DAVID IS AWAY FOR A WEEK

Dear all,
I will be off duty from Wednesday 23rd until 29th September 2009.
The office will be therefore closed and I will answer your enquiry as soon as I get back from Corfu.
I shall come back tanned and fresh - hopefully.
Have a nice week.

SCULPTING WITH LIGHT part 1

Today I am talking about the Light, natural light. The light which makes life possible. The light which shapes our vision and world. Photography literally means writing with light ! To take good pictures doesn't involve any camera, it's about your eye. It is about how you look at things. And I use the word sculpting in its literal meaning, like an artist is carving a stone in a endless dance until he finds the perfect harmony. Light is a spectrum of waves and therefore colours constantly changing. We will not mention the flash today, except with top 3 sample and I will explain why.

The first eight following pictures, except the one below in black and white of the dress are from Louise and Andrew's wedding at Chateau Ouvrard in France in 2005.

Top left
Detail of shoes. Most teachers will tell you not to shoot black and dark subjects with a BW film. Obviously, that was the first I did then! Those shoes are beautiful, shiny and have a strong shape. I decided to use a bright background to really reinforce the shape so that they stand out. But also I used a reflector to give a gentle touch of light on the front. When I say reflector it can be any sort of reflective surface. Most of the time I use a white pillow cover I find in the bedroom. It gives a harmonious balance that the shoes inspired me.
Top right
Straight forward back-light couple' shot composition. Meaning you make your exposure on the background, not the subject. You have all the details from the background and your subject become a silhouette. But it is important to integrate some details or a scenery. This type of shot without any details or mood could be quite poor in the end. It is important to work well the subject with its environment. I slightly opened my lens to gain a bit of details in the couple.

Top left
Classic dress shot at 4 or 2.8 aperture, but what matters here is the colour balance. The pink worked very well with the pale harmony of the room. Working with this blurry background helps to enhance the delicacy of the dress and the soft atmosphere. Here I wanted to capture the genuinely calm and adorable bride from a dress photograph. You can simply open 1/2 stop your aperture in order to give the bright colour a little extra kick.
Top right
An other back-light situation but this time my subject is a shadow. I therefore take the light on the highlight as previously described but I also need to include a geometrical shape that balance the curvy line of the back of the dress. That is why I decided to opt for this radical sharp angle which is also a shadow. People love the result but are always a bit worried when they see me taking a photograph of a wall basically !

Top
Group shot and the sun up behind the group, facing me. There is no way you can take a decent photograph of people with all the details from the scenery if you only concentrate on the people. The only way is to use some Feeling Flash as we call it. There are two ways to explain it.
1/ You make your exposure on your subject first. You check your mid tones, which is usually found in a medium colour such as green (or grass). Sometimes people think I am about to photograph their feet or the local flower, which is a great trick to make them laugh ! Finally you check the background light ! And you make a quick estimate of the extremes and what should be the medium light. You then adjust the flash according to the aperture you which to work with and close 1 stop from the chosen aperture. That is the way I am doing in order to get the right balance of all part of the composition. With experience it doesn't take more than 10 sec. but it can be mentally difficult to put all those figures together for the amateur.
2/ A quick way to do it is to set your flash as you intend to shoot your subject, but according to how strong is the main light source and your positioning to it, you bracket 1 or 2 stops down. The flash will be felt a bit stronger than in the first case, but it works too.

Bottom
In this shot I try to get as many details and depth of field as possible. But I also compose with the shadow produced by the roof of the castle in order to make my composition more exciting. As I am shooting at 16 or 22 I will not find any detail in the shade and that is exactly what I am looking for. Somehow this colorful shot becomes strangely a bit black and white.

Top left
I invited my couple to enjoy the Magic Hour. Most couple shots are being done during the drinks reception, but if you are well organized and they agree to spend an extra 10 min later, use that opportunity to compose with a different setting and natural light during or after the meal.
Top right
Picture taken in the morning before I start my day as the day is slightly warming up. You can feel and see a certain essence or gaze coming from the land. Those shots are also important.

Pictures from Sally and David's wedding at the Blakes Hotel, London in 2005.

Top left
I ask my couple to stand behind a glass door. At that time the weather was quite grey and the back garden where I stood was quite dark. I therefore decided to use that darkness to create a sort of abstract frame, and point out my camera on the highlights of the sky reflected on the glass. That is also where I ask my couple to stand by indoors. I used here a gentle and powerful natural light even thought it all felt like grey, and I work at 2.8 or 4 to enhance to focusing point mixed with two great smiles.
Top right
I am indoors and am using the artificial light. As I shoot with BW film colour balance is not an issue. I set up a shot in the restaurant area with 3 glasses under a light spot, like in a studio but an improvised one. I am using the glasses circular edges reflected as shadows on the table to mix perfectly with the circularity of the harp designed wedding rings. Here again as the light conditions are poor I work at maximim aperture but it is also a good thing as I want the setting to be quite abstract. The rings do stand out as the silver reflects perfectly with any lighting and especially in dark locations.

Top left
Mix of cold and warm colours are always interesting to capture.
Top right
Sally and Dave are standing in the corridors on the first floor to avoid traffic, but also it helps to make them feel relax and intimate. This part interested me as the two main colours were coordinated nicely and with originality - yellow and black. But let's not forget also that the incandescent bulbs are usually understood as quite polluting. BUT the white tuxedo, the colonial etiquette of the place, the lack of sun on that day and in this corridor I was inspired and the moment took photographically in south-east Asia. That is why I decided to use a natural light film indoor with then will turn quite yellow. The saturation was exactly the mood looked after. Note also that I placed my subjects next to an hidden mural lamp that helps to draw beautifully their profiles. I know that tungsten films exist but I never really found a way to use them as I like to transpose the light experienced then while shooting. Our life is not made of neutral colours, our life is much more fun than that !

THE CHIGWELL WEDDING SHOW 18/10/2009

2exposures will be exhibiting their portfolios at the Woolston Manor the 18th October 2009. The event is organized by the Wedding Event Co. This charming new venue is the perfect location to discuss in a more relaxed way with the suppliers than most fairs. davidB and his assistant will be there to receive you and answer all your questions.
The show will be officially open from 11am until 4pm.
Woolston Manor
Abridge Road Chigwell Essex IG7 6BX
0208 500 2549
Nearest tube station is Debden/Central line

Spread the word !