I’ve never been able to take pictures like the one above. I’ve always wanted to. Thankfully I had the opportunity to earlier this year. I think it was probably about 55-60 degrees and KT (my model for the day) was a real trooper. We scoped around for about 30 minutes until we found a secluded part that she and I both felt comfortable shooting in, we lugged the light, light stand, battery, cables and cords, chair, and camera to a pretty sweet spot where we could set the shot up. I don’t normally take photographs of women… let alone ones that aren’t completely clothed. I was nervous, and she was nervous, but when it was showtime she really shined. I think we knocked these out in 10 minutes or so. I probably took 25 frames and had exactly what I wanted.
*The Fun Stuff*
We used her Canon 5d markII. (I’ve just about always been a Nikon user, so needless to say there was a tiny learning curve) Set up her alienbee 800 with a sweet little beauty dish, set it to between 1/16 -1/8 power. She a 85 f/1.2 strapped on and I think we shot it pretty wide open if I can correctly recall. I’ll admit the color saturation on Canon is unlike that of Nikon, I’ll never bash a canon user again. If you have shot with artificial lights before you know that the camera will only sync up to 250th of a second. set the ISO low and fire away, the sun was in a perfect place too, just above the horizon, and diffused by this lattice fence. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions, let the bee add a tiny bit of fill light, and i was making my exposure dreams come true.
Check the rest of the set in the gallery
Keep following me on Instagram and twitter
Have a happy new year, and a picture worthy week.
Warm regards, Jon Stell
Commercial Photography
December 14, 2015
Screen shots directly from amazon.com
I’ve been hired to do a few projects for this supplement company, I like the simplicity of the brand. They sponsor some gaming, crossfit, and weightlifting events. Solid group of level headed guys to work with. I really enjoy the company has the consumers health in mind during development. No chemicals, no aspartame.
- Low Calories and Gluten Free
- Slow Release Energy
- No Banned Substances
- No Unnecessary Additives
- No Artificial Flavors, Colors, Sweeteners, or Preservatives
It actually tastes pretty good, But I’m not going to sit here and endorse it, I just enjoy doing work for theses dudes.
TECH STUFF:
I shot this on a white backdrop, and a flash at 1/16 power pointed at the ceiling. I used a 50mm at about f/5.6-6 (one of the jars is darker than the other) I Love the design, but the fact that the label isn’t a matte finish, makes fighting the reflections nearly impossible. The jars size isn’t terrible, In fact the way the designer had them printed and shrunk onto the canister made the front easy to get without a ton of the side facts and other designs distracting. They needed a little love in post process, I took the little reflections and highlights out. Made the black right, and sharpened them. Thats about it really.
Thanks everyone.
Travel: Greenwood, SC
December 14, 2015
I’ll be the first to say it, “I don’t go outside enough.” I spend too much time working behind a computer and staring out the window, I spend too much time driving from job to job. I spend way too much time glued to my phone. Ask yourself this, When was the last time you just laid on your back staring at the open sky? Why? Is it too cold where you are? Chances are that you just make excuses about why you can’t even spend five minutes laying on your back with someone you love, and silently looking into infinity. I’m not pointing fingers, I don’t do it enough, I say “I’m working”, or “I don’t have a place to go that isnt blocked out by light pollution”, (other photographers can vouch for how annoying this can be, even though we know there is very little we can do about it. I’m not going to start on that…) I spent the majority of my thanksgiving running around in the woods and stargazing with my daughter, I truly forgot how rewarding the feeling can be to not worry about social media for a few moments and just breathe. Just look into the sky, or run and climb. I think we need more time like this, and more adventures to go on.
I shot this with my 18-105 F5.6. I’m pleased with the result, i shot it at around F/4 (can’t recall the shutter speed, but I’m positive it was ISO400) I didn’t really crouch down or anything. I just put the camera to my face, balanced the light meter, and fired off a shot. In true ‘Ansel Adams’ Fashion; this is the only shot I took. I didn’t even really post process it, If anything I think I bumped up the contrast, and brightness. The colors were so perfect with the density of the foliage across the beautiful blue morning sky. If I could have done anything differently. I would have taken a little panoramic. everything was so pristine and untouched. truly a pleasure to photograph. It reminded me of when I wasn’t only shooting to feed myself. I didn’t get hung up on too many technicalities. Purely a photograph to recall this wonderful weekend.
+shameless self promotion+
Find me on Instagram: @jonstellphoto
Find me on Twitter: @jonstellphoto
Leave me a nice comment on Google+ (Jon Stell Photo)
