self-portraits, tripods and timers.....

23 January 2013

whenever we were posting some self portraits we had been knocked by many, asking how the photo was taken.... at least, one of the blogs that I've written back in November 2010 tells me the same thing.... quite obviously, the first suspect is the tripod+timer combination.... yes, of course.... simple?.... definitely not!!.... self portraits are some of those efforts that you can choose to do extremely cheaply with minimal effort or you can choose to spend a considerable amount of time to make the image stand out.... in our part, most of the time we go for the tougher option..... our philosophy is always to get a small number of quality photos rather than going for a lotta average ones.... we push ourselves until we achieve the ones we really desired.... that said, this post is more about getting portraits with tripods and timers rather than just taking photos of one's own self.... we would also talk about photos where its not just a self portrait, but the photographer himself featured in the photo along with other subjects...

whenever the photographer features in the photo, it poses some challenges.... the first problem is to get the frame right.... its just too easy to make a mistake... and the longer the focal length or the tighter the frame, the tougher it is get the framing right.... some sort of stand-in always helps to get a general idea about the frame.... the longest focal length I have used was a 150mm one.... a close head-shot.... it was extremely tough to get the frame right.... and that also complicated the second problem, focusing, even further.....

to get the focus right, it helps to choose a smaller aperture.... but the photo that I chose to do with 150mm was more about shallow DoF.... so, a larger aperture (f4) was almost like, required.... but for couple photos, it was an easier choice.... no stand-in required... your partner always gives you the convenience of focusing.... though, for individual photos I always preferred manual focusing, for couple photos or other photos with more people in the frame, auto-focus worked nicely...... but bringing in more people in the frame presented with a new problem.... time....

setting the timer is the third challenge.... you can use a remote in some cases, but without any delays set, you may find your photo with you clicking the shutter!!.... and that too, may be tricky in some cases, if the remote shutter featured in your hand.... I always found the timer to be the most convenient way to go.... it also helps to get prepared after pressing the shutter.... the distance of the camera from the subject(s) and the complexity of the pose would dictate the timer length.... sometimes a 10-sec timer is enough, but sometimes a 20-sec time is required.... a 20-sec timer can potentially make the session very lengthy and tiring if perfection or variation is expected from the shoot.... we spent as much as 90 minutes for a session with 20-sec timer....

 

but because of the 20-sec timer, there can be a fourth challenge, especially if there are several people in the frame.... everyone in the frame getting tired of the timer, and when the shutter finally closes someone is not ready.... and the more people there are in the frame, the more problems you're gonna face..... for a ground shot, we don't prefer more than 10-sec... for couple photos with more complex poses, a 20-sec time works well, giving chances to fine tune or correct some things regarding posing and framing....

another interesting option can be a combination of tethered shooting and remote trigger... I haven't used that option so far though..... do you have any experiences with tripods and timers?.... why don't you share your views?....

thanks for reading and don't forget to leave your feedback....

"Intimacy" - exclusive intimate indoor couple session

22 January 2013

Ideasrbulletproof introduces the most artistic photo-shoot offer for couples.... we understand that most people are not models, but most people have the desire to look good, especially together, when we talk about couples.... those good-looking moments create memories..... images of memories.... these memories are remembered decades after the start of their conjugal life.... the images become priceless moments; capturing time forever.... we're here to create moments in the most artistic way.... in ways that are more associated with our favourite actors in the most romantic movie moments.... think of creating art for yourselves... we're only here to help you out.... this unique offer from Ideasrbulletproof is named...... "Intimacy"....

sorry, we don't show example photos here.... we will keep privacy of our clients.... to have an idea about our portfolio for this particular offer, please give us a call: +8801711-055524


offer summary.....

a) it will be a 1 to 1.5 hour session
b) 1-2 wardrobe changes are suggested
c) formal, cute, informal, intimate, dramatic, exclusive couple moments (we'll shoot many types of images; not just the intimate ones)
d) no need to think what we will shoot... just trust us :)
e) you have some dream pose?... we'll take that too!! :)
f) please don't request anything that can be considered taboo!

We would have the session in the most homely manner possible. Just drop by our home studio Idea House. We'll have lots of fun. To get more idea about what types of photos we are talking about, please give us a call: +8801711-055524.


