Posts Tagged ‘fashion’

Simplifying Backgrounds

Dachshund on driveway - ©TimeLine Media

The rules of composition for photography mirror the rules of composition for writing. If you think back to writing class, the best stories are ones where the subject is clear. All of the distracting elements of extraneous words, or descriptions that do not directly contribute to the narration. The same is true in photography. In an image, you have a subject, and the surrounding foreground and background. When composing images, simplifying your background will make your subject stand out, and will generally make for a stronger photograph.

Seagull at the end of the pier - ©TimeLine Media
Seagull at the end of the pier – ©TimeLine Media

When I am working a scene, I am always conscious of the background when placing the subject in the frame. If there is an easy way to position myself so that I can anticipate where the action will pass through an area with a non-distracting background that is where I will position the camera. In the seagull on the pier photos, the distant shoreline is far enough away that it is out of focus. It helps that the bird is tilting his head in a funny way!

Seagull at the end of the pier - ©TimeLine Media
Seagull at the end of the pier – ©TimeLine Media

To further simplify the image, I moved in closer to the bird, and zoomed in as far as it would go. This removed the dark green line of the shoreline, and makes the background only two colors – the water and the pier planks.

Seagull at the end of the pier - ©TimeLine Media
Seagull at the end of the pier – ©TimeLine Media

In another scene this dachshund was walking on a sunny driveway. With lots of cars, trash cans, toys, and other distracting things in the area, I waited until she moved to a clear area before making the exposure.

Dachshund on driveway - ©TimeLine Media
Dachshund on driveway – ©TimeLine Media

At the recent fashion show, having a nice clean “step and repeat” background covers up the storefronts, and other people in the area. You can help separate the subject by waiting until the model is at the end of the runway which is as far away from the back as possible, and opening the aperture as far as it will go before releasing the shutter. Now, the clothes will easily draw the viewer’s eye due to the brightness and sharpness of the subject.

Fashion Show - ©TimeLine Media
Fashion Show – ©TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

District Fete – Pentagon City Fashion Show

Brooke Ryan hosting the Pentagon City Fashion Show - ©TimeLine Media

Arlington, Virginia

The photos from today’s post were from a fashion show produced by District Fete at the Pentagon City Mall as part of the “Indulge” event for mothers as a celebration of Mother’s Day. I have worked with them before on other shows, and they always have a professional setup with stylists, makeup artists, and models. On this occasion there were many professionals working hard to put on a good show. Consequently, I tried my best to make good representative photos of the looks on display.

Pentagon City Fashion Show - ©TimeLine Media
Pentagon City Fashion Show – ©TimeLine Media

Since I had lots of space at the front of the stage, I setup two flashes pointed towards the runway. Many of these shows are photographed with available light. This works when there is a lot of bright constant light setup. For this show, there was no additional light from the ambient light of the mall interior. The addition of the flashes helps to make the colors really stay true to the clothing, and makes for a much cleaner image.

Runway Fashion Show

Pentagon City Fashion Show - ©TimeLine Media
Pentagon City Fashion Show – ©TimeLine Media

The show was hosted by Brooke Ryan from Mix 107.3. She kept the show flowing with description of all the looks as the models walked the runway. The models for this show did a great job showing the fashions, giving me lots of opportunities and different poses with each outfit. I had to adjust my shooting position between shows since I was a bit close to get a good composition without having distracting backgrounds to take away from the models.

Brooke Ryan hosting the Pentagon City Fashion Show - ©TimeLine Media
Brooke Ryan hosting the Pentagon City Fashion Show – ©TimeLine Media

For the second show, I did have a good shooting position. I was able to keep the models in front of the mostly black mall banner. This really helped to pop them out from the background, and it made it easier for me to keep them in frame. It was also easier for them to see me, and look right into the lens as they walked.

Pentagon City Fashion Show - ©TimeLine Media
Pentagon City Fashion Show – ©TimeLine Media

Thanks again to District Fete for producing such a professional showcase! I hope to work with them again on future projects. Pentagon City Mall is a great venue to host fashion shows with their beautiful open spaces and many stores available to pick up the fashions on display. I would enjoy the opportunity to make more photos there again.

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Outrunning the Curtain – Tech Thursday

Fashion Show with off camera flash - ©TimeLine Media

Testing

Flash photography is different, not difficult! Natural, or available is easier in the way that Microsoft Word is an easy as a text editor. With available light, what you see if what you get. There is no guessing as to the effect that the light will have on your subject in the photo, because you can see it even without looking through your camera. I am trying to step away, and attempting to use flash in every situation that I can. It is a challenge, but I think the results can be much better, and the files much easier to work with in post. This post is about the first lesson is using a flash off the camera. This can be a speedlight that you attach to your camera with a cord, or wirelessly – it does not matter which for this article.

Every camera has a set flash sync speed. This is a fastest shutter speed at which the flash can illuminate the full frame of the camera with light. Any shutter speed slower than that will also light the frame fully, but any speed faster will start to darken the frame. As an example, here are some photos where I attempted to keep the same exposure, only changing the shutter speed. The settings are in their captions:

1/60 sec, f/6.3 - ©TimeLine Media
1/60 sec, f/6.3 – ©TimeLine Media
1/125th sec, f/5 - ©TimeLine Media
1/125th sec, f/5 – ©TimeLine Media
1/200th sec, f/5 - ©TimeLine Media
1/200th sec, f/5 – ©TimeLine Media

Shutter Speed and Flash

All of the above photos have shutter speeds slower than the sync speed of 1/250th of a second. This sync speed will vary with your camera, so consult your manual to find it for your particular model. Now the next photo is at 1/320th of a second, and the frame starts to darken from the bottom.

1/320th sec, f/5 - ©TimeLine Media
1/320th sec, f/5 – ©TimeLine Media

This darkening is from the curtain that covers sensor. Its movement determines the shutter speed settings on your camera. It moves faster across the sensor as you increase the shutter speed. When you make an exposure with a shutter speed that is too fast, you start to catch the curtain in the frame when the shutter speed is too fast.

1/500th sec, f/5 - ©TimeLine Media
1/500th sec, f/5 – ©TimeLine Media
1/800th sec, f/5 - ©TimeLine Media
1/800th sec, f/5 – ©TimeLine Media

So if you are just starting to experiment with off camera flash, make this your first options to set on your camera. Conversely, check this setting if you are on a shoot and seeing something strange on the image. I’ll bet it is the curtain. This will save you a lot of frustration especially in bright settings! Give it a try with your camera to find your flash shutter sync speed.

Fashion Show with off camera flash - ©TimeLine Media
Fashion Show with off camera flash – ©TimeLine Media 

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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