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CREATEYOURSKETCHDoyoursketchlooselyin pencilif youlikethe
constructionlookorin penfora solidillustrationona plainwhite
pieceof paper,imaginingtheplacementof yoursubjectandhowthey
caninteract.If theseimagesareonlyforpersonaluse,youmaywantto
tracepicturestoaddif youcannotdoit freehandorevenencourage
yourchildtodotheirowndrawingstoadd.Eraseanysmudges or
unwanted mark before scanning the photograph.5
POSINGANDEXPRESSIONSThisis whereyourconceptcomesintoplay,
especiallyif you’venotdonethesketchfirst.Trytogeta reaction
fromyoursubjectthatmightcreatesomeinteractionbetweenthem
andthesketchthatwillbeaddedlater.Havingsomeoneelsestand
outsideof frameforthemtointeractwithcanyieldsomenatural
reactionsorif they’vea vividimagination,explaintothemwhatwillbe
in the picture and see how their expressions change organically.3
LIGHTINGIf you’vea brightopenspacewithplentyof softnatural
light,youmaynotneedflashtocreatea high-keylightingeffect
butyouwillwanttoaimfora shadowlesslightingset-up.AsI’veuseda
120cmoctabox,I onlyneedonelight45°tomysubjectasthespread
of theflashis largeandsoftenoughtoexposethebackgroundand
subject.If youhavesmallersoftboxes,you’llneedtwolights:one to
light the background and another to expose the subject.2
SET-UPTomaketheeditingaseasyaspossible,you’llneedan
evenly-lit,plainbackground– a whitewallis finebutequallya white
studiobackdrop.Youdon’tneedmuchspace– evenif you’veonlya
littlebackdroptoworkwithyoucanexpandit in Photoshoptoinclude
yourdrawing.It’salwaysbesthowevertocomposeyourframeasclose
aspossiblein-cameratohowyouwantit tolookoutof camera,sothat
youdon’thavetorelyonPhotoshoptofixit.1
COMEUP W I T HYO U RCONCEPTAnyelementin a photographcan
besketchedout,youcouldreplacepartsof thesceneoreven
thesubjectbut,fora simplestart,tryjustaddingelementstoyour
photograph.Youcanfit a sketchtotheportraitora portraittothe
sketch,buteitherwaystartwithanideain mind.Mysonslovedragons,
magicandbooks,soI knewI wantedthefinalimage to reflect these
interests and approximately how to pose them.4
CAMERASETTINGSIf you’reusingflash,setyourcameratomanual
modeanda lowISOrating.You’llwanttodialin yourcamera’sflash
syncspeed(checkyourmanual).FortheNikonD800that’s1/250sec
butI liketoshootat 1/160sec-1/200sectorecorda littleambientlight.
Anglethelighttofallevenlyonthesubjectandbackground,using
testshotstofindthebestexposure.Dependingontheproximity and
power of the flash, set an aperture between f/5.6-f/8.Combine mediums
38 DigitalSLR PhotographyJuly 2019