Guess what? this girl can kick your ass.

I have just spent the last four months working for a small production company in the motion picture business. I took the job because I wanted to learn more about lighting and film production. But now I’m back, with a new vision which has finally (finally!) evolved beyond the 85mm focal length.

Well, to test those new eyes, I called on stuntwoman and fellow ninjitsu practitioner Amy Johnston (check out this link for an awesome and very violent fight scene). Amy was hardcore enough to hike up the mountains in flip-flops and no pants while I was dressed as an Asian tourist complete with boonie hat and camera.

All smile through Instagram.

Being somewhat advert to physical exertion, I decided to travel light. A Panasonic GH2 with a Leica 25mm f1.4 (50mm equiv) and small silver reflector were enlisted for the task. I admit feeling a bit small when we came by other hikers with huge white barrel Canon glasses. I often had to remind myself that those guys (and they were males) were probably compensating.

I really didn’t have much of a concept beside finding a nice scenic background and putting a pretty girl in front of it and NOT use an 85mm.

Scenic background: check! Pretty girl: check! Small camera with a flip-screen: Check!

This angle is also known as: Looking Up at The Girl Who Round-House KickedBe You To the Ground

(to be continued)

* Update: Ok, so Jan isn’t technically Fall but in California, we only have 2 seasons: Fall and Summer. Don’t hate.

Purrty Colours

Just don't forget the reflector like I did

Every year I make sure to shoot something Fall-related. This year, I got a chance to test the 50mm f1.2L on the 5Dmk2 and I have to say, I do not like it! 50mm is a just too short for a flattering perspective: 85mm and above is the way to go.

Anyway, with a cloudy sky, a pretty model (and her mom) and maybe a reflector, you can get pretty interesting shots while keeping things simple.

A few Fall shoots throughout the years

(try to reload if this flash thing doesn’t show up)

At the beginning of this year, I made it a goal to learn how to shoot video and become proficient with it by next Christmas. I wrote a little post that for some reason disappeared in the nether of the web. Basically, I needed a system that I could learn on: it has to be small and uncomplicated.

My choices of camera came down to three candidates: Panasonic GH2 (too expensive), Sony NEX 5N (has a clicky issue and ’cause it’s a Sony SPOS) and Olympus E-PL3.  I ultimately settled with the E-Pl3 for its price, flip-screen and because I love Olympus (even with all the crap that’s been going on). It shoots in AVCHD, 1920×1080 60i. Whatever that means (still learning yo).

The diminutive camera was coupled with a rail system that I managed to scavenge and borrow from friends. The only parts worth mentioning are the nimble Redrock DSLR baseplate and the Chroziel follow focus (which I find too big and expensive for this setup). Everything else is cheap, no name-brand parts.

So with that done, Mari and I went out and did our first ever video shoot with an old and very dreamy (i.e soft) Nikon 50mm f1.8 Serie E. The “script” which I only came up with afterward(fail) is about lost love and death and that kind of stuff. Those cuts will be mixed other scenes (rain falling, flower petals on bed, sad curl-in-bathtub music etc). Simple, corny.

I’m slightly reticent about posting this rough cut which I’m surely not processing right since I can see a major hit in image quality after the rendering. That said, it’s probably a good idea to have at least something up for more seasoned cinematographers to critique on. 2012 will be the year of being a noob all over again!

First of all, this camera is TINY. It’s also very cute (dare I say feminine**) and very, very fast. The japanese-made, aluminium body is solid and slick. Yes, it is a much simplified version of the GF1 but other than the hotshoe (which I thought I needed but didn’t) it doesn’t lose any of the core capabilities. Most of the things that a DSLR can do, this cutie pie can too. Most  importantly, the GF3 does not get in the way.

I’m not a purist (what a condescending word!) so the transfer of external functions (that I don’t use anyway) to internal menus doesn’t bother me. All I require is to be able to change the aperture and exposure compensation QUICKLY under Aperture Priority and with GF3, it’s a simple matter of spinning the thumb wheel. There’s also a touch screen if you’re into that kind of stuff. The “touch-to-focus” function is surprisingly useful and eliminates the “focus-and-recompose” focusing error common when using fast lenses with razor-thin depth-of-field.