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Fees and Deliverables:


Session Fee:
BDT 8,000 /-

a) One session with the above details. Its the time cost for the photography team along with cost of the studio setup and equipment.

b) Session fee does not include products, which are described below.

Viewing Session:
This is a free session. Usually this is around a week after the session when the client would be able to see the photos in their digital format and choose the photos they like for the product deliverables.

Products:

-Three 4L size (4"x6") prints would be complimentary (FREE). The Ideasrbulletproof Team would choose the images for the client and present the client during the viewing session.

Photo-products* are not part of the session fee. Our photo-products start at BDT 2,000/- and goes up to what your mind desires (well, almost)!! Our photo products are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on your desk or to be carried with you anywhere. These are the ultimate outputs that you take away from the sessions that you do with us. We invest time and effort to bring to you some of the most attractive photo products available in Bangladesh. We custom design the products to make them unique. Our innovation is continuous to come up with the most unique photo items. For some business reasons we do not post photos of our products online. So, to learn more about our products, please call us: +880-1711-055524.

*digital photos are more like digital negatives.... you have to process them to see them in their ultimate form... that processing is not done during the session.... the photographer or someone else will give hours behind that effort in digital darkroom... cost of photo products include cost of processing, cost of designing products (which are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on desktop or printed on the pages of a finished coffee table book), and cost of printing, framing, and other costs..... the photographers give their time and let you get the facilities of a professional studio setup for a session fee (you don't have to spend millions to set it up yourself)

if you want to know why we are this kind of pricing policy, please visit this link....

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Location for the Shoot:
a) We are mainly an on-location photography team. But this particular photo-session would be at our home studio, Idea House.  For further details about the location of our home studio, please give us a call at +880-1711055524.
b) We may also do this shoot at an indoor place of client's own choice. For such a session, please add BDT 5,000/- to the session fees listed above.
c) If the shooting location is outside Dhaka, client would arrange transportation facilities for them. Ideas_R_Bulletproof team and their equipment would be transported in own vehicle and the cost of that would be paid by the client.



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Booking and Payment Procedure:
a) Just go to this link and follow instructions or give us a call at +8801711-055524.

"One-hour Magic!"... a 1-hour-long short photo session

15 October 2012

if you think that our elaborate artistic photo-sessions are not for you, this is exactly the offer for you!!... this is a one-hour session only!!.... yes, you don't have to book us for a long time... you can hire us and our facilities for a fraction of time and cost!!.... this is the best bargain offer from Ideasrbulletproof that you can ever expect!!.... you get a smaller pie of the same quality service and product that we have stood for from the start... this is "One-hour Magic!" and this is quality at a bargain price!!

here are the details of the offer:

this session covers a wide variety of photo opportunities.... we would cover...
*families with up to four people,
*babies and children with their families .....and even...
*individual portfolio sessions....

this session doesn't cover...
*couples
*newborns
*maternity/pregnancy session
*exclusive session for babies (up to 1-year of age) or children (1-5 years of age)


The photo-session would be at Ideasrbulletproof home studio at Mohammadpur and would be done in one single set-up. Set-up change cannot be handled within this one-hour session offer. We would suggest the set-up based on subjects and wardrobe. One wardrobe change is acceptable as long as time doesn't exceed session time of one hour. Time for the session may be extended under special circumstances. No theme-based photo-shoots would be part of this session. To avail those, we would suggest our other offers. To have exclusive photo-session of you baby or children, please also take a look at our other offers.


Fees and Deliverables:

Session Fee:
BDT 5,000 /-
a) One session with the above details. Its the time cost for the photography team along with cost of the studio setup and equipment.
b) Session fee does not include products, which are described below.
c) Also see the "Booking and Payment Procedure" section below.
d) The sessions would be at Idea House, Ideas_R_Bulletproof's home studio. For location details, please call +880-1711-055524.


Viewing Session:
This is a free session. Usually this is around a week after the session when the client would be able to see the photos in their digital format and choose the photos they like for the product deliverables.

Products:

-Three 4L size (4"x6") prints would be complimentary (FREE). The Ideasrbulletproof Team would choose the images for the client and present the client during the viewing session.

