Sean's Recent Shoot: Panos Galore

[Sean Setters]

EDIT: Go to the last page for the most recent shoot information.


I've photographed Sue before, but I wanted to give it another go at it. This time we met at her family's farm. The farm was located on a hilltop which provided something rare in my area--sweeping views for nearly 360 degrees. You see, in TN, you're usually closed in by tall vegetation or large hills/small mountains nearby. This location was perfect for grabbing shots with good views of the sky in nearly any direction. Unfortunately, its greatest strength also created a huge challenge--wind. There was nothing around to block the constant high winds at the location. In fact, one of my lightstands (fitted with a 60" Softlighter, affectionately called a "wind sail" in this instance) blew over while we were setting up even though it was weighted down with more than 30lbs of equipment.


When it was all said and done, we got some pretty good shots. I wish the wind hadn't been so bad so that we could have utilized the sweeping view of the location a bit more. Regardless, it was a good day. I got about 15 selects out of the session (shots that I really liked). It was difficult to narrow the selection down to just a few to post to Flickr. In the end, these are the shots I chose. Click on the pics to see individual descriptions, EXIF, or larger sizes.


These were posted to Flickr:





















These were other shots that I liked, but ultimately decided not to post (Note: Picasaweb is experiencing a bug where the picture disappears if you click on the link. They are working on a solution to the problem):


2nd EDIT: I removed the picasaweb hosted album, so the images I was referring to will not display (obviously).

[clemmb]

Nice job Sean. Usually when I am dealing with wind, which is most of the time, to put the subject in the best orientation fort he wind is the worst orientation for the sun. My subjects usually squint in the bright sun during a photo shoot like this.


I looked though your whole photostream on flicker this morning. I like looking through others galleries. I get a lot of good ideas that way.


Mark

[Sean Setters]

Nice job Sean. Usually when I am dealing with wind, which is most of the time, to put the subject in the best orientation fort he wind is the worst orientation for the sun. My subjects usually squint in the bright sun during a photo shoot like this.

You're quite right about that. In fact, for the best polarization effect, I should have been pointed in another direction. However, this view provided the best background/polarization compromise. After my lightstand blew over, I put two more sandbags on it and had an assistant holding the umbrella (it kept wanting to turn at the mono's pivot point where it connects to the lightstand no matter how much tension I applied to it). With everything in place, we were finally able to shoot without much interruption.


Note: I added the non-Flickr pics after your original post.

[clemmb]

Always helps to have a beautiful subject.


I like the last one. The pose looks natural.

[Steve U]

Nice work Sean, I like the last one as well and the third and fourth last ones.


It sounds as though you need and have created a good team with your assistant, to get shots like these.


Steve

[Sean Setters]

It sounds as though you need and have created a good team with your assistant, to get shots like these.


Steve

Oddly enough, I didn't have my usual assistant with me (Maher). Instead, Noelle tagged along this time. She was certainly a great help, and I hope she grows to enjoy aiding me and my ridiculous photography obsession....





Note: Looks like picasaweb is still having issues displaying images. Oh well...

[ddt0725]

Very nice set, Sean! I love anything with a country feel to it but my favorites here are #7, #8 & #11.


Seems to me that whenever you are up against a challenge, that is when you really shine! Many would have packed up and called it a day when the wind started to take over ...instead, you go full force and produce absolutely winning shots!

[bouwy]

As always...your shots are brilliant. Well Done Sean


Wally

[Rocco]

Very nice sean, I love the first one. Something about the wind blowing her hair makes it seem more spontaneous.


Question: What do you mean when you

[Sean Setters]

Question: What do you mean when you're talking about the "polarizing effect"? Talking strictly about mixing your lighting with the ambient sun?
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I was using a circular polarizer on the lens. Several things effect how much of an effect the polarizer has on your image. By turning the polarizer, you can change the amount of polarization that the filter applies to the scene. However, an even more important factor is where your lens is pointing in relation to where the sun is in the sky at any given time. Generally speaking, the greatest polarization effect is possible at about a 90 degree angle to the sun. However, the best backround isn't always found 90 degrees from where the sun is in the sky.