#fun composition tip: halo

[astyrra]

a dragon fueled by my desperate need to do something other than work

[slrlounge1]

Creative Tips From 20 Inventive Women Photographers (And One Man) You Should Be Following

A brain is a fascinating thing. As an artist, every piece of information added to your brain today influences all future decisions and creations. So it stands to reason that a regular brain-diet of similar influences with the usual solutions to indistinguishable circumstances is a recipe for mediocrity.

The Importance of Diversifying Your Influences

Homogeneity simply doesn’t lead to invention and innovation. Which is why I’ve always found it so peculiar that the photography industry pushes back so hard when anyone mentions the well-documented imbalance towards male representation in nearly every mainstream professional outlet. Having been a working artist my entire life in multiple fields, including decorative and fine art, it was always an accepted practice for my peers to seek inspiration from diverse sources. This included looking to other artists with different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, eras, and even mediums. For example, a painter can be dramatically influenced by the work of an architect or sculptor or poet, even though the mediums differ significantly. Our life experiences drive us and direct our decisions, so exploring the work of another artist with radically different life experience can open up a world of ideas, which can then inspire entirely unique ideas and concepts. With that said, here is a group of diverse women photographers (and one man, wink) who are thinking outside the box and exploring unconventional methods and ideas in their work. Each artist is at different points in their careers, some in their first years, and others many years into the profession, but they’re all pushing the medium in exciting ways. Putting this collection of work together has been illuminating to me, and I hope you will find some inspiration here too.

Disclaimer: Some of the images in this article may be NSFW, please scroll with caution. 

Shanita Dixon: Website | Instagram

I made this series by incorporating one gel and ambient tungsten light! I toyed around with preset filters in post-processing to increase contrast and touched up details in Photoshop.

Stephanie Kotaniemi: Website | Instagram

When I set out to shoot this I was in a creative rut and was just looking to try something new. Mirrors and prisms didn’t seem to give the distorted effects I was going for. I started searching my house for things to shoot through and on a whim grabbed a kitchen glass. The curved part of the glass provided a very distorted effect while shooting through the bottom produced some really fun light fragments.

Allyse Francis: Website | Instagram

I get inspired by books and paintings of the fantasy genre. There’s something fascinating about creating a world that’s surreal and beyond the norm. When creating GIFs and cinemagraphs it’s important to try to draft what you want to do and have a plan. At the same time, it’s equally important to be flexible and to remain open to changes, because what you have in your head may not always translate into what you’re trying to create.

Maxine Wallace: Website | Instagram

Having a strong connection with my subjects is the most important thing to me. Whether its a stranger on the street, a beautiful bride, or a fabulous drag queen, my goal is to be able to capture what makes them beautiful and reflect it back at them. For The (drag) Queens Of Indy, I used a mix of natural and continuous light. I always try to shoot from a low angle or at a face to face level with my subjects to make them seem larger than life.

Kesha Lambert: Website | Instagram

Wedding and people photographer. I love movement, personality, and interesting light. I aim to use the entire scene in front of me where possible. I push the proverbial envelope and take a fair amount of chances with the goal of creating something captivating.

River West:  Website | Instagram

My artistic process is a collaboration of my own experiences and ideas blended with each of my clients’ personalities and vibe. I enjoy not being 100% married to a certain idea of how I want something to turn out and letting things evolve more organically. I honestly feel that when I’m totally in charge of a moment, that can rob the photo of a certain level of authenticity. So I always appreciate the unexpected or the un-choreographed when it happens in front of my lens.

Marlies Hartmann: Website | Instagram

This was my first time attempting a double exposure. It was made in-camera for a couple visiting from Hong Kong. I wanted to make an image that reflected both their relationship but also reminded them of the location where we shot their engagement photos. I love how it looks like her love is radiating out of her and into him.