Photo-products* are not part of the session fee. Our photo-products start at BDT 2,000/- and goes up to what your mind desires (well, almost)!! Our photo products are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on your desk or to be carried with you anywhere. These are the ultimate outputs that you take away from the sessions that you do with us. We invest time and effort to bring to you some of the most attractive photo products available in Bangladesh. We custom design the products to make them unique. Our innovation is continuous to come up with the most unique photo items. For some business reasons we do not post photos of our products online. So, to learn more about our products, please call us: +880-1711-055524.

*digital photos are more like digital negatives.... you have to process them to see them in their ultimate form... that processing is not done during the session.... the photographer or someone else will give hours behind that effort in digital darkroom... cost of photo products include cost of processing, cost of designing products (which are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on desktop or printed on the pages of a finished coffee table book), and cost of printing, framing, and other costs..... the photographers give their time and let you get the facilities of a professional studio setup for a session fee (you don't have to spend millions to set it up yourself)

to know more about why we price like this, please visit this link here....

Booking and Payment Procedure:
a) Just go to this link and follow instructions or give us a call at +8801711-055524.

"Your Drama"... couple story-telling photo-shoot offer

Ideasrbulletproof introduces the most unique photo-shoot offer for couples.... its a common thing for couples to get busy and forget to record the most valuable moments in their relationship... stories that you like to remember after many years.... but you don't have any lasting impression of those memories... we are here to help you with those memories.... memories that you can cherish after many years when you can't recreate those times.... a flickr of smile appears on the corner of your lips while shifting through the album.... an album of photo-story.... story of your own lives.... you get to remember who you were in those days.....

this unique offer from Ideasrbulletproof, named "Your Drama", tries to tell the story of your own lives.... almost like a drama.... you will be going through the dramatic motions of your own lives.... drama that you live through on a daily basis....

details of this offer are below.....

We talk to our clients, get to know them, their characters, and their relationships before we can work out our ideas. We would share our ideas with our clients before the shoot, so that they can visualise what we are up to. This would be a longish session. Keep 4-5 hours time and bring several wardrobe changes. We would have the session in the most homely manner as possible. Just drop by our home studio Idea House. We'll have lots of fun. To get more idea about what types of photos we are talking about, have a look at our video slideshows here. We would also have some formal photos taken during the session in addition to the dramatic story-telling ones.


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Fees and Deliverables:


Session Fee:
BDT 15,000 /-

a) One session with the above details. Its the time cost for the photography team along with cost of the studio setup and equipment.

b) Session fee does not include products, which are described below.

Viewing Session:
This is a free session. Usually this is around a week after the session when the client would be able to see the photos in their digital format and choose the photos they like for the product deliverables.

Products:

Photo-products* are not part of the session fee. Our photo-products start at BDT 2,000/- and goes up to what your mind desires (well, almost)!! Our photo products are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on your desk or to be carried with you anywhere. These are the ultimate outputs that you take away from the sessions that you do with us. We invest time and effort to bring to you some of the most attractive photo products available in Bangladesh. We custom design the products to make them unique. Our innovation is continuous to come up with the most unique photo items. For some business reasons we do not post photos of our products online. So, to learn more about our products, please call us: +880-1711-055524.

*digital photos are more like digital negatives.... you have to process them to see them in their ultimate form... that processing is not done during the session.... the photographer or someone else will give hours behind that effort in digital darkroom... cost of photo products include cost of processing, cost of designing products (which are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on desktop or printed on the pages of a finished coffee table book), and cost of printing, framing, and other costs..... the photographers give their time and let you get the facilities of a professional studio setup for a session fee (you don't have to spend millions to set it up yourself)



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Location for the Shoot:
a) We are mainly an on-location photography team. But this particular photo-session would be at our home studio, Idea House.  For further details about the location of our home studio, please give us a call at +880-1711055524.
b) We may also do this shoot at an indoor place of client's own choice. For such a session, please add BDT 5,000/- to the session fees listed above.
c) If the shooting location is outside Dhaka, client would arrange transportation facilities for them. Ideas_R_Bulletproof team and their equipment would be transported in own vehicle and the cost of that would be paid by the client.
d) If an away-location suggested by client requires some exclusive usage permission, it has to be arranged by client.
e) If an away location suggested by client requires some permission charge or usage charges, it would be paid by the client. 
f) We do not suggest locations that cannot be covered within a day. We would discuss location details with client before finalising the session.


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Booking and Payment Procedure:
a) Just go to this link and follow instructions or give us a call at +8801711-055524.

