Portraits – Photographer Brett Harkness – Website www.brettharknessphotography.com

LOCATION - This shoot took place in our studio against a white wall.

CAMERA & LENS - I use a Canon EOS 1DS mark III. This shot was taken with a 70-200 2.8L IS lens. Shot on 200 ISO, 200th sec @ f5. I used the lens around the 100mm focal length, sitting on the floor 10 ft away from the couch.

LIGHTING - This shot is lit with one Canon speedlight 580EXII. Used with a Lastolite Ezy box. Flash power was 1/4 power on manual. Using the Ezy box up close, just out of shot top left means you can get a nice crisp light on the subject. Making sure the light flood was just enough to cover the babies face.

CREATIVE PROCESS - Having shot this family twice before I decided that a more stylish approach was necessary on this shoot. We also shot outside mixing it up a bit with prime lenses but I wanted a really stylized look for the baby. Thinking about the scene as well not just the subject. Sometimes you can make shoots like this too complicated, waiting for the perfect moment meant that the baby did all the hard work.

POST PRODUCTION - Not a great deal has been done to this shot. I shoot jpg and try and get it right when shooting. I have added a little hard light in PS. Creative dodging and burning. You can see more of how I work on my images by clicking here, DISCOVER BHP <http://www.brettharknessphotography.com/brett-harkness-photography-blog.aspx?filterbycategory=discover>

Landscape – Photographer Lisa Forman – Website www.lisaforman.com

LOCATION - Somewhere under a canal in Venice

CAMERA AND LENS - Leica M6 settings: Ilford Delta 400 speed BW film, probably 1/60 @ f8 (but I am really not sure, I stopped writing all that down a long time ago)

LIGHTING - Available Light

CREATIVE PROCESS - It was July in Venice, not a great time to make photographs the way I like (empty streets). I was so happy to have met this beautiful blond gondolier.  I told him I was a photographer and I wanted to go where there are few tourists.  I asked him to just wander around the canals.  It was early morning. I was completely enthralled with the reflective light all over the city.  We started to go underneath a bridge, and I was so fascinated with the light bouncing off the ancient stones, the sunlight streaming down into the water, I framed the shot and focused my camera.  I don’t think I even noticed the ghostly images of humans on the bridge in front of me. Later on the gondolier let me stand up and take the oar (remo). That was a blast!

POST PRODUCTION - This photograph has not been “produced” in any way.  It was developed and printed.  When I shoot film, my goal is to create an image in the camera the way I want it to be when it is printed.  Occasionally, there have been some darkroom dodges or burns, but very little.  I do use digital cameras for other types of work and will use Silver Efex Pro, or other P’Shop enhancements. I have sold several large prints of Venice Light, my editions are usually 11.

Fashion – Photographer Rebecca Parker – Website www.rebecca-parker.co.uk

LOCATION - is Llansaint near Kidwelly Carmarthenshire.

CAMERA AND LENS – Nikon D70 with an 18-70 lens.

LIGHTING - reflector held by an assistant.

CREATIVE PROCESS –. I love this image as I feel it conveys everything my work is about and also symbolizes the type of art I love. It is full of colour and the image oozes with sumptuousness. The model is filled with emotion and her pose is classical dramatic but delicate. Also the location is near to where I lived so even though it is pretty, it was one of my special places I used to walk my dogs. I love this image as the model and MUA bring so much to it and she looks part of the landscape.

POST PRODUCTION - I added two textures and popped the colours in Photoshop. I also added a vignette. This process is like a signature to all my work. It adds atmosphere and also creates a recognizable style to my work.

Weddings – Photographer Crash Taylor – Website www.crashtaylor.com

LOCATION - Sandon Hall, Stafford, United Kingdom

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D Mark I with Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L IS

LIGHTING - Indoor tungsten lighting from ceiling

CREATIVE PROCESS - I love this image as my assistant and I were outside in the freezing cold taking a break when all of a sudden, I see the bride and groom out the corner of my eye. I pick up my camera and fired off about 6 images as they walked through the Hall’s corridor. Holding hands, unaware and alone – the perfect moment. I particularly love the framing within the window, the overall composition, the lines, and the colours how they reflect how cold it was outside and how warm inside.

POST PRODUCTION - I cooled down the blues and warmed up the yellows using colour balance in Photoshop CS4.

Portraits – Photographer Tamara Lackey – Website www.tamaralackey.com

LOCATION - Bald Head Island, North Carolina

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D Mark II, 24mm-70mm 2.8 lens, f 4.0, 1/800 sec, ISO 100

LIGHTING - natural light, shot at sunset

CREATIVE PROCESS - Playing along with a high-energy shoot, I ran after my 8 year-old subject, meeting her mom down at the water’s edge.  As we jumped out of the rapidly larger oncoming waves, mom scooped up her daughter to whisk her away.  I love the authenticity of the moment, the flush in their cheeks and even the squeals that didn’t make it to the still image but kind of travel along with it anyway.