Meagan Irene Abell: Website | Instagram

I discovered the magic of cinemagraphs and gifs in 2014, and after creating my first one, I was completely and utterly infatuated with the art of it. Meagan makes gifs was a project born of that love, as an expression of something a bit more ‘lifelike’ than your average photograph.

Brenda de los Santos: Website | Instagram

I am primarily a family portrait photographer and also shoot a limited number of weddings, some boudoir, etc. But what I am passionate about is taking a child’s fantasy and empowering them with it. For this Black Panther themed Dora Milaje shoot, we worked at a local waterfall, used OCF, and had to do some MAJOR photoshop work to take a New England waterfall and make it look like the scenery of Wakanda.

Tay Daliese: Website | Instagram

One way I try to set my work apart from others is by posing against the space I’m provided. I really try to draw on the use of leading lines, negative space, and composition. I want my subjects to stand out. When I see a space, I may take a photo of the space with nothing in it to help me line up what I see. From there I incorporate either movement, lines, or try to figure out how I can make what I’m doing stand out.

Annalise Kaylor: Website | Instagram

I made this image in 2016 while out at Nelson Ghost Town, just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. In the middle of nowhere, Nelson has all sorts of interesting left behind objects – old cars, old windmills, old busses and campers, and even this left behind half of a plane. I positioned the prism diagonally across the left side of my lens, bringing into the reflection of the rock and a bit of a tree. I wanted her to seem like an apparition left behind from the crash but I didn’t want to do a double exposure, so the prism allowed me to get that.

Brandi Potter: Website | Instagram

This is a shot I had tried several times before actually nailing it the way I wanted it. It didn’t quite work with wedding dresses because you couldn’t see the brides legs, so at Chan and Kevin’s wedding, I took the opportunity again. I sent them up a small hill and told them to jump and pretend like they were running when they did so.

Toni Shaw: Website | Instagram

I have been captivated by the arts since I was in elementary school, beginning my career as a fine and graphic artist. I was introduced to photography while in college learning film, but the interest in photography did not hit home until the birth of my daughter. My goal is to show new and old that you can be successful as a photographer, using what you have.

Leslie Gomez: Website | Instagram

I am a portrait photographer who specializes in Maternity and Seniors but will shoot anything. I love light and shadows, I love shooting in the studio or on location with OCF.

Irene Wesee: Website | Instagram

My work includes bold colors and cultural inspirations from Africa. I’m best known as being resourceful and will create an image in any setting while being able to manipulate natural light to create the mood. I also create clothing for clients on set (especially for maternity sessions).

Krisandra Evans: Website | Instagram

My wedding photography mentor always encouraged me to find different angles; to get the shot that the guests couldn’t get. That leads me to photograph in a 360 way. Place the couple and shoot them from all the angles which can also look like stalking. BUT! It also allows me to create something that no one else might see like shooting through a decorative glass wall… the glass wall to the restrooms! Yep, the toilets, but it looks like underwater or rain and with the overhead recessed light, it was just perfect to create a piece of art.

Ore Adesina: Website | Instagram

I love incorporating different types of available light into my creative photography sessions. It’s like a surprise bag and you never know what you are going to get. While on a creative shoot, I was photographing a male model with blush angel wings. I noted a light hanging from the ceiling inside the building. Even better, the light looked like a “halo.” I moved the model directly under the light for a “halo” effect and then positioned his body to raise his hands up in a position of supplication.

Elissa Rinehart: Website | Instagram

This was made using a combination of a battery-powered DJ light (a $12 portable toy), long shutter speed, instructing the subject to move or stay as still as possible (depending on the photo), and two other off-camera flashes firing with blue and pink gels.

Veronica Varos: Website | Instagram

I sat this beauty beside a very large open window in an otherwise dark studio with white walls. Outside of the studio, there was a red sign, a blue car, and a bare tree. The sun was high in the sky and there was no direct light. I twisted and turned the crystal prism in different directions in front of my 50mm f/1.4 lens to find the perfect beams of colorful lights.

