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Experimenting with Motion

Lesson 11 from: Experimental Portraiture

Jeremy Cowart

Experimenting with Motion

Lesson 11 from: Experimental Portraiture

Jeremy Cowart

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Lesson Info

11. Experimenting with Motion

Lesson Info

Experimenting with Motion

So this next thing I want to do is I know a lot of people out there don't have any lights they don't have strobes or pro photos there ring life and I think so far we've used nothing but strobe so we're gonna set all our gear aside and only use things like a rope light and um christmas lights basically so who did we see her first model is going to be very you ready so uh and they need a good uh you two get in row twelve hour you're not you know twelve some rope john yeah what's up no, you're just going to be standing very still oh, and you know before you do that john let's get me on a tripod not me personally but the camera um don't take a stand on the trip on yelling take that up you know, like in that idea internet the ninety minute portfolio yes, they dio school they're already starting to tweet a german grip gonna be a good time all around remind me not to talk like that again. Yeah, even though I'm from national I'm still not great country and I don't do a country accent very well...

um so come take a step forward actually I'm not even going to do what you're doing I'm going tell you something different I also let's give her the glowing ball of light another extension cord ac I'm gonna have you come really close to camera let's see uh no yeah it's about right actually liking me again scoot just a hair this way all right they're back a little bit I'm talking back this way a little bit that way that way and getting you perfectly centered back a little bit right there don't move so now let's give her the light it's a similar to the image in heat album cover photographed get this slight of lawson digging um so you're just going to be holding that very close up here and let's kill our overhead lights we can but uh I'm sure I'm not hearing you okay, yeah that'd be great that's going to look amazing okay, now basically what you guys were going to do in the background and on I've only done this once before and it will blow your minds what this rope light will do a very cool effect that obviously this is such a specific effect that um you know, if all of a sudden hundreds of people are doing it, you know it's not going to be that unique but hopefully it'll at least give you other ideas to play with lights so I only need one person and what that one person is going to do is to stand right behind her actually hold that uh that one person is going to do watch out let's just do this like that okay so who wants to he wants to torre you'll be hidden hopefully I do like the idea of you wearing a mask that oh and let's well I think keep that low to the ground so I don't see it in frame we only want to see the spinning polite it's my camera once again is having trouble focusing heavily something cannon needs to work on um zu mountains to here and look at the light not a camera john come closer and an ex a little bit a little bit longer and let's see so I'm gonna go to eight I'm gonna goto aya so we'll say uh six forty and I'm going to go to a good one second long exposure and you have to stay dead still once I'll take the picture it's going to go a second long and move the light just a hair this way right there I'm sorry back a little bit right there but you're right there don't move okay john you ready? Let's just give it a shot and I have no idea if that's yes or blue light nothing is working yet but we're going to get there so let's kill the flashlight so the problem is initially my my thought is our our light in the front is way hotter uh than the blue light and so that is a little bit tricky when you're dealing with something like this um can this like this ball turn on and off can is there just like a switch? Yes, and maybe what we do is, um what's up yeah, let's use the remote video can hold it a little higher up to your face and so I'm going to get a much longer exposure I'm going to go to five seconds, so just for that first second let this lot the ball exposed her face get the ball over just to hear right there right there back a little bit right there. Uh, get that and then john, you yet keep going and, uh, ok, let's give it another shot. We'll see what happens. Okay, again, we're experimenting. We're guessing if that's going to work still not getting there told you your minds will be blown. Um, so your circle is our white balance off. Something is off here and see she's still, I think either you moved or I moved or something moved. Um uh uh, yeah, that's perfect. Nice dimmer is amazing. You're starting to see I don't know. It tells monitors look like we're starting to see the blue light that's a good question. Um, I'm not sure it does. So nice that's perfect um, yeah, we'll give it a shot, although the problem is that there isn't is there almost a way for us to set the globe on something is there is a table that could raise a pine up for something that could prop it up to where she's not having tio physically hold it let's go and try you