Rabari - Amazon S3Products/... · 2013-07-06 · to create a body of work that includes...

T H E I N S I D E R S E R I E S T O T R A V E L D O C U M E N TA R Y P H O T O G R A P H Y

Light Stalking

Encounters with the nomadic tribeB Y M I T C H E L L K A N A S H K E V I C H

Rabari

2Light Stalking

T H E R A B A R I | E N C O U N T E R S W I T H T H E N O M A D I C T R I B E

Contents

Foreword | 3

About the Author | 3

How we structured this guide | 4

About the project | 5

Practicalities | 6

Equipment I used | 7

A quick word on the work flow | 7

Desert Dweller | 9

Kutch Diamond | 14

Tribal Elder | 19

The way home | 24

Morning tea and swings | 29

Simple living - morning meal | 34

Rabari businessman at rest | 39

The Matron | 44

Maestro | 49

Madji | 54

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Foreword Getting inside the head of talented photographers re-mains one of the most effective ways for people to learn the craft. Seeing what they see, knowing what they think and understanding what they hoped to achieve in their imagery stands as a compelling way to improve for those of us who would try to emulate their talent.

This guide presents a unique opportunity to learn from real-life, practical examples and to go behind the scenes of the actual photo shoots of renowned travel and docu-mentary photographer, Mitchell Kanashkevich.

The guide is part of a series and like other e-books in the series it contains 10 images connected by a theme. The photographs are broken down and analysed in-depth, bringing along a myriad of photographic and even life lessons that are ultimately related to photography and the creation of compelling imagery.

What you will learn is not only applicable to the specific scenarios in the guide, but can be applied on a much broader scale too. The knowledge you will gain will help you improve as a photographer and give you insight into what it takes to create a body of work that includes award-winners and magazine cover shots.

Through this guide, Mitchell has given us a unique opportunity to learn the pro-cess of creating a vision and executing it to completion. What you choose to do with the knowledge is up to you.

Rob WoodEditorLight Stalking

About the AuthorMitchell Kanashkevich is an award winning travel and documentary photographer. He shoots personal proj-ects around the world as well as travel related stories and stock photos for Getty and Corbis Images. His work has appeared in some of the world’s top photography and travel magazines, on book and magazine covers, in ad campaigns and has made its way into private photo collections around the world.

When not on the road Mitchell makes his home in Syd-ney, Australia with his wife (and helper in every possible way) Tanya and his dog Toshka.

You can follow Mitchell’s work online:

Facebook PageGoogle +BlogWebsite

https://www.facebook.com/mitchellkphotos

https://plus.google.com/106725444343496024495/posts

http://www.mitchellkphotos.com/blog

http://www.mitchellkphotos.com/

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How we structured this guideEach section of this guide is divided up into subsections so that you can easily find the information you need. The sub-sections are divided into the following:

Background informationThere’s a bit of a background story on how each image was made. If there were any practical details of note, you will also learn about them in this section.

ObjectivesThis sub-section is all about the aims and goals I had for a particular photo. The goals might be something a photographer already has before a specific shoot, or they might change, develop and evolve during the shoot. From this sub-sec-tion you will also get a good feel for how I approach the subject in general, prac-tical terms - what I expect and how I am ready to handle those expectations.

LightThe point of this sub-section is to help you gain a deeper understanding of light through analysing the way it was used for each photograph. You will see the practical and technical challenges that different lighting scenarios bring as well as the solutions. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, you will see how light can be used creatively.

Moment and/or poseThe moment that the photographer clicks the shutter button is important for every image. When making portraits, the pose that a person assumes may be as important as the moment. In this sub-section you will learn about how certain moments throughout each shoot were captured, how I got the subjects to pose in certain ways and very importantly - why all the decisions were made.

CompositionI try to use the rule of thirds to guide the way I frame a lot of my photographs, but this sub-section is not a discussion of rules and compositional theories. I talk about the rational, practical reasoning behind my compositional choices - the specifics of how I framed each image in accordance to the given circum-stances.

The “Biggest challenge” and “How I managed it”Every photograph is challenging in its own way. In this sub-section I choose the biggest challenge or challenges in relation to each photograph and discuss how I dealt with them in practical terms. The aim here is to help you develop an in-depth understanding of the matters that those challenges bring up.

The “What” and the “Why” of post processingThis sub-section is all about demystifying the idea that the photographs you see come out perfectly, directly from the camera. Post-processing is an inte-gral part of each photograph. Our cameras have limitations - colors often don’t come out as richly as we saw them and the tonal range that the eyes see is simply impossible for the camera to reproduce.

I always shoot with post-processing in mind and my primary aim with post-processing is to make the image on the screen match the image that I saw with my eyes. Keep this in mind when looking at this section. When I mention that certain things were done to make the image more “dramatic”, “contrasty” or “punchy” I am not doing it for the sake of stylising the work, but rather because that’s what brings the image closer to the way I saw it. Occasionally I also do subtle things to bring attention to parts of the frame, again, it is not about styl-izing the shots, but rather to assist with the story-telling.

This sub-section isn’t a step-by-step tutorial. It is a peek behind the scenes. You’ll get to see the before-and-after images and an overview of the most cru-cial post-processing steps I took in Adobe Lighroom and/or Photoshop. I don’t list every single step - only the ones absolutely necessary to create the final im-age. Knowing what these were and why I took these steps will give you a push you in the right direction, when you’re post-processing your own images.

If you want to improve your post-processing skills further, I suggest you start with what I’ve mentioned in this e-book, experiment and read more on the sub-ject. There is a whole lot of information online.

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About the projectThe images in this e-book are from a personal project that I undertook around what I consider the beginning of my journey into photography.

The project was about nomadic Indian cattle herders called the Rabari. I chose to focus on them because they fascinated me and because much of what was visually unique about them was changing so rapidly. There was no major body of work documenting the Rabari for years prior to my project, so I felt quite passionate about creating some kind of record of these unique, resilient and beautiful people.

Objectives and challenges of the projectThe aim was to photograph those Rabari who were still traditional, not only in their rituals, but visually, in how they dressed and decorated themselves. I also wanted the whole body of work to go to beyond a documentary record, to be beautiful, perhaps even a little romantisized, with a sense of timelessness to it.

My objectives meant that I could not photograph in just any situation. I was constantly chasing golden, morning and afternoon light and looking for fas-cinating, traditional characters in rural villages and along roads. Quite a few times I’d travel hundreds of kilometres only to discover that what I was looking for wasn’t there.

This project was one of the toughest things I did at that stage of my life. It lasted for four months, which was longer than I expected, largely due to a small, but pesky injury from a motorcycle accident that I had mid-way through. The delay meant that a large part of the work had to be done during the Indian summer, around the desert, where temperatures reach 40°C/104 °F as early as 10 AM in the morning.

The payoff and the conclusionI feel that in the end all the hard work did pay off. I had a successful exhibition showing of the images, sold prints, was published in numerous photography magazines, won a couple of magazine contests and made the cover of British Geographical. In short - this project was the first thing that really put me on the map as a photographer.

I mention these things to give some encouragement to those of you who are starting out and to share a lesson that’s applicable to life in general. Do what you are passionate about, work hard and rewards will follow.

The imagesThe 10 images I have included here should not only give you an idea of what creating such a body of work involves. They should also provide you with some lessons, particularly useful for a beginning travel, documentary or people pho-tographer, or anyone generally curious about these genres.

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PracticalitiesTravel companions, guides, translators etc.It is my belief that such large scale/long term projects in a foreign country (as this one) are hard to do on your own. It really helps having the right people with you and I was accompanied by two of them.

The first was my wife, who was always a source of support. It might sound cheesy to some, but support in a world so different to your own can actually be incredibly important. No support and at some stage, a lot of us will focus on staying sane rather than photography.

The second person was my friend Hardik, who also became an assistant, translator and basically my right-hand man in every way. You will notice that throughout various parts of the guide I stress the importance of having had him guiding me, translating for me and being the “bridge” between the people who I was photographing and myself. It is almost a necessity to have such a person around when you are dealing with a culture so radically different to your own, a culture with so many nuances and intricacies. Ideally your companion, guide, fixer, whatever you want to call that person should help smooth the way for the photographer.

Finding the guideFinding that person can be a matter of luck. It can be hard to find someone reliable and competent enough to work with for any amount of time. If you’re traveling to a foreign land, by far the best way to find the right companion for your trip is to ask friends or people you know who have been to the country to recommend somebody. It doesn’t have to be someone who is specifically a photographic guide or has experience with photographers, but it does help.

If friends can’t recommend anyone, there are plenty of sources around, like guidebooks and internet travel forums. There is even a website called “Light Stalkers” (Not to be confused with LightStalking.com) where, photographers often exchange information about fixers, guides, translators etc.

If you are the kind of person who can easily relate to people, the last option could be the best one. Travel to the country and be open to meeting locals, to making new friends, seek out people with similar interests and ask them if they want to join you and help. Many people love to travel, but often don’t have the opportunity to do so and will gladly take the chance. If you’re in a country with a culture very different from your own, people might be very curious and inter-ested to travel with you so that they can learn more about your “world”. I tend to take this option far more than any others. In such cases, rather than paying a guide fee, I pay for my new friend’s travel expenses. It works out well because both they and I have an interesting experience. Both parties get something out of it.

It is possible to do these kinds of trips without any guide or companion. You can learn the language yourself, for example. However, this does potentially add a lot of stress and still possibly leaves you open to the myriad of cultural misun-derstandings that can and do arise.

