue in return that it extends one's vision, increases one's output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the challenge!
Back to the world of yellow! Perfection...mmmm. Unable to settle on which of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don't need to worry about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid isolation.
A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in ½ stops or thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall, a wall anywhere. Digital genius is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is the basis of professionalism. Get the shot! The satisfaction is immense.
Don't end up taking twenty splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things if ignored!
So perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land of Flash wizardry it's back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we're off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!
Download and backup!!! Forget at your peril.
So a gorgeous yellow daisy mesmerises me, swaying elegantly in the light afternoon breeze, bathed in the warm light. Mmmm...emotions gently bubble to the surface, excitement foremost, followed by the deep satisfaction that I've been able to make time to return to this spot to revisit my yellow daisy. I've already shot her once...but...now another chance to create another feel, another image worthy of my wall.
As before I dispense with my tripod. An odd decision? Perhaps... but here's my thinking on the subject. A tripod slows the process down (a good thing), it allows for greater reflection on composition and it creates the freedom necessary to style the shot without losing the angle of view one has chosen. It also has the added benefit of helping to steady the camera considerably so that camera shake is avoided. Easing swiftly on to my preference...
Shooting fashion was my world for a number of years and even though I used a tripod a lot in the studio, more often than not on location I preferred to hand hold my monster of a medium format camera (GX680). Good stuff! And oddly now that I'm shooting my mostly inanimate gorgeous yellow daisy and the like, I feel incredibly fettered when using a tripod. Discipline is in your approach and consistency of approach rather than just the tools.
There is another factor in the mix - DIGITAL...A little rant last time, a repeat now...Freedom! To me digital spells freedom - access, creativity, lack of stress about mundane matters like money i.e. cost per frame "wasted". I urge you as a budding or even a relatively experienced photographer to shoot lots - life is too short to stuff a mushroom (if you get that you get my point), and shoot at the highest res possible. Be disciplined, shoot smart. It's the little things...you try explaining to a client that you forgot the charged batteries at the studio or even worse, a whispered aside to assistant "Herm where's the film?" Checklists rule okay!
So to the gorgeous yellow number...Another decision, another choice. Shoot the natural view or create an instant outdoor studio background with flags, fills and scrim. I like the deep orange fuzzy card in the background with my model languishing, exotically garbed in yellow organza, in the foreground. Daisy perfection!
Now for some forward planning...don't ever restrict your ability to shoot by not planning ahead. I grabbed a series of different colored cards before I left, A4 sheets as the work is close and my subjects mostly small, and I cut a slit down the vertical centre line to 1/3 into the page, then carved out a small round hole (a keyhole in effect),a perfect fit around the stem of most flowers, without doing any real damage. Don't worry about the slit, Photoshop will clean that up! For the purists out there sorry if that's cheating in your book, but hey if you've got it, use it, is my feeling.
I also stuck a bit of foil, white card and black card in for good measure. A tiny mobile studio - flag and fill! The foil can be well used to create pattern or glitter on an otherwise dull surface, the white card to fill in the shadow areas and the black card to define edges on white/light subjects. On really bright, sunny days it's worth adding a sheet of scrim to the mix to soften the light over the subject. Diffuse light created by a cloudy day or by a decent piece of scrim is so much easier to work with - color saturation is deep and satisfying without huge loss in shadows or highlights. Be prepared!
It can be awesome to work in direct sun - huge drama, brilliant glitter. Give yourself a break - luxuriate in choice. Never loose site of the point...GET THE SHOT...the shot that's beautiful enough to grace the wall...any wall!