just act like a statue you cannot move even hold your breath and uh we're not when I'm ready what shot one time you ready john okay one two three states still you moved a lot it's a really do you hear just click that's how long we're talking about it's a really long exposure we'll go and take a look at that you know the background looks better ah and I'm gonna zoom in a little bit tighter because you can see we have there but we have too many other elements coming into play here so another thing we could do that I might try it's just tow let's bring that beauty dish or the grid over and let's fire the strobe and this will this will solve our problem uh I still would like to get this light just um do have even like a a few books or something another boxer uh yeah let's trust sandbags way I can use this trip because I told our audience we were not going to use this true so I am going to stay take my word no cheating okay so at least you don't have to hold that still now, right? I'm about to trip over court here yeah how long is your exposure there? Just one second still yeah, we'll give it a shot um christian in my classes and I mean this is the kind of shot that you can try many, many combinations of settings and still get the image so like right now I'm in for if I met four seconds uh f sixteen six forty I so but I mean, you could literally almost get this in the ice so with any settings so I'm going to try his settings which were four hundred s o one second and uh what would you have stopped okay, so we'll try that and, uh what on almost how did I get off here on c scoot this whole over just here you just pull back I'm very particular about things being symmetrical so you'll see me just like a fraction of an inch moved this way better. Yeah, much better can you shine a flashlight on her face for focus perfect normally good to mean you okay, john let's give it a shot let's dim the light, even dumber then see how your faces tilt a little bit to the left. We got to make sure everything is just like yeah, very recent and it would dim the light more okay, um get didn't even a little more yeah that's perfect ready ready john yeah, now the trick is we have the light in the foreground properly exposed we have the light in the background pretty interesting. So so even though I said we're not going to use a strobe I think that you guys can see that what's happening here but the cool thing is if you do use lights we can come in here and give her just a little bit of bly on her face to complete this equation of getting everything even so if we can quickly grab just a grid spot um and I'm gonna have you look in the camera this time in fact let's go and do that for you no it's ok or you know what? Where is ah my iphone let me set my iphone so I'm gonna you can tell I'm a little bit eighty d I'm going to go back to using um go and have the strips on standby but I'm going to try this that will be t bryant so you had the colored flashlight was that you? John? We're going try. We're going fire I found like to see what that looks like or we could try you know, since we're experimenting uh can somebody get that black light we just bought and plug it in our quick let's go on trial this to my phone to see what happens ready john while our audience is waiting you'll get a shot of john back there in his black mask. He is truly way so I'm using my iphone toe like her face now you already see if that helped. Wow, I did very cool let's. See that one time I'm digging that I have no idea what it looks like on your screens, but that certainly helped. It was tried again. Pretty sweet, big, big fan of this. Okay, this is making me happy. All right, this is when I start showing clients what we're getting and phil, get them excited about something. So one more time, guys, here we go. Yeah, let's and we'll bring another model and in chart with somebody else. Thank you. Good job. That one was a little bit too much, but this one is pretty cool. Let me play with my white balance here for a minute. Whoa. I mean, obviously, I would keep I can get really, really ah, peculiar about my symmetry things they're still not perfectly lined up here, but obviously you guys can can get the idea of what we're trying to achieve played eleven. Yang kind of interesting, but overall, like it right in the middle aisle could also could might make a nice black and white image um why is that still a green? What else over my level still that's why it's so off I knew something was ok there's a black and white ok I knew something was off way we go now everybody at home can see the actual color on camera sitting crop and a little bit on her head let's get it senate up here yes I'm digging that um very cool my iphone stood again I'm any model that's fun um I want the hands on the thing that's so put your hands around the globe yeah I like you not actually touching it just kind of like um exactly you can even rest your arms so that you have the trick is you have to stay it's still a ce possible so maybe rest reforms on the same bags still with your hands around it like just kind of like this perfect that that's exactly right um and stay still see, your hearings will stop moving and let's try this again see what you look like with this fancy right? John