Behind The Scenes Of A Photo Shoot
Many people fail to realize that when we see a person, place or product in a magazine advertisement just how much work is done on those images since we rarely ever see the before image of just what it really looked like.
Long before I became a photographer I was, and still am, a graphic designer. I have worked in just about every design industry from advertising, web design, marketing, production and editing. It comes in real handy for I can take an idea and execute it to finish product just the way I envision it when I do a photo shoot.
However it isn't what it may appear to be more often then not for most clients or projects I work on doesn't have a Hollywood budget to rent out studios, equipment or the resources so this is where my darkroom skills become real important as I have used Photoshop for the better part of 15 years now.
My latest challenge was to photograph a model on a Ducati motorcycle that is being given away at a trade show in June. It was to be shot at the dealership so my options was going to be limited on what I could do much less how I could shoot it. I had no idea on what to expect so I prepared for the worst.
Of course when I got there with my assistant Sandy and my model Dawn my hunch was right. No clean background and the only spot that would work meant light coming from the side. That meant I had to fill in the shadows side with a reflector and fill in the rest with fill flash. Not ideal for had this been in a studio I could control the light but that wasn't an option for this gig.
Here is the original, unedited image of Dawn on the Ducati at the cycle dealership. I wasn't very happy with what I had to work with as I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me to get the image I wanted.
I took numerous shots of the bike and model from different focal lengths and apertures to ensure I get exactly what I needed for there would be no chance to go back and re-shoot it so I gave myself plenty of options and choices once I got back to my studio. After going through all of the images I selected one that I would begin work on and tossed the rest in the trash.
First I edited the image in Adobe Camera Raw to get the highlights, shadows and color just right so I had a good starting point to work with. I then took the image into Photoshop to begin the magic. First thing I did is make a copy of the original so I had something to go back to as well as compare my progress so I wasn't working on the original.
Now it was analyzing and planing out what edits I wanted to do and how they would be done. This is where the power of editing really comes into play as I can literally transform this image anyway I want and the key here is working in layers so again at any point I could edit those changes if I decide later I changed my mind.
Several hours later and LOTS of Photoshop gave me results exactly as I had in my mind for the ad that looks like it was shot in a studio and is now ready to be used in the advertisement for the giveaway.
So what exactly did I do? Several hours later and many layers and edits later, here is what I did in no particular order (keep in mind also that all these edits are on separate layers in case I needed to go back and do later edits if the client wanted something else):
- Duplicated the original and created a work path so I could cut out the background
- Cut out the right headlight, flipped it to the left side and tinted them both
- Cut out the left grille, flipped it to the right side and tinted them both
- Took a portion of the left fork and mirrored it on the right for an even appearance
- Cut out the windshield and darken and tinted it
- Dodged and burned the jacket to reveal the details and contours
- Edited the helmet so it didn't have the scoops on the top for a cleaner line
- Dodged and burned the mirrors to reveal the details and contours
- Tinted and darkened the helmet shield as well as removed the reflector reflection
- Cut out the tire and added motion blur on a separate layer
Click Here To View A Mock-up Of The Ad
----------
So there you have it. While it was a bit of work the end result is exactly what I had envisioned and the client was very happy with the results. Hard to believe that the ending result looks nothing like the original for with a little time, skill and design smarts, anything is possible and just goes to show what you sometimes see isn't what it really was.
Want to learn more in-depth about the Rule of Thirds and how to take your images to the next level? Then join me for the most comprehensive course taught on the internet about composition today! Click here to learn more about "Must Know" Fundamentals of Composition.
Robert La Follette
