Lessons

Lesson Info

Urban Shoot Challenges

All right, so this let me set the scene for this a little bit this is outside in this urban area in potrero hill in san francisco were just kind of going around the perimeter's this is literally right before this started we walked into this kind of docking loading area and found cigarette butts on the ground and a pack and a bunch of like, use napkins and I think there was like an ace bandage and I didn't get that bad, but we started kicking it all up and pulling it out of frame and that's what I'm doing a lot of doing a lot either by myself or if I have an assistant helping me out is just kind of when you're in urban setting, you have to do a whole bunch of that um so we walked in and if you guys have done this, have you done a lot of photographing in urban sessions? You know, you know that sometimes you walk into less optimal settings, it makes a difference to take a few moments to clean that up versus and you know, I have gloves or wash your hands or whatever you need but versus try...

to shoot around it and limit your options so we wanted to kind of open this up a little bit what we have here are two little girls ages six and seven who were playing sisters um for the purposes of our shoot they had actually just met like twenty minutes ago but we were joking about how they were sisters um and I start out by like really cold jumping in saying let's pose you guys together um what I want to show you is the combination of me starting with something what I had just to um what they show me that they want to do and how that works and what we get from it I believe on this edit we only have a couple images that came out of these but at the end we'll have a bunch to flip through does that sound right sure we'll say it is eso eso we'll do that as we go okay so I don't know how the volume isn't this and I said it a million times but I just apologize for my voice I'm really sorry that you have to hear it just think of it as they respond well to it you'll be sorry you stay stay good jobs good jockeys and grab the reflector you're over not good lizards good closer together closer and then put your legs closer that's what I'm getting you coming to kind of wrap the light a little bit we jump over seen here coming this way yeah like they're getting the lighting a check back with me this is one of the right and stay as you are I'm gonna come right down here off your knees and then turned more towards me like this samaritan showing her tonight don't soft knees soft this so I said can we do it? This is this is there's some jump cuts here so bear with us but what I'm saying to her is she was doing the big smile and I was soft and I said soft means this and then I show her what soft means so should we went from like soft you know and and that's a lot of what it is is showing what I mean by these terms yeah try not to smile you kind of I want you I want to show that again let's see if I can yep there we go. That's what? We get my soft softening this yes, that was her got a big smile to this very good you kind of I want you and that was just do this see me ok sure that you'd show up just to hear their ugo good. All right, good let's try that again fall lovely. You look so good. Chin up just a little bit. Yeah. Don't you see how she's helping thiss case a lot? All right, go back always back and walk right up to that spot and do it ready and work it own it you little kid here you're so pretty you're right to say anything all right beautiful job wait everyone ready? I think what we do with you is what have you come up and remember has shown you in idea I have okay so this is what I do often which is I've got the posing playbook on my way what I use and I and I use it like I used to feel like I was a crutch to refer to images and now I'm like but then they really see what I'm going for it doesn't it doesn't it doesn't mean I'm going to get that in any way but it's something that we start with so I have images and I'll literally turn and say this is what I'm thinking what do you think and I'll have kids go in there now all of that one like a lot so one of the ideas I had was right here this is what the ideas I had todo so this is all you're gonna be doing is you're gonna have your hands really soft so you're not gonna grab your hands are gonna be just softly hands and you're gonna just do this so this toe up go one sorry for the refugees no that's her laughing while she's watching we're not teo see her why you're not too that's what can you mean ford? You know even funner be funny funny funny er what did you shoot that gave each other a hug but both looked at me could you do that when I get there? All kinds of things yes that's sounded all right wait don't squeeze your life blood out but gee buys you gonna start bleeding all right let's try to get we'll practice wants you over here now and the arms swing a little bit yeah alright go back and do it again this is the shot so hey, we're laying on the street and she's just coming down and then behind us is the city and she just coming at me okay waken d'oh now alright go back and do it one more time quick! Alright this time a little less our movement a little softer walking yes, and swing well good springing and so that makes a big difference right? What we had before the big big swing this is softer and more subtle and she goes if she goes and she gets so very good so and then and then if you see here just the difference between when she goes from the top and then to the mid the framing is changing as she comes closer and farther away one more time, a little less arms swinging on okay, yes, and that I love that as we kind of come in and very nice so we end up getting this really fun urban high spirited looks all right, one last walk very last one this time this time when you walk down both of you like look around don't look at me I'm not even here very last one this time this time when you walk down both of you like look around don't look at me I'm not even here I'm just like something just getting in right? Ha ha ha okay and that's changing up the composition then right? We're framing instead of just his tall narrow let it stay with me so you see me okay, this is important so as we go to this next scene uh I were running around we're dancing we're playing it was all fun and spirited me and right before this started they each had a