Amanda Summerlin: Website | Instagram

Sometimes I’ll sneak a couple away during dinner to make a few creative images after dark. The grooms had asked to make a photo with the kettles at the brewery, so I set up a flash behind them with an orange Magmod gel and grid, draped them with the LED holiday lights, and then asked them to just take a moment to reflect over their day.

Kevin Lowery: Website | Instagram

For this image, I used a prism, held parallel to the ground right in front of the top 3rd of the lens. To get that bending/curve effect I slowly turned the prism forward while keeping it parallel to the ground. When I do this I usually opt to go for black/white because it can make some pretty trippy rainbow colors. Sometimes it works well and other times it’s distracting.

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/creative-tips-from-20-inventive-women-photographers-and-one-man-you-should-be-following/ via IFTTT

[itsworn]

Development of the LS1 Engine Changed Everything

As the saying goes, “time flies when you’re having fun.” It must be true because we were in shock when it dawned on us that the LS1 was introduced two decades ago. Yep, 20 years that seemed to go by way too quickly. We remember when the new mill was introduced for the 1997 Corvette. It was a radical departure from the previous Gen II LT1, but kept many of the facets we were familiar with. At 345 horsepower it beat the LT1’s output by 45 hp, but with the aluminum block it was also quite a bit lighter (12 percent lighter than the Gen II LT4). The LS1’s 319 heat-treated aluminum block tipped the scales at just 107 pounds, 53 pounds lighter than the Gen II LT1 block! The tried-and-true 4.4-inch bore center-to-center measurement was kept but the overall design really was a huge evolutionary step for the GM V-8.

As Jordan Lee Chief Engineer – Small-Block Engines explained, “The transition going from Gen III to Gen IV and Gen V was a natural progression. The Small Block team has always been guided by the principles of the original small-block team. Keep the technology employed relevant and beneficial to the customer, maintain low mass and compactness, strive for every drop of efficiency and, of course, always improve power density. Interesting to note is that with each iteration we thoroughly evaluated all options and always validated the design genius of the original small-block.

Today’s small-block continuity with the original is in its use of pushrod valve actuation, 90 degree V, and 4.4 inch bore centers. It’s almost as if Ed Cole and the original team envisioned something that would live well beyond themselves—as it has. Key design features that carry over from the legendary Gen III LS design include the deep skirt block with six-bolt mains, single plane sealing surfaces, composite intake, coil-near-plug ignition, and the crank driven oil pump. The Gen III also brought us to our current firing order of 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3. The team today is grateful to be able to build off of the smart, forward looking design decisions made with the Gen III LS.”

Many people were surprised the new engine stayed with the single cam pushrod configuration. After all, dual overhead cams and other technologies were becoming more prevalent, so staying with this architecture seemed odd to some. We asked GM about this and the reply was simple. It was all about packaging. It would be challenging and expensive to fit a huge double overhead cam engine under the low hood of the C5 Corvette. The C4 ZR1 Corvette did have the double-overhead cam LT5, but that was a limited production halo car, and at the time the most expensive Corvette sold. The design of the LS1 kept the Gen III small-block compact and able to squeeze into the C5’s tight engine bay, affordably.

But that really wasn’t why the LS1 was developed. The engine it was replacing, the Gen II LT1, debuted in the 1992 Corvette. It displaced 350 inches and made 300 hp at 5,000 rpm. That was a 55hp improvement over the L98 small-block it was replacing, but GM knew that with stricter emissions and CAFE standards this platform wasn’t going to carry them very far into the future. So, around 1993 work began on what would become the LS1. Aluminum was chosen to drop the weight, aiding both performance and fuel economy. This balancing act between performance and other factors, like fuel economy and emissions, led to an engine that seemed familiar to small-block fans, but was vastly different internally. In addition to keeping the size down, staying with a pushrod design kept the manufacturing costs down as well.

