Red Sky Photography » Lighting Techniques

Tughans Partner Shoot

Rick — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:49:34 +0000

New appointed partners at Tughans Solicitors in Belfast. Shot at St.Annes Square in Belfast with off camera lighting.

Finding Your Edge

Rick — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:52:55 +0000

Alan Scott MacDonald was back in town for a while and called me up for a portfolio shoot. I had worked with Alan in the past and I wasn’t surprised to hear that he had moved to England and was already getting work on the big screen. At 6ft 2ins Alan is the perfect model but what separates Alan from the others is his very genuine and refreshing personality and acting/modelling ability.

I found it a real struggle cutting down his film and choosing the best shots……there were so many I wanted to keep – for me this is a great problem to have as often I find myself worried about the lack of useable shots in a roll of film.

In our short time together (Alan was flying back for a part in a popular TV soap) I was able to shoot Alan in several different styles. He wanted something edgy and different, and something commercial so we worked outdoors with natural light for his general lifestyle shots and went indoors for edgy and commercial.

I look forward to working with Alan again in the near future. For a peak at his roll of film see below.

Rick.

The Bannfoot

Rick — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:55:42 +0000

I headed out this evening with a good friend of mine Kieran McAlinden from Creative Juices to get a shot of the whisping cloud patterns that had formed in the sky late into the evening. Kieran, a graphic designer based in Lurgan is also a professional photographer with years of experience and is a close confidant. We ended up at the Bannfoot due to the direction of the clouds and the result can be seen above.

Rick.

The Human Time-Lapse

Rick — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:56:36 +0000

After getting involved with Belfast4Haiti Marty and I wanted to do something extra to raise awareness in our own social and business circles to hopefully get people talking about the Haiti and Chile disaster. We settled on heading in a direction that would take us out of our comfort zones and encourage others to do their bit. We are planning to complete a 48hr time-lapse piece involving a human subject and we are hoping to raise £500 in the 48hrs of filming it.

Time-Lapses are a beautiful and modern interpretation of our world in motion. It has become common place in cinematography and some pioneers have travelled the world capturing our cityscapes with extreme dedication. We decided to do our own time-lapse piece in Belfast city, with a difference.

This poses a number of issues from a technical perspective not to mention the obvious sleep deprivation involved in being the human subject (sat stationary for the duration of the time) and the photographer/cameraman. Marty decided to put himself forward for the challenge and we set about organising it. We are still awaiting confirmation for the location but the image above will give you an idea of the proposed backdrop.

We will be dedicating this piece to help raise funds for both countries and all money will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee justgiving.com/belfast4haiti

Below is a trailer for the piece. Enjoy!

Rick.

Fashion Shoot: Spring/Summer in bitter winter!

Rick — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:57:49 +0000

I had a fashion shoot for a local shoe company and booked Nicole Chardae Toan as she is a very diverse model. Nicole has been modelling for many years and I found myself working fast to keep up with her as she knows how to move and change up.

The location was decided and we rocked up at 5pm or thereabouts in -2 celsius. Due to the bitter cold and the style of shoot (if we were shooting winter coats and warm clothes it wouldn’t have been an issue) I wanted to work really fast to keep Nicole warm and happy but the cold never really seemed to bother her throughout and I was grateful for her professionalism. If I had to switch the roles I would have locked myself in the car with the heating on and told the photographer where to go!

The shots were ordered by Donaghys of Banbridge and they will be using them for their new Ad campaign. Donaghys have recently had their website redesigned by Karen at Akaihane and it looks great.

Rick.

Graphic Design Portfolio

Rick — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:40:13 +0000

Have a look at the design portfolio of Steven Fairfield. Steven was the creator of my logo and stationery and to date has been involved in some key projects. What I particularly like about Steven is his attention to detail and above all, his creativity. Steven asked me to shoot his portfolio for his new website (that is currently being built) as he liked my style. I knew that the bog standard “shoot on white” approach would not showcase his work to it’s fullest. Instead, I decided to attack the work using edgy creative lighting in an attempt to compliment his works.

Steven was very pleased with the outcome and I really enjoyed the challenge. DON’T ask me how long it took for me to stack the cards in their various formats…..lets just say I was climbing the walls after every accidental topple. Top Tip: Don’t breathe when shooting card stacks!

