A couple weeks ago, I found myself with a last minute call from ONE Magazine to shoot pro rollerblader, Michael Collins. He was in town for a cousin's funeral for a couple week.
Michael had been out of the scene for a couple years now, having just picked up a pair of skates a couple of months earlier. He already has a new skate sponsor, USD, so I'd say he'd done well so far.
I managed to link up with him a few times and show him around my spots. It turns out he lived here right before he stopped skating. Who knew? But that makes sense. I ran into him 2 years ago around the same time.
Anyway, we both snagged some spectacular photos in a week, some of which are in ONE's online article "The Re-Education of Michael Collins". The rest will appear this July in the ONE's 2nd online issue.
The shot of Michael was composed with a AB-800 high left, set 1/1, as my main light; a speedlite set at waist level to far right to fill in the retaining wall (didn't want a completely dark frame and the architecture there is rather interesting); a 2nd speed light held by my friend pointed at Michael to fill in any remaining shadows.
In post, I mostly darkened/cloned out any of the backdrop (a few lit signs), burned the flooring/far left highlights, brought up the contrast on the stairs, popped Michael's clothing, warmed the concrete, sharpened.
The little things can make or break a photo. The first 4-5 shots were done in a black shirt. Until I realized he was fading into the black backdrop I was creating by killing the ambient lighting. So I asked if he had a different shirt. Michael pulls a lime green shirt. That'll do! It stands out in just the right way to bring focus to him.
0 comments:
Post a Comment