TransportationHaving your own vehicle opens up many doors. It gives you the freedom to move around wherever you want, whenever you want. This can be very impor-tant for a photographer. It means that you can be at the site of a beautiful scene during the golden hour or that you can get to remote locations which public transport doesn’t go to.

It’s not impossible to do projects like this one without your own transport, but it certainly becomes much more frustrating, time consuming and significantly less productive.

For this project we moved around on a motorcycle. While it was a little more tiring and dangerous than I would have liked, it was actually the best way to move around. Having three people on a motorcycle (not usually recommended) actually made sense to the locals - it’s how they travel. If we traveled by car, we would have often been viewed as the “rich” foreigners, a connotation which brings a whole lot of baggage and creates a very different dynamic when inter-acting with people.

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Equipment I usedFor those who think that we need the latest, greatest equipment to take good photographs, I hope that seeing the list of equipment which I used for this proj-ect will be something of an eye opener.

Canon 400D camera (Entry level DSLR capable of producing great results. The same goes for its later reincarnations)Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens (The cheap, plastic one)Canon 28mm f/2.8 lensSigma 20mm f/1.8 wide angle lensPhotoflex 5-in-1 collapsible reflector. It fits into a large backpack and has a sil-ver, gold, silver/gold, white sides and a diffuser. I chose the reflector when I shot this project over a flash because it was easier to use and cheaper. As you will see though, a reflector can be a very powerful tool.

There is of course no denying that some of the more basic cameras won’t per-form as well in the dark as their much more expensive counterparts, reflectors are limited to having sunlight to reflect and the more expensive lenses are ul-timately better. However, not all of us have the budget for the latest, greatest, most expensive gear, nor can all of us justify paying those amounts, when we don’t even know if the images we make will ever generate an income.

My philosophy on the limitations we have as far as getting gear is simple - get something good enough and go out and shoot. Don’t waste time on “ifs” and “buts”. The only way to grow photographically is to take photos. Most cameras these days are much more capable than the average photographer and if there are limitations, look at them as creative challenges.

A quick word on the work flowI had a few CF cards and every day I would download what I shot onto the in-ternal laptop hard-drive. I would also back them up to a portable external hard-drive and to DVDs which I would send home every couple of weeks when I was near the post office.

Having the images in various places meant that even if one of the storage de-vices went down or was lost, I’d still have the results of the hard work on two other sources.

The Photographs

D E S E R T D W E L L E RISO 200, 20 mm, f/2.8, 1/1250 s

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D E S E R T D W E L L E R

Background infoOne day my friend and assistant Hardik was trying to convince a Rabari man to let us tag along on his daily trip to a grazing ground in the desert. From our initial conversation, it seemed that everything was ok and we’d be able to go. In reality the man saw us as a burden and when he realized that we were seri-ous he started looking for any excuses not to have us join. We almost gave up hope, but suddenly, he saw another Rabai man walking down the street and exclaimed “Him! Go with him! He’s my cousin and he’ll be happy to have you along.”

The cousin’s name was Nanji Bhai and he was indeed happy for us to join him. We set off early next morning to avoid the heat and the scorching summer sun as much as possible. We walked through the desert for twelve kilometres (there and back), searching for the grazing grounds where Nanji Bhai’s sheep were be-ing herded by another relative. I took photographs along the way, once asking him to pose for a portrait. The image you see here is the result of that.

ObjectivesThe aim was very simple - to create a portrait that would say as much as pos-sible about my subject’s culture and the environment in which he lived and worked - the desert.

I wanted the portrait to be a documentation, but I also wanted it to be beautiful and dramatic at the same time.

LightStarting the journey early meant that I’d get a chance to shoot in the golden light during sunrise. This kind of light made everything in the scene look vivid, lively and pleasant to the eye in general, which is what I wanted.

I could also “direct” the outdoor natural light in a way. I consciously positioned myself and Nanji Bhai so that the sun-rays would come at him at approximately 45° angle or from behind my shoulder (frame left). This allowed for a slight pro-gression of light to dark tones and for an illusion of volume in the man’s face.

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Moment and PoseI shot a few candid, “on-the-go” images during our walk, but as you can see in the photos here, they didn’t allow you to appreciate much of Nanji Bhai’s cos-tume and his presence wasn’t really felt, there was no eye contact.

A few more candids after I asked Nanji Bhai to pause. You can see how in all of the shots he has his staff on his shoulder, which is something that I observed to be very natural for Rabari men to do, when they are in relaxed and casual situ-ations. As soon as I lifted the camera to my eye however, Nanji Bhai, took the staff off, put his hands by his sides and straightened up like a soldier. That was his “I’m having my photo taken” pose. It felt tense and very contrived.

I asked if he could “do that thing with the staff again”. He obliged and put it over his shoulder, since the pose was so familiar and natural to him. I then asked Nanji Bhai to turn his body away from me just a bit, but to still keep the face turned towards me and to look in my direction. I felt that doing this gave the pose a more casual feel. Having him facing me straight up would have felt a little too formal. The end result is direct eye contact and a natural looking pose, which is effective for showing Nanji Bhai’s elaborate, traditional costume. A small, yet very typi-cal detail which was a nice “bonus” was the bracelet around the hand, which became visible when Nanji Bhai raised the staff. It was a subtle, yet very typical part of the Rabari men’s attire.

CompositionThe face and the costume details were the most important elements to this photo. They needed to be seen from a fairly close distance for the image to have the intended impact, but I also wanted to hint at the vastness of the desert landscape.

It made most sense to frame the scene mid-shot, this would put enough em-phasis on everything that was important. Wide enough to show some of the landscape and close enough to show the facial features and the details in the costume.

The horizontal orientation was the most natural choice because I would not have been able to include much of the landscape in the frame vertically. Moreover, a completely empty landscape would look rather boring. That was my reason for choosing to photograph next to the large desert shrub. The shrub balances out the composition, while adding another element of interest, which is telling of the man’s environment.

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Biggest challengeThis was one of the rare cases where the biggest challenge was physical. The 12 km walk through the desert and back was easy to start off with, but as the sun got higher, the temperature rose and soon it was around an unbearable 40 °C.

It’s hard for someone who isn’t used to such weather to keep pace with a local, while photographing at the same time. In fact, it’s hard to focus your mind in general.

How I managed itBesides taking enough water to avoid killing myself or my companions from dehydration, I had to remember one simple thing - no matter how difficult it was to get the shot, I couldn’t use that as an excuse. The final result is the only thing that ultimately matters. No one cares about the excuses when a shot isn’t any good. “Without a strong image, the whole journey would be in vain” - this was the thought that I used to motivate myself.

Note: I am happy to say that the hard work paid off in this particular case. The image was published in a few magazines, was sold as a print and made the cover of British Geographical in 2010.

Quick Tips

Things might not always work out as planned. It’s ok to have ideas on what or whom to photograph, but it’s important to be able to move on and to switch your mindset, if the original ideas don’t work out.

At times candid portraits don’t tell the story as well as posed ones. In those cases it’s good to have a pretty concrete idea of what particular pose should work, so as not to tire or bore the subject by trying all sorts of different poses and possibly losing the image as a result.

The only thing that matters to the viewer is the image in front of them. If the photograph isn’t strong, excuses don’t matter and no one will care how hard it was to get the shot.

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The “what” and the “why” of post processingn “Recovery” slider was moved towards the right considerably, to bring out

the details in the white clouds and the bright costume. (Lightroom)

n The “Shadows” were slightly brought down and the “Highlights” were slightly raised on the “Tone Curve”, to increase contrast, add punch to the image and make it look more dynamic. (Lightroom)

n Saturation in cyans and blues was raised to make the sky look a bit more lively and deep. (Lightroom)

n Exposure was raised with the “Adjustment Brush” around the face and “Luminance” of oranges was raised. Both actions were done to make the face brighter and the facial features more prominent. (Lightroom)

n “Shadows/Highlights” were tweaked considerably on the face in order to enhance the facial features further. (Photoshop)

n A significant amount of “Dodging” and “Burning” was done to bring out the facial features and to put the finishing touches on the image. (Photo-shop)

BEFORE

AFTER

K U T C H D I A M O N DISO 400, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 s

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K U T C H D I A M O N D

Light Stalking

Background infoWherever you go in Rabari villages, the children always follow. As you go from house to house, a small, curious group of kids soon turns into a legion of screaming, laughing, crying “little monsters”. The whole thing can be over-whelming, even intimidating. I always tried to remain very calm, not to add to the excitement. At the same time I looked for potential “models” amidst the crowd. The girl in the photo was one of the curious children, rather than scream-ing ones.

I photographed her in an undercover space in front of one of the village homes. In many regards it was the ideal location for a portrait in the circumstances. What wasn’t ideal about it was the backdrop. It was an uninteresting, plain white wall with no textures. There was nothing wrong with it per se, but it was like a backdrop for a passport photo, which is not something I was going for.

I often shot in very similar scenarios and was frequently presented with the same kinds of backdrops. For this reason, my wife helped me make an im-provised, portable backdrop from old grain bags. It made the background look more textured and infinitely more interesting, yet it didn’t look artificial or out of place. I used that portable, improvised background for the shot here.

ObjectivesThe main aim here was to let the grace and beauty of the young girl come though. There was also a combination of childlike innocence and womanly ma-turity in her face and eyes - I wanted that to come across too.

Because this was to be a photograph from a series that focused on the Rabari as a tribe, I needed to have a hint of her identity within the frame, in this case - her costume.

LightAs with most portraits in this series I wanted to sculpt with the light, to accentu-ate the subject’s facial features, to make colors look dynamic. The indirect/dif-fused natural side-light from the opening in the undercover area at the front of the house was suitable. However, it initially seemed that this light was too soft and too diffused, meaning not much contrast and hence and no sculpting effect.

