Never stop learning.
So in keeping the promise I made myself for spring break, I took one of my best friends, Maggie, out shooting today. I had been wondering if anything up at Manito Park had been green or in bloom yet, and the light was showing a bit of promise today, so I figured, why not check it out?
There was also something I've read about a few times that I wanted to put into practice: the Brenizer Method. If you are a photographer, you've probably heard of this a few times in passing. Basically, it allows you to shoot some really wide scenes with a really shallow depth of field, even if you don't have a wide focal length lens or a lens with great aperture range. Essentially, you shoot your subject panoramically and stitch everything together in Photoshop.
Here's a tutorial on how to do it that explains it very simply:
Little Lady Little City: The Brenizer Method
I've been intrigued with this for a while now, and today I randomly decided at work that I was finally going to try it.
I have to say that it was a success! I shot 4 photos this way, but the one above was my favorite. (I highly encourage you to view it in full screen, just click on the photo.) It gives such an awesome feel of environment, while letting me shoot shallow and still make the scene as big as I want to! I now have the ability to mesh landscapes and environments with portraiture. I'm already excited to try more shots like this!
Another thing I wanted to work on was creating some movement in my shots. When I had my review with
, he said that he enjoyed my shots with movement in them the most, and that I should try shooting with that in mind more often. He gave the suggestion of photographing seniors that way and applying their talents and interests with some photographs that involved movement.
Can we all just appreciate how adorable Maggie looks? I feel like these hold the style of a prep school clothing advertisement. All they need is a bulldog running along side on a leash and a pair of chic sunglasses!
Maggie is so naturally beautiful it's ridiculous. She's got the facial structure of a model and a gaze like no other. There's a reason she was in my portfolio book 3 different times! This shot also reminded me a lot of one Mike Monaghan did fairly recently (view that photo here).
All in all, our quick 1 hour shoot today was a success! I've now got some new tools in my belt to work with for shooting seniors soon.
Class of 2015, prepare yourselves.