Street photography meets a shoot with a model? I broke out my minimalist gear box and met a model downtown LA for an experimental shoot. Sophia is actually a fashion designer in LA but sometimes models on the side; she was up to whatever I wanted to do.
I had the idea of shooting Sophia inside of a tunnel with cars going by
I let the images unfold technique and the thought process...
Above: A firetruck rushes by and I think I had the camera on the tripod with a 1.5 second exposure. I asked Sophia to turn her head from one side to the other.
Getting a feel for the tunnel I take some shots with a 50mm lens and experiment with shutter time. If the exposure is too long you may not be able to see the model...it would be come too abstract.
An old Mexican bar called LA Cita was our meeting point. I wanted to shoot inside but I made the mistake of asking the manager if it was okay and he said it wasn't his call. Better to just do it and kicked out later.
The long exposure that's a fine line between too abstract and not abstract. But the colors and contrast make it work for some reason.
Checking out the 3rd Street tunnel for possibilities before the model showed up. My new photographer friend, Luigi, fires off some shots as well.
I love this shot but it was too overexposed and got a little funky. When an image is too overexposed you lose information in the highlights.
Textures inside the tunnel make for great backdrops that feel modern and classic.
Shot of downtown LA about an hour before the shoot.
I used a softbox for this shot. The street lamps put off a funky color so I used olive and yellow gel on top of the flash.
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Image edited for print
I love your experimental photos. They look very special.
I appreciate how you built up the backstory leading to the first image. Though it's more of a story than a tutorial (I think), still an awesome post. This is the importance of process shots when sharing works of art in the platform, other than showing it was actually made by the author, it also expounds the content's depth. Congratulations on the success of this experiment @lightenup
To be honest I was going to write a more extensive tutorial but I haven't had much traction on steem lately so I didn't want to spend a of time on it for .18 SBD LOL.
I can totally relate. The effort of making it and the usual pay off in the platform didn't equate well. Anyway, you did a good job telling the story for this post and congratulations on the curie upvote. :D
I love the effect in the first photo! All of them are stunning but that one is my favorite!
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I especially loved the first shot, and the one with the softbox ... Very attractively!
Thanks!
Hi lightenup,
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isn't that amazing!
Wow! Very surreal shots with the head turning idea. Lost information in the highlights or not, the second shot with that method is very moving. Her expression comes though beautifully. And thanks for the LA shots. You remind me of my time there. I found it a very fun but exhausting place :)
Thanks fitinfun~! These are surreal shots...sort of fun , no?
That is amazing place for a shot. It must of been in the wee hours of the morning when ther wasn't too much traffic. I love your still shot of the model - beautiful but I don't quite get the moving shots of her. Excuse my ignorance but to me it just looks blurry.
Now I get it - those were lead up shots to the one shot at the top of the post. That is excellent!
There's no right or wrong in photography...I think movement was what I was going for.
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STOPPics are extremely good. I have the photography bug but its not serious enough to invest in some cool gear. I have learnt something some this post so thank you. I specially like the first pic, where the model is turning her head. My favourite is actually the second one, may be too abstract but i think that's what i like about it.
You don't need a lot of money for a cool camera. In fact there are a lot of good used cameras on Ebay...lenses are the best investment. An old Canon Rebel can be had for under $50. Grab a 50mm 1.8 lens for $50
Oh i didnt know that. I think i should look into it now. Thanks for that info!
Ooh these shots are incredible - that lead shot is perfect and captures a mood so beautifully - but I have to say I'm a sucker for the other movement shots too - really beautiful - I'd love to hang prints of the one with the wall textures of the tunnel and horizontal car lights in my office, and also the red streaks of the road from above - I think it's the contrast of the red lights against that steel-blue texture of the concrete / tarmac - and the perpetual captured motion of the traffic.
Then in that top shot, with the re of the traffic lights echoed in the lippy of the model - that's just perfection right there!
E x
See some of my other posts...if there is a pic you like I'll sell you a print for some SBD. LOL
Wow, all of these techniques are very advanced for me, we are still trying to get all of our shots in focus ;p
Thanks for sharing this advanced photoshoot with us here on Steem! Cheers!
Maybe try taking all your shots out of focus is your style.
Well....maybe. I am of the school where you 'learn the rules, then break the rules'. If we don't learn them well first then I'm not sure we will ever make it to the break it phase!
This is a nice photography technique.
Pictures of a person in motion carry a unique message. When you told her to move her head here and there it was a nice move that communicated a detailed activity in one shot.
And the 1.5 seconds capture brought the face with all its versions. It must have been interesting.
The tunnel where these were taken is another classic venue.
The town also looks nice there.
Experiment with shutter times and different focal lengths. Try 1/4 of a second for example and shoot moving subjects.