sprite because it took a little while to get started they were just kind of hanging out in the green room which is in green um but uh then we switch to this spot on the stairs and a little girl sat down and I wonder if you can see here we just lost her if she did that thing where she was gone when you were lying down on the street uh the question was, how are you meet a ring and how you're focusing as they're walking towards so that would be partial muttering because we were backlit and the and the light was coming in we had a gray side walk the whole way down and their little subjects they're not tall so the closer they are the ground that more benefit they're getting from bounce, but every time I shoot on sidewalks or great concrete or beech or something like that, I know that I don't have to worry about reflects because I'm getting tons of light bouncing back up on a bright, sunny day like we had, so I'm shooting low and I'm shooting center waited or I'm shooting partial or, um spot and in this case it's partial because they're taking it a little bit more of the frame, especially as they get closer on dh then that's that's a major option to choose and that's the film using and obviously the main is the the back light behind and I have really separated from anything behind them and I'm shooting that way on purpose that gives me my hair or my room light on how you're focusing as they're moving in. I'm doing single shot focus, I do that a lot um everyone everyone smile switch teo the night cons new auto focus is really the out of the three d auto focus they have that I'm not really shot with before I'm finding that to be really cool like very spot on and I'm experimenting with that, but I've always used to single shot center focus stay with me. You see me? Good. So you see that I had to go right up to her face because she was gone and make like a like this in her eyes and say, do you see me? Because otherwise she just wasn't there and so I end up getting hurt her look back and you'll see some a little bit so now hopefully very good try fame thing when they go low I come back here now try baby gonna go did you hear that? What she said come to the world now don't say cheese say what the bully is delicious the legend and that's a totally different look then if I just had our say cheese if I had chief she's just tease you switch it up a little bit in her whole look changes because she's thinking about a new word and she's not going with the same memorized set of behaviors that preconditioned response yeah, right there you're not gonna do I'm gonna be shooting very here is to you, so I'm doing so I'm putting her right up against the wall. We've got the reflector bouncing light backups. I'm kind of positioning her. Yes, we're shooting this beautiful and then try right like this beautiful and then let me try mr chat to my, uh thirty five have you a national with a wider angle so they come back if you heard that so what I'm taking turns shooting that was with e eighty five one four lens when I was laying on my tummy and they were coming in this way you know I just in stomach to tell me tell me santa cuter not my stomach my tummy um I was shooting with the seventy two two hundred to eight which is really good to get a lot of that just kind of whole background the boca looks gorgeous when I was shooting in that first kind of holding lot area that we're shooting in I was using the twenty four to seventy two eight letter because I was coming right up on them and it was junk nbac um and here I was shooting the eighty five the portrait like really nice and tight and then I pull back with thirty five one four lens because I want to show a different angle I'm gonna just pop up my isis so I just want mostly all I care about find a target catch lights good so good so yes but this I was going really close and tight and was a vertical frame and now because I want to change the composition I'm gonna have her be on the edge my frame and shoot wide and horizontal with a thirty five good so you're not my difference that action or anything so you're not like into one direction or anything can you tell that my kid's going to find out that it's maybe a little bit I love what you're doing I love this I love what you're doing here let's try a little bit more like this and a little bit more like this a little more like on that's me physically going and shifting her and then but instead of just if I were to just say um I would like to move your hand up a little bit and I want to move your elbow a little bit I'm getting her out of frame so I just musing on either the words a little bit of this or just nonsense stuff she's still with me because this doesn't matter I can she could be like a little plato like one of those little potato holes not that she's so pretty all right let's jump over here again right here the middle smack down the middle and then that edited real quick but what I said it's okay let's move over here and as we started walking over there I said we'll wait and you guys have ever had this while you're about to leave a shot you see the shot like you're about to leave a scene you're like I can't believe I didn't even see that instead of saying well I've already moved on I dragged her back I don't know I want this he's like this I lied for yes just just like that that's gorgeous right just like this all right see I have everything but expression right? I've got the pose I know my lighting is all those things we talked about her set I don't have expression yet really towards me like your yes and then I get it by her doing something exaggerating lee silly and then we move about a little bit but that's where expression comes from all right same thing as you're doing but instead of going all the way forward just like this this yet but what I did here I have complimented you with your hair good and of course this is not relevant to the shot in anyway this's just let's bring you back in a way because because as you move and change people they're just like what what do you want for me? What on dh then obviously the angle you shoot at and the lens choice and the framing make a massive difference we're just in one spot we've got such different looks what does that mean? Try looking off to your mother and say mother I'd like to thank you for all the opportunities you've given me my life back right this way sister we're back