A reflector, would create stronger light and increase contrasts, making the sculpting effect more dramatic. The golden properties (gold/silver side of the reflector) of the light would make the colors look particularly vivid. Things took an unexpected turn however. It was a little windy, the reflector moved and after the first two shots it only really illuminated the side of the girl’s hair (frame left) and the left shoulder of the costume.

I ended up having the scene lit predominantly by natural light, but a quick look at the images on the LCD screen helped me realize that the reflector was a little too strong in this case anyway, creating harsh shadows and a bright spot around the cheek. I ultimately preferred the softer natural light on the face, but still liked the reflector illuminating the hair and part of the costume, so I kept shooting with the reflector remaining in the position the wind moved it to.

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Kutch Diamond Tribal Elder

Rabari businessman at rest

Simple LivingMadji - Grandmother

The matron

1. Natural, diffused, indirect light coming through a large opening.

2. Silver/gold side of the reflector moved by the wind and only reflec ting light off a small part of it.

3. Light from the moved reflector only effects the shoulder and the side of the girl’s hair.

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Light Stalking

Moment and poseThe only thing I had my mind set on, was getting a fairly straight forward por-trait of the girl. I was flexible with everything else and wanted to see what would happen once I took out the camera.

The village children found the idea of their friend and sibling being photo-graphed hilarious. Their laugher and jokes, made the girl feel shy and a little giggly herself. Between those moments of shyness and laughter she looked straight into the camera and placed her hand around her chest, close to her neck, as if to compose herself. That lasted for just a split second and I missed the moment, but I loved the idea of this “pose”. I felt that the hand in the frame added some character to the portrait too.

I quickly asked the girl through Hardik and through gestures to put her hand where she had it seconds earlier. She did, while looking into the camera. The wind blew her hair, I pressed the shutter button a few times and ended up with the image I like. I took a few more shots soon after, but as you can see, that mo-ment was gone very quickly.

CompositionWith a strong character like this girl, I feel that you absolutely have to allow the face to tell the story, to communicate to the senses. This means framing the face from up close.

I framed horizontally rather than vertically because the girl was twisting and turning and her hair was going all over the place. From up close she was taking up more space within the frame horizontally, hence a vertically framed close up could cut off at least some important elements.

A minimalist approach dictated just how tightly I framed the shot. The story was in the face (character), the hand (adds to the character), the costume (gives a sense of her ethnic identity). Nothing else mattered, so quite simply, nothing else is in the frame.

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Light Stalking

Biggest challengeCapturing the right moment or the right pose was the most difficult aspect of the shoot. The village kids made the girl quite self-conscious, shy and uneasy. This showed in her body language. The few images on the previous page should have given you an idea of what that body language looked like. Shy smiles, put-ting her necklace in her mouth and averting eye contact.

Though some would consider that a few of those images work on some level, I feel that only the one I chose emphasizes the beauty and the grace of the sub-ject and hints at her maturity, all at once.

How I managed itThis was one of the cases when having my friend Hardik by my side was of ut-most importance. His knowledge of the culture and the ability to speak the lan-guage were key. During the shoot he kept making small talk and asking ques-tions. In a rural Indian setting it’s common for women and girls to simply run away when they feel shy, but it’s considered impolite not to respond to ques-tions, especially if they’re coming from a guest. Hardik understood this well and used his knowledge to put me in a position to make the photo.

Communication, along with smiles helped put the child at ease. It is vital for the photographer to smile in such cases. A smile lessens tension or a sense of intimidation that a child may have with an unfamiliar, foreign adult photograph-ing them. A smile also allows for a very basic, almost primeval connection. This is much better in most cases than no connection at all and could be the differ-ence between whether the person in front of the camera co-operates and wants to be a part of your photo, or not.

What would have happened if I had just spoken English? This is often done by photographers and can work well in some situations, even if the subject doesn’t understand. In this case however, it would have likely created a sense of hys-teria, as the sound of a foreign language appeared to be very comical to the village kids. When laughter gets out of control, it’s quite possible to lose your opportunity for the photograph.

Quick Tips

Backgrounds are important to photographs. Even if they are essentially empty, they can still make an image more or less atmospheric or interesting. A portable, improvised backdrop can be a convenient tool for portrait photography on the road.

Watch carefully for signs in body language. Don’t stop at one photograph and don’t be afraid to ask the subject to “re-enact” a pose, if that’s what will make the image.

Consider what composition will work with the circumstances at hand, not just in theory. A vertical framing for example, might be the first thing that comes to mind when shooting a portrait, but it doesn’t always create the best result in practice.

You need to know what light can do and have the presence of mind to recognize when it does or doesn’t work. The ability to adapt or adjust on the go will sometimes make or break the shot.

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The “what” and the “why”of post processingn Exposure was brought down a little because I initially slightly overexposed

a large part of the image with the aim of exposing for the darker part of the girl’s face. I didn’t want to lose any detail there. (Lightroom)

n “Tone Curve” was adjusted to bring up contrast and make the image more dynamic. “Shadows” were brought down considerably, “Darks” were brought down slightly and “Lights” were slightly brought up. (Lightroom)

n “Luminance” was slightly raised for oranges and the “Adjustment Brush” was used to lighten up the skin and to accentuate the light’s sculpting effect. (Lightroom)

n “Clarity” was selectively adjusted with the “Adjustment Brush” to enhance the outlines of the eyes, the nose, the lips, the cheeks and the hand. (Lightroom)

n “Blacks” were raised in Lightroom and later in Photoshop, selectively, around the eyes and eyebrows, to make them a little more pronounced and dramatic. (Lightroom, Photoshop)

n Saturation was selectively lowered, because adjustments of the “Tone Curve” slightly over-saturated colors - particularly oranges and reds. (Lightroom)

n The “Adjustment Brush” in Lightroom and later the more precise “Dodge” tool in Photoshop were used to brighten up the eye irises, eye-whites and the catchlight in the eyes. This was done to make the eyes look more lively. (Lightroom, Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

T R I B A L E L D E RISO 400, 28 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 s

2 0Light Stalking

T R I B A L E L D E R

Background InformationDuring one of our village visits we came across a group of Rabari men. Some of them were elaborately dressed and we asked if there was anyone else inside the village dressed like them (to photograph). There wasn’t. Everyone was leav-ing for a religious ceremony, but we could join, if we wanted. We did.

At the ceremony we saw a few interesting faces and people in traditional cos-tumes. One man particularly stood out to me, however, the setting of the cer-emony was far from ideal to create a truly strong portrait of him. We ended up agreeing on an appointment of sorts, to come back to the man’s village and photograph him in a more controlled environment, which would potentially produce a stronger image.

ObjectivesMy first aim was to produce a portrait that would do justice to such a photoge-nic character. The setting, the light, the pose - all of this had to come together to make the image work.

The other aim was to prominently feature the man’s traditional costume. He was very conservative and old-fashioned and every bit of his attire was traditional, which was not so common and even more reason to make the photograph.

LightThe “sculpting” effect was once again the aim here. The light had to come from a relatively narrow source, from the side or at an angle in relation to the subject. There wasn’t much choice for what room we could make into an impro-vised studio. The space we could use was small. This fact and the time of day presented some challenges.

We shot at a time when not only the diffused (desired) type of light entered the room, direct sun-rays did too. The direct sun-rays were much too bright and harsh to use as the main light-source. We asked the man to move as far away

from them as possible, towards the back of the room, which was only illuminat-ed by diffused light. He did, though there was not much space for manoeuvring and as you can see in the photo, a part of his foot was still in the brightly lit area.

Aesthetically, the bright spot was not a big issue, in fact, I felt that it added a little to the mood. It did however create a very high contrast situation. Leaving everything lit this way meant that either the face would be underexposed and much too dark or the bottom part of the frame would turn into an overexposed, white spot with no details at all.

A reflector was used to remedy the problem. It illuminated the face, the hand and some of the man’s costume from the side with that sculpting light, but it did so with more intensity than the diffused light and with less intensity than the direct sunlight.

The end result was a more evenly lit image. The bright part was still very bright in relation to the rest of the scene, but the rest of the scene was brighter than before, hence, there was less contrast. This meant that I could bring down the exposure on everything and in turn, capture the brightest spot with enough detail to be able to bring it back out in post processing.

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The matron

1. Reflector twisted and held at a dis-tance of about 3m from the subject to prevent the light from being too strong.

2. Reflected light illuminating the man’s face and part of the costume.

3. Harsh sun-light penetrating the room.

4. Further away from the opening, the harsh sun-light and the reflected light, the natural, indirect light is diffused and fairly dull.

2 1Light Stalking


Moment and poseI wanted to have the entire costume of the man in the photograph, meaning I needed to have a full-body shot. However, his face was no less important than the costume and I wanted to be close enough for virtually every detail in it to be seen.

I had to think about how to position the man so that nothing crucial from his costume or face would be lost. I remembered noticing the way he sat during the ceremony and wishing I could photograph that same “pose” in a better environment. That is ex-actly what ended up happening. Because the pose was something very natural to him, there were no problems getting the man to assume it again.

CompositionThe compositional choices were very straight for-ward. Firstly, I could not have anything take away from the subject and his costume. That was one of the reasons the original place where we saw him wasn’t suitable, there was just too much happen-ing. The small room we found had a pretty plain, but textured (i.e. - not boring) background.