I shot this image at close range to my subjects, the entire frame cropped in-camera.  I usually shoot pretty wide open but dialed out to an f4 so as to keep both of my subjects’ faces in focus at such close range.  I composed this image so as to emphasize their playful, so-alive expressions, as well as the movement between them and the wind and water, filling up my ‘negative space’ with that gorgeous expanse of ocean (which is hard to see as a negative  In addition, I utilized a healthy camera tilt to further convey the sense of movement.  I normally like my horizons to be pretty straight, but every so often I’ll go for this look and just love it.

POST PRODUCTION - This image was shot in color and converted to black and white, with an additional warm toning in Photoshop.  I boosted the contrast but was sure to manage the highlights in the white clothing.  I softened the overall image to compensate for the contrast boost, as I liked the softness of their windblown hair and their sweet expressions – finally, I added a soft vignette via the sloppy lasso tool.

Portraits – Photographer Grant Scott – Website www.grantscott.com

LOCATION – The Dome Brighton, England

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D with a Canon 50mm prime L series lens at 800 ISO. I know this because that’s what I always shoot at.

LIGHTING - Natural light

CREATIVE PROCESS - My pictures are not about big or grand gestures they are about conversations.  This shot of Paolo Nutini was shot on a backstage staircase at The Dome Brighton as part of a project I was shooting titled The Dome Sessions in which I spent a year –photographing the people who performed at the venue who interested me. Paolo had just had his first hit and was easy going and relaxed after a sound check. We chatted about what he’d been doing, becoming famous and a recent holiday he’d been on and the pictures happened. I always work like this.

POST PRODUCTION - Colour correction in Photoshop

Portraits – Photographer Naya Politis – Website www.studiopolitis.gr

LOCATION - Monastery of Panagia Panton Hara, Kalentzi, Kiato, Corinthia, Greece

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon EOS 5D, 24-105 mm f4 Canon Lenses shot at 40 mm f5.6, ISO 1600

LIGHTING - The only available light, was the little one in front of the monk

CREATIVE PROCESS - As the monk of this picture is considered to be a wise and nearly holly man in Greece, my insight was to take a picture of him in his cell, keeping the original atmosphere and trying to capture the spiritual energy that surrounds him. In order to achieve this, I decided not to use any artificial lighting and, as an equipment, nothing more than my camera. I believe that the best way to make people look natural, is to photograph them in their own place and keep everything simple. You have to do it naturally. When it comes to a portrait, the only way to make emotions emerge, is spend time with the person you are about to shoot before you raise your camera.

POST PRODUCTION - Having a raw material as powerful as this original photo, the only thing left to be done was to remove everything not necessary from the background and the desk. I avoided face retouching to keep his acetic figure and only worked in layers trying to make the image as low key as possible. Color Efex Pro filters where used to achieve a pretty dark result, allowing his face to shine and fill everyone looking at the picture with an unearthly glow.

Weddings – Photographer Gordon Jovic – Website www.gordonjovicphotography.com

LOCATION - Photographed at the Brides parents house in a suburban town of Sydney.

CAMERA AND LENS - Shot this one with a Nikon D700. Lens was a Nikkor 28-70mm 2.8. Settings were 1/160 sec at 5.0 ISO was 1600.

LIGHTING - One small reflector was used to the left of the subject. Natural light source was coming from the partially glass door.

CREATIVE PROCESS - I was looking for something to enhance the shot with which typically gives a bride more natural body language if they can hold onto something. I saw this Venetian mask on the wall, the bride being of Italian background of course liked the idea. She instinctively placed it over her face but that was not what I wanted. My idea was to bring out the feminine touch in her so I asked her to just place it by her side. The mask was merely a photographic item that would add to the image. I also asked her to think about everything she has been through to get to this moment and it created the expression I was after.

POST PRODUCTION - This image looks nice in colour but in black and white it comes to life so I decided to convert it. I cleaned up all the little spots visible in the shot, air brushed the brides face, and processed it using some of my own created actions to bring out a true black and white so that it looks as if were shot with film. Being kind of a low-key image post processing was not so extensive the main thing was to bring out the beautiful light on her face.

Weddings – Photographer Otto Schulze – Website www.ottoschulzephotographers.com

LOCATION - Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

CAMERA AND LENS - Nikon D3 and 17-35mm f2.8. SB-800. ISO 3200

LIGHTING - Nikon SB-800

CREATIVE PROCESS - This is one of those rare moments these days where I pulled my flash out of the bag. I prefer the look and feel of natural light especially for capturing the emotion on a moment. As the reception began I noticed the bride taking the groom around room and introducing him to everyone and I wanted to capture this. I put my SB-800 on and decided to bounce of the ceiling with a small white bounce card. I set my shutter to about 1/4 sec and fired of a few frames. All the while moving with them to try and capture the sense of movement…

POST PRODUCTION – At first I had the image as a b&w shot but it just didn’t quite have the feeling I was looking for. So I brought the opacity of the film effect (done in Silver Effex ) down quite a bit until I almost had a color sepia look. I then took that image into Exposure 2 and played with one of my favourite old Polaroid emulsions. This really added the warmth to the image I was looking for. I then layered this over the previous b&w conversion. Grain was enhanced in order to add to the texture image. What I love most about this image is that even after all of this I could never in a million years replicate this image again! It’s the magic of photography, the moment happened and then it passed.

