Nice well done
Wally
And I can't take full credit for this next shot. For it, Noelle was behind the camera. However, I did set up the lighting and choose the location--so I'm giong with 40% my shot, 60% hers. ;-)
The background is the "Minister's Treehouse" in Crossville, TN. It's the stuff of legends--it's 100 feet tall, 10,000 sq feet, and features a huge swing, a bathtub on the roof, and a congregation sanctuary. It's freaking amazing. If you're ever passing through middle-Tennessee, make a point to see it. Lighting info on the click through.
Sean
You picked a good spot..I like it.
The title "Sean and the Minister's Treehouse", I thought maybe you had taken up writing children's books....nice title.
Let there be light and it was brought by our resident padre of strobism, nice shot Sean.
Very cool.You should totally do it again next year when the leaves are just starting to change.
Most of the "Christmas time" spent with my family was actually enjoyed before Christmas. Therefore, I was quite bored when Dec 25 rolled around and everything in town was closed (that is, except for Walgreens and the random gas station). As I had a couple of camo items lying around, I thought I'd try a military-style self-portrait. After trying a couple of different things, I ended up settling on a 14" Lumodi beauty dish boomed overhead. As I say on the Flickr caption, the lighting "...seemed to capture and convey the toughness of a soldier and the thread of darkness and regret that comes from having to make tough decisions with lasting consequences."
After posting the photo originally in color, I made a couple of changes in post. Generally speaking, I don't do drastic changes to a photo in post--but the ample free time I've had over the holidays allowed me to play around with the image more than usual. I ended up adding a texture to the background and changing it to black & white with a slight color tint.
Military Test Shot by budrowilson, on Flickr
I'm still not 100% sold on the texture, but I like how it gives the camo a bit of context (by letting it blend into something).
Sean, I really like this shot and the way your lighting amplified the "intensity" in the face. If your interested in going further with this theme/technique, I have a couple of suggestions:
1. IMHO the beanie conveys more of a gangster message than a military one. Try and get your hands on a military ball cap with the same digital camo. I think it would add to the shot considerably.
2. I actually like what you did with the back ground, but if your looking for more blending with the subject, you may try a piece of digital camo netting normally available at your local military surplus or even a piece of realtree camo netting available at your local sporting goods store---both are fairly inexpensive for a 6x6 sample.
Regardless--cool shot.
Bob
I think a military ball cap would make the same style lighting very difficult. The cap bill would shade most of the face. In order to get a decent amount of detail, I could use a low power on-camera fill (I don't have a ring flash, so it would likely be a large softbox behind the camera), but it still wouldn't be the same. However, the soldier would need some sort of headgear if he were bald, because the light would be way too overexposed on his head.Originally Posted by bob williams
I wasn't necessarily wanting the subject to completely blend into the background. What I really wanted was some type of common looking background where the soldier might use the camo effectively. It's not quite the same if you're blending into the same material that your clothes are made out of--it's just cheating (says the guy who faked a background in the image...the irony is not lost on me). :-)
By the way, the background texture in this image is plain ol' asphalt. If only buildings were clad in asphalt, this image would make perfect sense!
Last edited by Sean Setters; 12-26-2011 at 11:51 PM.
I agree, The lighting would really be a challenge with a ball cap, but I was thinking this: Same setup as you have now, but add an additional light about 15 degrees camera left, just below the subjects eye level and at a much lower power level. The intent would be to maintain the structure on the face but light the eyes just under the brim of the ball cap. The eyes should still be shadowed by the brim of the cap but just visible enough to see.
Please keep in mind, when I make a comment regarding strobist technique, I don't have a clue what I am talking about, just thoughts I have if I were presented with similar situations. I also like seeing your responses on why it would or wouldn't work.
As far as the camo background, I see your point with the digital camo, but the realtree or woodland may be just what you are looking for ---both natural prints of wooded areas but the realtree is a little brighter and a little more detailed.
Bob
That's a really good point--you'd simply be simulating an actual wooded area. I wonder how well the digital camo would work there? I always got the impression it worked best against sand and stone/dusty urban areas. I'd kinda liked to see that now...
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