Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-10)

HOLLYWOODSTYLE!

byMarcusMorgan

SonyAlpha7RII with85mmf/1.4GMlens.

Exposure:1/60secat f/1.7(ISO1000).

Whatwethink:There’ssomethingveryakin

to1920sHollywoodaboutthisportrait,and

theblack& whitefinishdefinitelylendsitself

totheoverallambienceoftheshot.Thelow

positioningofthemodelcombinedwiththe

cameraanglereallyis a classicapproachto

portraitcomposition,andit’sgreattoseethat

Marcushasleftplentyofnegativespacefor

themodel’seyelinetogazeinto.TheISOis

highat 1000,whichsuggeststheuseofa

continuouslightsourceratherthanflash,

sotheuseofoff-cameraflashmighthave

helpedMarcusreducethenoiselevel.

Whyit works

1)Aninterestingandclassiccameraangle

2)Themodelis lookingintonegativespace

3)Fall-offin depth-of-fieldis perfect

URBANEXPERTJamesAbbott

“Symmetry can be a powerful
compositional ally in cityscape
shots, and Kenneth has used it to
great effect with this dynamic shot.
Stopping down his lens to f/11 has not only
allowed him to extend exposure times to
capture the traffic trails that draw the eye
through the image and create a large depth-of-
field, but it has also meant he has captured stars
around the street lights. With an APS-C model
like Kenneth’s, f/11 will achieve this, but if
you’re shooting with a full-frame camera
you’d get a better result stopping down to f/16.
The light trails are a great inclusion, but it’s a
shame the white light from oncoming traffic is
missing – taking a second shot and blending it
into the first by changing the Blending mode to
Lighten in Photoshop would have done the job.
A wider focal length and a lower perspective
might help exaggerate them too. Overall
though, this is a very nice shot.”

October 2019 Digital SLR Photography 49