The vertical framing was the one which mirrored his pose best. I tried a close up of his face, but if anything, it re-affirmed that the point of this shot was to have the whole costume in the frame too. I came in as close as I could, leaving a little space around the edges of the frame, not to have the im-age appear too crammed. There was almost no space between the right edge and the elbow be-

cause of a grain bag that was there. Including that bag would distract from the subject, but cropping close to the elbow was no big deal. I went with the second option.

2 2Light Stalking


Biggest ChallengeIt was a challenge to get to a situation where we could photograph this man on our terms - in the kind of setting I wanted, assuming the kind of pose which would work for the photograph. The reasons for this were not necessarily very straight-forward or obvious.

Though I had a lot of experience photographing people by the time I made this image, I didn’t often have to go to great lengths to make those photos. I usu-ally met someone and photographed them within minutes of that meeting, not arranging to meet at a later stage or anything along those lines. I felt awkward doing this, particularly because the man was very conservative, old-fashioned and at least on the surface looked rather intimidating.

As a lot of us probably do in the early stages of our photographic journey I played out different scenarios in my mind: What if he says no? What if he gets angry? What if he thinks this whole thing is weird or stupid? Where do I even begin? How to I approach him?

How I managed itThe first way to deal with such “issues” is to rationalize the situation. A lot of us tend to create scenarios where we fail, before even having a chance to succeed.

In reality it was very unlikely that something extreme would happen if we asked the man whether we could photograph him at a later stage. You don’t have to be a psychologist to see if a person is obviously negatively predisposed. As long as you don’t photograph in those situations, things aren’t likely to ever get ugly. In fact, more often than not, I’ve been surprised when the most intimidat-ing looking characters turned out to be some of the sweetest people I’ve met.

After getting over my self-imposed limitations we approached the man and stated my purpose. I was doing a project on some of the last traditional Rabari and I thought that he was a great, photogenic “model”. I wanted to photograph him in a situation where I could make a good portrait, without distractions, not out in the midst of a ceremony. I was very straight-forward and upfront. After hearing my proposal and explanation, the man happily agreed. This meant that he was interested enough to be part of the shoot and asking him to pose (obvi-ously within reason) was not going to be an issue.

Of course I was doing all of my communicating through Hardik and again, I have to emphasize how important it can be to have the right person with you. Even if you can get things done on your own, a person who understands the culture and speaks the language makes the whole process much smoother.

Quick Tips

A strong subject can often make for an even stronger image when photographed in a controlled environment, rather than wherever you meet him or her. If you have even a suspicion that this might be the case, try to find a way to photograph the subject in that environment.

Sitting a subject down can allow for a full-body image and a close up at the same. You end up showing as much as you would in a wide shot without losing the vital details.

A reflector can be very useful for evening-out light and reducing contrasts in high-contrast, unevenly lit scenarios.

When photographing people, most self-imposed doubts that a lot of us tend to have will go away if we simply rationalise the situation.

2 3Light Stalking


The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn The “Adjustment Brush” was used to bring

down the exposure around the bright whites of the costume, on the foot and on the bright sun-lit spot. Exposure on parts of the face was selectively increased with the same tool. Both things were done to bring out the details in the spots which were too bright and in those that were a little too dark. (Lightroom)

n “Clarity” - The “Adjustment Brush” was used to accentuate wrinkles on the face, the hand and creases in the costume. (Lightroom)

n Oranges were slightly desaturated because the gold/silver side of the reflector created a bit of an orange tint. (Lightroom)

n The “Shadows/Highlights” tool was used selectively. “Shadows” and “Tonal width” were tweaked. Eye-whites and the iris were “Dodged” a little. These actions were done for a more precise brightening of those areas. (Pho-toshop)

n The levels of the blacks were increased around the outlines of the eyes and the wrinkles. This was done to punctuate those features and to give the image a little more punch in general. (Photoshop)

BEFORE AFTER

T H E W AY H O M EISO 200, 20 mm, f/2.8, 1/1600 s

2 5Light Stalking

T H E W AY H O M E

Background infoA big part of the project consisted of riding through the Indian countryside and looking for photogenic scenes around the areas where the Rabari lived. I would do this during early mornings and late afternoons, when the light of the rising or setting sun made everything look beautiful and vivid.

The image included here was made during one of the afternoon outings. While riding, I noticed a large flock of sheep with a couple of Rabari boys herding them. I quickly stopped, parked the motorcycle along the road and basically ran after them, photographing along the way.

ObjectivesOne of the more fascinating scenes I saw regularly in various places around West Indian countryside was that of Rabari shepherds with their cattle, similar to what I saw in this instance.

Generally these scenes were beautiful and had an epic feel about them. I didn’t really have a concrete idea of exactly how an image that I’d take of such a scene would look. I simply knew that I wanted to communicate the beautiful, epic feel in some shape or form.

LightThe light produced by the setting sun was very suitable for my idea of creating an epic and beautiful shot of the scene. The main reason is the light’s effect on color. All the colors look vivid and dynamic.

Such characteristics are typical for light produced during the sunset hour and they’re also a big part of what’s responsible for the warm and lively mood in the photograph. This scene would work nowhere nearly as well if it were pho-tographed on an overcast day or during other, less “beautifying” types of light.

A “bonus” that I didn’t necessarily expect initially, was the light illuminating and (because of its close proximity to the horizon) making visible the dust that the sheep kicked up in the air. When light and elements like dust (or water) in-teract, the image tends to really excel at communicating to the senses.

2 6Light Stalking

T H E W AY H O M E

MomentThis was a very dynamic situation. Many moments could have made for good photographs in this scenario. However, I missed most of them or wasn’t in the right place to make truly worthwhile images. That’s quite normal. In unfamiliar situations that unfold quickly, we don’t really know what happens next. We can only follow along, guess and photograph as things unfold, with the hope that we’ll get a chance for a good shot.

I observed and tried to recognize some kind of definitive moment that could tell the story in a powerful way. You can recognize that moment if it’s a re-occuring action or because you saw something similar before. Ultimately though, that moment might not be obvious until looking at the whole series of images after the shoot. This is why I usually try to take many photographs (the ones I in-cluded here are only a fraction of the total). My philosophy is that the strongest image could either be seconds away or seconds behind and you’ll miss it if you don’t keep shooting.

The image I included is the one that I feel to be the strongest from the shoot, a scene with all the elements that I was looking for. There were enough sheep to show that this was a large flock - there’s the light and there’s even dust in the air that adds a little drama to the scene.

One important thing to note. I really could have benefited from using more au-tomated camera settings, like aperture priority. The light intensity was changing as often as I was changing the angles I shot from and I might have missed a few shots while manually adjusting the settings.

CompositionMy approach to composition for this photograph was as dynamic as the situ-ation. While things were unfolding in front of me, I kept moving, re-framing, changing angles and re-framing again. You can get an idea of this from the im-ages below.

After every few shots I’d decide on what framing worked best and stuck with it for a few more shots. Doing this meant that I already had the framing that worked and if the right moment came, if all the elements alligned ideally, I’d just have to click the shutter button to get a strong shot.

The important factors that make the composition in the chosen image work are; the “stream” of sheep going through the passage, the green vegetation framing everything within the frame - both leading the eye deeper into the im-age and of course the shepherd, with his bright turban drawing attention and punctuating the scene.

2 7Light Stalking

T H E W AY H O M E

Biggest challengeIt was tough to find the moment that really made the scene work and on top of that, to frame it just the right way in what was a very hectic situation.

There was a lot of commotion. The shepherds were screaming out commands to the sheep, the sheep were bleating, dust was in the air, everyone was moving fast and I was moving after everyone, trying not to fall behind.

You can see from the frames on the previous page that I “searched” for the right moment and composition quite a bit.

How I managed itI treated every moment as a potential “this is it” moment. As things unfolded, I kept focus and kept photographing each frame with the same level of focus (and hope that it would be the one) because any one of them could end up be-ing that definitive shot.

Picking the framing which I felt worked and sticking with it for at least a few shots is what ultimately helped me get the image that I am happy with.

Quick Tips

Don’t be afraid to step away from manual mode. Switching to aperture priority in dynamic, quickly changing situations could be the difference between a photograph made and a wasted opportunity.

The strongest image could either be seconds away from the present moment or seconds behind. Don’t stop shooting in situations where things continue to unfold over time, or there’s a good chance that you’ll miss that image.

Picking a framing that works and sticking with it, while waiting for elements to align favourably within the frame increases your chances for an image of a strong moment that is well composed.

2 8Light Stalking

T H E W AY H O M E

The “What” and the “Why”of post processingn I never bother with white balance at the time of the shoot because I shoot

RAW and white balance can be changed in post-processing software. Here, I changed it by making the “Temperature” slightly warmer, to have the colors looking closer to the way they did at the scene. (Lightroom)

n The “Tone Curve” was adjusted. “Darks” were significantly brought down to give the image a more contrasty and a more intense feel. (Lightroom)

n “Vibrance” and “Saturation” were slightly increased to better communicate the lively colors at the scene. (Lightroom)

n “Fill Light” was used selectively and exposure was increased with the “Adjustment Brush” in the darker areas of the image, like the sheep’s backs and dark parts of the bushes. This was done to bring out some details which were getting lost in the shadows. (Lightroom)

n “Dodging” and “Burning” was applied to the area of the turban, the dust clouds and the “sun-kissed” leaves on the bushes to accentuate those elements with precision. (Photoshop)

n The “Shadows/Highlights” tool was used around the sheeps’ backs. “Shadows” were brightened around the parts which were rather dark. “Highlights” were muted in parts which were losing detail because they were too bright. (Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

M O R N I N G T E A A N D S W I N G SISO 400, 20 mm, f/2.8, 1/160 s

3 0Light Stalking

M O R N I N G T E A A N D S W I N G S

Background InformationWe were staying for a few days in a small, remote Rabari village. Facilities like restaurants or guesthouses weren’t around for miles. A building usually re-served for government officials was arranged for us to sleep in and a local fam-ily would cook for us.

