Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Lesson Info

Shoot: Mirror Image

This is an image that I think is going to be quite simple in the series, but it's going to be a little bit magical as well. And part of my goal with this series of images, is to bring magical elements, into a space, that looks very realistic, as this decaying space does. I think the more that you have a building that's falling apart, that has grime and dirt all over the place, the more realistic it tends to look. So, if we can bring some magical elements in, I think that we're going to have a good balance, between magic and realism. So, for this picture, we have a mirror, and this mirror, we're going to end up putting on the wall, make it look really big, and I'm going to put something else in the mirror. It's not gonna be a mirror by the time we get done with it, it's going to be sort of a portal to whatever is on the other side of the wall. Not literally what's on the other side of the wall, because we have a fish tank, on the other side of the wall, but instead, it might be clouds, ...

or it might be rolling hills, something very magical, something that our character's dreaming about, sort of like a portal to a new world. So, that's what I'm going to edit into his picture, and to do it, I'm going to have our subject standing with the light hitting directly, and just sort of be dreaming about what is through this portal. So, I'm going to have hers simply like this, with her head back, with the arms back, very graceful, with the dress flowing, with the hair moving, and then, I will edit this picture frame, separately, to look really big on the wall. Even bigger than it actually is, so that this portal, looks really big and inviting, and will actually form some of the lighting conditions that we might change, later on in post. So, instead of having lighting just coming from one side, I might edit light to come out of the frame as well. And that's something that I have to think about ahead of time, to make sure that I'm shooting in the right conditions for that to happen. So, I think we're ready to get started. So, Rachel, if you wanna come on over here. We've got this nice, gray dress that we're using, and it could be good on it's own, but I've actually found that this dress, works really well to change the color up. So might make this dress blue, or red, I'm not sure yet, exactly what color we're gonna go with, that might be determined by the colors that we find through the portal that we're going to create, so this should be nice and simple to start. So, I'm gonna have you stand here, and actually just gonna move this mirror slightly away. Just there. So that we have a night clean slate. So, I'll have you stand just about there, and for this first shot, I'm not gonna have her do anything, but assume the position, which is good, you were already doing it, look at that. It's so nice, having people along, who just get it. So, I'm going to turn my camera on, take a step back, I'm going to get a bit of a lower angle here, and I'm going to get my focus. And my settings are stying pretty consistent at this point, because we're still in this room that we've been in, so right now, I'm at F 2.5, 100 for my shutter speed, and ISO 250. And that looks pretty good to me. We might get a little bit of blur, when we start moving the skirt. And that will be fine, in my opinion, just adds a little bit of a believability and motion to the picture. So, I'm gonna have you lower your arms just slightly, yup, that is perfect. And then, arch your back toward me a little, yup, you got it. And, can you put all your hair behind your shoulders? Perfect. Okay, so, this is my base shot. This is the image that I am going to start from, and then I'm going to build off of. And I'll explain what I mean in just a moment, after I capture this image. So, I'm checking focus one more time, (camera clicks) And taking one shot, and if you could actually even back bend a little bit more toward me, yup, that's perfect. Just cause of the angle, that I'm so much lower, I need a little bit more of an exaggerated pose, so that was perfect, you got that. Now, we need to get extra shots of our subject. So, I'm going to have you, you can sort of relax your body, I'm going to have you, flick your hair toward me, so just a little like that, over the shoulder, and I'm going to catch it, as you do it, whenever you're ready. (camera clicks) Perfect, and now the other side. (camera clicks) Good. So it's just a little bit of motion, her hair went out really far, but I'm not catching it when it's sticking straight out, because that wouldn't be believable in this space. So, I'm catching it as it's falling behind her, just to create some motion in that area. So now, I'll have you take the sides of your dress, and just flick them out, and you don't have to do it really hard, just gently will be perfect. (camera clicks) Okay, and maybe two more times. (camera clicks) Good, and now let's do one, if you can grab the very back of your dress, and throw it toward me a little bit. That's hard to do, I know, but if you can, we'll see. (camera clicks) Perfect, got that. So, we've got the images of the dress, images of the hair, we've got our subject in her pose, and it looked really lovely. So, you can step aside, and then we're going to have our friends come over, and hold the mirror. And for this image, I'm not worried about keeping my position exactly, because I need to make this mirror look bigger than it actually is, I'm actually gonna get pretty close to the mirror, and photograph it closer, so that I have the room, to be able to make it look bigger, in the final image. Of course, the closer you photograph something, if you then put that image into another picture, it's going to look bigger. So, I'm going to get as close as I can, and I'm going to photograph this mirror, just like this, just getting my focus. (camera clicks) Got it. Thank you guys. Okay, so, now I'm going to photograph this space. Would you guys mind moving that with you? Thank you. I'm going to photograph this space, because this is going to be my room, so I'm just steeping back, and taking a few more images, on my knee, like I did before. And, focusing on the spot on the floor, that I marked mentally, where my subject was standing, (camera clicks) Just get a couple of images of that room. (camera clicks) Okay, and now we have the space, to build out from there. So, this one is fairly simple, but there is some cutting involved, some editing, that's going to be a little bit tricker than just, "Oh, I'll just put the mirror in, "and then the subject will be there, "and it'll all be perfect." I'm actually going to have to cut around her hair a little bit, which is another deterrent, from capturing the hair going out to the sides, because that's the area that I'm going to have to be editing. So, I don't want little, tiny strands of hair, going off, if I'm going to have to cut around, every single one of those hairs. So, I'd prefer the hair being, sort of slick straight, and then just flaring down at the bottom, where I don't have to edit around the hairs. So, that's what I was thinking about for this photoshoot, and I have high hopes, that this one is going to be magical, and realistic at the same time.

Creating a great photo for a client is one thing - but turning your passion and ideas into a series that is shared, shown, and sold is a whole different business. If you do it right, you’ll be shooting what you love all the time. Learn how to choose which ideas to create, how to turn your concept into a production, and steps to getting your work seen and even sold in Fine Art Photography: A Complete Guide with Award-Winning Photographer, Brooke Shaden.

This is an all-inclusive workshop that provides the tools you need to run a successful and creative business as a fine art photographer. You’ll learn creative exercises to find and develop your ideas, how to create an original narrative, how to produce your own photo series, post production techniques and skills for compositing and retouching, how to write about your work, ways to pitch to galleries and agents, and how to print your pieces so they look like art.

This workshop will take you on location with Brooke as she creates a photo series from scratch. She’ll walk through every step for her photo shoots including set design and location scouting, she’ll cover techniques in the field for capturing your artistic vision, post-production and compositing techniques, as well as printing and framing essentials.

She’ll round out this experience by discussing all of the details that will help make your career a success like licensing, commissions, artists statements, social media plans, gallery prep, and pricing your work.

This comprehensive course is a powerful look into the world of fine art photography led by one of the world’s most talented photographers, Brooke Shaden. Included with purchase is exclusive access to bonus material that gives exercises and downloads for all of the lessons.

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