We went back and dug up a 20-year-old press release from GM, which turned out to be pretty prophetic. “Until the introduction of the LS1 in the C5 Corvette, almost every V-8 engine used for high performance or for racing dated back to designs that originated in the mid-1950s,” said Herb Fishel, director of GM Motorsports.

“The most famous example is the small-block Chevy. First introduced in 1955, millions have been built and can be found powering everything from production cars and trucks to the cars and trucks raced at just about every racetrack across North America. But now, with the introduction of the C5’s LS1, General Motors will begin to phase out the small-block Chevy that has been the backbone of America’s high-performance and racing industry for more than 40 years,” continued Fishel. “It will be replaced by derivatives of the LS1, which has the highest specific output of any production V-8 engine GM has ever built. In every sense the LS1 is truly the high-performance engine of the future.”

“Few people yet realize the long-term effect that the C5 LS1 engine is going to have on the performance industry,” says Joe Negri, manager of IRL and Road Racing Groups for developing the C5-R racing version of the LS1. “What is really remarkable is that the very high specific output of the production Corvette’s LS1 engine has been achieved at reasonable cost and weight while meeting both emission and fuel economy standards. It is a fantastic engine on which to base a modern-day racing program.”

The LS line of engines kept evolving over time, to the point where some of the higher-performance variants, such as the LS7 and LS9, were hand assembled in specialized build centers like this one in Wixom, Michigan.

Corvette engine developers looked to the future and realized that performance had to be based on new designs that produced engines that were fuel, weight, and emissions efficient; cost effective; and environmentally acceptable to a changing world. These would be engines where electronics and vastly improved cooling, oiling, and sealing systems would contribute to the increased performance goals.

“In the 1970s and 1980s the manufacturers and the performance industry were on divergent paths,” says Herb Fishel. “For most of the ’70s and ’80s, the manufacturers’ focus was on fuel economy and emissions. It was left mostly to aftermarket suppliers to develop performance components for small-block V-8s. This led to the cost of racing engines, for example, increasing dramatically since the performance was being added on to an aging design rather than being built in to a modern design.”

The LS engine became so popular that Chevrolet Performance (as well as other aftermarket companies) began offering non-factory blocks that pushed the size and performance of LS engines to new levels. This Chevrolet Performance LSX iron block was designed to go big (over 500 cubic inches with the tall deck version) and handle big power as well as loads of boost.

“It’s fitting that this new design of engine was introduced in the C5 Corvette,” says Negri. “It was Zora Duntov’s vision in 1953 that Corvette should lead the way with ‘ready-engineered’ parts and designs. And I think he would be proud of what has been achieved with the LS1. It is the leading edge of V-8 technology as we enter the 21st century. And there’s absolutely no question that a good portion of racing in the 21st century is going to be built around the engine that the world first saw in the C5 Corvette.”

It wasn’t long after the introduction of the LS1 that gearheads started figuring out how to graft them into classic Chevys and it all snowballed from there. Now the aftermarket makes it nearly painless to do an LS swap. Shortly after the introduction of the LS1, GM came out with an iron-based-block design for their truck/SUV line and constant improvements led to other milestone engines like the LS2, LS3, and LS7. Even though GM has moved on to its new direct-injected LT line of engines, the popularity of the LS engine shows no signs of slowing down. “The LS3 is currently our bestselling crate engine in the LS family,” said Rocko Parker, Chevrolet Performance Parts Engineer. “When we introduced it in 2008, its 430 horsepower and 6.2L engine drew a lot of interest. Today, its combination of technology, uncompromising performance and accessible price point, make it a popular option.” So, happy birthday to an engine that changed hot rodding, we look forward to the next two decades of performance.

The post Development of the LS1 Engine Changed Everything appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network http://www.hotrod.com/articles/development-of-the-ls1-engine-changed-everything/ via IFTTT

[strmyweather]

“Look at where we are / Look at where we started / ... That would be enough.”

(This is the fourth and final section of a multi-part post. If you’re interested, you can read about the back story, the tipping point, and the logistics here.)

