Inspirational Image 
RAW Image - Preliminary Composition 
RAW Image - Final Composition 
Retouched Image - Final Composition
Final Lighting Diagram Lens Focal Length: 24 mm wide angle lens
Ambient light exposure: ISO 100 · f 4 · 1/125 sec
Strobe light exposure: ISO 100 · f 8 · 1/125 sec
Camera settings: ISO 100 · f 7.1 · 1/125 sec
First big lesson of the day: If your ideal ambient light is there, take the shot right now, not after because the ambient light can change dramatically in just a minute!!!!! That's exactly what happened to us. Sunny and windy morning and blue sky just till 9:45am. It seemed perfect for what I was looking for. But after 9:46am there were just clouds and more wind. In short: a windy overcast day. That changed the lighting plan: No kicker sun behind the subject. No blue sky as background, just gray-white clouds and diffused light. An no umbrella to shoot through because the wind broke it.
So, we had to change some things, as follows: 1. We had to use the strobe head aiming directly toward the subject. 2. We decided to use a gold reflector to warm up a little bit the skin tone. 3. As the preliminary composition worked well thanks to the blue sky and the fence in the background, and as we didn't have the same lighting coming from behind the subject, we decided to re-compose the frame. So we moved everything toward the bridge, in order to use a dark background that helped us to pop up the subject in the overall composition (as it happens in the inspirational image). This last thing had been planned previously after the test session.
Finally, and after asking Val about it, I decided to "fake" the blue sky and the sun flare in a soft way in order to approach the final image to the original mood of the inspirational image. The result... not that bad, not that fake at the end. Isn't it?
In conclusion, what I think is that despite the fact that I really missed the fences from the preliminary image, the new composition -with the bridge as a dark background for the subject- helps a lot and gives the image more drama because of the high contrast between the lit subject and the dark background. However, the flat grass in the final composition kills the richness in texture that I had in the preliminary and test images. But, the overall final image works anyway.
Final thing: At any rate, a great and very useful location photo experience!!!!
M,
ReplyDeleteYour written observations throughout this assignment have been spot on. Great lesson on taking advantage of available light while you can. In spite of the problems you had on shooting day the final image is quite successful. The image is starting to look like a composite not because of the fake sky but because of the difference in contrast between your subject and the bridge. I understand your decision to use the bridge and not the fence but I feel the fence really set the tone from the inspirational image. The fence gave a rough urban feel. You put a lot of thought into this assignment and that is reflected in the grade. If you continue to work this way it will be what sets you apart from other photographers when you get into the very competitive real world. Well done.
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