The third image in the Lucy & the Lyra series. This one is much more acrobatic than the last 2.
This is a shot of the third costume that Lucy posed in. We don't have very specific information on this one except it's from USA and was manufactured somewhere between 1950 and 1970.
Model: Lucy Sky Diamond
Assistant: Reese Truscott
Location: Circ's'cool
© Joffre Street Productions
Lately I have been working on a lot of product photography for different clients. All have been around unique artist work but for commercial reason. On of the clients is James Dodson at Tasmanian Glassblowers. James is one of the last of a breed that creates purely in glass. His work ranges from tumblers to animals and very unique vases. Each item is crafted in his Breadalbane studio and is top quality.
A few weeks ago I spent the day photographing a lot of his work, Above is an action shot of Dry Ginger Ale being poured into one of his tumblers. While the rest of the brief was more about a pure looking shot, I couldn't help myself in creating one action shot.
You will be able to buy James work from My Emporium in the near future.
Big thanks to Matt from Within One Moment for being my assistant for the day.
BTS (Behind the Scenes)
When I get a brief for something a little different than my normal work, I like to practice and really know the ins and outs of the shoot. As glassware is notoriously hard to work with, I spent a night at home practicing.
The trick with working with reflective materials is not to use direct light. Create light sources from refractive light. In the photo to the right I am using one strobe to light the background, the sides are black to give a black edge to the image and the "roof" is white to light the front of the glass.
The reflections are created by perspex, either white or black depending on the look you are going for.
Late night practice
Practice example. Notice the black edges.
Shooting on Location
To make sure that our work on the day was a sharp as possible, I used Capture One software to tether the camera. This gave us the ability to review the images and make adjustments. We also used a remote trigger so we didn't need to handle the camera to reduce shake.
The issue with shooting on location is that dust, dirt and other things can become part of the shot. Unfortunately there isn't a huge amount that can be done about this apart from being a careful as possible but there will always be some work needed in Photoshop to clean up those pesky spots.
Matt placing a glass into the capture zone!
Editing requires lots of coffee!
In June I was asked at the last minute if I could step in and shoot the 3rd year UTAS theatre student plays at the Annex. There where seven 30 minute pieces to be photographed over a week.
The above photo is from the play Objects Written by Howard Barker as directed by Lucy Pullen.
The challenge with shooting theatre stills is how dynamic the lighting can be at any moment. The director works towards the audience and not what a camera needs. Additionally some stages can be bare of all props and backgrounds making the actors and the lighting the only thing that changes. The question is how to keep the images engaging and give a glimpse of a story that is being told.
A Bit of History
Ever since I found a copy of Deluxe Paint on my families Amiga 1000 (this is before Commodore bought them) I loved playing around with digital images. When I got to High School I transitioned to using Adobe Photoshop (version 2 from memory). I did well and had work shown at the yearly state-wide show called ArtRage. Then I followed my passion for sound and left the "playing around" in image software to a distant memory.
So fast forward to current day and my discovery go still photography and the hundreds of hours I already put into learning Photoshop for editing and my passion for playing around with concepts has come back.
SUBMERGE
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Model: Eva Ning Wei
Above is my beautiful friend Eva. This is from June in Perth, Western Australia and playing around in a studio just for laughs.
This photo represents a move in my editing workflow that I am happy with. I am always trying to improve how I retouch and practice constantly to evolve. While this style is not for every job, for my personal work, this is definitely a step in the direction I am happy with.
BTS (Behind the Scenes)
In this image I broke down the steps in a more specific way.
Firstly I moved to different RAW convertor and started using Capture One by Phase One. I am amazed at the quality I can pull out of this software over Adobe Camera RAW.
Secondly I structured my retouch into desecrate sections as you can see on the right.
Working non-destructively in Photoshop and strictly in my new workflow I can move up and down the sections efficiently and fix issues I notice as I work (look at it from bottom to top).
The final result should be full of texture, colour balanced and give a look more of a painting than a straight photo.
Close up of final image. Notice the texture and tones. Click to enlarge.