A corporate shoot mid-week and an edgy fashion shoot on Friday in the gritty city so expect a few new blog posts on these very soon.

Rick.

Band Shoot: On Location Vid

Rick — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:43:23 +0000

I thought I should start a sequence of videos showing the nature of my shoots and giving users a behind the scenes look at how I go about shooting a subject on location. This first video is just an introduction so stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of your typical approach to outdoor people photography.

If you love the word ammmmmm you’ll love this video! A special prize for whoever posts the correct amount of ammmmm’s in the comments section (a free 20 x 16 signed print from the band shoot and a straight jacket for sitting and counting them!)

These are some of the processed shots from the day. As you can see I decided to go for really gritty processing. In this case gritty works well but it’s not for everyone. Special thanks to Marty at Scattered Images for shooting the video and putting it together. He’s one classy videographer and full-time hero. For the video gearheads (geeks) Marty shot this piece on Sony’s EX3. Head over to Marty’s site to find out more about his weapon of choice.

Rick.

Swamp Corporate Shoot

Rick — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:17:08 +0000

Had a photoshoot today with Graham Byrne chief officer at Swamp (Southern Waste Management Partnership). Graham was busy and was running in and out of a meeting in order to get his shots so had to move swiftly on this one. He’s a real gent and was very patient as I angled for the best shot.

The corridor was an eye catching piece in itself but I wanted to bring Graham out of the scene with some cleverly placed creative lighting. My Key light was camera left at a height and then I incorporated some light trickery to change the scene and give the corridor a little atmosphere. Every location and every subject is a challenge in some way shape or form but don’t let this worry you. Just look at your composition from a creative angle and let the strobes do the talking!

Marty from Scattered Images has completed the band shoot video and is rendering as I type this so I will post as soon as it’s ready. Unfortunately we were pushed for time so I couldn’t run a proper tutorial so its really just a fly on the wall perspective but I promise the next one will be choc full of info for you budding strobists!

Rick.

Corporate Shoot: Plan and Prosper

Rick — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:00:32 +0000

I went down today to the offices of Plan and Prosper to shoot the Director Michael Mulholland and his associate Graeme Waring at their offices in Moira. The focus was business portraits so I took the guys outside to use the evening sun and two speedlights to create the look I was going for. The company specialises in helping individuals obtain finance for large purchases. They were Est. in 1989 and are well respected in their field. The guys were great and although a little apprehensive at first (cameras do that!) they got settled into the shoot and I was able to get some great portraits.

More on the technique later as I will update. Band shoot tomorrow so expect gritty scenes and lots of moody, angry teenagers (joking guys!). Black Bear Saloon get their new band shots tomorrow and I’ll have Marty from Scattered Images by my side at all times to film a tutorial on this particular type of shoot and pitfalls.

Rick.

Crescent Arts Centre Ballet Editorial

Rick — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:26:11 +0000

I was recently asked to shoot an editorial for the Crescent Arts Centre‘s ballet class. I have always had a great admiration and respect for ballet as a discipline because of it’s physical demands on the body and the dedication that one must have in order to succeed at it. I read Patrick Swayze’s autobiography entitled Time of my life not long ago and part of the book deals with the physicality and strength required to perform and train in ballet and it was a real eye opener. Patrick picked up many different styles but it was at the highly prestigious ballet school Harkness in NY where he realised his passion for this art. Sadly, he passed away last year fighting pancreatic cancer to the bitter end. If you decide to buy a book I recommend his autobiography. It is very humbling to say the least!

We had our challenges on the shoot (we always do). Firstly the studio was smaller than I had first anticipated so the composition had to change and we had a limited amount of time to set up and make the image. I opted for three strobes in this instance to add depth and separation from the background and give each subject their space in the photo.

My thanks go out to all at the Arts Centre who were very helpful and gracious in allowing us to shoot at their premises and to the two Ruths, teacher and student (referred to as Ruth red and Ruth blue halfway through) who were great in front of the camera and taught me one or two things about ballet in our short time together. I now know enough to spectate but more importantly, never to attempt what I had seen! If you would be interested in giving ballet a shot or require any further info don’t hesitate to give the Arts Centre a call to discuss.

Rick.