31 August 2011
Eid-ul Fitr Day, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
demand induces supply!! :)...... I had the plan to shoot on Eid Day.... if there was nobody else, there would be Lamisa for sure... she's always a good subject (although a bit too unstable)... but once the setup is there, there are chances of taking pictures... and its Eid Day, so, there's always chance of getting subjects.... the best thing that happens during such occasions is that you get to shoot the most infrequent of visitors... and the pictures remain as a document of that time, increasing in value over the years....had my photog buddy Nasif coming in and also had my old buddies Saadi and Shameem showing up after a long while....had some neighbours visiting us after a while, which also provided some unique opportunities....
I had a two-light setup ready for the whole day.... a Westcott Apollo 28" softbox and a 24" Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe softbox.... a YN-560 in each one of them.... this was the first time I was thinking of using a softbox as an edge light.... I was almost sure that there was no blonde bombshell showing up in my home.... so, the edge light was a necessity as I've setup a black backdrop.... the lights were both triggered with Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers, as they were both in softboxes... with the Lastolite I could take the chance with optical trigger, but when you have the better option, why push?
a lot of lessons learned from this little venture.... the sessions were quick and sometimes dirty!! :)... but it was fun all the way through... tried to make the sessions as enjoyable for the subjects as possible... most of the portraits were typical studio-like portraits.... but wherever the subject was receptive enough, I tried for the different look....
lesson 1: take a safe shot first.... you never know what would happen next moment.... so, its better to take a safe shot first and then try out something different....
lesson 2: swap the main light.... don't just stick on one light as the main light... sometimes, if you swap the lights, you can end up with a different viewpoint... also, putting the edge light higher gives better results...
lesson 3: read the subject.... try to figure out how the subject reacts to photos.... that may give you an idea how much different an expression the subject may offer you....
lesson 4: give them comfort.... most people think that their portraits don't look good.... so, its a must to give them assurance that everyone thinks the same of themselves... not everyone has a model face, so, only the models shouldn't have the right to be photographed!!
lesson 5: be funny.... making fun behind the camera always gives nice results.... that brings out the expressions and also reduces distance between the subject and the photographer....
lesson 6: get crazy..... there's always that inner self in everyone that they don't want to expose often.... try to trigger that.... and that can actually help to bring the subject closer to the photographer.... but this may not work with all subjects....
a lot more shooting during the Eid holidays.... so, more coming up in a rush!!
Eid-ul Fitr Day, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
demand induces supply!! :)...... I had the plan to shoot on Eid Day.... if there was nobody else, there would be Lamisa for sure... she's always a good subject (although a bit too unstable)... but once the setup is there, there are chances of taking pictures... and its Eid Day, so, there's always chance of getting subjects.... the best thing that happens during such occasions is that you get to shoot the most infrequent of visitors... and the pictures remain as a document of that time, increasing in value over the years....had my photog buddy Nasif coming in and also had my old buddies Saadi and Shameem showing up after a long while....had some neighbours visiting us after a while, which also provided some unique opportunities....
I had a two-light setup ready for the whole day.... a Westcott Apollo 28" softbox and a 24" Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe softbox.... a YN-560 in each one of them.... this was the first time I was thinking of using a softbox as an edge light.... I was almost sure that there was no blonde bombshell showing up in my home.... so, the edge light was a necessity as I've setup a black backdrop.... the lights were both triggered with Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers, as they were both in softboxes... with the Lastolite I could take the chance with optical trigger, but when you have the better option, why push?
a lot of lessons learned from this little venture.... the sessions were quick and sometimes dirty!! :)... but it was fun all the way through... tried to make the sessions as enjoyable for the subjects as possible... most of the portraits were typical studio-like portraits.... but wherever the subject was receptive enough, I tried for the different look....
lesson 1: take a safe shot first.... you never know what would happen next moment.... so, its better to take a safe shot first and then try out something different....
lesson 2: swap the main light.... don't just stick on one light as the main light... sometimes, if you swap the lights, you can end up with a different viewpoint... also, putting the edge light higher gives better results...
lesson 3: read the subject.... try to figure out how the subject reacts to photos.... that may give you an idea how much different an expression the subject may offer you....
lesson 4: give them comfort.... most people think that their portraits don't look good.... so, its a must to give them assurance that everyone thinks the same of themselves... not everyone has a model face, so, only the models shouldn't have the right to be photographed!!
lesson 5: be funny.... making fun behind the camera always gives nice results.... that brings out the expressions and also reduces distance between the subject and the photographer....
lesson 6: get crazy..... there's always that inner self in everyone that they don't want to expose often.... try to trigger that.... and that can actually help to bring the subject closer to the photographer.... but this may not work with all subjects....
a lot more shooting during the Eid holidays.... so, more coming up in a rush!!
