Wow what another great day, great weather, delegates and a model, what more could I ask for. This course had been postponed twice because of the terrible weather over the past few weeks however this past weekend was scheduled to be great, no rain, snow or tornadoes.
We all met at the Bowood Golf and Country club Brazierie for a coffee before venturing out into the grounds for the initial shoot. I usually start with Sarah in a bridal dress, however the course is designed around what the delegates want and Sarah arrives with a whole wardrobe to change into should she need to.
The initial shot was set up with the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra, small, compact AND lightweight 400 w/s portable flash unit, available as a single and double head pack. The unit comes complete with Quadra Pack, Battery, Q head,2.5M cable, charger and an Elinchrom Skyport trigger (the Quadra comes with the receiver built in).
My first set up was with just one light and the Ranger Quadra 40cm soft-box front right. I took an ambient reading and balanced the flash output to complement the ambient. I also used the small amount of ambient as hair light. If this had not been available I would have set another Quadra rear left to provide one.
I took several shots however the one I preferred was this one taken with my 15mm fish-eye. I just love the light falling on the ferns in the background, which I think adds depth to the image. I have not worked this image as yet but may well consider adding a little computer magic with smoke and flare, however I have done that before so may well try for something different but have no ideas as yet, so if anyone can suggest a treatment then I will consider it and have a go.
Sarah brought with her some props and so we thought we would have a go with the mask, which I think works very well. There was a problem however lighting the eyes properly, in our first shots one eye was not lit properly with a shadow being cast by the mask, and personally I did not like it, so moving the light and using a California Micro Mini Sunbounce to provide fill I was able to get both eyes lit correctly.
After about 2 hours shooting we retired to the Brazierie for lunch and discuss what we had achieved so far.
Our net location was to be in the middle of the market town of Chippenham, using ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL’s (1806 – 1859) viaduct, built in 1841, a nine arch viaduct to carry Brunel's Great Western Railway over the town.
I have used these arches in the past, both day and night and they provide a striking backdrop, particularly at night when they are lit with up-lighters.
Again using just 1 Ranger Quadra, Sarah started climbing, great images but unfortunately made the dress dirty and so was not available for the rest of the day. Not to worry, we moved on to tee shirt tops and dress's, Sarah that is, not us.
The 2 shots here were representative of what was achieved with just 1 light and I have included a set up shot to illustrate the position of the Quadra.
After helping Sarah down - photographers perks - we moved from the railings to another location just under the bridge but those images are for the next post, as well as additional shots at a neolithic location.
These creative lighting courses are limited to 5 delegates, however will run with only 2. I am flexible on dates and therefore you will not find any on my photography workshop site, so if you are interested then please either call or email and I can discuss suitable dates and times etc.
Terry
www.photographyworkshops.co.uk
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