you ready? Okay onto three what's gonna get my flashlight going ok, I wouldn't keep it you know look up at the look up at the ceiling with your eyes like right now go ahead and tilt your chin up even more like looking almost straight up it's going to go already want to stay still one to three so essentially nice to my phone is ringing uh turn that ringer off carrot so, yes, I'm digging that, but what's that yeah, we did add a didn't really reposition for you, john. Make sure the core of that is right behind her head where we could move you. That was partly my fault because I didn't reframe. Um, actually, can we do we have another something for her to stand on? This is fun while we're waiting for that, jeremy, a question for you. Let us now, how much? Give your lighting gear for this shoot is costing you because it's, you know, thousands of dollars of gear, right? Uh, which is thinker letting ball is twenty bucks. Um, john, how much is the rope? Like roe? Plate was twenty one dollars, and we're using my iphone for her face light, but that could literally just be a two dollars flashlight. So about fifty dollars in gear to achieve what we're what we're currently doing people online on the internet love it's. Amazing, cool, very cool. I'm still very mad at myself because I can't seem to get things perfectly centered. Um, where sometimes this could be tricky, especially in the in the dark. So you your face and nose in the middle, the ball middle my camera in the middle of john all need to be perfectly symmetrical see if we could be that but I like you still looking right up at the corner of that ceiling chin up even showing up more hungrily exaggerated uh I think we're still oftheir scoot just a fraction of your body to this way right they're too far back a little bit uh let me rhea thank you focus okay um yes I am ready on me grabbed my remote troublesome or tom stay very still one to three yeah yeah just a little off do do do the base may be lower if you can yeah that's cool um I love being able to say that we let this with an iphone to get time d such rate a little bit let's dim that light that are our crystal ball just a little bit more and I wonder um I'm going tio uh experiment and play one of my kids um games that has multiple colors in other words I'm opening in a rain of my phone app that my kids play with and just seeing what colors that will give us um so we will be able to say that months or trucks lit this let this photo all right ready on tio return my screen brightness awful yet um okay oh have to use you know this I'm actually glad this hasn't happened yet because this did happen last time yeah then that is tricky isn't it yes good boy wants to go so if sometimes these rip lights when they get beat up like we've been doing they go out but it's a twenty dollars uh lighting tool so I can't really complain about that one of the most meaningful things alex amazing becker we're definitely going to try that in a minute one of the most meaningful things anybody ever told me when I first started shooting is that a cz long as you have even a sliver of a light you can get a good photo um so that's literally all you need is a camera and the tiniest bit of light because even with that tiny still sliver of light you can use the tribe odd do a thirty second exposure and you can make something happen um and that's the kind of thing we're playing with right now you ready you're cracking me up in the mask I love it ok so I'm gonna get monster trucks to light this photo um you see the nyssa brown and yellow tones and maybe nice thank you monster trucks too all right here we got um look up again like you're doing before it's a much more subtle oh you moved was still nice oh that's really nice that white is beautiful um give me really extended like looking straight up like chin back like I'm talking like this yeah, they go um you had that flashing color flashlight yesterday. That was you guys. Can you get a shot of john right now? Police let's show our audience how awesome he is right now and doesn't have that strobe be effect. Strew trippy it's. Literally a setting. It wasn't just saying so. This might be terrible, but we're experimenting. Here we go. Ready? Stay very still. It'll probably just come out white. We need it right. A bigger as don't it's, probably in the king in the frame so I could play with this for hours. But I think people are getting what? What we're trying to do one more time, actually, let's bring back and with her crazy crazy here. Yeah, actually, beckett. Just give me a water stance. So you're shorter. Yes, super troll. You'll see the lights in her hair. How fun is that? Um, let's. See, where's my flashlight. I think I was having a gauge on african eases some again. So exact same thing. You're gonna be looking straight up at the ceiling and then I'm gonna turn my iphone flashlight on and stay very, very still and give me more of elbows out. Like, straight up almost like this, like you're holding a basketball? Yeah. Um, and then let me line you up, make sure everything is pretty good on the zoom out. Just a hair. Can you get even a little bit shorter and looked right at camera? Let me see. I was right in camera. That's frustrating. I mean, you know what? Can you take two steps