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The BTS (Behind the Shot) Thread


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BTS = Behind the Shot or Behind the Scenes.

 

The preparation that goes into a final photograph isn't always seen. To make a quick parallel with music - the things that happened in the recording studio that lead to the final piece of music.

 

What I'd like us to share here is as much of what occurred when you took your photo. This could be the precarious place you set up your tripod to get that awesome landscape, the lighting you set up for a portrait or something that you did in post-processing that lead to the final photo. Please share as much detail as possible, camera settings, lens and more.

 

I'll start it out with some portrait lighting. This is one of the areas that I started learning years ago to help bring my portraits to the next level.

 

This was an engagement session I did. I luckily had a friend of the "groom to be" that helped me out on this windy day.

 

Camera: Canon T2i

Lens: 85mm f/1.8

Lighting: Cheap Flash and umbrella

 

Settings: 1/100 f/2.2 ISO200

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/MS-3534.jpg

 

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/MS-3536.jpg

 

-Mike Martin

 

Casio

Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook

The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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Cool idea, Mike. Since even my snapshots are usually staged to a degree, I might come up with some of these along the way, where I'll share the finished shot and what the scene looks like showing how "artificial" it really is.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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What a great idea, Mike. I am horrible at Behind The Scenes photos because I mostly do night photography, so maybe I'll try and do a general description instead. Great, great idea. I love stuff like this!!!
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Ok, here is another.

 

Setup. Sunrise Holden Beach, NC.

 

3 Backeted exposures merged. Shutter between 1.6 seconds and 1/10 at f/14, ISO100 with the Canon kit lens at 18mm.

 

Setup shot:

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/20160811_101713005_iOS.jpg

 

Result:

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_1744-HDR.jpg

-Mike Martin

 

Casio

Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook

The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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Cool that even though it would have been a good shot without any effort, what you did came out WAY better! :thu:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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There is a thread on Photography-On-The.Net / Show Us your Setup and the Final Result

 

Unfortunately a lot of dead image links over there now but it really has been a big resource for learning for me. That thread was supposed to be about off-camera lighting but there are photos there that don't involve lighting.

 

Seeing the setup, as well as the before / after post processing can be a huge inspiration. That is what this thread is for. I don't always get setup shots either but I'm trying to make a habit of it.

-Mike Martin

 

Casio

Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook

The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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I found myself watching a youtube video on someone photographing a bottle. It was crazy how much time and effort went into this product photo. I attempted a short version of that with a bottle of Reyka vodka that was gifted to me. Several shots all combined in Photoshop with a little fake fog added for fun.

 

All taken with a Tamron 70-200 at 200mm f/7.1 with a Godox AD200 in a softbox for lighting.

 

Here it the final image:

IMG_0790.jpg

 

Setup shots.

Black foam core added here to block the light so I got a solid rim light on the bottle.

IMG_0785.jpg

Some front label shots.

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_0787.jpg

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_0786.jpg

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_0788.jpg

Full light from behind.

http://mmartinphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_0800.jpg

 

 

-Mike Martin

 

Casio

Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook

The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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  • 3 weeks later...

 

Late night inside an enormous abandoned wooden WWII airfield hangar, formerly housing B-24 Liberator bombers, two of which crashed within an hour of each other, among other accidents, leading some to believe the airfield to be cursed. I lit the hangar from several different angles with handheld ProtoMachines light painting devices during the exposure. This was photographed during a 10-day 2559-mile night photography road trip with Mike Cooper and Tim Little.

 

 

We checked out this area during the day, taking various photos and using various apps such as PhotoPills and our general knowledge of the movement of celestial bodies to figure out where the moon would rise, and what the shadows would look like. It was immediately obvious that the shadows would play a huge part in these interior shots.

 

48433540646_452fd1c404_b.jpg

 

I chose a fisheye for this one because I knew it would look different from most people's interior shots of a hangar, and wanted a surreal sort of quality. I illuminated the interior with a red ProtoMachines LED2 light painting device, skimming the light to maximize depth and shadow, and hitting the walls and the ceiling from various angles. Besides that, it was just letting the moonlight from outside soak in to the camera, letting it register those wonderful shadows before they changed too much.

 

My camera was set up on a Feisol CT-3372 tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead, beefy stuff that I prefer for added stability. The desert can get extreme gusts of wind, and I like to try and stack the odds in my favor that my camera and lens are not going to blow over. That said, this was a calm night.

 

Nikon D610/Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 lens. 2 minutes f/8 ISO 800. July 2019.

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This is the same hangar as the previous photo. I thought you might want to see what it looked like from outside.

 

One of the evenings that we photographed, the Milky Way was visible before a close-to-full moon rose around 10:15 or 10:30 pm, obliterating the Milky Way within a few minutes. But we managed to sneak this in, arriving about 25 minutes before the moon was due to rise. One of my friends lit the interior with a ProtoMachines LED2 while I lit the exterior with another ProtoMachines LED2 light painting device. All these are handheld, so we have a great deal of mobility since none of our lights are on stands. While the two of us were illuminating the hangar with light, my other friend triggered our three cameras (mounted on tripods, of course), which were all facing the hangar from slightly different angles.

 

48437342341_89503cb6ca_c.jpg

 

Nikon D750/14-24mm f/2.8 lens. 30 seconds f/2.8 ISO 3200. July 2019.

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