When all the buttons clicked and the light went on..
All the years I was working on my photographic skills, the one thing I did on location was "look for the background." I knew what would be a good background and how to position the subjects. But for some reason, when I found a spot and got a great photo, when I went back with another client, it didn't look the same for one reason or another.
Fast forward to the early 90's. A up and coming colleague was assisting me on a wedding. We had some down time so we were talking shop. I asked where would we set up the formal portraits at this particular location and what was his thought process. He said he would look for the background first and use that as long as the light was decent. It was probably at this moment that I realized that my way of finding locations all these years was the reason why my images had different looks under different lighting conditions. The light went on in my head. If I wanted better & more consistennt, the background should not be the primary element. It should be the LIGHT! Then once I find a good source of light, then I can look for the appropriate background.
If it were that simple, it would be great but even though one has a good source of light, being able to utilize it is another story. Then you throw in accent lights, lens choices, types of backgrounds and a whole mess of variables makes it a little more challenging than just "finding the light."
Now when you see me looking at locations, the first thing I do is look for the source of light then I'll figure out what to do with the background.
Fast forward to the early 90's. A up and coming colleague was assisting me on a wedding. We had some down time so we were talking shop. I asked where would we set up the formal portraits at this particular location and what was his thought process. He said he would look for the background first and use that as long as the light was decent. It was probably at this moment that I realized that my way of finding locations all these years was the reason why my images had different looks under different lighting conditions. The light went on in my head. If I wanted better & more consistennt, the background should not be the primary element. It should be the LIGHT! Then once I find a good source of light, then I can look for the appropriate background.
Example of poor light source:
Resulting Image
Example of better light source:
Resulting Image
If it were that simple, it would be great but even though one has a good source of light, being able to utilize it is another story. Then you throw in accent lights, lens choices, types of backgrounds and a whole mess of variables makes it a little more challenging than just "finding the light."
Now when you see me looking at locations, the first thing I do is look for the source of light then I'll figure out what to do with the background.
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