Shooting Backgrounds Creating Composites
When I was a student, it was always a pleasure getting out of the classroom to shoot. Learning how to shoot backgrounds for composite images was a different experience from what I’m used to. As a portrait and fashion photographer, I am used to shooting people.
The above photo was shot at an outdoor class session near The Centre For Arts And Technology with the great Harvey Bremner, the lead photographer of Pinstripe Productions. Harvey is also past student of CATO and has built a business in photography based out of Kelowna. It was awesome to learn from someone who completed this photography program and is now running a successful photography business. This proved to me that I, too, could have a successful business in photography.
Learning about depth of field is one of the beginner lessons in photography, but understanding why to use it for shooting backgrounds and how it affects your desired outcome was a lesson all of its own. In this class, the biggest take away was understanding your desired outcome before picking up your camera. Choosing the right lens that’s going to flatter your subject and your background is an intricate part of creating a good composite. For the image that follows a 24-70 lens was used at F8 to get a wide sharp shot of the background from front to back.
EDITING BACKGROUNDS FOR COMPOSITES
After an intense day of shooting, we dived right into editing. Inspired and motivated to see the outcomes, I couldn’t wait to get into Photoshop and see the results. Understanding the principles and fundamentals are key in this process. Knowing how to see the light for your desired outcome, and manipulating the background to suit the purpose for your future subject is vital when creating a flawless composite image.
That day was a great day, and I learned a lot, the above image is the result of one of the backgrounds we chose as a training exercise. I feel this would be a great background to give an industrial feel to a fashion shoot.
After being inspired by Harvey's class, I challenged myself to try this new technique out on my own. The following are my results. I think Harvey Bremner would be proud. Photo Inspired by Joel Grimes.
