My last photoshoot was a lot of fun and I feel that I've got a better understanding of how to shape the lighting to achieve more of a commercial style, tone and mood. I have so much more to learn but I feel that I am headed in the right direction.
Back story: I was hired by a Personal Trainer who was looking to take photos that would represent his brand. He had a small personal gym and a few friends who could step in as models. I was expecting to shoot a total of 9 people but only 3 showed up. On top of that, I didn't know what to expect when it came to the gym setting. It was a tight space but overall, we got some really good shots.
This is a break down of my one of my favorite photos from the shoot. :)
The first photo is the final edit.
This is the original image straight from the camera. I shoot with a Canon 5DMIV. This photo was taken with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM Lens.
First thing I want to highlight is the lighting technique I used on this shot. I used a three point lighting technique.
When it comes to fitness photography, I like to light the subject from the sides rather than from the front. Lighting from the front will flatten the subject and it wont be as flattering. I used two strip boxes to split the subject. I used a white line down the middle of the photo to show how the lighting was split.
LEFT:
The light on the left side of the subject had a grid to modify the lighting. The grid helps break up the light, create shadows and highlights. This light was used as key light and was half the intensity of the of backlight. I did not want the key light to be to be too intense but it was important to capture the logo and the front side of the subject.
RIGHT:
The light on the right side was used as a fill light. This light did not have a grid on it. Its purpose was to create highlights throughout the entire image. The light was hitting most of the fitness equipment.
BACKLIGHT:
The third light was the natural light coming into the space from a garage style door. The door had soft white panels that were broken up by a grid. The same way the key light broken up by the modifier. This held separate the subject background and gave the image more depth.
EDIT
Before I edit the photo I like to highlight some of the things that are distracting. The lights on the ceiling were a big distraction to me. Since the space was so tight, there's equipment that you can see on the edges of the photo as well as the foreground.
Our eyes are naturally drawn to bright and reflective objects. The pieces of mental that were apart of the garage door were also distracting me to me.
The space was so tight!
CAMERA RAW:
Now that I know what I want to remove from the photo, I make an initial adjustment to the exposure and the highlights in Camera Raw. I boosted the Exposure and brought down the highlights.
Now that the exposure and highlights have been adjusted, I can go ahead and start the editing process. This is all non destructive editing. I can always go back to camera raw or any other layer if needed. The original image will always be intact.
Selective Color:
I used the selective color adjustment layer in photoshop to breathe some life into the photo. This is a great tool for color grading. I used this layer to add more whites to the blacks, added a hint of gray to mimic a small amount of mist in the blacks.
DODGE:
Did a small amount of Dodging to increase the highlights in the skin, clothing and logo.
BURN:
I brought down the highlights in the background using a burn technique. I worked around the subject in order to make him stand out.
COLOR BALANCE:
I used a color balance adjustment layer in photoshop to give the photo a more cool. Cool meaning adding cool colors such as blue and cyan hues to the overall image. This was the last step before I sharpened the image.
Thank you for your time. I hope that I can inspire others to continue to work on their craft. I'm no where I want to be but I'll get there with time, patience and faith.
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