over here okay so now we move back to where I was going to take her which is against this nice periwinkle door that's paralegal right we'll say this. Um, I have her up here and if you see, she had that jacket on before we took off the jacket and we changed her hair. So in this beginning, shots or hair was down. She had the jacket on. Then we said let's, take off the jacket, let's, change the hair. Put this really cool little headband in. And now we have a whole different look. And then even just change your hair from behind her. To the side to the other side makes a difference to so every time I switch cameras angles, it tends to repeat the last second again. I just don't you think I'm incredibly repetitive? What is she doing? Everything again? Oh, I like that. That's. A little bit of attitude you got there? That's. What you got going? I love that. I love it when you get this, like and that happened for a second. I wonder if I could show you that I just watched you're thinking about what you did out there in your head of what you got going on there, right there. Just, like came in your eyes and left. And that happens a lot do you ever see that on a shoot like it'll come in and some will float through their eyes and then you get and then it's gone she's moving her now come back to us where is your god doesn't know where have you gone this is in no way soft this's loud and raucous look towards him beautiful all right let's not mess the hair so I'm literally she had this kind of cool little sweater on physically taking it off watching her hair thank you all right and you know what we're doing here just changing the look good are big fierce reflecting so at this point she is already zoned out several times were kind of losing her a little bit she's there she's beautiful and she's fun but and I know she's six and so I know I've gotta work a little bit harder to get her back in it that is so cute did you not just a little bit and then I think what I would like on her because we've got a lot of right light with the white shirts giving a lot of reflection is give me some fan move back and we're gonna go like this and I'm a shoot like when the fan goes down I'm not a photograph no you're perfect you look so good try it if you can I know this is difficult when the fan comes down chin up a little bit ignore the pounding air coming your way there there that's it that's awesome and you said that you see her the chin movement makes a big difference right? Just that soft little thing makes a huge difference do one more time and this this next one like as you're doing this kind of go a little bit like this and then you see that there's some she said she on and do that with your mouth and then do you get that that talk about telltale signs I'm losing her she's doing it but the life is going ok maybe I gotta work a little harder okay ready prepared for your hair oh, that was some freddy that was it awesome. Okay that okay so do you see how you have to bring her back and you gotta get a little wild are gonna get a little louder a little more touchy just dipped it um nothing crazy but enough that you have to be responsive to the fact that we're losing energy now we're downstairs and open kind of warehouse that's being built out that I want to move into and live in by the time we got there brian our producer said you got like eight minutes girl and I was just I was like what I want to live in here so we did what we could as I walked up to take this chute I had way first we pulled in the reflector to use it and it just wasn't bright enough for the two of them because we were in a pretty shaded area and there's a lot of dappled light but I will wanted that because of where we were so I put on my flash and then had the flash bounce really good right very good do me a favor screwed yourselves a little bit like this sea like imagine if your bodies were a person who would turn this way low that wasn't what imagine if your bodies were one person it would turn like this they get that it that is so good stay just like that please wait wait your butt oh yes no way just ended up my joke about butts that is it what is so good? Oh my gosh it's so good right now and it is the final shot ever won two and you see how our little girl with the pattern dress we're the smile is she's kind of making it happen right it's not as natural zit waas so I've got to get around that that would be lovely and it took three shots it was the middle shot that worked the first was still forced the third went back to forces the middle where actually got her really smiling now run, run, run all right you slather up they remember I just posted this on facebook yesterday remember how I talked about sometimes I want to blow out the light behind them the backlighting and have nothing interrupted, but other times I want the detail and the color and the look this is an option where I wanted those colors because they're coming in so beautiful if this image we're all wait, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting um as having those purples and those greens and the blues and I gave these images to creative live with that with very little editing like I think I threw some things in black and white but the image that I put up on my business profile page the tamer lackey photography facebook page um you'll see the difference between this and what I edited so I ended it um and that one I don't think I might have that later in the presentation, but I took out that little patch there um and then just kind of and then cleaned up the foreground and things like that just before I would present it to a client that's why I love it so these air close to straight out of camera people who's really close to the camera? Yeah with a click clack of my action just to show a little bit keeping the head and face already face love it so where to face that one always right? You're like a monkey in a tree all right, so then we have, um, I'm trying to think if I could scrub forward a little bit, we got time. Yep. That's. Next one, ok. And then I ended up showing them there's, another part here, where they ran around like crazy. And then I got these big, atmospheric shots with my twenty four, seventy, pulled really far back of them, just kind of running. And it was just really kind of lovely with it was all black and white, so everything was just really architectural and stuff.