Hidden Behind the Movement

Here comes another photo from the workshop I mentioned in my previous post. It is again a natural light photo shot at a slow shutter speed. The image stabilization of my lens helped to keep the model in focus while blurring the net. I shot a few more pictures of this setup but this one I liked most. It is sharp and with a nice shape of the net. Enjoy. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 L2.8 IS II at 70mm, F4.5 @ 1/40, ISO 250.

Net Beauty

 I have recently participated in a workshop on nude photography and would like to show you one of the photos I took during the workshop. There is not really that much nudity on this particular photo but I really like the expression of the model and her look. Window light was used to create this photo and I on purpose changed the composition so that her face is leading the eyes out of the frame, creating a nice dynamic tension. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II at 80mm, F3.2 @ 1/200, ISO 640.

A Tram Tunnel

Here comes another photo from the workshop of black and white photography mentioned in my previous post. We moved down to the tram station where a nice directional light was coming from one end of the tunnel. I asked the model to look towards the light and pressed the shutter button, resulting in this pleasant portrait of our beautiful model. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 120mm, F2.8 @ 1/200, ISO 800.

Black and White Beauty

It has been more than a year ago I posted my last photo. The reason was that I was simply too busy with photographic assignments and didn't really find the time to blog about my pictures. In the meantime I gathered bunch of nice photos that I would like to share. Today I start with the first photo that I took recently at the workshop of black and white photography in Brno. I enjoyed the way the workshop was run and today's image is one of my favorites. It was photographed in a natural light in a small tunnel close to a local supermarket. After setting my camera to a correct exposure, I was together with my model exploring different poses until I ended up with something interesting and dynamic. Hope you will enjoy today's photo and stay tuned for more to come! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 100mm, F3.2 @ 1/250, ISO 400.

Color Depth

Another image from the yesterday's wedding fashion show. This time it is not a bride but a "guest" with a very nice social dress. I chose this photo because I like the colors in the scene. The blue background and the warm tones on the model and her dress really add to the depth of field as human eye expects to see warmer colors closer and colder colors further away. I tilted the photo slightly so that the lines at the background are not vertical and the photo has more dynamics. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II at 115mm, F3.2 @ 1/250, ISO 1600.

Bride Fashion

I have visited today the so-called Bryllupsmesse in Aalborg (Wedding Trade Show). Lots of inspiration for wedding dresses, music, photography ... it is clear that the wedding season 2011 is starting soon! There was a small fashion show there too where I was taking some photos. The background behind the catwalk was not very attractive so I moved myself to the side where I saw some blue lights at the background and this was one of the photos that I took. I like its simplicity, rim lighting and nice triangular shape of the wedding gown. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 125mm, F3.5 @ 1/120, ISO 1600.

Dreamy

Here is another portrait of Katerina. I found several repeating pillars in a shade with beautiful soft light. Only ambient light was used this time, providing a very gentle look and dreamy feel. I think that the composition is also pleasing thanks to the repeating pattern and the diagonal lines achieved by slightly tilting the camera. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 90mm, F2.8 @ 1/100, ISO 200.

Three Times Framed

Another photo from the City of Brno, at the hill called Petrov, right below the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. The pillars provide an excellent shooting location. I decided to frame my model Katerina in a perfectly symmetric composition. The first frame is given by the borders of the photo, the second frame are the outside pillars and the last frame is formed by the pillars at the background. The repeating patters make the composition interesting. In order to break the symmetry, I asked my model to take a slightly asymmetric pose. Light is ambient with a rim light from the back provided by my 580EX flash. You may wonder where was the light placed. Well, I cheated little bit. As there was no way to hide it behind the model, it was actually placed on a monopod and my assistant (hiding behind the right pillar) was holding it about 3 meters behind my model. See the attached image as it came out of the camera. The stick of the monopod was then removed using the clone tool in Lightroom 3.0. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 85mm, F4 @ 1/160, ISO 200.

Centered and Dynamic

Today I am presenting a portrait of Katerina which I took during my visit in Brno, a beautiful city in the middle of Moravia in the Czech Republic. This photo is about two things. First, it is the pose of the model with many diagonal lines adding lots of dynamics. Second, it is the composition. I placed my model into the center of the frame knowing the all lines will point towards her; and see there are really many lines this time. Regarding the lighting, this is a simple one light shot with shoot-through umbrella to camera left, creating the loop lighting pattern on her face. This type of lighting works simply all the time. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 85mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 100.

Reflections

While taking portraits of Veronika we found some rain water puddle from yesterdays' storm and I immediately though of taking some photo with reflections. I simply asked her to place one of her hands to the water, which provided a nice diagonal shape in her body and took the shot with little bit of on-camera fill-in flash. The resulting image worked best in sepia toning. I should keep in my mind to use natural reflections more often in my photography, one or two such shots are always a nice addition to the series of portraits. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 70mm, F4.5 @ 1/400, ISO 100.