Fashion – Photographer Bernard Polidano – Website http://bernardpolidano.blogspot.com/

LOCATION – After a lot of scouting around Malta to find the perfect location for this shot I decided that the best place for what I had in mind was in one of the main suits of the Phoenicia Hotel .The beautiful natural lighting, decor and all the surroundings of this room all complimented to what I had in mind.

CAMERA AND LENS - Nikon D700 with Nikon lens 105mmf/2.8. Settings were set at 1/60 at f11 since I wanted the dress detail to be very sharp. I find this lens fantastic, especially when I have plenty of room to work.

LIGHTING – Well I had all sorts of lighting for this shoot, living on an island like Malta means that you have sunlight almost all year round and for this particular shoot we placed the model in front of a large window and the sheer curtains provided a very beautiful diffused light, which served as a back light on the model. Then I used 2 Visatec solo 800, one fitted with a soft box and the other with a white umbrella. In my photo shoots, I like to use a lot of glamour lighting set ups – placing the soft box right in front and high up to the model and then placing a second diffuser fixed to a tripod in front of the soft box to diffuse more of the light. In this case the second light was placed far back just to give that kick needed and a sparkle in the eye. As I have said, the room we were shooting in had a lot of natural light coming in so what I wanted to achieve was a nice blend between natural light and artificial light.

CREATIVE PROCESS – This was a photo shoot for a local TV programme that shows all the hard work being carried out backstage, for the photos we all see in magazines posters etc, so both me and my team had to come up with an idea and then filming all the way through the whole process of the photo shoot. The theme we had in mind was to recreate that Hollywood divas style of the 50s, 60s, and the glamour of the dolce vita. Hence even the choice of the model played a crucial role in this shoot since we wanted someone with a particular look and attitude.

POST PRODUCTION – Working in the fashion industry, post processing is almost a must and I’m definitely a Photoshop addict. My wife and I just love to Photoshop and shooting in raw gives me a lot of flexibility and creativity.  Most of the work done on this particular photo was high end beauty retouching in particular softening of the skin and also enhancement of certain detailed areas such as the dress and also the eyes. Sometimes we also modify the lighting in Photoshop but in this case we did not.

Portraits – Photographer Marko – Website www.imagesbymarko.com

LOCATION - My studio. The background is a simple tarpaulin that had been extremely weathered as it had literally come of the back of a lorry. I loved the textures that had created.

CAMERA AND LENS - Bronica ETRSi. 100 mm lens. Although most of my work is now shot on digital I occasionally shoot on medium format and large format film. I enjoy the discipline of creating images in a small number of frames. This image was shot on Fuji Neopan medium format black and white film. Shot at F8 and 125th sec using studio flash heads.

LIGHTING - Two studio heads with soft boxes on. However the main key light was placed to the sitter’s right at about 45degrees and its diffuser cover was removed to give more sparkle to the light and enhance the texture of his complexion. A second soft box was placed to the sitter’s left with diffuser cover still on. The softer light was set to ½ stop lower just to fill in. There is also a small light behind and below the sitter to illuminate the background.

CREATIVE PROCESS - The sitter was a wonderful character called Carlos whom I met in Cornwall but who was originally from Mozambique. He had incredible charisma and was a joy to photograph. I simply couldn’t take a bad shot of him as he was really in charge of himself and very at ease with the camera. My portraiture is simply a reaction to the presence of the people that I photograph. I hope that I can capture the intensity of the moment when I am interacting with people.

POST PRODUCTION - Very little. The chosen negative was scanned at high-res and then the resulting digital file was cropped slightly with some minor adjustments in curves and a slight vignette darkened around the edge.

Pets – Photographer Paul Walker – Website www.pawspetphotography.com

LOCATION - Hilltop in Ayrshire

CAMERA AND LENS - Nikon D3 Settings: F8, 1/1250, Lens Nikon 12-24mm. Needed large depth of field (enough for unexpected order of dogs over hill top)

LIGHTING - The sun (not the most ideal sun position, yet the action/animation more than makes up for it)

CREATIVE PROCESS - The key concern at the time of thinking through the image was the speed and potential separation distance of the different dogs as they pursued the ball across the hill ridge. This was in part controlled by the handler (hidden from view) having strict instructions to release the ball in a certain way only when the dogs where in their respective positions around her.

