Another day, another shoot. Fortunately, Ian Farrell invited me to assist him with another piece commissioned by Fuji X online magazine, with the purpose of showing how well flash can work to light an on location setting with their compact camera: Fujifilm X100S. It’s a mirrorless camera with a wide angle lens and a specialist shutter called a ‘leaf shutter’ as opposed to a focal plane shutter. This leaf shutter uses a small number of identical overlapping metal blades, called the leaves, to open and close in order to expose a photograph. It’s usually placed near the iris within the camera lens. This type of shutter allows you to have more control over light when using off-camera lighting and a shallow depth of field. They are made to be sharp and of high quality, giving more detail. The shoot took place in Trinity Lane in Cambridge, the model of this shoot was Bernadette Lemon, she was a wonderful model to work with – easy-going and friendly. I assisted Farrell in helping set-up the equipment he needed for the shoot. I set-up his on location light and stand, using a white umbrella to modify the light. I was controlling the flash (the light from on location light), which was connected to the camera itself with a trigger and how close it was to the subject. I also used the white reflector to help reflect the on-camera flash gun when he needed it. I also helped to pack the kit up and be spatially aware throughout the shoot of the general public and any dangerous situations that could potentially arise – e.g making sure Ian didn’t step out in front of a bike! It was an honour to work with Bernadette, please check out her Instagram and website to see what creative shoots she gets involved in! https://www.instagram.com/bernadettelemon/ http://www.bernadettelemon.co.uk
I took note of the useful techniques Farrell used such as: on a location shoot, you can use the natural lighting to light the foreground and use the flash to help illuminate the rest. Also, that it’s important to get the correct exposure for the background of the frame you’re shooting and then fit the flash power of the on location light you’re s using to that stop number.
After Farrell was satisfied with his images, we proceeded back to his studio for the selection and editing process to create the final outcomes. I offered my opinions of which photos I felt were well-framed and which ones met the brief given by Fuji X magazine – the photos which represented the best demonstration of using flash to illuminate the subject on location. This tutorial should be in the September edition of Fuji X magazine online of Ian Farrell’s work.
Check out their website at: https://www.fujifilm.eu/uk
You can view one of the final edits from this shoot by Ian Farrell on his instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianfarrell/
It has been a truly honourable opportunity and a most pleasurable one to have gained work experience from Ian Farrell. Not only is he a talented digital photographer, but a modest and honest one too. I feel he has opened up many opportunities for me now; through his valuable advice he has given me as well as having him as a contact and connecting me to other contacts. Please do check out his website and Instagram (detailed above) to keep updated with all the exciting things he gets up to! http://www.ianfarrell.com