Shoot close to home & get creative!

Often we spend a lot of time trying to find that perfect location or the perfect props for your models and clients but sometimes that perfect spot is closer to home than you think or actual at your home! The images used for the “save the date” card below were all shot in the lobby of my condo. I walk past these locations each and every day and never really thought of using the backdrop and lighting for a shoot. It’s not that I didn’t think the exposed brick would be great but more so logistically speaking there really was not a ton of room to capitalize on the surroundings. So I have always dismissed the idea up until a few weeks ago.

I had the perfect clients that wanted the look that this location could provide. I dismissed the fact that I would not be able to get full-length body shots and decided to run with it. We all had to be a little more creative and not let the lack of space ruin our shoot or the look and feel that we were going for. This meant jamming up the elevator doors so I could shoot from inside and give myself that extra 5 feet of distance from my subjects and it also meant we had to think of multiple poses in the same spot. At the end of the day I had amazing clients to work with, we had a ton of fun and achieved the look we were all afer. Can’t wait to shoot the wedding!

So for your next shoot take a good look close to home and be open to creative uses for that space.

Have fun!

Marc

A second look at Italy

I recently went to a photography exhibit where I met a fantastic interior designer and photographer exhibiting his work titled "Bouddhas / Cieux". What I found fascinating about the work was how Jean-Michel paired his images to make them even more powerful and how each combination had a higher meaning than just a photograph. If you're interested in learning more about his work follow the link above to his website.

This experience at the exhibit made me revisit some of my previous work and think about reposting a series from Burano, Italy. These images have always been favorites of mine because of the intense colours but also because of the ambiance of the scene. While I was shooting these beautiful bright houses there wasn’t a sole around.

I really wanted to emphasize this by adding in some contrast with the black and whites. Just posting all the full colour shots is almost colour overkill but by adding the black and white element it calms things down and brings in that ambiance that was present while I was there.

I'm going to continue to work on putting more thought into pairing my upcoming work so stay tuned and as always all comments are welcome!

Marc

Beauty portraits using one light and no studio

I’m a big fan of using natural light as much as possible but at times you just need a little more fill light to produce the end product that you’re looking for. What I want to talk about is that you don’t need $15,000 worth of lighting gear to make it work. You may have to be a little more creative but you can produce great quality images with minimal “aftermarket” lighting gear. Below are a few shots I took over the holidays using minimal gear while maximizing the natural light in the room. Under each photo I provided a brief description of the light set up. 

 Lighting Gear List:

-1 Sigma Speed Light

 -1 Light Stand

-1 White Umbrella

Thanks and enjoy the shots!

Marc

In this shot I had the speed light high up on the light stand pointing straight down on her face. I removed the umbrella from the light stand and had the model hold it by her knees to reflect the light back up on her face. I used a large window as my background. In all of these shots I exposed for the background using my camera settings and set up the speed light to properly expose for the model.

The speed light and umbrella were to the right and I used the curtains to create a different background.

Before I even snapped this photo I knew I wanted to create a more “grungy” shot in post processing so this is why I set up my speed light on camera to get that harsh direct light.

"Art on the walls"

Last weekend I took out my 7D and brought one lens (24-70mm 2.8) with me to shoot some local graffiti. I was amazed at the artistic talent in some of these works of art. As a photographer you might think shooting another piece of art on a wall may not leave you that much creativity of your own but I’d have to argue that point. The shots below have all been processed afterwards to include my own artistic touch, whether it be a high contrast black and white shot, shooting different angles to take advantage of the light hitting the paintings, or cropping the shot in camera to emphasize a certain element, you always have options.

By no means should you be taking credit for the original piece of art but just like shooting architecture there are a thousand different ways to capture that image in order to reflect your style as a photographer. I’ll be definitely going back out to the streets to find more of these awesome paintings.

If any of the original artists of these tags land on this blog please let me know so I can give you the proper credit for your amazing work.

Have fun out there!

Marc

Street Photography - Having a goal in mind

Recently I was listening to a photography podcast where they were talking about street photography and mentioned the importance of having a goal in mind before you head out to the streets. This goal can be very simple, maybe you’re looking to shoot interesting doors, bikes in motion, people, shoes, it’s endless. My goal with the below photos was to just look for colour. It was a gloomy overcast day so I wanted to challenge myself to get out of that atmosphere and look for items/themes that had some colour and punch. In this case, I was drawn to red and in post processing made sure the shots came out bright and with a light finish.

I have to admit, I liked having a goal in mind because in the past I was supporting the opposite approach. I would grab my camera, take my favorite street lens (50mm) and just go out and shoot whatever. Like everything in photography, there’s always multiple approaches and there’s nothing wrong with not having a goal. BUT having always shot in this mindset, I would say that having a goal in mind really forced me to be more creative and I found myself spotting things that I would have usually walked past. 

Have fun out there!

Marc