POST PRODUCTION - I altered the overall colour of the image to something far less vivid than the original green grass that was detracting from the movement and colour of the German Short-haired Pointers.

Fashion – Photographer  Ross James – Website www.rossjamesphotography.com

LOCATION – This shoot took place on the beach of Vashon Island, WA. After scouting the island for over 2 days, I decided on this particular spot near an abandoned dock.

CAMERA AND LENS - I used a Nikon D300 with a 50mm 1.4 lens. I chose that focal length because I didn’t want to go too wide, and I also had limited length behind me to get the angle that I wanted. My exposure was 1/250th second, f/16, and ISO 200. I was using the sun as a backlight but since it was so bright, I closed down the aperture and shutter as much as I could.

LIGHTING - My main light on the model was a Profoto Acute 7 head with the Profoto 22″ soft light and diffuser sock. This was up fairly close to the model just to camera left and just above the frame. I like the light I get from the beauty dish because it’s not too soft and not too hard. I also triggered a couple Nikon sb800’s that were gridded just to highlight the jackets. I had one at full power on camera right mainly hitting the 2 jackets on the right to show the details of the clothes.

CREATIVE PROCESS - I conceived this shot ahead of time… First I chose the location, and that’s were most of my inspiration came from. While I was shooting some test shots the week before, I noticed that it would be fairly easy to get some birds in the shot if I brought along a loaf of bread. I knew that the designer, Heilyke, had this corset top and I envisioned capturing a mood like this with the model posing like I captured. Besides only trying to fill the frame with birds, I asked the designer if I could hang some of her jackets across the 2 posts.

POST PRODUCTION - In post I composited the birds from a couple different frames, applied some dodge and burn to the clothes and model, and removed a board the model was standing on in order not to sink into the sand. Then a little color and contrast tweak for the last step.

Weddings – Photographer Tracy Turpen – Website www.tracyturpen.com

LOCATION - The beach, Hilton Head Island

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D Mark II, 24 1.4 L lens, 1/1600 sec at 1.8.   ISO 100.  I grabbed my widest lens so I could really showcase how generous the sash was in length.

LIGHTING – Available light.  The photo was taken about 45 minutes before sunset.

CREATIVE PROCESS - I spotted the silky sash on the couple’s wedding arbor during the couple photos after the ceremony and knew I wanted to incorporate it.   Seeing as how they were both dressed in white my eye was drawn to the blue sky.  I wanted to contrast the blue against the surplus of white fabric.   I had my assistant throw the sash high into the sky while the couple kissed.  It took quite a few tosses but with the help of a nice throw and a powerful wind gust I finally nailed how I wanted to scarf to flow around the couple.  I love the movement, the dreamy feel, and how the long sash draws your eye to the couple again and again.

POST PRODUCTION - Photo was a RAW file taken in SRGB mode in Camera. There wasn’t a great deal done in post production but I did brighten the exposure in Lightroom and deepened the blacks.  Then I exported the raw file and burned in the blue sky in Photoshop.  I also burned the sash to bring out more of the detail.

Fashion – Photographer Luke Copping – Website www.lukecopping.com

LOCATION - Buffalo, NY USA

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D, ISO 100, F: 6.3, Shutter: 1/50, Lens: MKII, canon 70-200 4.0 L

LIGHTING - 3 Kino Flo Diva light 400’s

I like to use the Kino-Flo for beauty and portrait work, as it allows me to visualize the more subtle changes of light on the face, I also really like their ability to spread a nice even light across the face, because of their limited variance in output, you have to be very careful with positioning to control your output. They are really great for picking out highlights on the skin and defining shape.

CREATIVE PROCESS - This was prepped for a magazine in the Buffalo and Toronto areas, a story on androgyny and fashion, I felt that the model had a very strong profile that worked well within the theme of the assignment. We needed a full spread layout that left room for copy, so we decided on a strong profile that was balanced with more negative space on the right side. As usually, with a story like this, working close in hand with my styling team was exceptionally important, they are an integral part of the creative process. In terms of light, we allowed the background to be lit by the spill from the keys, and the main light is camera lift, and slightly above the model, just a little less than 90 degrees off camera axis. There is also a light above the model to bring some more highlight out of the hair, and one low and facing her back to provide some highlight on her skin and clothing

POST PRODUCTION - Most of the post-production involved general beauty retouching, enhancing and evening out the tones of the skin without destroying the natural texture and beauty of her skin. All done at the pixel level to give her a more consistent skin tone. Some hand painted highlights and shadows were dodged and burned into the image as well The only major retouching was some subtle reshaping of her hair shape.

Fashion – Photographer Kate Drennan – Website www.katedrennan.com

LOCATION - Yanchep Beach, North of Perth, Western Australia.

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 1/250sec, f/10, ISO 100, Focal length 50mm, Lens EF 50mm f/1.2L USM. I usually use the 24-7omm because I like the ability to zoom and crop but I have started using the 50mm and LOVE the quality, which I sometimes get disappointed with in the 24-70mm. We were on an isolated beach with plenty room and time to move around the models.

