Retouching Behind the Scenes: Helicopter Edition
Want to see what it takes to make a picture like the helicopter rescue poster? Here’s a video I did showing you the retouch, super speed of course. Enjoy.
Want to see what it takes to make a picture like the helicopter rescue poster? Here’s a video I did showing you the retouch, super speed of course. Enjoy.
Just a quick BTS video about my work with the Helicopter Rescue Team from a mountain top. Enjoy!
I came across this interview with Toronto based portrait photographer, Chris Wahl, who takes “awkward decisive moments of people doing nothing.”
My favorite part was this exchange:
“How many good photos do you think you’ve taken?”
“Well, I hope I can count them on 2 hands.”
“Less than 10 good photographs in a 20 year career?”
“My standard of ‘good’ is REALLY high.”
I hope you find your inspiration today as well. Enjoy!
I was invited to a wedding (as a guest) and when I got there, they handed me a video camera and asked if I would be willing to get some video for them during the ceremony. I told them I’d do one better, and put together this highlight reel.
Congratulations Brittney and Justin. May you live happily ever after!
All I had with me was one camera, one lens, shot everything handheld the best I could, and hopefully created yet another lasting memory for them.
Enjoy.
I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot some amazing wedding dresses by La Belle Reve (along with a glamorously elegant evening gown). The background image is from the library of the beautiful Landmark Event Center that let us use their facility. Scroll to the bottom to check out the behind the scenes video.
Enjoy.
Crew:
Photographer | Ben Lucas (Yours Truly) – http://www.NOMcreative.com
Dresses | Olga Szwed – http://www.labellereve.com
Makeup | Alexandra Grigorieva – http://www.makeupbysasha.net
Hair Stylist | Anya Zaytseva
Assistant Stylist and Hat Designer | Yuliana Kelley
Venue | Landmark Event Center – http://www.landmarkeventcenter.com
Video Footage | Gabi Cociuba
Photo Assistant | Nat Chow
Photo Assistant | Juan Mejia
Models | Erica Graves and I.B.
I’m doing a video for the UW College of the Environment, and they lent me their Canon T3. As you may know, I use a 5DmkIII, so their camera was just going to be a nice b-roll camera for all the interviews. This post will have helpful video tips, but first I have a bone to pick.
SLR cameras were manual. You put in the film speed you wanted, picked your aperture, and shot. Then things went digital. The camera did the thinking for you. That’s great for anyone wanting to take pictures of their kids (or grandkids), but for people that wanted to put a little more craft into their photos, they always had the manual options to fall back on when the camera didn’t do what they wanted. Video cameras were stupid expensive. Now, video cameras are incredibly affordable, and packed into most DSLRs. Again, auto is great for travel and kids, but we always had manual to fall back on. The Canon T3 is the only DSLR I’ve ever used where it was this nice little camera that I could make amazing pictures with, then it got stupid as soon as I ticked the dial over into video mode. The manual setting completely disappears!! You can’t change anything but white balance. So you’re stuck with what the camera thinks is right.
Why is having manual settings important? Here’s a little example for you. The camera unfortunately thinks you are a moron, and doesn’t believe you can competently focus on your subject. So it automatically decides to shoot at an f-stop with a reasonable depth of field because you (or it) will probably not be able to focus correctly. So what does this mean? If you are like many amateur photographers, you probably have a “nifty fifty” lens. (I own the 1.4, but the 1.8 is an incredible value at just $100.) And once you slap that nice bokeh-licious piece of glass onto a T3, it turns into a junk kit lens.
You should be ashamed of yourself, T3. Shot at f/5.6
Shot at f/1.8. I could go down another tick, but wanted to show anyone what you can do with just 1.8
See how big of a difference that is? If I have to shoot in a cluttered warehouse, I need a shallow depth of field so get rid of the junk in the background. Not only does the footage look visually more pleasing and cleaner, but it just feels more professional and cinematic.
Here’s the little less than cinematic behind the scenes pic.
So concludes my T3 review for video. (Don’t do it.) But I wanted to give photographers a bit of a starting point when making the transition to video. And here’s the quick list of things I think are useful to keep in mind:
I hope this post had some helpful tips for you, and if you are looking for a camera that can do video, seriously, get anything else but the T3. (It’s not that much cheaper, but a whole lot worse than other options.)
I had a wonderful opportunity to work with the talented Tess Henley and Jonathan Dong, to make a really cool music video. Check it out!
Did I mention that I also do video?
Enjoy.
I have a lot of plans to do more video work in the future, and I’m hoping to implement this as an available service. Still kicking the tires on this idea, so to speak, but in the mean time I hope you find it entertaining.
Here’s a quick behind the scenes look at what it is I do between when the camera spits out some pixels and when you get your finished image. It’s still the same person, it’s just showing the best of that person.
Enjoy.