back and can you got screwed? The whole thing back really, really quick. Basically, my set doesn't extend. What? Enough? And so I'm scooting her closer to the set to fix my problem even a little more all the way to the edge of that thing on john. You're gonna be really tight back there, but I think we'll be fun. Okay, one more time. This is when I become a perfectionist. And when I get a really cool photo that I think it's possible, I want to knit, you know, kind of one of neil it so, uh, yeah, it's much, but I've got more room to work with on the set. Try just to glimpse it like a quick pop of that flashlight wants to do this because I like that side light on her, anybody know, look right, a camera. Okay, here we go one tio oh, sorry john go ok one two three just kidding wasn't networking uh flash go and flashers on face again with that lang I forgot to turn my auto focus off okay all right turn it off and then once I click just a really quick flash one two three let's see what we got and, um that it's crazy I love it crop in just a little bit sweet my contrast maybe a little bit which playing is when it's fun to play with your white balance all that um john come closer come closer you can so that spread is wide as possible they could give me um you kind of blank face there give me even a little more like uh I don't determination very, very focused and keep those hands also keep your fingers more rep from around the back so I see more of each finger yeah that's cool um someone more pop of like do a higher also yeah, they got ready. I'm good on focus so want to go ahead john campbell even closer john one two three so we just dropped the budget about two hundred dollars because we didn't use my phone uh it's amazing I love it I absolutely love this image very, very cool and so our budget is now down to about yeah forty one u one dollars oh we didn't go crazy with that didn't we? Um very very fun big fan uh how we doing on time? One thirty what time did we what's our next scheduled guests we said we have no have thirty more minutes okay, cool. Um let me I'm gonna go prop this image and just kind of finalize where I think um any questions from the internet one doing this well internet says fifty bucks for a money making shot amazing what's up the internet says actually david says fifty bucks for a money making shot amazing cool people are just loving this one question came up are you worried that the other half of her face is arlette or is that okay? Jeremy I personally kind of like it I mean, I'm I thiss actually I'm going to do one more thing um you screwed around this time I want that light to cheat across just a little bit of her uh face it's coming across the cheek further this way yeah, about right there actually were about right where you're standing and then sure we might uh we might throw some feel like in there. So who else has christian cj excuse me? We have standing and like the other set of face uh really quick just a tiny kiss the flight on there and then the other thing I'm going to do is what was I going to dio um oh I got uh somebody grab a laser police you're sorry I just all of a sudden felt like macgyver I came to the paper clip your pizza gum um let's just keep going on this let's just keep playing until I uh with that black light ready let's see how far we can push this image all right let's get uh what's that yes um who wants to light with the laser pen and any of you okay so what you get put your arms up again stay very still no actually you're gonna you're gonna be her rim like so you're going to be coming back here and amy I was catching this right here actually more for arms see if you can how later arm and just really quick pop and then the laser pen um let's see something just maybe right across the middle of that ball that makes sense yeah that's right uh maybe just one because it's so bright you know just cut right through the middle um like like sweet look at this thing I could tell a really funny black story black black story black light story right now but who that is beautiful um see family could hold that up just see the ball glowing like that that purple light that might be all we need to do that yeah, just hold right here let's look at the purple that the ball is picking up this is what we're calling an experimental portrait your friends uh way to fund okay so I'm gonna count to three you're going to do your room like you're going to do your laser pen we get the black light magically making this ball turn note it's good I think everything is still centered ish uh huh yeah refocus okay all right john you ready okay uh one two three thank the look I think you really might have worked well see wow that's really cool you have a black light is breezy uh now let's see what creative ways we could do to like her arms the black light is good laser pen it's so quick that it won't pick it probably won't pick up all that some may be what you do see it yeah yeah no that that'll work no that's I mean what I was thinking I'm something of a different color than a been another flashlight um yeah that's a good idea sitting in jail on a flush like in somebody grab any color jail literally umm look at the light on her hands I love so actually before do that cj do your thing