LIGHTING - I used an off camera speed light. I started with the reflector but for this shot just used the flashlight held to the top left of my camera.

CREATIVE PROCESS - I love sharp punched out images. This image has great detail and I think the colours blend well together. The lighting is straight on and matched to the background so that the subjects appear almost cut out from the background. A very standard composition in this case, I tend to often place subjects left of center and moving the viewer’s eyes from left to right across the image.

POST PRODUCTION - I must admit, I know all the great photographers swear by an all in camera production, but I love Photoshop! I do retouching work to earn extra money while studying and I am on Photoshop all day and night – it’s a bit of an obsession… I use filters, which resemble HDR effects and then remove areas here and there so that skin is still real but edges and features are punched out. I lighten and darken areas to assist in this overall effect.

Fashion – Photographer Melissa Rodwell – Website www.melissarodwell.com

LOCATION - Out of Frame Studio in Hollywood, California.

CAMERA AND LENS - Nikon D2x, ISO 200, 85mm f/1.4 lens set at f10 at 1/250 sec. I used my 85mm because it’s a great lens for fashion and it’s also really sharp. I used f10 to maintain the sharpness and I shot at 1/250 to capture the movement of the model.

LIGHTING - 1 Elinchrom deep throat in front of the model. Model was close to the background.

CREATIVE PROCESS - We had just heard word that Irving Penn had died the morning of this shoot. I have always been a big fan of Penn’s fashion work, so I was obviously pretty moved by this news.  I think we all sort of channelled his spirit that day, with the poses and the styling. Even though the shoot was  prepped days before we shot, the day of the actual shooting I think we all were in a bit of quiet reflection that one of fashion’s icon had just passed away. I chose one big beautiful light because I wanted to create a simplicity on the set and let the incredible clothes speak for themselves. I chose Sarah Deana from LA Models because she not only is incredibly beautiful, she moves like a dream! She also emotes a sensuousness and a iconic fashion sense. The two blend into a dynamic energy that is just wonderful to work with. This was actually just a test for my book but the clothes came from a boutique in Los Angeles called CHURCH. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship that I continue to have with CHURCH’s owners Rodney Burns and David Malvaney. After Rodney and David saw what I did with this shoot they began hiring me to shoot their clothing for their yet to be unveiled website. I was truly inspired from the gate after visiting CHURCH for the first time and seeing the clothing lines that they carry. I wanted to photograph them with as much simplicity as possible (white background, one light, clean space) in order to really show off the greatness of the clothing. To me fashion photography has just gone haywire recently, and especially in the digital age where just about everyone claims now to be a photographer. The one thing I learned very early on in my career as a fashion photographer is that the clothing is the most important part of the photograph and should be shot in a way that really shows off them off. I wanted to return to the early days of fashion photography, where people like Irving Penn held reign, and show the glamour and unique richness that those early heroes were so very good at!

POST PRODUCTION - There was very little post done to this picture. I am not a huge fan of overly retouched images. I try to get everything in camera, like we HAD to in the early days when we were shooting film. I think the floor was cleaned up a little to get rid of any footprints and smudges. And there was some mild color correction done to the skin tone. Other than that, what you see is what I got!

Weddings – Photographer Daniel Kudish – Website www.davinaplusdaniel.com

LOCATION – Reception hall in Montreal, QC

CAMERA AND LENS - Nikon D700, 50mm 1.4 lens, shot at ISO1000 f2.8 1/100 – I exposed for the light behind the couple. In theory, the ISO could’ve been a bit lower, but I didn’t have time to adjust it, just crank up the f-stop from 1.4.

LIGHTING - No additional lighting was used.

CREATIVE PROCESS - This shot was taken during one of the many times the guests were banging on the glasses to get the couple to kiss. We were sitting on the other side of the room, so every time it happened, we’d have to run across the dance floor to get to the head table. On this particular one, I didn’t have a chance to make it all the way, so I stopped half way and took it from further away, not noticing all the action that was happening in the frame. I only discovered it later on, when reviewing the images. I did however know that I wanted to get a silhouette on the next attempt, so at least my settings were ready. I like the framing going on around the couple, with the father of the bride looking on, the bridesmaid taking a picture, and the best man minding his own business, eating his meal. Plus, the couple was caught at the perfect moment, before creating a silhouetted blob.

POST PRODUCTION - The blacks were deepened in Photoshop, and saturation + vibrance boosted to bring out the orange glow in the back. I thought about cropping out the top and left part of the picture, but I like the framing it creates, and the image breathes better with it.

