LIGHT & CANVAS

Everyday object in a different light.

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Studio Portrait - Girl In Green

Have been tied up with several photo & video projects for the past couple of weeks, here’s another update on my portrait work. I’ll share some random lessons I learned from the shoots over the past few weeks.

Portraits can be one of more challenging genre of photography you can pursue. Things can go wrong anywhere, everywhere , anytime. You have to take care of the backdrop, direct the subject, correct postures, engage in a conversation, look for micro expressions, control the lighting, think of what you’re going to do next.. and the list goes on. All of these running at the back of your mind at the same time can really drive you crazy. Somehow, when you take care of something, something else is going out of place. 

Thanks to Kinesic studies (the study of body language) we now know that body language is a major contributor to the equation of communication. As photographers, we apply this concept in the form of “posing”. As many photographers reject the idea, when done right, makes a world of difference in the pictures you take. Jerry Ghionis takes the game to a whole new level with unbelievable posing techniques. 

In essence, I like my portraits to look natural, engaging, and preferably to look unposed.. As much as capturing the beauty of the subject, capturing it’s personality is equally important. Communicating your concepts is critical to build the engagement and bring out your subject’s real personality. Beauty and personality are typically what I always try to bring out in portraiture.

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Gear Review: Sun Sniper "The PRO II"

I got my hands on this new camera strap from Sun Sniper just last week and I thought a review could help some folks decide which camera strap to go for as I had a hard time looking for a comprehensive review on the Sun Sniper straps. 

Sun Sniper a German manufacturer of camera straps. Their straps are catered for both point-and-shoot and DSLR cameras. However, if you’re looking for fancy straps, Sun Sniper may not be the one for you because it’s entire series come in black and only black.

Aesthetics aside.. Sun Sniper has a few neat features that makes it worth it’s price (retailing at SGD115). The first noteworthy feature are it’s thick shoulder pads that offer great comfort on long photo trips. Furthermore, “THE PRO II” is also designed with a unique “shock absorber” (only Sun Sniper offers this feature in the market) to further cushion the weight off your shoulders. 

The “stainless-steel bearing” is secured on the camera’s tripod mount and the strap is designed such that you can pull your camera up quickly for a shot to avoid missing any photo opportunity. This is often the reason to upgrade from your original strap which tends to get in the way of your shooting. To see how it works, watch the demo video here.

The last feature I want to highlight is that it comes with a USD500 insurance in the event that your strap is cut by a thief. But the bad news is that you may never be able to fully utilize it because there is a steel wire that goes through every inch of this badass strap! Yes, it is virtually “indestructible”. Watch how this strap can withstand 81.3kg of weight here.

This is the end of my review and I hope that this helps you with your next camera strap purchase. I’ve summarized the key features of “THE PRO II” in the condensed version below. That’s all for now. See ya!

Summary of Features:

1. Great comfy shoulder pads.

2. “Shock-Absorber”.

3. Conveniently supports quick action.

4. Insured & “Indestructible”

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On Location: “Hangar”

Credits go to JJ for this awesome opportunity to shoot in a hangar built right in the compound of his school. A number of retired planes and choppers that used to take people across thousands of miles now sit in the hangar silently as artifacts to educate future pilots who will take to the skies in a matter of months. We were able to get up close to an airplane’s engine while we were there, unfortunately we don’t have time for the flight simulator :( 

This place is a sheer eye-opener, which is one of many reasons why photography is so much fun; You always get to learn from people you’re working with (which often comes from different walks of life) and interact with things you would never have had the chance to come in contact with.

We had great room to exercise our creativity in the use of lighting and there were so much details to take care of in this shoot. We had to take care of lighting on the model, the plane’s fuselage as well as the rich texture of the leather seats i don’t wanna miss. 

In this image, the model and the plane was lit with an umbrella using a speedlite, spilling light all over place (not the usual thing I’d do). The orange glow in the back of the plane was lit by a separate speedlite with a CTO gel to mimic the plane’s warm, welcoming interior. Though subtle, the orange glow adds a new dimension to the otherwise flat lighting. Color gels are fun to play with and they can be used to create great visual effects and alter different mood in your images.

This is probably the most “commercial-like”setting I’ve ever shot in. We took 5 hours setting up and shooting, at the end of the day we were far from halfway done at this magnificent location. Hope to come back here someday for more!

Until the next post... see ya!

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Layman’s Guide to the Rule of Thirds and How to Break It!

The Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is one of many basic principles of composition every beginner photographer should learn. Don’t get me wrong here, it isn’t just for amateurs starting out. All professionals still practice this principle every time they go out on a shoot. 

The rule of thirds in essence provides a visual guide for us to frame our shot in a visually pleasing fashion. Imagine dividing your image into a 3-by-3 grid similar to the one shown above. by placing the object of interest at the intersection points (marked by a red dot), you can create interesting pictures right away.

Rule of thirds extends beyond these 4 intersection points. In landscape photography, deciding how much ground and sky to include in your image is something the photographer has to decide. Do the cloud patterns make for a better picture or does the mountain range make your shot magnificent? 

Rule of thirds divides this landscape photo into foreground (rocky ground), mid-ground (forest) and background (sky). In this image, I’ve decided that the rocky landscape and the forest are what makes the image compelling, therefore, they occupy two-thirds of the frame. The calm blue sky though pleasing, only makes for the remaining third of the entire image since there are no other details to add anything worthy to the image.

I hope by now, you would have at least a decent understanding of the rule of thirds. This is probably the most important lesson in composition photographers should learn. Many creative styles emerge and evolve from the rule of thirds so learn and master it well! In the next section, we break the rules to create something uniquely us!

Rules Meant to be Broken!

There are times when rules are broken to create something exceptional. More likely than not, many other photographers might have taken their photos in the exact same spot as you have taken yours. Composing your images differently may be one way to stand out from the rest.

The rule of thirds is intentionally broken here by throwing the guitarist right in the corner to create something offbeat. People are drawn by things that are different, out of the norm. By moving away from what we are used to seeing, we take longer to observe, process and make sense of what we don’t normally see. As a photographer, we constantly try to see the world in a different angle , we think out of the ordinary and create a different world through our creativity and insight.

Signing out - Avid Photographer.

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Product Photography: Old Remy Martini Bottle

This is a simple one light setup I did with a window light. Doesn’t look like it at all right? Yes, this is indeed daylight streaming through my window reflected right off a gold card and straight at the bottle. You could do the same with a white or silver card, but I figured a gold card would give the label a warm golden glow which helps create an old vintage vibe. Here, the light fades quickly into the shadows as if the subject is emerging from the darkness giving it a sense of mystery and class. I could’ve lit the bottom of the bottle with just a tint of light to highlight the shape a little better, 

If you were making this shot, what would you have done to make it a better shot?

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Small, daily improvements are key to staggering, long-term results.

ROBIN SHARMA

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Jared Polin: Extraordinary Photographer, Educator, Marketeer

The man behind FroKnowsPhoto.com is Jared Polin, an extraordinary photographer well known for his creative branding and marketing in the photography industry. His gifted mind for marketing can be seen from his extensive use of social media channels to reach a global network of followers and the physical changes he made in order to leave a lasting impression to his viewers. The fro and hairpin (which he uses as a namecard) are the creative symbols of his brand.

Jared is an inspirational educator who delivers tons of free valuable content on photography that I personally believe would benefit amateur photographers to a large extent. It is extremely important for photographers to learn the correct techniques and have a solid understanding of the fundamentals right from the beginning. Getting your basics right will eventually lead you to understand what makes a good photo and how to make one yourself.

Despite mixed opinions about Jared’s “aggressive” personality on the media, I see him as a man with an adamant passion who would stand to protect his craft, precisely what this industry desperately needs. 

Check out Jared’s website here & Youtube Channel here.

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Product Photography: Lemon Scented Fragrance Oil

This is my first attempt at building a scene for a product shoot. The concept of this shoot is to create a warm, refreshing summer-like feel to the product (lemon scented fragrance oil). This is a simple setup by the window lit with natural light.

I’ve chosen orange dried petals for their warm color tones and the interesting shapes that they came with (consisting of dried leaves, flowers & fruits). These shapes will eventually add-on to the interest of the final image. 

My purpose here is to draw your eyes straight to the label of the bottle, which is the case in most product photography involving bottles. This is to ensure that the viewers recognize the product within instantaneously after looking at the image. The shallow depth of field also helps to draw your eyes to the bottle because everything else (except the flowers) in the image are blur.

All in all, I’m rather happy with the final image in terms of what it has set out to achieve. 

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Light & Canvas

This blog describes the creative thoughts behind every picture that a typical photographer takes in his creative journey. This is a little tribute to photographers who have worked hard to be recognized in a digital age where technically everyone owns a cameras.

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Photography is turning a creative thought into stunning visual in camera

Light & Canvas