Cork Urban Portrait pictures 2
April 8th, 2009
The crispest of spring days greeted us in Cork. A beautiful model, cloudless skyline, blazing sun and a Speedlight on a lighting stand is all you need for a picture like this.We all sipped at our Cappuccinos and took pictures at this fabulous waterside cafe location. Programme exposure, -2 stops compensation, 24mm lens, 1/200th second at f/22 using ISO 200
I noticed the chalk numbers on this piece of wood facing the loading hatch and that was enough for me. I seek out details and incorporate them into my pictures. Less is more for portraits like this. ISO 1250, 1/4th second at f/3.2
Beautiful side light was falling on this rugged wall and that gave me an opportunity to use the shadows as part of the composition. ISO 1000, 1/40th second at f/3.5 using a 145mm focal length.
I like to push thew limits on a street shoot and here we used two Speedlights on stands to create this three dimensional image. The shadows tell the story of the lighting direction and intensity. If you wonder why you might need two Lovegrove flash brackets, this is it. Simple but effective lighting from a couple of Speedlights working in TTL and triggered by an STE2 transmitter. The Nikon shooters were using the SU-800 commander or their pop up flashes. ISO 100, 1/200th second at f/4
I love this picture. It has an element of mystery about it. I find it easy to seek out colour and go mad with it and sometimes all that is needed is a calm monochrome frame of mind.
This near mono picture is a favourite of mine. Aperture Priority, ISO 200, 1/60th at f/4 with plus 1 stop of exposure compensation.
Another frame against the red doors. This time I used on camera flash to add the punch. ISO 400, 1/200th second at f/11
I used a zoomed in on camera flash for this frame too. Getting the mix of natural light and flash is the key to the success of this style of shot. ISO 100, 1/200th second at f/18
This is one of the fun frames we ended the day with.
Please feel free to comment on these shots using the comment box below. If you want to be on a shooting Urban portraits workshop with me take a look here.
5 Comments Add your own
1. Stuart | April 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Some great shots and terrific backdrops there, nice to see loads of variation on the shots posted as well. Thanks.
2. David Tillyer | April 9th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
These are great Damien. I have an Urban Portrait shoot planned for the Morning tomorrow and I shall definately be taking note of some the techniques used here.
I especially like the B&W shot with her back to the camera.
3. damien | April 26th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Hi guys, Thanks for your comments. I hope your shoot went well David.
4. Chris Copley | June 5th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Hi Damien,
During the two Cork Urban work shops that I was on you mentioned a lighting technique suitable for “tunnel” locations. We were unfortunately unable to find a suitable location to demonstrate this on the days. Can you please describe the technique with a few sample photos? Thank you for all your help and for providing such a valuable service.
Chris
5. damien | June 9th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Hi Chris,
Tunnel lighting is not a technique as such it is the light you find in a tunnel. This is similar to two soft lights, one at each end of the tunnel. Stand in the middle of a short tunnel and you will see what I mean.
Cheers,
Damien.
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