Weddings – Photographer Juile Kim – Webite www.juliekimphotography.com

LOCATION - Top of 30 St Mary Axe in London, also known as The Gherki

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D Mk II, 16-35 mm on 16, f2.8, 1/400 at ISO 400

LIGHTING - Ambient light

CREATIVE PROCESS - I will be the first to admit that this was not a particularly difficult picture to capture.  The iconic Gherkin is an amazing building and coupled with clear skies, it’s quite easy to take a dramatic picture.  I knew that the couple loved this venue so I wanted to make sure that I was showing it off as best I could.  The structural details, in particular, are a natural graphic element.  I like the symmetry of this picture and the interaction between the guests.  If I were to critique this image, there is a slight bit of distortion on the sides from shooting so wide, but I was perched somewhat precariously on the second floor and didn’t want to risk being any higher in case I toppled over the short barrier!  I took four different variations of the shot and settled for this one in the end.  Sometimes the simplest pictures are the ones that work best.

POST PRODUCTION - The sky was burned in to reveal the details in the city skyline.  I warmed the image up to emphasize the late afternoon sun and boosted the contrast and saturation a bit.  I normally use a combination of Boutwell’s Snap and Alien Skin’s film emulation software.

Portraits – Photographer Scott Kelby - www.scottkelby.com/portfolio/

LOCATION - In NAPP’s in-house studio in Oldsmar, Florida

CAMERA AND LENS - Nikon D3; 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens; 1/200 of a second at f/13; shot in Manual Mode. The 70-200mm is my go-to lens for portraits. I love the compression the lens gives for portraits, and that’s why I shoot it out at the 200mm range most of the time. I shot at f/13 to keep lots of detail and focus throughout the shot.

LIGHTING - This was lit with an Elinchrom RX-600 with a beauty dish attachment to give the light a harder, punchy edge than a simple softbox. It’s positioned off to the right of camera, but almost right over his head, aiming down. It’s shot on a pure white background.

CREATIVE PROCESS - What I like best about it is that’s it’s on that bright white background—you wouldn’t expect a high-key background for a football shot like this, and I think that’s why it works. I also used a strobe directly behind him—-aiming right at the camera (but his body was blocking the light from entering my lens) with a reflector and spot grid, to add a rim light to the sides of his face.

POST PRODUCTION - I did a process I’ve written about called “EDP: Expanded Definition Processing” which is done in Camera Raw. I also desaturated the color a bit, which is a really trendy post-processing technique these days. We also sprayed him in the face with a water bottle, so he would look like he had been sweating (he was totally cool with it). Then I added some High Pass sharpening to really bring out every little detail in his jersey and face. Lastly, I used the CS4 Dodge and Burn tools to brighten all the highlight areas and darken all the shadow areas to add depth and dimension to the photo. This has more effect than you’d think.

Portraits – Photographer Shelby Chan – Website www.shelbychan.com

LOCATION - Studio in New York City

CAMERA AND LENS - Hasselblad H3DII-50 – HC80mm lens, iso 50, shutter 1/500, f/19 manual focus.  I wanted a very slight shallow depth of field so that the focus is in his facial expression.

LIGHTING – (2) Profoto 7B’s and (2) Profoto AcuteB 600R’s. 5 head set up.  Gridded beauty dish overhead with 2 kickers with zoom reflectors gridded at 20 degrees.  Un-modified ringflash for frontal fill. Background light with zoom reflector and 10degree grid.

CREATIVE PROCESS – I started a project consisting of a series of photographs called “Ordinary”. The subjects are of my friends that I feel made an impact on life and the people that surround them. Pictured is Joe, whom, without saying too much, has been through a battlefield of life, has paid his dues, and is here to tell it. What I wanted to convey was the intensity of his personality and to bring out a visual image of his “thought process” which, is known to be un-readable. I used gridded and hard lighting to bring out the textures of his face thereby amplifying an already deep expression. By adding elements that the subject enjoys, in this case, bourbon and cigars, brings us a little closer to the subject. By having his hands folded, he has already spoken, and it is the viewer’s turn to speak. I shot it against a pale blue background because the shirt he is wearing was similar in color with contrasting blue stripes. The reason behind it was to allow the backdrop and subject to blend together, yet having just enough contrast to pop without being distracting. I centered the subject to duplicate the typical field of vision we normally have when conversing with people, while placing the bourbon left of the frame as an offset.

POST PRODUCTION – Relying mostly on hard lighting to bring out sharpness and detail, the image made it’s first pass through the Phocus software for fine color tuning, and converted for processing with Photoshop. I made contrast adjustments to his pin striped shirt to help tie in the overall rigidity of the image. The cigar was not actually lit, and the burning embers and smoke was done in post. I did this for two reasons. One, there is no smoking in my studio, and secondly, I feel that adding a little active feature in portraits I shoot, help give the still image more “life”.

Lingerie – Photographer Rod Howe – Website www.rodhowe.com

LOCATION - Set built in a London studio.

CAMERA AND LENS - Hasselblad H system and 50-110 zoom lens, with Phase One 45+ digital back. 100 ISO, 1/125 shutter @ f5.6. This image was shot for use as a large window display, so we chose to shoot on the high end Phase One, which on this occasion just happened to be attached to a Hasselblad.