a little longer and do we have one more small flashlight like that we're creating a room light on our arms um yeah that laser printer has a little flushed down a perfect that's cool today seattle you'll see ordinary woman herb pointing the flashlight through blue jail. Um I think our budget is now up to about one hundred bucks. Maybe we're using a fifty dollar laser printer pointer. We are fancy, so if you can't do it, you haven't anything to dio? Uh, so go from the same angle cj's. And you're going to like her, actually, but put both of those lights, delays at the red laser and the white light on just lighter arms shall not to get her face too much and then with the earth, see if you can make a stripe across her neck, too. Perfect strike across her neck. And this year, I have it ready to go. Yeah, yeah, nice and slow like that. So when I count to three, I would say one, two, three click and that's when you go so you will be starting on four. All right, so here we go. One. Yeah, go ahead, john. One, two, three, four. Let's. See what happened, becker, this shot is a mailing that's. So cool. Um, has got a lot of fans in the chat room. She does again. Yeah, I like the way to her arms or now let on. I like that kiss of red laser on her neck that's pretty cool. C j give me less on her face and more on her arms and hands on years. Um, let's, try it again. Okay, one c three. Perfect. See, that worked so well. So you are less on her face at times. That, right? Yeah. Let's. Try it again. You're more on her here. That's. What happened? Yes, it's even get it right on her face and this time, just go crazy at the lizard, man. I kind of liked it. Uh, what's that. Yeah, but I want it. I want a little less of that on her face. More on her. Yeah, right there. Okay, one tio, I'm sorry. One to three. Something interesting happened, it's still kind of cool. Oh, yeah. That rope lights probably maybe fading. I don't know. I still dig it, though. They were blinking because they're probably dying. So let's. Go and do this couple more times and, well, wrap this up. Hopefully the friends in the audience or getting the point. You do not have tohave expensive gear to make get photos. That is our lesson right now. Okay, one t sorry. Oh, yeah, I see they are. Well, we're going track going one, tio three. I kind of like it going in and out. Actually, that still works very, very cool. Um, malfunctioning gear is actually helping us. I think that's really cool. Um, good times good times with laser pens and black lights. Um, not sure which I think this one might be. I don't know what you know, we could have fun to you. Okay, I'll do a quick experimentation and photoshopped, um, kind of what I think. Well, don't I mean, you can kill that light. Let me do a quick experimentation post, um, this images to fund. So what I'm going to do real quick is, um I'm gonna just play with my white balance is like, crazy push things. She is a place to output these images way onscreen character. She stayed to, um, to one hundred fifty resolution, but I actually don't like that white balance get more blue going to go in a process that one, um go ahead and good. Crazy with this on a make it green just for fun um I'm going to process that and then I'm one tio make that read don't get much darker process that and then I'm going tio take this one uh make it much darker that's cool um and then I'm mike with the son of my jack with the vignette ing mr fun this is the shots very image in heat on process out so um it's one of my shots from yesterday to just open all four of these images up that's the beautiful thing about using a tripod is that once you have everything locked in you can uh you can play like this what's that so again we're just we're just playing here I don't want I don't like this picture her face um I'm going to take it up but the rest of it's a little too you know we're going to do um feel my layer mess with white I'm going to create a great it and a circled radiant of here I'm just mask out there's a great aunt and kill the middle of this image and let's watch what happens it's pretty interesting I'm gonna keep adding to that um just remotely lined up same thing circle grading kill that whips didn't mean to do that so yeah and then you start to get really interesting here that's what we like to call a good time right there friends um so yeah you can obviously keep playing but that's ah that's pretty fun um sweet thank you yeah let's let's let's keep I'll say this so we couldn't have it later we'll call this awesome sauce psd wait I'm naming my I have to show how awesome sauce I'm an expert with foul naming so don't be intimidated uh all right, so let's turn back on our lights for a few minutes? Um, yeah, so actually I had a glowing hula hoops that you could continue to explore what we just did but I won't keep doing motions stuff even though that was ridiculously fun. Um what are we doing that? What else do we have? What? All right, I'm going that's from motion, so I think our total budget with that last final photo was about do we say one hundred dollars that will be decided on good? Um man, I have lots of other things written down for motion but know that none of it is sixty is what we just did. That was really cool. Um let me