The last part of the “deal” gave me a great chance to be around everyday situ-ations and to photograph the local family without the shoot becoming a big deal, as it so often tends to in remote places, which seldom see foreign visitors.

The man in the image is Karman Bhai, the boy is his youngest son Nilesh. Every morning they had the same small ritual take place. Karman would take out an empty rice bag and a piece of rope to make improvised swings in the doorway of their mud house. Nilesh would swing back and forth and Karman would sit just in front, drinking his morning tea.

The photograph is one of a few that I made during my days with the family and the one I thought worked best.

ObjectivesBecause I saw the scenario a few times, I had some idea of what I wanted to capture - Karman Bhai in the front and Nilesh on the swings in the back. It was a matter of coming up with just the right variation of this scene. I wanted it to feel like a portrait, but to be a very casual snippet of everyday life at the same time.

LightThis was really a case of doing with what I had. The ritual between Karman and his son always happened early in the mornings. The sun would already be up, but it would be behind the hills which surrounded the village, meaning that the scene would always be in the shadow of the mountains.

The light was always soft and diffused and it did not create any contrasts or shadows, nor did it make colors look vivid or have the golden quality you usu-ally get when sunrise is visible. In other words, the light didn’t add any drama and it didn’t really “beautify” the scene in any way.

This image works in the current light because there’s a pretty strong sense of story - there’s the father and son theme, there’s an interesting face and there’s something happening. This wouldn’t be the case all the time. Some images just don’t work without light which makes things beautiful, dramatic or creates a strong sense of mood. In fact, I would have rather photographed this scene in that kind of light too, but it was not to be and ultimately, there was no sense in missing out on this one just because things weren’t absolutely ideal.

3 1Light Stalking


Moment and poseI shot variations of the same scene over a couple of days. Karman and Nilesh quickly got used to my presence and, except for the occasional glance in my direction, they weren’t giving me much attention.

To achieve the casual feel was fairly easy, however, it was still tough to distin-guish what the perfect moment that I was looking to capture was. I just kept hanging around, placing myself in different spots, not interfering in any way, waiting for things to unfold and photographing along the way.

I think that a few of the images worked rather well, but ultimately I felt that I got the shot that I wanted when Karman and Nilesh both paused by coincidence in the middle of what they were doing and glanced at me. The shot still has a casual feel to it, but there’s also eye contact with the camera which translates into both subject’s eyes looking out of the shot at the viewer. This, I feel, gives the image more impact.

CompositionI had to “build” the image around the two characters. Their alignment meant that the only rational way to frame was horizontally. I basically got as close as possible to Karman Bhai, cropping around his waistline, which is one of the standard places to crop with portraits.

I didn’t make the crop too tight around the edges to give some sense of the mud-house wall and not to have the shot feel too congested.

With the placement of the “characters” within the frame I chose to use the rule of thirds as my guideline. The most important elements - the faces are right around the imaginary intersections.

One other thing of note is the use of depth of field in this image. Nilesh and ev-erything behind Karman are a little blurred. I didn’t feel that I needed that part of the frame to be such a literal representation that they needed to be in sharp focus. The blur is evocative of a sense of space and volume. With a relatively flat light it was the only way that I could create this sense.

3 2Light Stalking


Main challengeThe biggest challenge was to get the “best” moment, the one that felt most right. I made quite a few shots of this “ritual”. While, as I mentioned before, a few of them arguably work, I feel that it’s the subtle yet crucial details of the one I chose that make it the strongest.

How I managed itWhen you have a good idea of what image you want to create, you start to look for details that might make it work better. At first you’re thinking of how the subjects should be arranged within the frame. Then, you look for the more subtle details - where their eyes are looking or where the hands are, etc. You might also look for a moment during the action which best symbolizes that ac-tion or symbolizes it enough to give an idea of what’s happening. Finally, when you really have a good idea of what’s going on, you basically calculate which combination of the subtle details works best.

For example, you see in the second image from the right (previous page), Kar-man has the tea bowl next to his mouth. It’s a great representation of him drink-ing tea, but we can’t see his face, nor do we have eye contact. In the image I chose we still see the bowl and though it’s not being drunk from, we still get the point. We also see the face and there’s eye contact. It’s the combination of those subtle details that makes the image stronger.

When you have situations like these, it’s sometimes best not to interfere in any way at all - to be a “fly on the wall”. Here I kept looking for the subtle details and kept shooting whenever I felt that the elements were in place and aligning themselves in an interesting manner.

Quick Tips

Being around intimate situations can present great photographic op-portunities. My opportunity to eat in a family’s house is one example. Other examples are home-stays, small restaurants or workshops.

If you find a scene that works with less than ideal light, do not “hold out” with the hopes to photograph the scene when everything is per-fect, this might never happen. Seizing the moment is the only way you can end up with a potentially strong image.

Spending time observing life unfold without interfering is sometimes the best way to discover strong, photogenic moments.

Using a shallow depth of field can be a great way to create a sense of depth, space and volume in a photograph.

3 3Light Stalking


The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn The whites (costume, hat) were slightly overexposed due to the contrast

of the scene so the exposure was reduced in that the area with the “Adjustment Brush” to bring back the tones and detail. (Lightroom)

n The “Tone Curve” was adjusted, “Highlights” were increased and “Shadows” and “Darks” were decreased - to make the image look more contrasty, dynamic and dramatic. (Lightroom)

n Exposure in the iris of the eyes was increased with the “Adjustment Brush” and later, the “Dodge” tool was used for more precision. This was done to brighten the iris, to bring out the catch-light and to make the eyes look a little more alive. (Lightroom, Photoshop)

n The “Fill Light” tool was used to bring out a little bit more detail in the shadows and in the mid tones of the image. (Lightroom)

n The “Luminance” in the reds was decreased - to make the red marks in the hat and shirt stand out more and increased in the oranges - to make the face and the wall brighter. (Lightroom)

n “Clarity” was increased with the “Adjustment Brush” around the outlines of the man’s eyes, around his wrinkles, moustache and mouth - to accentuate those features and to make them look more prominent. (Lightroom)

n “Dodge” and “Burn” tools were used on the eyes, moustache and eye-brows, to give more refined finishing touches to the image. (Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

S I M P L E L I V I N G - M O R N I N G M E A LISO 400, 20 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 s

3 5Light Stalking

S I M P L E L I V I N G - M O R N I N G M E A L

Background InformationThe woman in the photograph is Karman Bhai’s wife. She was the person cook-ing our meals everyday and doing so very traditionally in her very basic mud-house kitchen.

Women are quite often the unsung heroes in rural India. The important every-day chores (like cooking) are usually “behind the scenes”. They are easily taken for granted, however, they often present great photographic opportunities. I became aware of this quite quickly and always made the conscious effort to take a closer look, especially at what the women did.

ObjectivesWith this shot I wanted to show a slice of the woman’s life. It’s an image which obviously says a lot through the details in it. There’s a story about her role with-in the family, her living conditions and her culture.

I wanted do draw attention to the elements which told that story and to tell it in a fairly emphatic, dramatic manner.

LightIt was too dark inside the kitchen to make a photograph without setting the cam-era on a tripod and the shutter on long exposure. Doing this however, would turn the whole scene into one big blur because of all the movement involved.

In order to photograph here, I needed to have more light. Since I had no flash, the reflector came in handy. Hardik would reflect the sun-rays from outdoors through the doorway towards the woman (see diagram).

Not only did the reflector create enough light for the scene, it gave everything it illuminated a warm tint (I used the silver-golden side of it). The reflector-light also increased the contrast, making everything look more dramatic and made the colors, especially the golden, blue and red in the woman’s dress much more vivid.

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1. Natural light. In this case very diffused and rather weak.

2. Reflector reflecting sunlight from a distance of about 3 m (to reduce the power) and at just the right angle.

3. Reflected light directed towards the subject is strong enough and dramatic.

3 6Light Stalking


Moment and poseI watched the lady do her thing for a couple of minutes. She was essentially re-peating the same action - taking the flower, putting it on the board and making it into a chapatti (Indian bread) by rolling a stick over it. As I got more familiar with what she was doing, I started to look for those subtle details that would help me tell the story better.

I noticed that she had a lot of tattoos, particularly on the inside of her arm, these were her identification marks. They meant that she was a Rabari - a vital symbol that I wanted to include into the shot. Another detail was where her eyes looked. Every now and then she would look through the doorway to check up on her kids and to see what Hardik was doing with the reflector outside. I preferred her gazing in that direction rather than down at her work or directly at me. That look was casual, which is what I wanted. With the catchlight in the eyes, which was also the result of looking out through the door, she appeared more alive and interesting.

Ultimately the ideal moment to “catch” was when the woman reached out for the flower, exposing the tattooed inside of her arm and simultaneously looked through the door outside. It was fairly easy to do, because she kept repeating the same action.

CompositionIn cramped spaces like this one, the composition is partially dictated by how wide your lens is and by how much space there is to move around.

Though my 20mm lens wasn’t all that wide on the cropped sensor camera that I had, it was wide enough to allow me to fit quite a bit of the scene into the shot.

As always, another important factor that dictates the composition is what’s out-side the frame. In this scenario, as you can see from the images below there were plates and bowls which, if included into the frame would make the image look too cluttered and would take away the attention from the woman. I wanted to avoid that and basically framed as wide as I could, without including any of the clutter.