LIGHTING - HMI Fresnel 4KW x1, HMI Fresnel 2.5KW x 2. I used the 4K as the fill, diffused through Rosco soft frost – aimed directly at set from behind and above camera. 2.5K as effect light with orange gel, no diffusion, to give the warm glow and strong shadows. Another 2.5K effect with blue gel, no diffusion, camera left, to put colour into some of the shadow area’s and lift the general ambiance.

CREATIVE PROCESS - This image forms part of a larger brochure, in-store poster and window display shoot, for a lingerie brand. The theme was loosely inspired by the golden age of travel and steam railways – with a bit of raunchy decadence thrown in for good measure. My decision to use HMI lighting was to give the images a movie like quality, and the choice of gels in this scene was intended to give an alluring night time atmosphere, mixing unspecified imaginary interior and exterior lighting. I shot from a low angle (sitting on the floor), to put the guy in the foreground – so we kind of see the girl from his point of view – and to get the perspective of the bench seat and window.

POST PRODUCTION - Raw file processed to RGB Tiff in Capture One with adjustment. I’d worked out the basic effects process settings on some test images with the art director before hand, to enhance the movie and retro quality we were looking for (basically fiddling around with curves and sliders until we got something we liked). This particular process desaturates and adds contrast to the image, so the colours represented here are more washed out than the original image. I had to keep this in mind whilst lighting the set, knowing that some subtle effects could be lost. Tiff imported to Photoshop for some further retouching – removing bits of debris and marks from set, along with a few minor imperfections in the garment, and smoothing the girls skin a little.

Fine Art – Photographer Faye Yerbury – Website www.yerburystudio.com

LOCATION - Country House in Somerset.

CAMERA AND LENS – Nikon D 300. Manual: F-stop 3.5. Aperture 3.5. ISO 640 – Focal length 24.0mm. Lens 24-70 f2.8.

LIGHTING – Daylight only.

CREATIVE PROCESS – The bath was deep copper and lent itself to something beautiful such as the perfect model used here to produce the image. The composition took care of itself once I had instructed the model what I wanted to achieve from the situation.

POST PRODUCTION - There is some cropping on an angle in Photoshop. Lots of contrast and saturation of colour, the use of totally rad (rusty cage) to give the warm glow. Also used Liquify To enhance the body shape and redirect the hair.

Weddings – Photographer Milos Horvat – Website www.miloshorvat.com

LOCATION – Venice

CAMERA AND LENS – Canon 5dII + sigma 20-40 f2.8 at f4.5 – 1/6sec – iso 640

LIGHTING – natural-ambient light

CREATIVE PROCESS – This image was taken last September on a wedding in Venice. It instantly became one of my favourite images. I knew it was a “winner” the second I saw it on the camera screen. I really like it because it has a strong “art” feeling, without loosing a meaning of a wedding photo. I see a lot of story in this image…. like “look at me my girl, we are dancing, trust me, I will lead you through life as we dance now.” I hope that this my description of the tale, will not cause too much excitement among the more “feminist” oriented girls:), but this is how I see this image. The image was taken during the first dance. Immediately after I took a safe shot (the one with no blur etc.), I stared playing with slow shutter speed to get something different. I choose the wide-angle lens Sigma 20-40 f2.8 put it on 20mm to show the ambience of the space at the same time. Put my camera settings to f 4.5 1/6 sec and start shooting from the floor (this helps you to stay camera still). I shot in sequences few times to get the best possible shot. It’s a tricky game, cause you really can’t totally predict how the image will come out, but when all things fall right together, this is the end result.

POST PRODUCTION – Basically a good BW conversion in PS was all I did.

Fashion – Photographer Richard Warren – Website www.richardwarrenphotos.com

LOCATION - Bedroom of private residence hired as a location

CAMERA AND LENS – Canon 5d ISO 250, Lens 24-105 at about 50 ml and setting 30th of a second at f 4.0 I can’t take this type of photo with a medium format camera because I need a higher ISO and shallow depth of field.

LIGHTING - Comet 1200 strobe bounced into the ceiling behind and left of camera. One Lowel 1K DP light ( un-corrected) from same angle to give some shadows. Another hot light , a 650 Lowel Omni light was used in the bath room / hallway behind the model on the floor.

CREATIVE PROCESS – This was from a fashion editorial named “Homage to Helmet” where we recreated a style that the photographer Helmet Newton might have used. Rather than use nudes, or fetish images I decided to focus on decadence. I think when people look at a fashion photograph they think decadence. Perhaps its because they are lusting for a garment that they can not afford, or they enjoy playing the voyeur peaking in to the life of the rich. Its about desire.