Santa Approved. Merry Christmas everyone!

* …and a pussy when it comes to schlepping heavy gear around. Meow.

** it’s 2012 gentlemen, embrace you inner femininity.

Available at your local hardware store.

Like many self-taught “artists”, I do not have a ton of college books with nicely put together palettes and inspirational material to draw from. Also, I’m not quite “rolling in it” yet so I have to learn to make do with what I have. And that means building my own camera jig and light panels out of pvc and scouring the local hardware stores for DIY solutions.

That said, those sample paint palettes are pretty awesome. They have pictures on the front with an adjective* word to describe the “feel” of the palette and real-world examples in the back. Transitioning from this to your photography/design work is relatively straight forward.

-E

* finding an adjective word is usually the first step in my brainstorming process: dreamy, ethereal, dark, moody, sexy, raw, dense, mysterious, lost etc…

Choices

Warm

Though I felt it was flattering to the model, I though the warm quality of the picture didn’t look fantasy enough. It was too “normal”,  green foliage, caucassian skintone… normal. I don’t like normal.

Cold

I liked the cold version a lot, it is especially nice combined with the glowy, dreamy effect. The green foliage would have to be toned down or changed altogether to make it blend more. As it is, it is clashing too much.

Cross Processed, Cyan+

As I write this, at this very moment, I’m starting to doubt whether I made the right choice because I really dig this one. This has fantasy, mystical, Sword +2 hotness written all over it.

Black & White

Then of course, we have good ol’ black and white. Ok so B&W looks really good and I’ve had this issue before when a picture looks best in B&W but since nothing in my portfolio is B&W…well no B&W.

What do you guys think??

How To Do it

Anna rocking that set (Click to Enlarge)

• Place the flash behind the subject.
• Make sure the camera “sees” the flash.
• Adjust camera to ambient light.
• Adjust flash power depending on how much of the effect you want.

Not drawn is a silver reflector in front of the model for the “eye shine” effect.

Keep in Mind…

Open shade, 85mm lens at f1.8, iso 200 at 1/250 sec.

Easy really…almost gimmicky. The trick is to have the flash shooting into the lens. If you don’t see the flash, you will merely get an overly strong rim-light and hair-light effect (see number 6/12 on proof sheet below). Opening up the lens aperture will allow the flash itself to blend in somewhat with the background and will also accentuate that dreamy, ethereal (i.e huge lost of overall contrast, saturation, details) effect.

In fact, don’t do this merely for the sake of technique. Do it if you need to achieve that “I died, went to heaven and the angel is hella sexy, woohoo!” effect. Notice that on the first shot, the motion of the hair adds tons to the overall mood.

The Raw Stuff

Click to Enlarge

For this example, I have included a few unprocessed RAW shots for comparison. The White Balance was set to “Tungsten” and accounts for the blue tone. There are lots of possibilities for post-processing here but I just processed for colours.

What do you guys think? I personally haven’t experimented with this technique very often so suggestions and feedback (the non-empty kind) are always welcome!

So what I have decided to do (and have been doing for a time now) is to aggregate all my pictures into a central repository where I could then categorize and file them for easy access. Most importantly, as I go through the process, I am also forcing myself to select 10 (no more no less) awesome pictures which are within my ability (financially, logistically, equipment-wise, skill-wise, etc) to recreate * and which would complement my current body of work. So first step is to merge all those folders together into a central location.

Put Them In the Clouds

On all my personal computers is a folder called Pics I Like which is synchronized via Dropbox (a free cloud-based file hosting service). Meaning regardless of which computer I happen to be using at the time, all I need to do when I come across an inspirational picture is to save it in that folder and it will then be available locally on all the other computers AND online through Dropbox web-based server. As a bonus to using Dropbox (or any other cloud-based file server) is that your inspirational stuffs are available to you whenever you have a web connection and a browser. It’s always good to have that around during a shoot.