Flower Romance

Here is another simple portrait of Veronika. Using F4.5 at 200m blurred nicely the background, allowing my model to pop out. It is important for portrait photography that hands look natural, which is most easily achieved by occupying them with something, in this case by holding the flowers. I only asked my model to place the elbows further away from the body so that there is some air between the body and the arms, making the figure visually slimmer. I used on-camera fill flash. As I shoot mostly in manual and the image was taken shortly after the jump below, I forgot to change the settings. Normally, I would go for 1/500s at ISO 100. Nevertheless, the expression after the funny jumps was more important for me because if I was fiddling with the camera settings, she could get quickly tired and lose the expression. All over, I think that the final result is pretty pleasing. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 200mm, F4.5 @ 1/1000, ISO 200.

Jumping for Joy

A few days ago I had the change to photograph an 8 years old model Veronika. I found out that in order to relax the atmosphere when photographing children, asking them to jump often brings lots of fun and more natural expression in their faces. I set my camera to manual at 1/1000s in order to eliminate the motion blur, added little bit of on-camera fill-in flash, decided on my composition (note the leading lines pointing towards her and the larger tree on the left balancing out the image), asked her to jump and pressed the shutter release. I enjoy the result a lot. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 85mm, F4.5 @ 1/1000, ISO 200.

Atelier Portrait

I had recently a change to photograph Marietta in the atelier of a Czech painter Frantisek Hanacek. The atelier was full of great paintings and in this portrait of Marietta I have chosen to show only a fraction of the paintings at the background, hinting at the place where the portrait was taken but not distracting the attention from the main object. The light was provided as usual by my 580EX II speedlite with shoot-through umbrella to camera right, defining a beautiful mask of her face via a loop lighting pattern. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 105mm, F5.6 @ 1/125, ISO 400.

Innocent Blue

Natural light coming from the right direction on a cloudy day is hard to beat. It creates almost shadowless portraits like the one on the image posted today. My model Marietta provided this very strong look with innocent but determined accent. It was my favourite photo from the shoot. I hope you will enjoy it too, just make sure to click on the photo to see it in larger format. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 155mm, F4.5 @ 1/160, ISO 200.

Waiting and Waiting ...

Here is a portrait of Lucie that I pulled out a few days ago nearby a small village Ludikov in the Czech Republic. As usual, I used my off-camera 580EX flash to camera right with a shoot-through umbrella. I like the shallow depth of field and the look of Lucie. It feels like she is waiting for somebody, being little bit impatient which is symbolized with the moving fingers of her right hand. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 110mm, F3.2 @ 1/100, ISO 400.

Soft and Dreamy

Today is coming another of my favourite photographs of Marketa. I noticed the nice dramatic wall and when making the picture I planned to allow for lots of negative space on the left. I used short lighting to give a nice shape to her face; the light was provided by my shoot-through umbrella with Canon 580EX II to camera left. I also like the curved body-shape of my model. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 70mm, F5.6 @ 1/160, ISO 100.

Such Pretty Eyes

While trying to extend my portrait portfolio, I was happy to spend couple of photography hours with a new model Marketa. Among the number of great pictures, the one I present today kept popping out for me. I like the look over the shoulder, with a little bit shy expression in her face. It is a pure natural light portrait where simplicity was the keyword. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 80mm, F5.6 @ 1/160, ISO 200.

Rocky Confident

Today I would like to present another of my recent favourite shots. I saw the nice rocky surface and immediately thought that it would make a good background for my model Barbora. The problem was that it was exposed on a direct sun and I imagined a soft light on her face when composing the photo. The problem was solved by holding a silver reflector above her head in order to block the direct sun light and at the same time providing a nice soft light with my shoot-through umbrella with Canon 580EX II positioned slightly to camera left and casting a butterfly light pattern. I had only one assistant holding both the reflector and umbrella on a monopod at the same time, which was little bit tricky but we managed. The result was definitely worth the effort. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 70mm, F8 @ 1/200, ISO 100.

Summer Beauty

While enjoying my holidays in the Czech Republic I arranged yesterday a photo session with a young model Barbora. We had plenty of time to visit several locations and this shot was one of my favourites. There are a few things that I like here, of course apart from my pretty model. First of all I enjoy the colors where the background nicely complements the model. I applied some vignette to bring the attention more to the center. Second point I like is the pose where I tried to arrange her legs and arms so that there are virtually no vertical or diagonal lines. This adds more drama to otherwise a very harmonic photo. Last but not least the lighting adds the last bits to form this portrait. It was provided through my shoot-through umbrella with Speedlite 580EX II fired remotely through pocket wizards. Enjoy! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 200mm, F5.0 @ 1/160, ISO 100.