Jeff's (almost) daily posts
- Thread starter jeffchen
- Start date
Random thoughts
we all know about the many rules of photography.
the rule of thirds, elbow or knees cannot point at camera, dont crop off the head.
dont shoot back light. must be sharp..etc
i feel these rules are good as a guideline, but more often than not, i often felt that its more of a limitation during my walk in this photography journey.
i personally feel, that the quest for a technically perfect picture is a very short one, or at least a finite one, techniques are dead and limited, merely tools to help you express your inner voice/vision.
i always felt that my greatest gratification came from, being able to express my vision on print, as close to as possible to the vision i have in my head.
a photograph can be a representation of so many things, it can be a representation of a physical object, it can be used to capture memories, faces, people, moments
it can also be used to express your moods- your ideas.
but as far as personal photography is concerned, i feel expressing your mood, and how you feel about a certain subject is the purpose, No?
i always tell my student, that before they approach a project, they should have a strong mood in their hearts, a vision they want to show.
and of course definitely they techniques they learn will help them acheive that goal.
techniques and rules are tools to help u reach your goals, its up to us to use it and interweave it as to our discretion.
i feel our goal as photographers, is to narrow the gap of what we see in our minds, and what actually is printed out.. with practice and constant education, this gap will narrow down.
Good afternoon.
we all know about the many rules of photography.
the rule of thirds, elbow or knees cannot point at camera, dont crop off the head.
dont shoot back light. must be sharp..etc
i feel these rules are good as a guideline, but more often than not, i often felt that its more of a limitation during my walk in this photography journey.
i personally feel, that the quest for a technically perfect picture is a very short one, or at least a finite one, techniques are dead and limited, merely tools to help you express your inner voice/vision.
i always felt that my greatest gratification came from, being able to express my vision on print, as close to as possible to the vision i have in my head.
a photograph can be a representation of so many things, it can be a representation of a physical object, it can be used to capture memories, faces, people, moments
it can also be used to express your moods- your ideas.
but as far as personal photography is concerned, i feel expressing your mood, and how you feel about a certain subject is the purpose, No?
i always tell my student, that before they approach a project, they should have a strong mood in their hearts, a vision they want to show.
and of course definitely they techniques they learn will help them acheive that goal.
techniques and rules are tools to help u reach your goals, its up to us to use it and interweave it as to our discretion.
i feel our goal as photographers, is to narrow the gap of what we see in our minds, and what actually is printed out.. with practice and constant education, this gap will narrow down.
Good afternoon.
one of the most common thing i see newbies not doing , is talking and communicating with the models.
we still can get away with not talking too much with a model during an outdoor shoot.
because there are things happening and props all over , it puts the model in a context and she can just interact with the things around her.
but put that same model in a all white studio...PROBLEM!!!
she is in a very unnatural enviroment, if that model is very pro and knows how to pose and express her face, you are safe and might end up with good pictures.
but non the less, as a photographer, we should try to talk to our models, and try to get them into a mood, and get them into YOUR MOOD!!
say u want to shoot her at a beach, and u want her to be a happy smily model, then u gotta talk to her as such and pump up the energy! beside , i really enjoy talking to beautiful women!
these are some of the things i do.
. i take a look at visual references , be it from magazines or the net, i look at the poses i like and i remember it, these can be like your "go-to" poses if u or your model is at a loss of how to pose.
. before a shoot, most probably during her make up, i'd talk to the model and build some rapport, have some fun , joke around get her comfy with u.
then sometimes i'd like to explain to her the mood of the shoot i am doing, and ask her to think about it.
and sometimes u encounter that, after a while the models, eyes or expression becomes stale and stiff...HOW??
one trick i like to do is ask her to close her eyes, think of the mood, and i will count 1,2 OPEN! then i shoot, chances are, i get good eye contact.
and most importantly, when possible, play music!! it sure makes the whole place less stifling!
till next time!!