take a couple questions while they're getting ready. Let's get the, uh you didn't kill that questions right now. Oh, yeah, good carson let's get thea let's, get the tram plane and oh where's our let's say I'm actually might use you again becca um because you have the big, flowy dress. Forget that. Um, don't worry, actually killed. Trained, blamed for second. Uh, I told you I was a d d, um, I have a question jeremy from green moment chat room using a lot of accessible items, but it's he's seen that it takes a lot of helpers to get these shots. Do you do a lot of experimenting just by yourself without yeah, I mean, a lot of what just happened wouldn't naturally need extra people on the scene. For instance, I did a recent shoot that's on my block, um with the band called the daylights, and it was literally me the band and a bunch of laser pens, and what we did was we gaffe take them all too c stands and so I was able to pull up. I mean, we didn't have them moving, but I was able to pull off a lot of that was just taping things to stuff, and I'm a death helped have people, but, you know, when she was moving, obviously he had to twirl the rope light. So that required one person, you know, someone to move the laser pin, but I think everything else was pretty much being still so you know, but we didn't have to have the motion so you could still get a lot of that accomplished by yourself. Um anyway, next up we're just getting some nice, beautiful shots of you twirling with the stress and those things are almost going to try to make you look bree angelic and so I think the way we might do this one is, uh with a strobe injust a modeling like, in fact, it might be cool. Two boom that out straight over her head, just like almost top light and just a super simple, uh, shot on we'll have toe kill all the lights again. Sorry, internet viewers, we're gonna get dark on you again. Jeremy bob dell on the chatroom says I'm so impressed impressed by jeremy's juggling teaching with image making its amazing toe what teaching with what teaching with image making so juggling between the two oh, thank you appreciate it. Um it is it is a bit crazy tio to be teaching to be composing mentally, to be directing a subject directing my assistance I mean, it really is a, uh juggling act, but I enjoy it and that's the beauty of creative life what's up that's the beauty of creative exactly and honestly that's that's what you have I mean, the bigger you get as a professor colonel, the bigger, uh, sets he work with the bigger jobs you do. You're going to have more people on set. And this actually feels like a normal big hollywood photo shoot when you have tons of people stand around, you're directing for assistance and you got life to be throwing up everywhere. I mean, you have to be able tio do everything we're doing well, that's a really bright, uh, no it's, actually, um, more like the better. And so, you know, let's start there. Cool. Yeah, very hard. Like we're using here. Um, it's gonna be cool already? Um, let's. See, let's get shot your portfolio. I like that. Other models. I'm not neglecting. I'm just using back again because of her big, flowy dress. So this is this is about a simple as it gets, um, I mean, we're just slowing down or shutter speed and letting her player the dress did this recently on a ship for an artist name and an alec, and we got some very beautiful images. Um, can we do that flag over there? I accidentally hit the shutter than don't pay attention for that image. Um, I can't believe we haven't had any major allow letterman's. I was was I employed its amount back on my screen actually pretty cool, what's that I'm just going, yeah, I'm just gonna apply again and we'll keep going so they don't have to wait on that. Um, if you can, if you want, you can do just, uh, force quite capture one. I have to do it all the time. Um, all right. So now I'm actually in my element cause I like to shoot untethered and just, uh, be free from the computer to going to start throwing your wings around you, khun twelve, your whole body around? Uh uh, that's. Okay, you'll be moving cute and keep looking up so we see glimpses of your face, like, looking almost straight up. Yeah. Whoa, I love that show as beautiful. And I'm teasing you because you can't see it. Uh uh, can you get a glimpse of that? Not so much. This is cool. Um, can now challenge you. Um, try toe, try to stay still with your head up, like, right into the flight, looking right up into that light and try as much as you can scoot over this way, like, literally right under it and look right up into it and just try to keep your head and your core still we just swing those arms around yeah okay you ready? We're getting in the fine art photography now this is fun yeah, the fan is great idea yeah, I love that um have currently got my white balance still on flash from earlier but I'm going to move it over to think johnston keep going keep your head very still only moving your arms we see that last click it's like a four second exposure so you really have to keep it uh keep movin actually the way you're like the way your hair lights uh came across on camera few minutes get really like that to keep just twirling may just stay under that life keep doing your thing and that