On the dark side....

[PhillipM]

Ewick: I understand your questions. No worries on this end.

Another version, by a good friend of mine in Russia. Ms. Zorka retouch..

 

[manaheim]

^^^^ THAT one... is killer.

BTW, it bothers me a little bit that you let others edit your work. To really be yours it should be your interpretation from beginning to end. It's a neat experiment/idea, though, so I can't totally dislike it.

 

[PhillipM]

Mana... I only let others retouch "different" work outside the norm, that I do. My normal babies, h.s. seniors, families, catalog work that I shoot. I edit those. I'm a photographer. Not a PS guru.

 

[thetrue]

That zorka version is crazy! Nice work sir!

 

[manaheim]

Mana... I only let others retouch "different" work outside the norm, that I do. My normal babies, h.s. seniors, families, catalog work that I shoot. I edit those. I'm a photographer. Not a PS guru.

Yeah, but... like... I mean... ugh. Nevermind.

 

[Overread]

Congratualtions your photo has been nominated for photo of the month http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...ember-2012-photo-month-nomination-thread.html

 

[PhillipM]

Oh...

Thank you for letting me know. Fairly new to the forum, and haven't had time to view all the aspects of it.

 

[pgriz]

PhillipM, in the short time you've been on this forum, you've shown us some wonderful imagery. I'll say the obvious: you have very good control over the light, and your staging/posing is very effective. Would you be open to sharing with us more of your technique? My personal weak area is shooting people, and I would love to have even a fraction of the skills you show in your work.

 

[PhillipM]

Thank you Pgriz... I appreciate it.

I love lighting. No really. It's something I look at all day long whether in the studio, or walking into a store, down a city block. I'm always looking at things and how their lite differently. Lighting for people is really quite simple. What I think most folks don't have, and this is merely my opinion is "vision" for a shot. I very seldom comment on images, because it's all quite subjective. If I don't like an image, that doesn't mean the shot was a failure. It just didn't tweak me .... The photographer that shot it, surely had some notion of what he/she was trying to do, which I don't have a clue about.

I think if you can see the shot in your head, prior to moving any gear, picking up a camera, or what ever, then the lighting is just secondary to that vision of the shot. I've given workshop's in the past, and I would always preference, the session saying, "Light is Light", you have to decide whether you want more, less, or what ever.

If you were to get in your car right now, and decide to take a trip to Yellow Stone, wouldn't you first off figure out where Yellow Stone is? If your flying what airline? If driving, what route? To me shooting people and using lighting, either natural with a reflector or using supplemental with strobes or hot shoe flashes, is just part of the equation.

For the girl in the house, here is what my thought process was.

1st: I went to a thrift store and bought a 3.00 dress, and a doll for 2.00.

2nd: I wanted it to look bad, so I actually threw it in a pond, and left it in there overnight [the dress, not the doll]. I then drug it across some mud near the pond, then hung it out to dry for 3 days.

3rd: I bought the little box she's sitting on for 5.00 at a yard sale, because I didn't have anything that I could see using.

4th: I sent her to a salon for hair styling.

5th: The lighting was to be a small off camera light. Soft, but small. So I used a 550 with a small softbox by Photoflex.

You see. The lighting was at the end of all this. I had this "vision" of something spooky and creepy, and pulled all the pieces together to get to the goal.

I'll always be happy to tell anyone that wants to know what the lighting was in any image. If they have any questions and want to chat, they can PM me, and I'll be more than happy to talk with anyone on the phone as well.

But for me, it's more of the thought process and visualization of the concept or shot, whether it's a spooky kid shot, or a senior in a field... Of course, the retouchers did their thang too, which was just a bonus.

Posing I find very easy. Keep things broke. Arms, legs, hips, heads, etc... I love posing girls. It comes quite easy for me. There are some little things that when it all add's up, makes a big difference in how a shot looks and feels. I often, ask the girls to get out in front of me, and I show them what I want.

There are no secrets to any of this. I'm not building rockets to Mars. It's just photography.

Hope this helps some.

 

[Mully]

I like everything about it...nice job!

 

[pgriz]

Thank you, PhillipM. You've touched upon, I think, the important difference - you have a vision or idea in mind, and then you put it together to make it work. I am more of a snapshooter when it comes to people - I shoot what is there, without much preparation. And that lack of preparation shows, unfortunately. So to me the lesson is that I have to visualize the end result, plan and think through what needs to be done to achieve that look, and then do it. I've got the "do it" part, but obviously need to work on the other two. Thanks for sharing your process and your thoughts - it's been helpful.

 

[JackandSally]

Awesome photos. Love the creepy stuff!

 

[Demers18]

Those are absolutely fantastic! Thanks for sharing