Jeff Chen
www.jeffchen.asia
we still can get away with not talking too much with a model during an outdoor shoot.
because there are things happening and props all over , it puts the model in a context and she can just interact with the things around her.
but put that same model in a all white studio...PROBLEM!!!
she is in a very unnatural enviroment, if that model is very pro and knows how to pose and express her face, you are safe and might end up with good pictures.
but non the less, as a photographer, we should try to talk to our models, and try to get them into a mood, and get them into YOUR MOOD!!
say u want to shoot her at a beach, and u want her to be a happy smily model, then u gotta talk to her as such and pump up the energy! beside , i really enjoy talking to beautiful women!
these are some of the things i do.
. i take a look at visual references , be it from magazines or the net, i look at the poses i like and i remember it, these can be like your "go-to" poses if u or your model is at a loss of how to pose.
. before a shoot, most probably during her make up, i'd talk to the model and build some rapport, have some fun , joke around get her comfy with u.
then sometimes i'd like to explain to her the mood of the shoot i am doing, and ask her to think about it.
and sometimes u encounter that, after a while the models, eyes or expression becomes stale and stiff...HOW??
one trick i like to do is ask her to close her eyes, think of the mood, and i will count 1,2 OPEN! then i shoot, chances are, i get good eye contact.
and most importantly, when possible, play music!! it sure makes the whole place less stifling!
till next time!!
Jeff Chen
www.jeffchen.asia
Hey clubsnappers!
its been a while since i updated this thread, its been a crazy month for me shooting.
I just wrapped up a really nice watch shoot today, and i am quite pleasantly surprised with the results.
so here i will be sharing with you this setup and what i was looking out for .
The above picture is a rough edit of one of the pages of the watch spread.
YES its a rough edit.
3 things i want you to notice
first is the black water at the back ground, and especially the highlights of the water .
2. its the watch face
3. its the top of the watch.
how is the water black very simple... i had an acryllic tank for the water and i spray painted the underneath black.
now are the pictures of the setup.
i will start listing the lights from the left side and going clockwise.
first the horizontal strip soft box. this light is to basically to light up the rocks from the side
to give the rocks some side on definition.
2. the top light right on top of the frame and shining through the diffusing panel i set up on top of the set, this diffusion panel is to create a diffused gradiated lighting for the watch.
this gives the top edge of the watch some shine and glister.
3. the standard reflector light pointing at the wall,
The highlights u see on the water is essentially the reflection of the wall right behind the set.
i illuminated the wall so that the water will catch the light and create ripples!
here is an alternate angle
You guys see the big black thing right at the left of the picture?
thats a soft box, i found out that the lower strap of the watch wasnt catching any light , thus leaving a black hole on the chrome surface, hence i was using it to create highlight.
my camera setup : hasselblad with 120mm macro lens. 125th sec f16
HIT me with questions if you guys are curious!!
hope this help
Sincerely,
Jeff Chen
its been a while since i updated this thread, its been a crazy month for me shooting.
I just wrapped up a really nice watch shoot today, and i am quite pleasantly surprised with the results.
so here i will be sharing with you this setup and what i was looking out for .
The above picture is a rough edit of one of the pages of the watch spread.
YES its a rough edit.
3 things i want you to notice
first is the black water at the back ground, and especially the highlights of the water .
2. its the watch face
3. its the top of the watch.
how is the water black very simple... i had an acryllic tank for the water and i spray painted the underneath black.
now are the pictures of the setup.
i will start listing the lights from the left side and going clockwise.
first the horizontal strip soft box. this light is to basically to light up the rocks from the side
to give the rocks some side on definition.
2. the top light right on top of the frame and shining through the diffusing panel i set up on top of the set, this diffusion panel is to create a diffused gradiated lighting for the watch.
this gives the top edge of the watch some shine and glister.
3. the standard reflector light pointing at the wall,
The highlights u see on the water is essentially the reflection of the wall right behind the set.
i illuminated the wall so that the water will catch the light and create ripples!
here is an alternate angle
You guys see the big black thing right at the left of the picture?
thats a soft box, i found out that the lower strap of the watch wasnt catching any light , thus leaving a black hole on the chrome surface, hence i was using it to create highlight.
my camera setup : hasselblad with 120mm macro lens. 125th sec f16
HIT me with questions if you guys are curious!!
hope this help
Sincerely,
Jeff Chen
Similar threads