Please note from the screenshot(if you can tell) that I use Linux on my personal computers. Only my Photoshop workstations have Win7/MacOS on them. Dropbox services and most cloud-based file hosting services are available in all major platforms.

Categorize Your Files

Within the main Pics I Like are smaller folders:

• Fashion
• Portraiture
• Editorial
• Styling and Makeup
• Lighting And Setting
• Stuff I Wish I Had Shot
• Stuff I Can Do NOW

The Fashion, Portraiture, and Editorial folder are pretty self-explanatory and will vary between photographers. I also keep a folder filled with pictures that may not be good but have interesting makeup, clothes, lighting setups and background settings. The last two folders are the important ones:

Stuff I Wish I Had Shot: This is where I put all those ultra-awesome pictures by elite (or lucky) photographers. These are the pictures I wish I could do and aim to be able to do one day. It’s OK, if you feel a bit insecure after you put this folder together, I know I did. Also, be picky with what you put in here because this will become your yardstick with which you will measure yourself against.

Stuff I can do NOW: Again, these are the shots I could do tomorrow if I wanted to. They are within reach of my current ability. Candidates for this folder may be taken from Stuff I Wish I Had Shot or they may be taken from lesser (easier to reproduce) pictures. That said, the concepts and ideas I plan to use from those shots MUST complement my current portfolio and there must be only 10 of them lest I burn myself out. It’s also easier to get started when there’s only 10 to do and not 10,000. If the previous folder made you feel insecure, this one may validate your current ability which is always nice.

Well that’s that… This is I admit an on-going process and by no mean a definite way of doing it but so far i think it’s working. We’ll see what comes out of it.

* nothing is original, everything has been done before. Mother Nature has already done what Da Vinci drew in his sketchbooks. But that doesn’t matter, the point is to do it your way.

That said, I do find myself in need of a tripod once in a while but not enough to warrant the investment in a top of the line and oh-so-sexy Gitzo  yet I also needed something that was:

• Cheap, I can’t afford to pay 200$ for something I would use twice a year
• Light and compact enough for me to schlep around. I hate schleping things* around.
• Solid enough to support a Canon 5D + lens

The bag is awesome and totally unexpected. I use it to carry my compact light stand when I don't need a tripod

Well at $24.99 on Amazon for the legs, the Davis & Sanford Vista Voyager is as cheap as they come and surprisingly well built with an all-aluminum construction and delrin-like clamps. They are also available on B&H.

3-position, all-metal construction and a tacky-looking button compass that actually works if you give it 5 mins to settle down

Now from what I gather from researching on hiking poles last year, aluminum is as light(more or less) as carbon-fiber yet not as strong. But whereas aluminum poles tend to bent, carbon fiber poles break and you sure don’t want that when you’re trekking in the wilderness. Aluminum does vibrate more than carbon fiber so in that regards, it’s not as as good when confort(hiking) or camera shake(photography) is the priority. But at $25, I’ll live.

I have since forced myself to use a tripod more just to test it out. I do like the tripod but still hate the pictures I get from using it. My fault of course.

 * Although, I don’t want to be camera chow either…

Symphony

I learned a few lessons doing this one: Using a fill-flash may create some really flat results in the RAW… but you can improve it during the processing somewhat.  And of course, as predicted and vouched many times over: a pretty woman always improve a picture :P

Final vs RAW

I never liked the results of fill-flash photography (here the bare flash was shot almost on-axis with the camera, notice the reflection in the eye) as I find the results to be flat and lifeless but when converted to black and white with an emphasis on high-contrast, high-grain, high d-max (black)… well things start to get interesting.

Note that I'm guilty of using Photoshop to remove the smirk on her face :/

I’m moderately happy with the end result which is definitely an upgrade from how I felt when I first saw the preview in the back of the camera (i.e bleh!)

And like Ansel Adams said, the negative is merely the score, the print is the performance.