M Champagne PhotographyBloghttp://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012-05-19T09:22:41ZSquarespaceThe Wooden Mazehttp://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/5/19/the-wooden-maze.htmlMarc Champagne2012-05-19T09:17:08Z2012-05-19T09:17:08ZThese images were shot in the Caribbean on Princess Keys Island. The wooden post caught my eye right away however they were located high up on the beach and therefore not the greatest background to work with. Literally just sand…I took the shots anyway and decided I would get creative with the processing once I returned back home.

Given the clean and textured posts where the main focus, I needed to draw the attention away from the boring background. The way I achieved this was by blowing out the highlights in the background so that there really was not anything of interest. I also added a “dreamy” like haze to the photo as this brought back the original feeling of walking through the maze posts when I was there shooting.

The learning for me was to always take the photo even if not all the elements are exactly as you wish. You always have options and you never know, you may surprise yourself with the final product!

Have fun!

Marc

 

 

]]>Sunsets...But Where's the Colour?http://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/4/21/sunsetsbut-wheres-the-colour.htmlMarc Champagne2012-04-22T01:09:14Z2012-04-22T01:09:14ZI would argue that there is more color in these black and white shots then in the original images. How could that be? We’ve all seen beautiful sunsets and sunrises and know how vibrant they can be so by pulling out the color and leaving it to your imagination you most likely are picturing the colors from some of the best sunsets that you’ve ever seen! The other reason I wanted to process in black and white was that I felt there was so much strength coming from the sun flooding it’s power through the clouds.  Using the high contrast black and white processing it was easier to emphasize this point. Or I’m completely off my rocker! Either way it was fun processing the images in a different way.

Have fun!

Marc

 

F16 ~ 24mm ~ ISO 100 ~ 1/200s

F10 ~ 24mm ~ ISO 100 ~ 1/50

F14 ~ 38mm ~ ISO 100 ~ 1/320

]]>Munich in HDRhttp://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/4/12/munich-in-hdr.htmlMarc Champagne2012-04-13T01:31:36Z2012-04-13T01:31:36ZHere are a couple shots from Munich, Germany. Whenever you visit these beautiful places always look for that Church bell tower to hike up for great photo opportunities.

The first shot is three exposures with HDR processing using Photomatix. In the ideal situation you always want to use a tripod for HDR work but many times you’re not in that ideal situation. Especially at the top of a narrow bell tower…So what do you do? Anchor yourself against the wall or often they have the “don’t jump off the ledge fencing” which also serves as great support to rest your lens on.  The HDR software has also really advanced in terms of auto aligning your bracketed images. So what I’m getting at is don’t shy away from HDR just because you don’t always want to lug around a big tripod, there are always workarounds. Have fun and experiment!

Marc

3 exposures (HDR) ~ F9.1 ~ 24 mm ~ ISO 100

F 4.4 ~ 70 mm ~ ISO 100 ~ 1/320s

]]>Fun shots from the boat!http://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/3/15/fun-shots-from-the-boat.htmlMarc Champagne2012-03-15T21:34:56Z2012-03-15T21:34:56ZHello everyone, just back from my first cruise! I knew that the Caribbean islands would give me a ton a great photographic material but what really surprised me were the opportunities on the boat itself. 

Lately, I’ve been working on expanding my portfolio to include more appropriate photos for interior designers. While I was on the boat I was keeping an eye open for interesting items and backdrops that could reflect a more “artistic” look. Besides the first photo in the slide show (which I felt had to be posted given the Caribbean cruise), I was trying to capture this artistic look by using a high contrast black and white processing. The image in itself was fun as it was shot in a piano lounge with a glass wall reflecting all over the place. The last shot is actually a reflection off the piano of the wall.

Enjoy and stay tuned for some HDR shots from this trip!

Marc

]]>Shoot close to home & get creative!http://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/2/20/shoot-close-to-home-get-creative.htmlMarc Champagne2012-02-21T01:42:28Z2012-02-21T01:42:28ZOften 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 Italyhttp://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/1/29/a-second-look-at-italy.htmlMarc Champagne2012-01-29T18:49:15Z2012-01-29T18:49:15Z 

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 studiohttp://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2012/1/15/beauty-portraits-using-one-light-and-no-studio.htmlMarc Champagne2012-01-15T15:07:30Z2012-01-15T15:07:30ZI’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"http://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2011/12/14/art-on-the-walls.htmlMarc Champagne2011-12-15T02:03:20Z2011-12-15T02:03:20ZLast 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 mindhttp://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2011/11/26/street-photography-having-a-goal-in-mind.htmlMarc Champagne2011-11-26T14:05:06Z2011-11-26T14:05:06ZRecently 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



]]>Occupy Wall Street (Montreal)http://www.mchampagne.com/blog/2011/11/6/occupy-wall-street-montreal.htmlMarc Champagne2011-11-06T23:57:23Z2011-11-06T23:57:23ZOccupy Wall Street has arguably been one of the biggest global movements in many years.  Over the last month, Montreal has also been a part of this movement voicing concerns on poverty, anti-corruption and democratic action.

This demonstration happens to be a street away from where I live; therefore I’ve been in the area a few times to capture the emotion and the environment.  These types of events are always interesting to shoot. There are so many different scenes and objects to photograph, so when you have these types of opportunities, just grab your camera, one lens, maybe a flash and fire away! Here are a couple shots from the first couple of days in Montreal.

Marc

 

 

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