I posted one of those ‘transformation’ posts on social media yesterday—not because I necessarily wanted to insta-brag (although the pride is real), but more because I needed to define an endpoint for myself. By putting it out there, by showing everyone what I’ve been up to, I gave myself the accountability to STOP, and to intentionally begin the reverse diet. Progress is so slow when you’re seeing it in your own mirror that it’s easy to get stuck in the purgatory of “well, I’ll just stick with it for one more week / until I lose one more pound / just until I get to X benchmark.” We humans are extremely adaptable, meaning we eventually get accustomed to just about anything; even a reflection that we initially feel pretty awesome about eventually becomes ‘the new normal’. It hit me yesterday that I have been in some kind of a caloric deficit for SIX ENTIRE MONTHS. I needed to take a step back, observe the (tremendous) magnitude of what has objectively been accomplished over the past 180 days—and then do the responsible thing and let my body and mind have a rest.

Accomplishments:

 -- Numbers: March 9, 2017: 173 lb (yikes) May 24, 2017: 156 lb at the start of RP Sept 2, 2017: 144 lb (!) for a total loss of 29 lb (which, by the way, is 16.8% of my starting bodyweight—whaaaaaaat?!?)

 -- I lost 3” off my waist, 4” off my hips, and dropped from a 36DD to a 34D (which some women might dislike, but personally, I’m absolutely thrilled).

 -- I am literally lighter than I was when I graduated from high school, yet also have significantly more muscle. The two little ‘folds’ in my mid-back have vanished, and I have defined deltoids for the first time ever. In the right light, I can see on myself why quads are called quads. And I’ve always loved my upper back, but now I’m positively obsessed with it; there are contours and ridges that I’ve never been able to see before.

 -- The biggest practical victory—more so than clothing size or reflection in the mirror—is that I’ve seen major CrossFit progress for the first time in years. I’ve always been a better barbell athlete, comparatively weaker in gymnastics skills; that skill set has now almost been flipped. When I started this journey, I had zero bodyweight pull-ups; now I can do sets of four unbroken strict pull-ups, three kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups, and nine proper toes-to-bar (no monkey swing!). I also got my first-ever handstand push-ups to a single abmat (25# plates, I’m coming for you!), and although I’ve admittedly lost a bit of raw strength, particularly off my squat, I’ve actually ADDED weight to my bench press.  Granted, I’ve been specifically working on these skills; they didn’t ‘just happen’ with weight loss—but physics also dictates that certain movements are just easier at a lighter bodyweight.

 -- Mentally, there is a certain freedom to be found within the RP headspace. You eat what you’re supposed to eat when you’re supposed to eat it, and that’s that. Food becomes ‘fuel’, rather than ‘fun’. One day last week, I was coming down with a cold and realized that (apart from the 8g of fat), a full pint of black cherry Halo Top was almost exactly the right post-workout macros. I decided that would feel really great on my sore throat, and that I’d have it the next morning after the gym. But then, when 8am rolled around, I didn’t have a sore throat anymore, and ended up with my usual Cheerios, egg whites, and salsa—just because that sounded a lot better than ice cream. TL;DR—knowing you CAN have just about anything you want makes it so that you don’t actually NEED anything you may want.

-- Bonus: I also accidentally met my longtime ‘capsule wardrobe’ goal of 100 clothing items, because LITERALLY 60% of my clothes are now too big. :)

This new body is both mesmerizing and, sometimes, a little odd. It’s not my first time being ‘leaner,’ but it IS my first time being this lean as a CrossFit athlete. I’ve never been down this particular road in terms of body composition changes—I literally don’t know how my adult body behaves at this size—and some of what has happened has been unexpected. For instance, I have a few more visible veins than I did before. There’s a new wrinkle in my belly when I’m sitting down. A particular contour of my trunk that I always thought was a fat roll has turned out to be, in actuality, defined by my hip bone (duuuuh—I swear I am a medical provider!). And I come from a long line of apple-shaped women, and as such, STILL do not have visible abs—yet can now clearly see my ribcage, which, in the right light, consistently startles me. And although I can’t SEE my abs, I can FEEL them—as in, when my fingers trace the topography, I can feel the sensitive separations of the six-pack—which is both fascinating and slightly nauseating.