"Under the Same Sun"..... on-location couple photo-shoot offer

We are not typical portrait photographers. We also don't offer typical location couple shoots. We are here to show relationships; to tell stories. This particular offer, "Under the Same Sun", tries to tell stories of relationship through on location dramatic portraits. Locations give a lot to the mood of photos. And the story-telling adds drama and action to the otherwise typical on-location photos. We have heard too many words from people that their photos don't look good. Well, leave that to us! Trust us and just follow us in our journey as we take you through the story of your own lives. Create and experience the moments of your own relationship that you will cherish for the rest of your lives!

See details of this offer below. 

We talk to our clients, get to know them, their characters, and their relationships before we can work out our ideas. We would share our ideas with our clients before the shoot, so that they can visualise what we are up to. Keep enough time for such a session (Option A: 2-4 hours; Option B: 3-5 hours; Option C: 3-6 hours). Duration of the shoot can be negotiated depending on special circumstances and availability of time.

Session Fees:
Option A: BDT 10,000/- for one location
Option B: BDT 15,000/- for two locations
Option C: BDT 25,000/- for three or four locations

a) One session with the above details. Its the time cost for the photography team along with cost of the on-location studio setup and equipment.
b) This session fee does not include the product deliverables, which are described below.
c) For other details, please see the "Location for the Shoot" section below.
d) Also see the "Booking and Payment Procedure" section below. 

Viewing Session:
This is a free session. Usually this is around a week after the session when the client would be able to see the photos in their digital format and choose the photos they like for the product deliverables.

----------------------------------------------------- 

Products:
 

Photo-products* are not part of the session fee. Our photo-products start at BDT 2,000/- and goes up to what your mind desires (well, almost)!! Our photo products are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on your desk or to be carried with you anywhere. These are the ultimate outputs that you take away from the sessions that you do with us. We invest time and effort to bring to you some of the most attractive photo products available in Bangladesh. We custom design the products to make them unique. Our innovation is continuous to come up with the most unique photo items. For some business reasons we do not post photos of our products online. So, to learn more about our products, please call us: +880-1711-055524.

*digital photos are more like digital negatives.... you have to process them to see them in their ultimate form... that processing is not done during the session.... the photographer or someone else will give hours behind that effort in digital darkroom... cost of photo products include cost of processing, cost of designing products (which are ready to be hung on the wall or displayed on desktop or printed on the pages of a finished coffee table book), and cost of printing, framing, and other costs..... the photographers give their time and let you get the facilities of a professional studio setup for a session fee (you don't have to spend millions to set it up yourself)


-----------------------------------------------

Location for the Shoot:
a) We are an on-location photography team. Depending on the theme of the shoot, we may be shooting indoors or outdoors. 
b) We would select outdoor location(s) based on the characters of our subjects and the theme chosen for the photos.
c) If the shooting location is outside Dhaka, client would arrange transportation facilities for them. Ideas_R_Bulletproof team and their equipment would be transported in own vehicle and the cost of that would be paid by the client.
d) If an away-location suggested by client requires some exclusive usage permission, it has to be arranged by client.
e) If an away location suggested by client requires some permission charge or usage charges, it would be paid by the client. 
f) We do not suggest locations that cannot be covered within a day. We would discuss location details with client before finalising the session.


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Booking and Payment Procedure:
a) Just go to this link and follow instructions or give us a call at +8801711-055524.

the drama that was always there.... part 4

10 March 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

for an intro on the session, please visit the first part of this blog....
also, have a look at the second part of the blog here....
the third part of the blog is here....

Pretty and Kamal are one of the most interesting couples we have had the chance to do a photosession with... as usual, we were thinking of building a story around them... a story that they live through everyday... we thought of bringing that story out within a dramatic context... the story would remain the same, but the screenplay would be from a drama series of some sort...

we wanted to bring out some usual happening in day-to-day life... so, we concentrated on one specific kind of conflict... a conflict that not only created distance, but also closed the gap quite quickly... every relationship has conflict... and its the wonderful way of chemistry that always finds a way to glue them together... every conflict ends up with a stronger will to get closer... that common theme of couples is portrayed here by a specific story of these two... and of course, presented in a dramatic way....