means spinning around all the way yeah, keep going sorry love this this's so much fun um so now let's get a cup another model in here? Who else do we have anybody? Is anybody ready? Uh emily or emily come on over. Okay, so this will be fun. Emily is actually going to stand behind becca right here in front of camera and just you kind of doing the same thing maybe um I don't know go instant and let me pose ian but against that wall it's a nice to cool off that chin up some emily yeah that's nice. Let me see one hand maybe on your hip right here actually. Other note you're right I like that room bringing around a little more yeah that's good and you have to stay dead still and, uh we'll just experiment here and she's telling him he lost it is a really beautiful that I like what's happening ok, we're good yeah you're going to stand in front of her that's occurred and move a lot this time like really you can even like move back and forth uh yeah so just do your thing ready it's crazy um that were released were getting there it's not there yet, but it's it's pretty um good like my standard white balance and kind of see her back there. Um emily let's try moving up maybe right here right next to her actually let's have you in the foreground you in the background doing your thing? Yeah to stand right into the slight just give me a nice symmetrical like we've been doing and look straight over that you don't have to look at the light but I just want to see your face up even more and scoot small step back same thing still looking up and when I say when I say count of three your statue tri state still as you can and then you're right behind her almost sieving actually give her angel wings just sitting do this and come up right behind her keep your head balance like right there you're gonna make her looks like just a month off her head fit in my work all right go again ready? Yeah it's kind of fun um we need a we need emily's had to be like concrete and not move it all but you kind of see what I was going for so I think in general I like these better with one person I mean, you know, I could keep experimenting with a person in the background and there's all kinds of different ideas we could explore but I'm a big fan the audience didn't get to see on screen some of the early images of becca by yourself we'll do one more time said thank you emily good job you just one more time looking up and twirling everything your head rotating your buddy let's let the audience see that again yeah this is uh, school I'm going to try one more thing that we haven't done yet that I'm in tow teacher li I don't like this white balance but this is one of these blacks getting so crunched jerry stevens are in the chat rooms asking can you explain again what the light above that guy is it's just a strove with the modeling light turn on so essentially that light could be anything I mean that could be a flashlight that could be a street light it doesn't have to be a stroll were just simply using the modeling light from the stroke that makes sense how long is your exposure who look at this with the venue are seconds I said one hundred twenty two I liked I cranked the opposite been getting all the way up um and it's really interesting um this definitely is looking very fine art which they can I'm gonna couldn't push my contrast a little bit uh way like the more yellow tones you can tell I have ah yeah it does look like the fog machine you can tell I have my sensor is not clean I have all kinds of little specks in here welcome to my life uh the photographer he doesn't take care of his gear um but this is looking good digging too much uh one more back of these really cool so let's keep these settings dot in and give me this time really show a lot of the back your head actually just if you came to spend they think if I can get both sides yeah just ready to keep going one more of those uh love that I love the way the texture and the pain detection the background is showing up okay this time what you're going to do one less one less thing is you're going to stay still for the first like two seconds and go ahead and extend your arms so once I hit actually john can we move her and the light stand and about a foot would get her more centered with the camera back a little bit toward nelson right there that's good okay for the first two seconds you get just going to stand there with your arms spread wide looking up the light again and skewed in just a hair and then after that and what's the pole right there um after that two seconds then start moving ready one two, three ways basically let her free uh we froze her in time kind of for minutemen she moved a little bit but that's ok it's still kind of works and then we yet I was on it um this is so much fun I love I love doing this stuff I almost try that one more time becca already stay really still teasing it won t three sweet your arms are so long you're extending out of my brain that's impressive. Um yeah, I could literally explore this for another hour and get shots I like more but the important part of this is just to show you guys what can be done with a little equipment and little you know, experimentation um good times um let's take questions just for five minutes and then we're going