Moving forward:

I’m back in a place where I’m eager to put the scale away and stop focusing on it—because, practically speaking, I really don’t need to care exactly what it says as long as I get to keep all my newfound gymnastics skills. Physically, I’ve definitely felt under-recovered for the past few weeks—not ‘injured’, but just a general sense that I’m pushing the envelope in terms of how much my body can take—and I’ll be happy to feel a bit more ‘consistently strong’. Especially on rest days when my carb intake is slashed, I’ve noticed some unusually low blood pressure (87/63) and resting heart rate (43), which corresponds to feeling a bit shaky and weak. Being back on the base plan will allow me to ‘rest’ for a little while—my weight should theoretically stay stable (after a couple pounds’ expected regain over the next 1-2 weeks), but over the next couple of months, I may still see a very slow positive shift in terms of lean mass to fat mass. In other words, I may find that even just the base plan allows me to get slightly stronger, while hopefully also maintaining the level of leanness and new gymnastics skills I’ve worked so hard to achieve. I’m well aware that I’ve lost a bit of raw strength throughout this prolonged process (it is extremely strange to look at my legs—my favorite body part for 30+ years—and now perceive them as ‘too small’!), and that there is likely to be a squat cycle in my future—and that a massing nutrition plan may well be a part of that (gulp)... but this right here, this 144 pounds, is a really good spot to sit and breathe for the moment.

I was texting with a Philly friend yesterday, and in hearing my own responses to her, I was finally able to put words to the core of why things had been so different this time. With previous nutritional approaches—whether Whole30, keto, intermittent fasting, or what-have-you—I was always just sort of ‘riding’ a plan until it stopped working. I’d see some small changes, and then that would be it. With RP, I’ve been forced to take the time to educate myself on the actual physiology of what I’m doing—because with such a complex plan, that’s just necessary, both for psychological reassurance as well as to understand how to make logical adaptations on the fly when circumstances call for it—and that broader understanding is precisely what now reassures me that just because this rewarding ‘phase’ is now over, that that is not the same thing as declaring that all POTENTIAL for progress is now gone. The same rules still apply. The intrinsic makeup of carbs and fat and protein isn’t changing. The same framework still holds true—will always still hold true—as far as how to manipulate them in order to see results. It’s simple math. More importantly, it’s science. This distinction between ‘progress’ and ‘potential’ is not a concept I’ve ever been able to see before.

Transitions are always scary, especially when they involve the end of a phase that’s yielded so many visible benefits. But there’s also a profound reassurance in knowing that this new knowledge will be there whenever I need it. This was merely one season of a lifelong cyclic journey. Pausing is not a ‘weakness’, and it also isn’t the same thing as declaring myself content to not ever progress any further. Resting, and maintaining, are in fact necessary parts of ultimately continuing to move forward with my goals.

And, practically speaking, hanging out at maintenance for a couple of months is going to be really nice. The RP base plan actually encourages 2-3 cheats per week—the prescribed numbers already account for that—and I am really looking forward to having a social life again. :) I also remember how wonderfully I was sleeping back at the beginning, when I first added the casein protein shake to my bedtime routine, and I’m hoping to recapture that. And certain packaged foods that have been languishing in the cabinet for the past few weeks (like RX bars and single-serving packets of nuts—because they haven’t been the right ‘ratio’ to be included in the most recent menu), can now be reintroduced, which will make certain aspects of meal prep easier, especially on workdays.