Finally, I chose horizontal framing because that was the only way that I could fit everything I wanted into the frame.

3 7Light Stalking


Main challengeThe main challenge with this photograph was to light the scene effectively. We needed to “tone” down the strength of the reflector-light and that light also had to come from just the right direction, through a doorway, without blinding the woman.

Hardik was some distance away from the scene and couldn’t really see through the window. This presented a challenge in itself. It meant that he had no idea whether he was achieving the results we were aiming for.

How I dealt with itWe “toned” down the light by having Hardik hold the reflector a few meters away from the subject (see diagram). Though he could not see how the reflec-tor was affecting the scene, I guided him from inside the kitchen with my voice.

He would raise the reflector up, bring it down, tilt it one way or another and I’d say whether it was what I needed or not. It took us at least five minutes of trial and error to get it right. This kind of fiddling around with equipment can poten-tially make the subjects uneasy and confused. Thankfully that wasn’t really the case here, partly because the woman was too busy doing her own thing.

Quick Tips

Whenever possible always look beyond the obvious, “behind the scenes.” There are often great photographic opportunities awaiting.

On sunny days and with a capable person “operating” it, the reflector can be a powerful tool to bring light to dark interiors, without making the scene too bright.

When looking to photograph a specific moment. Observe and “calcu-late” just which moment will make the best photograph.

Don’t obsess too much with compositional rules in cramped spaces. Let the circumstances guide you before anything else.

3 8Light Stalking


The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn An “S” curve was created on the “Tone Curve” to significantly raise

contrast and to make the colors look more dynamic. (Lightroom)

n Color “Temperature” was slightly brought down, because the gold/silver side of the reflector made things look nice and warm and the effect was slightly too strong. (Lightroom)

n Reds and oranges were de-saturated and “Vibrance” was slightly reduced because the colors became too saturated after I made the “S” curve. (Lightroom)

n Exposure was raised with the “Adjustment Brush” on the face and the eyes - to bring out more detail and to make the eyes look more alive. (Lightroom)

n “Fill Light” was used to bring out some detail which started to get lost in the shadows after the “S” curve adjustment. (Lightroom)

n Exposure and “Clarity” were raised with the “Adjustment Brush” around the inside of the arm to accentuate the tattoos. (Lightroom)

n Exposure around the edges of the image was brought down. In particular the metal bin by the wall was darkened. This was done to draw the viewers eye more towards the main subject. In the case of the bin, I wanted to make its presence minimal. (Lightroom)

n Finishing touches, like “Dodging” and “Burning” and selective adjustment of “Hightlights/Shadows” were applied for precise brightening and darkening of the face, facial outlines and the tattoos on the arm. (Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

R A B A R I B U S I N E S S M A N AT R E S TISO 800, 28 mm, f/2.8, 1/100 s

4 0Light Stalking

R A B A R I B U S I N E S S M A N AT R E S T

Background InfoOne day Hardik and I were walking around a Rabari village where we had been staying a couple of days. It was late morning time and the light outdoors was already very harsh and bright - not ideal for making beautiful images. I would have to peek into people’s houses and move indoors, if I were to capture the kinds of images that I was looking for.

Peeking inside houses isn’t as unusual in rural areas as it might seem. The peo-ple in the countryside are generally extremely welcoming. Popping your head in and saying “Jay mata di” - the local greeting (these are always good to learn) often results in an invitation for tea, especially in the case of a foreign guest. That is how we ended up having the chance to photograph this man.

It is important to mention that even though I could have theoretically come into a similar situation without Hardik, again, having a person who understood the intricacies of the culture and the boundaries of what could and couldn’t be done gave me the confidence to wander around without worries. While the Rabari are by default welcoming, they can also be suspicious of strangers. This can apply to other groups of people too.

Having Hardik - the knowledgeable local with me meant that we could explain our purposes and avoid any potential misunderstandings. Of course, having him around meant a lot from a photographic perspective too.

ObjectivesThis man was an obviously strong character and a fine example of a typical, very macho kind of Rabari male. The fact that he didn’t rush to put on his shirt in front of strangers, which would have been the normal reaction for most, showed that he was very comfortable and self-confident. He was the “Boss” of his house and I wanted to create an image which would say exactly that.

I also wanted to show a little of his surroundings and of course, at least a hint of his culture, which in this case was done by paying attention to detail and mak-

ing sure to be close enough to make visible the earring, something very typical to Rabari men.

As with all of the images in the project my intention was to portray this charac-ter in a fairly dramatic and atmospheric manner. The light would play a big part in that.

LightMy awareness of what kind of lighting scenario to expect helped me take ad-vantage of this situation or to even encounter it in the first place. I knew that when the light was bright and harsh outdoors I could generally find a situation with nice, diffused, yet strong enough light indoors.

In this case the the light came through the open door from behind my left shoul-der (see diagram). It wasn’t illuminating the man directly, but rather at a slight angle, creating a soft progression of light to dark tones, sculpting his features and giving that nice catch light to his eyes. Such lighting scenario gave the scene a sense of volume and space. It livened the scene up a little too and made it a bit more dramatic than if it were simply lit with flat light.

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The matron

1. Diffused, indirect light coming through the door. It is coming at an angle be-cause of where the door is positioned in relation to the subject.

2. Light fading away from the source, creating a progression of light to dark tones, which work so well to create a sense of depth.

4 1Light Stalking


Moment and poseWhen we peeked into the man’s house he was reclining similarly to how he is in the image. As we entered, he got up to greet us and soon returned to the same position. This “pose” was perfect - natural, comfortable and telling of his character. As soon as I pointed my camera on him however, he leaned towards me and straightened up a little. It’s as if he took a time out from being himself. This totally changed the dynamics and the feel of the scene. It went from casual and unaware to formal and self conscious.

For my purpose, I didn’t need the man doing anything for the camera. I wanted to capture him in a casual manner, to appear as if I wasn’t even there. The way I was able to do this was again through the help of my friend and assistant. Hardik chatted to the man and asked him not to pay any attention to me while I’d shoot a few frames. The man did still look my way every now and then, but in-between those moments I was able to capture exactly what I wanted.

CompositionAs you can see on this page, I tried framing this image in various ways vertically and horizontally. In the end, the horizontal framing was a more natural choice as it better mirrored the man’s reclining pose.

As always, the framing was also influenced by what was most important to the image. The man’s relaxed facial expression, the earring, the cigarette and of course, some of that very hairy body - these were the elements that needed to be featured prominently, from close up.

I only needed a hint of the environment, so I blurred the fireplace in the back-ground (by shooting at a wide open aperture f/2.8) and only included some of the mud wall. Including the details you see in other images into the frame would be a cause for distraction and could have broken up the rhythm and atmosphere created by the limited color palette and the general minimalist ap-proach.

I did have a slight dilemma cropping off a little of the man’s elbow. Ultimately though, I felt it was worth cutting off something that didn’t add much to the story or the mood in order to keep out something that would likely detract from them.

4 2Light Stalking


Biggest challengeIt was not easy to get the man comfortable enough with the idea of acting as if a “foreign alien” guest is not there, while he was being photographed.

Photography is very uncommon in small villages in the Indian countryside. Usually, families have photos taken during special occasions or, if they are well-off financially, during a photo shoot at a studio. In both cases the people look to dress their best and to make themselves as presentable as possible.

Not only was this man not dressed “presentably”, he was being asked not to pay attention to the photographer, not to even look in that direction. This went completely against what was normal for him.

How I managed itThere were two factors that made this work. One was the man’s very laid back, casual attitude. He was quite open minded and confident enough in himself not to fuss too much about the photo shoot. I sensed that from the beginning. Photographers need to develop that sensitivity and to pick and choose their moments. What I did here certainly wouldn’t work with everyone, but because I sensed that it would, I had a “go for it” kind of approach.

The other factor was once again my friend and assistant. He was also tuned in to what was happening and this was vital. It also helped that he was able to start small talk and to relate to the man. In some ways he established rapport on my behalf. Those things took a huge load off of me and meant that all I had to do was be polite, smile and make the photos.

Even with those factors in place, you can see from the photos on the previous page that the man still looked my way every now and then. He couldn’t help it, my moving around to change the framing angles attracted his attention. The other thing that became important here was persistence. I kept shooting for a couple of minutes, to make sure that I got the photograph that I wanted.

Quick Tips

Harsh, bright light outdoors can mean diffused, yet strong enough and ideal light for portraits indoors.

In a foreign culture having a local person who understands the local ways can be crucial. Not only because it opens doors to more photo-graphic opportunities, but because it can help you make the most of those opportunities.

It’s ok to crop elements that are not vital to the image for the sake of excluding something that could take away from the sense of story and mood.

4 3Light Stalking


The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn The “Tone Curve” was adjusted to bring up the “Highlights” and to bring

down the “Shadows” and “Darks”. This was done to make the colors look richer and to give the image a more dynamic feel. (Lightroom)

n “Luminance” was slightly increased in the oranges to brighten up most of the image, since a lot of it is made up of orange. This made the shot feel a bit more bright and lively. (Lightroom)

n “Clarity” was raised with the “Adjustment Brush” around the eyes, wrinkles and body hair to slightly accentuate these elements. (Lightroom)

n The levels of the blacks were increased to give the image more punch. (Lightroom or Photoshop)

n Finishing touches were applied with “Dodging” to highlights of the face, in the eye-whites, the iris and the cheeks. The “Burning” tool was used on the eyebrows, pupils and slightly, on the wrinkles. (Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

T H E M AT R O NISO 800, 28 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 s

4 5Light Stalking

T H E M AT R O N

Background informationWe were visiting a village, looking for subjects and as was often the case, a curi-ous local came up to ask what we were up to. I should mention that after count-less village visits satisfying the curiosity of locals can sometimes become tire-some. The questions are always the same and often seem never-ending. How-ever, we always made it a point to give everyone at least some time. We were, after all, visitors in their home and they had the right to know who we were.

