New York photographs by Damien Lovegrove - Shoot 1 | Creative and business resources for photographers

New York Urban Portraits 1 ~ Pictures & Techniques

August 5th, 2009

Here are a selection of the pictures from Day 1 of my Urban Portrait workshops in New York.

Lit with just the ambient light at the scene.

Taken on my Canon 5D mk2 and lit with just ambient light. I love this kind of dramatic pose when shooting actors, models or dancers.

The first frames of this set were all taken with the ambient light that prevailed at the scene. It is important for me to teach how to find good light on overcast days like this one without resorting to using flash. I shot this hand held at high ISO. I would normally have used a monopod and kept the ISO down to 200, but the new 5Dmk2 is great in low light when it needs to be.

Here Alex is lit by a downlighter. In a matter of months this scene will have gone and a new building will bear down upon this scene.

Here Alex is lit by a single down lighter. It has just stopped raining and the skies are still heavy and dark.

In a matter of months this scene above will have gone and a new high rise building will bear down upon it. The timber paneling that can be seen in the shots is separating a building site from this set of access stairs. I love the ever changing nature of areas like this.

A little area by the Standard Hotel is the location for this low key shot. I sought out the light and then placed Alex into it. I then set a sunny day white balance to create a cool look and exposed about 1 stop below what the camera would have chosen if I had let it.

You can see where we were shooting by following this link The area has been cleaned up a lot since the street view camera shots were taken. Within a couple of years this ‘texture’ will be lost forever. The top fashion designers are snapping up old industrial units and the likes of Stella Mcartney are already well established.

New stainless steel fire doors or lift doors make great backgrounds. I took this frame with the camera held above my head.

Here I added a single zoomed in flash unit from the right.

Next it was time to capture the grunge. A single flash unit zoome as above but shot at f16 instead of f8

Next it was time to capture the grunge. A single flash unit zoomed to 105mm as above but shot at f16 instead of f8 with the camera in Manual exposure mode. 1/200th second at ISO 200.

Here we all were. There is a Nikon SB-900 and a Canon 580EX11 rigged on the lighting stand.

And this is what we were shooting.

I then switched the position of the flash for this shot taken at the same spot.

It then ecided to rain quite hard and we had to take shelter.

It then decided to rain quite hard and we had to take shelter. There was a random spotlight under this flight of stairs so I decided to use it.

I then took the opportunity to introduce the group to my 2 point lighting method using TTL flash. You can just make out the effect on the ground of the spotlight that's now hidden behind Alex's legs.

The rain soon became torrential and we found ourselves in the middle of a thunder storm.

I bravely showed how to waterproof Speedlights rigged on Lovegrove flash brackets by placing clear plastic bags over them and rigged a key and kick set up.

In order to keep the pace moving whilst under cover I introduced colour.

These shots have the Honl Speed Strap attached to my key Speedlight and a full orange filter fitted. The camera white balance was set to tungsten and the backlight and residual daylight went blue.

It's posable to shoot beauty close ups with this kind of simple Speedlight set up too. You would not beleive just how hostile the weather was at this point.

It's possible to shoot beauty too with this 2 gelled up Speedlight rig. You would not believe just how hostile the weather was at this point. We were well in out of the rain for this shot and the rain you see is blowing in on the wind.

Twin kick light flash set up without gels. I set a 'K' value of 4000 for this frame. This gave it it's cool look.

The storm soon passed and it was time to go up onto the High Line. This single Speedlight shot shows the Standard Hotel set against the thunderous clouds.

The storm soon passed and it was time to go up onto the High Line. This single Speedlight shot shows Alex and the Standard Hotel set against the thunderous clouds.

The day wasn’t without it’s events and hiccups. Shooting on the street can bring out the best or the worst in the people you meet on the way.

One of my favourite shooting styles of the moment involves on camera flash and shiny surfaces.

Here is the same location shot with just one Speedlight again only this time it's on a stand and not on the camera. Both shots were taken at f/16

This shot used both my Speedlights in a symmetrical rig.

A simple flash on camera shot. I used plus 2 stops of flash exposure compensation and a bit of zoom to complete the look.

Here is yet another flash on camera shot. I love it when black bricks turn white like this. I zoomed the flash to 105mm and shot using a 24mm lens setting on my full frame camera.

So there you have it. A small selection of pictures from day one in New York. We finished the day in a bar in Greenwich with a well earned beer. Please feel free to comment below.

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7 Comments Add your own

1. Clive Litchfield | August 5th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

Absolutely fabulous Damien, in fact, they’re smokin.
Love them all, composition, colour, lighting…. fantastic. More inspiration and a generous helping of insight.
Thanks.
Clive
2. Paul Hurst | August 6th, 2009 at 9:58 am

Fantastic photos again. It would be interesting to read some of your experiences of shooting in New York – regulations and people etc.
3. Simon | August 6th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

Great shots….but would expect nothing less…..I love the ones in the rain !!! I would have given up and gone for a coffee until the rain clears…..but i guess thats why I am here looking at your photos and not you looking at my photos……

Simon
4. terrence bibb | August 6th, 2009 at 7:21 pm

Damien, thanks for a wonderful shooting experience. The ability to see the techniques live and to apply them to real world photographic situations was priceless. I would recommend this workshop to anyone on any level to participate. Your relaxed style and knowledge base is invaluable.

Terrence
5. Nick | August 8th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

Love those rain shots with the gels! Should be easy to try that in the UK lol
6. damien | August 9th, 2009 at 6:46 pm

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Get out there and shoot, have fun and really explore what your current kit can do for you. This is not complicated stuff, just carefull application of the basics.

The Meatpacking district of NY is changing so fast that in a few years time it will be sanitised and too clean for shots like these.

Get out there now and make the most of what there is right now with the kit you’ve got in the town you live in. Don’t wait for clients, do the shots for yourself with Model Mayhem models. Once potential clients see what you can do they will want the same too.

Damien.
7. Manny Carabel | August 11th, 2009 at 6:47 pm

Hi Damien,

I cant believe I was a part of this great shoot! I have many of the same images as you and Im proud to say I met you and worked with you. I look forward to meeting you again, and dont worry I will always have my police badge with me! Your friend for life,

Manny Carabel
Red Bank, NJ