At this moment, sitting at my kitchen table, it feels extremely odd to NOT be hungry. Today is the first day of incrementally (slowly!) increasing the amount of fat I’m eating (this is how the reverse-diet works, to slowly bring the metabolism back up to speed over a period of weeks), and I’m alternating between fascination, relief, awe, and anxiety. I had creamer in my coffee (!) and two Brazil nuts with my regular “egg whites and veggies” breakfast this morning—two freakin’ Brazil nuts—and a whole three hours later, I am just starting to feel a little bit hungry. For the past few weeks (in the second phase of the cut, with minimal fat intake at all), the grace period without hunger has been more like 45 minutes. When I take a moment to truly think about it, it deeply amazes me, this symphony of quiet chemical processes constantly taking place in our bodies. On a molecular level, we are pretty incredible physical creations.

I’m a bit concerned about my ability to continue to slowly increase my intake in a controlled way, because I’m about to be plunged into a thoroughly uncontrolled environment—I leave on Friday to spend 17 days (!) in a language immersion program in Costa Rica. I’m obviously tremendously excited about this, but it does compound the nutritional anxiety just a bit! The Central American diet is notoriously carb-heavy—rice, beans, plantains, fruit juices, and so forth—and I’m going to be staying with host families, so I’m not going to have a ton of control over what I’m served. I’m just packing a bunch of nonperishable protein sources and crossing my fingers. At any rate, I’m definitely glad I stopped now, and didn’t carry the cut right up to the last minute before departure.

Once I’m back, general goals for the next couple of months are:  -- maintain the RP base plan—six ‘meals’ a day, including the two shakes,  -- loosely maintain weight somewhere in the 140s—right now this seems to be the sweet spot for performance—but keep the scale out of sight for the most part,  -- continue to work on ‘pulling’ and ‘pushing’ strength in the gym—short-term goals include confident ‘RXed’ handstand push-ups (meaning, with 25# plates) and consistent sets of 10 toes-to-bar, and  -- definitely pound some shrimp chilaquiles from Gonza at the first available opportunity. ;)

This post has used a lot of ‘words’ to explain something pretty straightforward, which is that the biggest takeaway from this whole process hasn’t been pounds or inches or even reps. Plain and simple, it’s empowerment. I haven’t been ‘dieting’; I’ve been eating for a purpose, working toward specific performance goals. And it feels pretty incredible to be on the back side of such a major journey and to have the sense that the potential is still limitless—to know that whatever my future fitness and body composition goals may be, that I will always possess the tools to wreak this kind of transformation if I so choose.

“We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones.” –Henry David Thoreau

[slrlounge1]

11 Pro Photographers Share Their Favorite Creative Accessories

Struggling with burnout and trying to produce consistently creative imagery for your clients? We asked professionals out there what photography and lighting accessories they’ve been inspired by lately to create incredible images. These techniques are perfect for situations when you are dealing with an unfortunate background or room, enhancing the features within your scene, or creating something entirely new! Take a look and see which ones you would apply on your next shoot:

David J. Crewe – Website | Instagram

“Use your old scraps of backdrop paper to create props and light shaping tools for your creative shoots. For instance, a recent portrait session with a model who had just shaved her head, we decided to take the scrap of my Savage Universal Deep Red paper that would have normally been cut and thrown into recycling, and used it to create a halo/spotlight with a large light behind her to REALLY emphasize her new style.”

Ryan Longnecker –  Website | Instagram

“A great way to incorporate some depth and natural tones of a scene is to grab some leaves/sticks/plants from a scene and hold it in a corner of a lens and shoot a shallow DOF. looks like it could be a film burn or a light leak or just foreground but adds continuity and depth in landscape scenes.”

Amii & Andy Kauth – Website | Instagram

“Andy and I like to call this “SSCP” (silhouette, sunset, copper pipe). All you need is a sunset and a copper fitting, which you can easily get at your local hardware store for a few dollars. We have a 1″ x 3/4″ piece that we’ve been using since 2015. We originally got the idea from Sam Hurd, who favors a piece of aluminum pipe to create what he calls “the ring of fire.” Pro tip: You’ll find the greatest success with a 50mm lens.”