to wrap and then we're going to do our ninety minute portfolio yeah, you want to try some all right let's do it okay, just kidding about what I just said move along nothing to see here um what did you play with um yeah we could do the trampling but if you did what if he did any one of those hula hoops actually, um was one of our other models I mean I'm just again I'm just uh like a lean against this wall must push this light back just a hair and I'm using the wall to keep you still I really need you to be dead still screwed over this way some right there and then let's get to people are one with the hula hoop on each arm that makes that you're gonna be doing yeah you're getting this so let me see it don't see just one um you know it's you're basically just gonna be kind of doing this right in the frame and just moving it happened down oh gosh leave it they can't leave it the coward down I heard somebody in the face or somebody's face you're going to get to I can't wish I hit you in the face that I might have been awesome good tv all right phyllis just try watch yells do it do it sideways like he is so we're only the circle is kind of edging into the frame and you can move you look you look like you get this this worked out yes I forget I forget those have lights yeah not long only a minute yeah yeah did you hear that you have hit it and then the lights will come on and then and then go all right, well let your stuff ready we'll just see what happens and keep your head back maybe put one arm back behind your head I don't know that those two just just just hang out just drop your arms yeah, but look up the light towards the light came ready and watch your shirt getting in a frame well, I just really want to see this circles that the hula hoop yes and maybe oh let me say skewed out just a little more that that's your crap ok, ready here we go oh, I didn't refocus I did I didn't uh ok we're getting you ready one two, three and you can move in and out and as we were just experimenting and see what that looks like so you kind of see it picking up a little bit terrible crop karen um yeah, I might still be cropped in from yep you're correct. So let me get him a previous stuffed out like him getting turned off jeremy cory in the chat room would like to know of all of the work that you're doing um is it completely untested before? Is that what is this completely untested before? Yeah, I've never, ever tried most of things we've done today I have used that rope like before but that's about it so that's again that's why I wanted to experiment um on camera live so not sure whether they are showing up I think they're going too fast yeah and we'll just try the some one time I think are cooler stuff was before this but why not one more try I'm ready ok go it might have worked better yeah I think um I think that light is just overpowering yeah I mean there there are lots of things I could do to quickly we could just have the morning light turn it well with tribal quote so yeah yeah I'll just pop that first second and even turned it off at like halfway through john tried again they want tio three go off my work not so much uh I can we can adjust accordingly and try that again ok this might work let's do it again okay one two three okay off too bright but it's looking better our exposure was cranked up um so we're definitely closer um let me think here lights back on I'm gonna go to six seconds now you don't get to f uh fivesix and I'm going to turn my auto balance to a minute troy balance toto one more time one two three okay off again you know we're just experimenting there's no science to this just playing around um and you too can do this at home um, so that, you know, that's, obviously looking better. Um, but I still think we get our money shots a little bit before, with the crazy, uh, more fun. Or you did a great job standing back. There has nothing to do with you, it's more of my experimentation that with them, but obviously, you guys get the idea. You see, what is possible? Yeah, people, people online, jeremy, throwing out a lot of ideas, sharing with each other so sparklers and, you know, all kinds of things, and that was going on creative. That was my goal, for this whole thing has to spark ideas. I'm glad to hear that.

Ratings and Reviews

Lisa Carney
 

This guy is FANTASTIC. Creative and thinks outside the box. Totally had me rethink my shooting style. LOVE LOVE

a Creativelive Student
 

I almost didn't watch this one. It was a little slow at first, but once JC get's going it's a fun ride. He transitions from using $2k strobes, to using just a few dollars for lighting. This course opens a lot of doors and shows that it's ok to go against the grain and to think outside the box. Lots of good ideas to see in this one!

Mike Taylor
 

Experimental portraiture is just that. Experimental. However, I don't feel that JC was properly prepared. Shooting a single person with a 2400ws pack is simply overkill, considering that he wanted to be shooting wide open. A fairly simple solution would have been to use a few sheets of Lee ND filter over the light head. I do suppose this was typical of any shoot. Especially a shoot that I'm doing.

Student Work

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