Another camera club member suggested an idea for an image that would photograph two sides of him. Ideas started rolling, and now the plan is to make this a series of 4-5 photographs. I wanted to add a surreal element and some continuity between the images, so I decided to incorporate paper shade balls with lights. These are also meant to explain the lighting on the subjects, though that isn’t so important to me if the image otherwise looks good. Some people don’t like lighting without a clear reason, though. I’m still not sure if this was the right decision—time will tell. Nevertheless, without the lights, it felt like the image either needed something more or had too much going on, so I didn’t want to leave it that way.
Notes to my future self:
- Editing multiple images of water together is difficult. Give the water more time to settle.
- In autumn, it gets dark much faster than in winter or summer (in Finland). Be on time for the sunset.
- Double-check the tripod legs; the horizon in the last image wasn’t straight.
- I guess I thought the white umbrella would work like the paper shade ball. Don’t be stupid, use a softbox to avoid flares.
- Make sure you have an actual clean plate and not a zoomed-in one. Take several shots.