Dave & Abby Moss – Website | Instagram

“We like to use reflective objects like an iPhone or a prism.  By reflecting the sky with an iPhone screen below our couple, we were able to hide the ugly earth berm they were walking across, and add a little more interest and beauty to the scene.”

“Moraine Lake at sunrise is usually very still, reflecting the ten peaks that rim the far side of the lake in the blue glacier water. To make the scene even a little more magical, we used our prism to reflect those same ten peaks underneath the couple, making them, even more, a part of the scene.”

Jay Cassario – Website | Instagram

“I’ve never been a huge fan of putting a bunch of different things in front of your lens to create different effects. I personally feel that a lot of photographers overdo them and rely too heavily on them. With that being said, I do like experimenting with new things I haven’t seen before.”

“Having used a regular mirror and prism a couple times, I always wondered how I could make it a little more creative to help bring the focus towards the subject. While on a trip to shoot a destination wedding, I had to pick up a pack of razors and stumbled upon mirrors that had holes in them for hanging in the shower. Boom, I immediately thought about how that’s what had been missing. Gave it a try at the destination wedding. No luck, just frustration. Then tried it a few more times and got it figured out, giving me the ability to do something much more unique than using just a mirror alone as you can see. You can purchase it here.”

  Rob Hall – Website | Instagram

“A video monopod, portable tripod, light stand, etc. Anything that can keep your camera in the exact same position while you manipulate lighting, allowing for seamless composites. I used a Manfrotto Monopod to do this composite which highlights students and transformed the Oakland Center at Oakland University.”

Eric Talerico – Website | Instagram

“It’s nothing new, but I’ve been using a full CTO Magmod gel, sometimes with a grid, behind the couple to recreate the sun. I learned it from the SLR Lounge ‘Re-Creating Golden Hour‘ Workshop. I also used Atmosphere Aerosol in this image to emphasize the sun rays.”

Paul Von Rieter – Website | Instagram

“I love shooting through lace in challenging settings. It’s an easy way to create a beautiful portrait in less than perfect conditions.”

Marlies Hartmann – Website | Instagram

“We were driving to shoot their wedding portraits when we noticed the overturned car. As the videographers drove up the hill ahead of us we saw the dust from the car create some light beams. We all looked at each other and knew we had to stop and shoot. After we got out of the car, I had my assistant drive up the hill as fast as possible to make more “atmosphere” with the dust. This created the natural light beams, and I had them walk together towards them, including just a small piece of the overturned car to add to the story.”

Jared Gant – Website | Instagram

“Years ago I learned from a mentor this fun way to get guests to have some fun and interact a bit with the camera. It obviously doesn’t replace a photo booth but gives the guests something fun to look forward to in the wedding gallery or blog post.”

“To get this effect I use a Sigma 8mm Fisheye. On a full-frame camera, this lens creates a circular photo with tons of distortion and really has minimal use for me. But, pair it with a Ray Flash Ring Adapter and you get a whole new effect. Immediately after taking the photo, turn the camera around to show the guest. Within minutes you’ll have a line of people wanting to have their photo taken.”

Pye Jirsa – Website | Instagram

“A good square ND filter (Ideally 4 stop) will give you enough light stopping power to do 2 things. Shoot wide open while using flash at full power, but also creatively slow down shutter speed during the day. This is wonderful for incorporating motion into your imagery as shown here. I prefer square NDs because I shoot on the go. These filters are easy to store in your bag, and they fit any size lens by simply hand holding it. It’s not necessarily the best practice for landscape photographers, but for portrait photographers on the go, hand-holding the ND filter works just fine. You can read more on how I use them in my portrait photography here.”

Which one of these techniques would you try out? Comment down below!

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/11-pro-photographers-share-their-favorite-creative-accessories/ via IFTTT