An important thing to keep in mind was that we would never know who that curious person might be. A few times it ended up being a locally respected individual, other times someone very knowledgeable on the area and quite fre-quently someone very helpful.

In this case the person was all three - respected, knowledgeable and helpful. She was the wife of a village council representative and knew about everything and everyone in the area. We chatted for some time, told her about my project and she was only too happy to show us around, leading us to visit some of the more traditional elders around the village. The lady in the photo was one of them.

ObjectivesThis photograph was all about getting the character of this lady to come through. She immediately struck me as strong, proud and confident and I wanted to com-municate that. I also wanted to draw attention to that wrinkly face and the arms and I felt that I just had to bring out the textures and the colors of her dress.

LightWe initially met the woman in the village street, where the light was not ideal for the portrait I had in mind. I wanted to have a diffused, sculpting kind of light, a sense of drama and as mentioned, I wanted to bring out the textures and col-ors of her dress, to give the image a dynamic feel.

The only way I could achieve those things at the time was by moving indoors. There was a nearby shelter where we could have light coming from the side. That’s where we decided to make the photograph.

The sideways direction of light was perfect for achieving what I aimed for. It sculpted and accentuated all the textures - the wrinkles, the creases in the cos-tume. The contrast between light and dark created a sense of drama and it made the red and blue parts of the costume, which were closer to the light, appear particularly vivid and lively (because of the juxstoposition to the darker, more dull parts of the image).

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The matron

1. Diffused, indirect light coming through a large opening.

2. Subject turned towards the light, to better illuminate and emphasize her facial features.

3. Light fading away from the light source.

4 6Light Stalking

T H E M AT R O N

Moment and poseFor most rural Indian women confidence in everyday life does not translate into confidence when being photographed. This was the case with my subject here. She was shyly laughing at the idea of being a photographic subject, saying that she didn’t look her best, that we’d be “wasting our film” on her.

Despite the shyness, she did oblige. Partly because we explained our purpose and insisted (politely). Partly because she felt comfortable with us, since we were accompanied by the village councilman’s wife (who happened to be her friend).

While chatting to us, she would put her hands on her hips as you see in the im-age. This to me was the pose that said - I am strong, confident and proud. When the time to take the photo came, I asked through Hardik if she could assume that same pose, while also looking towards the direction of the light.

The pose helped me communicate the strength that I felt from this woman. It also brought her weathered, wrinkly arms into better view. The turning towards the light helped illuminate her face a little more and hence to emphasize those wrinkles that were such a big part of her character.

CompositionThis shot is all about the woman’s character - the wrinkly face, the arms and her pose. It’s about her culture, which is visually embodied through the costume. I wanted full focus on these elements and for this purpose one of the first things I did was choose a background where nothing would distract from what’s im-portant.

After making a few shots, it made no sense to frame this scene any other way but mid-shot, vertically. Mid-shot because I didn’t want to get in so close that most of her costume would be cropped, as you see in the first couple of images and not so far that the woman’s face could not be seen. Since there was no story in the background, there was no need to consider it and the woman’s upright pose dictated the vertical framing.

4 7Light Stalking

T H E M AT R O N

Main challengeIt was challenging to get the lady to be comfortable enough with the idea of be-ing photographed and to fully co-operate with us on the shoot. She was just too shy and the idea felt very unusual to her.

How I managed itCertain things needed to happen in order for this photograph to materialize. The photographer and/or the translator/guide had to be pretty tuned into the situa-tion, to understand the mentality of the person in front of the camera.

It is quite normal for women in rural India to refuse a photograph or to make up excuses why they don’t want to be in the image on first request. This doesn’t, however, mean that they are against the idea. More often than not they aren’t. For many, it’s almost an instinct to shy away.

We understood this part, but we had to tread carefully. It was an intricate situ-ation. Not being persistent enough with the request would end up in no pho-tograph, but being too pushy would lead to the same result, while potentially making the person in front of your camera feel awkward or angry, which is something you never ever want to do. This is where it really helped having our local companion with us. Her presence was reassuring to the elderly lady and it definitely smoothed the way.

The power of having a familiar local accompany us on a shoot is something we really took note of. From every village after that one, we asked if anyone wanted to join us and show us around, more for the purpose of smoothing the way than anything else. More often than not there was at least one person.

Quick Tips

Treating all people who come your way with respect is not only im-portant from a human perspective, but can be beneficial photographi-cally. Any person you meet while on the road is a potential link to open doors to otherwise unknown or closed photographic opportunities.

Diffused side-light in closed off (sheltered and walled) spaces is great for making colors look vivid and “sculpting”, especially when you want to emphasise textures, like wrinkled skin.

When photographing people, it’s important to have a feel for the cul-ture you’re working with, to know how to be persistent, without being annoying or too pushy in the eyes of the people from that culture.

4 8Light Stalking

T H E M AT R O N

The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn Exposure was brought down because parts of

the image were originally very slightly over-exposed. I did this as a “safety precaution”, not to lose any details in the shadows. (Lightroom)

n “Darks” on the “Tone Curve” were brought down to make all colors look deeper and more dynamic. (Lightroom)

n Saturation in reds was increased to enhance the red of the headdress and to make it look more exciting. (Lightroom)

n “Fill Light” was used to bring out details in the darker areas, like the part of the face away from the light and the back part of the dress. (Lightroom)

n “Clarity” was raised with the “Adjustment Brush” and “Black” levels were raised on the face, the arms and the creases in the dress. Both actions were done with the purpose of accentuating those elements, making them more pronounced and giving the image a more dynamic feel in general. (Lightroom and Photoshop)

n The “Dodge” tool was used on the eye whites and in the catch-lights to put some finishing touches and to add some life to those areas. (Photoshop)

BEFORE AFTER

M A E S T R OISO 100, 20 mm, f/2.8, 1/1250 s

5 0Light Stalking

M A E S T R O

Background infoThroughout my journey I kept seeing shepherds herding their animals in the plains. I figured that since cattle-herding was so characteristic of the Rabari, since it’s what they were known for, you really could not have too many photo-graphs of the subject. I kept shooting these scenes whenever I got the chance and was always on the lookout for more chances.

Towards the end of the trip we befriended a photogenic Rabari shepherd named Bhopa. Every day he herded his animals in this great natural environment, away from roads, power poles or any signs of the modern world.

The scene of Bhopa with his sheep and goats was something that could have taken place hundreds of years ago. Our closeness gave me a really good chance to make a strong image of this scene. I had the perfect subject and setting and the opportunity to follow along over a few early mornings, photographing as much as I wanted along the way. I absolutely had to take advantage, so I went along, shooting variations of this scene for a few days, under different condi-tions.

ObjectivesI had a slightly more specific idea for this photograph than I did for the image of similar subject matter included in this guide. The time of year during which I got the chance to photograph the scene produced the crucial element.

Most of the images for the project were taken around the middle of the dry sea-son. During this time, the areas where the Rabari live, might see weeks without a single cloud in the sky. However, towards the end of the dry season, which is when this photo was taken, scattered clouds start to appear. There are enough of them to add some drama and life to the sky, but not so many that they com-pletely block out the sun.

When you photograph the same theme for some time, you start to pick up on things like that because they can differentiate your images and can add that ex-tra factor that makes an image look a little beyond the usual - poetic, symbolic, powerful.

My ultimate aim for this photograph was to capture a very characteristic scene of Bhopa herding his animals amidst a timeless setting, with a dramatic cloudy sky and golden light at sunrise that would make everything look vivid, dynamic, lively and beautiful.

LightThe golden morning light and its affect on color was the big thing that I was waiting for to make this image work. This light made everything look so vivid, dynamic and special. Diffused light from the sun blocked by the clouds just didn’t give the scene the same kind of impact, nor did the light after the golden hour. It was really a matter of light making or breaking the shot. I waited for four days for the right circumstances.

5 1Light Stalking

M A E S T R O

Moment and poseBhopa was very animated when he herded his animals, constrantly pointing in different directions and screaming out commands that only his flock under-stood. Almost any moment during this lively process would work well as a photograph.

The more tricky part was capturing that moment with the cloudy sky in the background, and in addition to that, having the entire scene unfold in the gold-en light at sunrise. The shot would have still been quite ok in any kind of light, but it would be particularly strong if all the “ingredients” came together.

As I already mentioned, it took four days for everything to work out close to the way I wanted. Perseverance was definitely one of the main keys. You’ll read more on this in the “Biggest challenge” section on the next page.

CompositionI decided to photograph the action from the side. This angle allowed the scene to be presented in a very straight-forward manner. It’s easy to make out the gesture and the other details in the scene and this translated into a strong sense of narrative.

The horizontal framing was a very natural choice because the action was spaced out along the line of the horizon. I did however, have to think a bit about how tightly I’d frame the shot.

Very tight framing on the shepherd meant focus on his face, which led to a cer-tain level of emotional impact. I wouldn’t however be able to communicate the sense of the place, the fact that he was herding many animals and of course I wouldn’t be able to show much of that dramatic, cloudy sky.

Going out very wide was not an option because I didn’t want to make the shep-herd into an unrecognisable figure. Not being able to have a closer look at him, at his facial expression, the costume would mean that the photograph would lose a lot of its emotional impact.

