I still deconstruct the work of other photographers all the time – it’s a great way to expand skill sets and understanding. And I know from your previous feedback that you guys are fond of these posts, so let’s dig into another one.
I was asked to photograph the amazing and controversial Prince Manvendra of India last month in NYC. It was an honor. But tell me…
How did I make this picture?
Is it a snapshot?
Lighting?
If so, how?
The camera Settings?
The direction?
Post production?
Whatever details you think were needed to make this image.
We’ve done this lots before, but I thought this particular image would be a good one to dig into for a couple reasons. I’ll reveal how it was made in a followup post and give a signed book or something to one person who nails it in the comments below.
How did I make this picture? simple light setup, had the prince sit down, pose, done.
Is it a snapshot? no, it looks obviously lit to me but could have been easily done with some sb flashes
Lighting? Yes. 2 lights on the subject. one up high into an umbrella maybe and one down below to light his feet on the same exact axis. i thought it was one light at first but due to the angles of the shadows i figure there’s a light up high and one down low as well. you had a flash skim the background camera right. it’s parallel with the background (noticed the triangular spread coming from camera right).
If so, how? 3 flashes, you were on location right? probably didn’t bring the broncolors.
The camera Settings? super sharp, f8, at sync speed, iso640-800 to conserve flash power.
The direction? i think you were trying to go for a juxtaposed image. vintage american speakers, radio gear, exotic, eastern garb. very cool shot.
Post production? doesn’t appear to be much. burn in certain areas to make it darker perhaps.
Whatever details you think were needed to make this image. this is one of those images that i think is simple yet powerful. like most people of influence, he probably didn’t have much time with you so getting set up before the arrival is key. the simplicity of the setup also helps as you probably only needed 3 light stands and some triggers before you could start poppin off shots.
egg crate gridded softbox camera left and a small strobe on a short stand behind his chair. f/11 1/200th sec. iso 400 24-70 somewhere around 50mm…Am I close?
hmm, softbox high left and @ 90 degrees to camera, looking at the shadows from the chair legs, maybe something snooted at the speakers behind the chair.
no more than 2 lights?
looks like a 35mm on full frame, pretty wide there, and some post, maybe up on the saturation and vignette?
cool photo nonetheless
In Strobist terminology (I am admittedly in the rank amateur category of this), I think it’s shot at about 5 stops below ambient, with the stop set to provide max dof and the strobe power adjusted to offset. shutter speed is irrelevant. I also think it’s one strobe/flash reflected off of an umbrella with one side masked. The shape of the shadow on the floor to camera left is rounded but it’s straight on camera right. The strobe reflection in the eyes looks to me like a 60 degree angle. Based on the width of the throw, looks like medium distance between strobe and umbrella.
This would be a simple setup that would require minimal fine turning to nail. I’m not thinking the prince would have the patience for much on the fly adjustment.
Nice shot.
I’m going to go with:
f/11 at 1/200 or f/16 at 1/100 in order to kill nearly all of the ambient and give enough DOF to keep both the subject and background in focus.
Since there is still a perception of distance from the background, it must have been shot fairly wide, maybe 24mm to 35 mm.
Large soft box from upper subject right (camera left) coming at nearly 90 degrees (just shy of it). You can see its reflection in one of the speakers in the background left and it actually illuminates some of the background right and just behind the subject.
Thanks to the bright colors of the outfit, the subject didn’t require any back lighting to separate from the background.
SOC.
Nice shot.