Practical Photography - UK (2020-02)

82 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY

Off-centre framing

adds to the tension

and edginess

Sony

α

77 II | 30mm | 1/400sec | f/2.5 | ISO 50

ShadowplaybyRebeccaSaunders

The light was

magical, and

created such

interesting

shadows that

I instantly

decided to capture it. Self-

portraits are complicated

to shoot, as they require a

remote and tripod, and I had

limited time to get the photo

as the clouds kept dimming

the light. I was only able to

shoot ten frames before the

light disappeared completely.

Editing was minimal, with just

a white balance adjustment.

instagram.com/

bexsaundersphotography

Adam says: Work i ng w it h

changeable light is always

a race against time. And on

this occasion it was made

more difficult by shooting

a self-portrait. It’s always

surprising just how muchof

a handicap not being ableto

lo ok through the lens as we

shoot can be.

Rebecca has done an

excellent job here, though.

The composition is spot-on,

with the off-centre framing

adding to the tension and

edginess of the image, which

is reinforced by her stare

and the strong lines of the

shadows. This shot wouldn’t

have worked half as well

without the contrast created

by the lighting, as a softer

li ght would dilute the impact.

The contrasting colours

in the blue of the background

and the red of her top further

drive home the tension she is

creating in this image.

Minimal editing was the

right choice too, as given

thenaturalpunchinessof the

shotit wouldbe all tooeasyto

over process. A heavy-handed

approach to editing would

overpower it and lose the

subtlety that helps to keep

the image engaging.

Oozingattitude,there’s

not muchI wouldchange

in this image. At most, it

could benefit from an added

vignette, just to darken down

the edges and really focus all

the attention on Rebecca.

There are lots of ways to add a vignette in Photoshop.

The easiest is to use Photoshop’s Lens Correction Filter,

which was actually designed to deal with all manner of

lens distortions. We’re interested in the Vignette Tool, but

instead of using it to correct an unwanted vignette, it can

also be used to add one to an image. Here we’re adding

a dark vignette to darken down just the edges of the frame

and direct the attention towards the middle of the image.

Add a post-crop vignette