I had to frame as wide as possible, but still close enough that shepherd’s ex-pression could be made out. The right balance was needed to make it work. Having had a few days around this scene certainly helped. I shot every day, regardless of whether the light or the external circumstances were ideal - not with the hopes of getting “the shot”, but because I wanted to get a feel through the viewfinder for what was happening. At the end of each day I’d analyze which images worked and which didn’t.

5 2Light Stalking

M A E S T R O

Biggest challengeAs I already mentioned, making the shot with all the elements coming together in just the right way was the biggest challenge.

During the first three days I was not having much luck. One started with pretty heavy clouds, the next day Bhopa only planned to go out after the golden light had passed and during the other days the conditions would change from min-ute to minute. Very frustratingly it seemed that the action only happened when the clouds covered the sun and when it was out, nothing interesting took place.

How I managed itI never deny that luck plays a part in such scenarios. However, there’s nothing we can do about luck. We can only hope that everything will turn out as we wish. From a practical standpoint, it’s important to persevere and to be ready to take advantage when or if we’re lucky enough to be presented with the opportunity.

The light and the clouds, which depended on luck were the decisive factors for this shot, but I still had to compose the scene the right way and to capture the right moment during the action to make the image work. As I already men-tioned, I kept shooting the scene, regardless of the circumstances, purely to get a feel for it. I wanted to know which angle, which framing and which moment would produce the strongest shot.

Once all the elements fell into place, I only had a few seconds to make the pho-tograph. My preparation was the only reason I could actually make it.

Quick Tips

Take advantage of the chances which might present themselves. If you find the perfect subject and setting and you have time - be sure to stick around and make the most of the situation.

Know the circumstances and pay attention to detail. No matter how unimportant certain things might seem (like clouds), they can make the difference between an image that is good and one that is powerful.

It pays to photograph a similar scene over time to get a good feel for what angle and framing would best communicate whatever is special about the scene.

5 3Light Stalking

M A E S T R O

The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn “Vibrance” was increased to get the colors in the photo looking more lively

and dynamic. (Lightroom)

n Adjustments were made to “Luminance” in a few colors. Blues were brought down, to darken the blues in the sky and hence give it some depth. Oranges and yellows were brought up to make the face and the dry grass look brighter. (Lightroom)

n On the “Tone Curve”, “Highlights” were significantly increased, “Darks” were slightly increased and shadows were brought down considerably. This made the image more contrasty overall and the colors more deep, hence contributing to making everything look more dynamic and lively. (Light-room)

n Saturation was increased in the blues to give more life to the sky and in the yellows of the dry grass for the same reason. It was decreased in oranges because the face was looking unrealistically orange after the adjustment of the “Tone Curve”. (Lightroom)

n The “Recovery” slider was moved half way to the right (increased) to bring the detail back in the whites of the clouds and the costume. (Lightroom)

n Exposure was increased with the “Adjustment Brush” in the area of the face to make it brighter and to make the facial features more visible. (Light-room)

n The “Shadows/Hightlights” tool was used to bring back more detail in the white areas. (Photoshop)

n Some finishing touches were applied with the “Dodging” and “Burning” tools to the face and the outlines of facial features. (Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

M A D J IISO 800, 50 mm, f/2.2, 1/80 s

5 5Light Stalking

M A D J I

Background infoDuring one of our village visits we didn’t encounter the kinds of subjects we were looking for. Most of the people were young and didn’t care much for tra-ditional attire. While they were lovely, they weren’t of much interest for this project photographically.

We were tired, a little down and ready to leave. Suddenly, a particularly hospi-table local appeared and insisted that we have tea at his house. It was rude to refuse and we felt that could use some rest and shade.

As we entered the verandah of our host’s home, a very traditional, elaborately dressed and decorated elderly lady came out from inside. She was our host’s mother and exactly the kind of person we had hoped to photograph in the vil-lage. After having the tea we asked if we could make her portrait. The image here is the final result.

ObjectivesThis was a case where I didn’t initially have specific objectives. When the wom-an came out it was instantly obvious that she was a visually interesting charac-ter. Her face, decorations, costume - all these were elements that could make for a potentially strong image. That was my only aim - to make a strong and dramatic photograph of her.

I decided to take several different shots, try a few things and as I’d get a feel for the situation and the person, I’d have a more precise idea on where I wanted to go with the photograph.

LightAs was often the case during the project, we chose the verandah at the front of the house to be our improvised studio. It was ideal because light was only com-ing from one side, which meant I could direct it and “sculpt” with it. That was one of the first things I knew I wanted to do - “sculpt” with the light, in order to accentuate those strong facial features and the decorations.

Since much about this image was pretty straight forward I felt the need to add some drama to it. I decided that showing the woman’s face against a very dark (almost black) background would do the trick. The background I had was fading a little into darkness already, as it was further from the opening/light source, but to make it really dark I needed to create more contrast between the background and the face.

A reflector was used. Directing it at the face increased the contrast between the face and the already fairly dark background. Now, exposing for the face, would underexpose the background, making it even darker, just as I wanted.

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1. Natural, diffused, indirect light coming through an opening.

2. Silver/gold side of the reflector reflects sunlight towards the subject at an angle from about 2.5 meters, so as to avoid the light from being too strong.

3. Light from the reflector illuminates the subject.

4. The background receives much less light than the elements closer to the opening and to the reflector light, hence it becomes very dark in comparison.

5 6Light Stalking

M A D J I

Moment and poseI didn’t really know what I was looking for. As you can see on the next page, at one stage we asked the woman to bring her hand up and hold her headdress, she laughed and I thought that might work as a photograph, but neither of those shots ended up being what I wanted.

It soon became obvious that the woman was very shy and even with her son around didn’t feel so comfortable that we could keep asking her to try different poses. Besides, I felt that this was a case where we couldn’t get a natural, casual pose out of the subject by asking her.

I decided to change the approach completely, I realised that the strongest “pose” we could get was when the woman simply looked directly at me. For this, I only needed to raise the camera and point it at her.

CompositionWhen a photographer has a clear idea of what he/she wants to communicate, decisions on composition are easy. However, as you would have already gath-ered, I wasn’t initially sure what I wanted to say visually.

I “sketched” with the camera, shooting and framing the portrait in a few differ-ent ways. Doing this helped me recognize what I most wanted to come through in the photo - what was essential. When I ended up concluding that a simple, natural look into the camera was the best pose/moment to capture, it simulta-neously became clear that it was best to capture it from up close, to put the full attention on the woman’s facial features and the decorations around the face.

I framed horizontally and placed her a little more towards the left side of the frame to mirror her head-dress, which was taking up more of the right side of the frame.

5 7Light Stalking

M A D J I

Main ChallengeThe biggest challenge here was to make the image interesting and strong. It might seem odd, but sometimes it’s possible to come across a fascinating char-acter and still end up with an image which is boring and just doesn’t resonate with the viewer in any way.

It could be that the moment or the setting or the composition aren’t working. The subject might be looking awkward or it may be a combination of all those things. That was pretty much the case here. I felt that even though the subject was great, I had to search for a way to make the image which would do the subject justice.

How I dealt with itIn situations like these you have to calculate and experiment. This means think-ing critically about what works, moving away from what doesn’t and trying other things that might ultimately work.

As you should have noticed from what I’ve written in the different sections about this image, I took different photos, tried various poses, framed and re-framed, played with the light and as you’ll see on the next page, fiddled with the image in post processing.

Along the way I paid close attention to what effect my actions were having on what and who was in front of me. I took mental notes and through a deductive method ended up with a shot that is very basic and didn’t require anything much from the subject, but did require me to think creatively about my ap-proach, framing and lighting for the image.

Quick Tips

Don’t be blinded by a “bad day at the office”. It’s vital to be “switched on” and sensitive to the potential photographic opportunities that can present themselves at any time.

A reflector can be used to add a sense of drama to a scene by creating high contrasts and shadows.

With some people, poses won’t work. In these cases the only way to give yourself chance for a strong image is to photograph what’s natural to them.

“Sketching” with the camera or trying different compositions of the same scene/subject can be an effective way to “zone-in” or decide on what it is you want to communicate.

5 8Light Stalking

M A D J I

The “What” and the “Why” of post processingn Exposure was brought down, as were the “Darks” and “Shadows” on

the “Tone Curve”. This was done make the image darker overall, and particularly, to make the background virtually black. (Lightroom)

n The “Clarity” and “Adjustment Brush” were used around the eyes, wrinkles, lips and the tattoo to accentuate those features. (Lightroom)

n Because of the very warm tint created by the gold/silver side of the reflector, “Temperature” was reduced and reds and oranges were desaturated. (Lightroom)

n Exposure was slightly increased with the “Adjustment Brush” on the eye iris and the catchlight. This was done to make the eyes look a little more dramatic and lively. (Lightroom)

n Levels of blacks were increased selectively around the outlines of facial features for a more dramatic feel. (Photoshop)

n For finishing touches and a more precise adjustment, the eyes and the facial features were “Dodged” and “Burned”. (Photoshop)

BEFORE

AFTER

What Next?Learning about photography is a never ending journey. At Light Stalking, we’d love to share that journey with you.

Our community is all about learning in a fun and collegiate environment. We have weekly challeng-es for shooters and our members all love to share their work with each other. Why not join us and sign up here: http://www.LightStalking.com/register

Is There Any More?We are glad you liked our very first guide. We’re planning to release a lot more of them as well as our regular free Quick Guides to photo-graphy. If you would like to be kept informed of them, don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter at www.LightStalking.com/newsletter

Where to Find us Online!www.LightStalking.comwww.Twitter.com/LightStalkingwww.Facebook.com/LightStalking

GRAPHIC DESIGN | TORSTEIN WOLD

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