in the previous episode, we showed how Pretty comes up with her revenge after Kamal takes pleasure in his own indulgence!!....  this time we dramatise something more common.... they were both very spontaneous with their expressions.... it had to be, as it was the story of their own life.... so, it came almost naturally.... we just put them in a dramatic context to bring some action in it...

we kept the lighting as simple as possible.... we didn't want a wash of light, as we were after some uniqueness of the two characters... there had to be two sides of the characters... so, we kept a play of light and shadow on their faces.... two softboxes on two sides (one Lastolite Ezybox 24" Hotshoe and one Shashinki 24").... they were placed in a way so that the background doesn't get washed and there still remains some contrast in the image... two YN-560 flashes did the job in the two softboxes... 28-80mm lens was on the D700 and the trigger was an Elinchrom Skyport on one of the YN flashes... the other one was on optical trigger....

stay tuned for lots more... :)

the drama that was always there.... part 3

10 March 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

for an intro on the session, please visit the first part of this blog....
also, have a look at the second part of the blog here....

Pretty and Kamal are one of the most interesting couples we have had the chance to do a photosession with... as usual, we were thinking of building a story around them... a story that they live through everyday... we thought of bringing that story out within a dramatic context... the story would remain the same, but the screenplay would be from a drama series of some sort...

while playing with the contrasts, we decided to go with some unique liking and disliking... that uniqueness is what defines relationships among couples.... each couple is different and each couple have their own little story..... people may say that such stories are common... hmm... are they?.... probably they are common... but when you combine all those stories we begin to realise how unique each relationship is... its not that easy to bring out the uniqueness in each relationship... and thats why when you succeed in doing it, the satisfaction is so much more.... not just for the photographer, also for the protagonists.... they begin to understand that they are protagonists in their own drama!!

in the previous episode, we showed how Kamal was indulging in his own world.... this time, Pretty comes up with her revenge!!.... well, sort of.... she knows what puts Kamal off.... they were both very spontaneous with their expressions.... it had to be, as it was the story of their own life.... so, it came almost naturally.... we just put them in a dramatic context to bring some action in it...

we kept the lighting as simple as possible.... we didn't want a wash of light, as we were after some uniqueness of two characters... there had to be two sides of the characters... so, we kept a play of light and shadow on their faces.... two softboxes on two sides (one Lastolite Ezybox 24" Hotshoe and one Shashinki 24").... they were placed in a way so that the background doesn't get washed and there still remains some contrast in the image... two YN-560 flashes did the job in the two softboxes... 28-80mm lens was on the D700 and the trigger was an Elinchrom Skyport on one of the YN flashes... the other one was on optical trigger....

stay tuned for the rest of the story... :)

the drama that was always there.... part 2

10 March 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

for an intro on the session, please visit the first part of this blog....

Pretty and Kamal are one of the most interesting couples we have had the chance to do a photosession with... as usual, we were thinking of building a story around them... a story that they live through everyday... we thought of bringing that story out within a dramatic context... the story would remain the same, but the screenplay would be from a drama series of some sort...

one of the first stories that emerged from the couple was their love-hate relationship with certain objects and habits... every relationship has its contrasts... and sometimes the contrasts are so stark that its hard to believe that the relationship actually exists... but we tend to forget that the contrasts show the real strength of the bonding.... a bonding that is strong that despite all those contrasts, love prevails....

anyway, actually it doesn't really require any description for a series like this one.... the visuals are strong enough to understand what goes on in their minds.... Pretty and Kamal both were very spontaneous with their expressions.... it had to be, as it was the story of their own life.... so, it came almost naturally.... we just put them in a dramatic context to bring some action in it...

lighting was critical here... there had to be two layers of lighting here, as the subjects had a fair bit of gap between them.... used the 28-80mm lens (on D700) for convenience here... and was shooting between 35mm and 40mm.... this focal length gave a chance to use perspective to bring out the drama.... two softboxes (Lastolite Ezybox 24" Hotshoe and Shashinki 24") were used for the two subjects, both camera left... a YN-560 flash in each of them.... Elinchrom Ranger RX system played a secondary role as an edge-light with a grid spot... also camera left... a single YN-560 with blue gel and grid spot was on the other side to provide edge light for the subject in front of the camera... Elinchrom Skyport was the trigger used here on the Ranger unit... other flashes were on optical trigger mode...

thats it... hope to publish the rest of the story ASAP.... stay tuned... :)