POST PRODUCTION – Raw file was processed with little adjustments in Lightroom then imported into Photoshop as a tiff. I made the color to black and white conversions using the channel mixer and made one layer flat and another very contrasty. Using a layer mask I burned in the high and low contrasty values as needed. Over all contrast was then adjusted using curves. I did uneven dodging and burning to simulate dodging in the dark room. I purposely left a halo around the featured models head as this was a signature “ dodge mark” that was used in much of the fashion photography in the 60’s and 70’s. Certainly Helmet Newton had seen the photo of Francis Bacon by Bill Brandt when he instructed his darkroom printer to realize much of his black and white work. At the end I put a slight sepia tone into the image and some film grain to complete the film look.

Weddings – Photographer David Murray – Website www.davidmurrayweddings.com

LOCATION- Montaluce Vineyards, Dahlonega GA August, 2009

CAMERA AND LENS – Shot manual with a Nikon D3, ISO 800, 50th of a second, 2.8 I tend to have my aperture at 2.8 for my wide images  (17-35) which is as open as it gets for that lens.  At this depth of field, the subject is most dominant.  All else becomes less important in terms of focus.  I do this to help the eye go to the subject.

LIGHTING – Available light only. There were many long (4ft/1.2 meters) sparklers handed out to the guests.  I just figured that this lighting would be enough.

CREATIVE PROCESS – Compositionally it has wonderful layers. There are lots of things, people, and faces, to look at in the photo.  Because of the lighting and the white of the bride’s dress, the viewer is drawn to her and her joyous reaction to the moment.  Also, the image reminds me of Rembrandt’s, “The Night Watch”(www.rembrandtpainting.net/rembrandt’s_night_watch.htm), where darkness is interrupted by light shinning, and profiling the main subjects. Of course this is no Rembrandt, but it is interesting to think that the principles of light and composition have not changed over centuries.  Mostly, I love this image because I was able to capture the joie de vivre of my lovely bride Meredith.  I hope that it will remind her and her husband Ben of their wonderful wedding day.

POST PRODUCTION - I wanted it black and white.  In times where the moment is key, I don’t want anything to distract the viewer from what is going on.  For this image, I used Jeff Ascough’s Master Plan B&W action to give it the rich and varied tones needed.

Weddings – Photographer Crash Taylor – Website www.crashtaylor.com

LOCATION - London

CAMERA - Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 16-35mm Mark II. Aperture f4 – Shutter speed 1/200 at ISO 800.

LIGHTING - A splash of the Canon 580 ex II on the bride and groom.

CREATIVE PROCESS - I was driving to the venue in Central London in the most beautiful classic white Rolls Royce. It was one of the best drives I have ever experienced in my life. We cruised around London for 30 minutes taking in all the famous sites. I kept looking in the mirror for the perfect moment and after I heard the bride say thank you to her now husband I knew the kiss was coming. I fired 2 frames and this is my favourite. I love the three dimensional feel to it with the car and driver in the foreground and the bride, groom and city in the background.

POST PRODUCTION – Photoshop CS4 – This is definitely a black and white moment as all the colours coming from the street were very distracting to the eye. I used one of Yervant’s brilliant black and white actions and then applied curves with some dodging and burning.

Portraits – Photographer Joel Grimes – Website www.joelgrimes.com

LOCATION - This HDR background was shot at the LA Coliseum just south of downtown Los Angeles. Because the stadium is fenced off, I shot through the iron fence. Five exposures in one stop increments and process in Photomatix.

CAMERA AND LENS - Canon 5D Mark II. Background image shot with a Canon 16-35mm 2.8, set at 16mm. (I actuarially shot this images through an iron gated fence.) Portrait image shot in studio with a Canon 24-70mm 2.8 lens, set at 24mm. I always try and set my aperture at f/8 or f/9 because optically this is the sharpest part of the lens.

LIGHTING - The portrait image was shot in a studio using three lights, two side edge lights in medium soft box banks and one overhead 60 inch umbrella. Strobes used were White-lightning Ultra 1600’s. I alternate this lighting setup by using two small soft box banks and a 24 inch octagon bank or a 22 inch beauty dish. Keep in mind the larger the light source is in relationship to the subject the softer the light.

CREATIVE PROCESS - Photography is an illusion, it is not reality and never has been. Where I draw the line on how far I push that illusion may be different from the next artist, but in a way we are all illusionist. My vision as an illusionist, is to create an image that is larger that life. For me, how light strikes a subject or background is paramount. So I take great pains to get my lighting right. I do this by working my lighting from a intuitive, emotional, feeling approach as I preview my image on the back of my cameras monitor. I never use a flash meter, lighting ratios or histograms because a technical instrument can never make a creative decision; this is reserved for the human mind.

POST PRODUCTION - For my composite images I shoot all the backgrounds in HDR. After processing them in Photomatix, I do all my post work in Photoshop CS4. I work both the backgrounds and the subject images using layers and blending techniques I have developed over the past few years. I have some video tutorials on my blog that shows these techniques if anyone is interested.