A Day In The Life of A Backpack Traveler

Last year, I mentioned that I will be going on a photo shoot with a lovely, lovely model. Well, this post is about that shoot. It's the first time that I have shot a semi-pro model. Right from the start you could tell that she was experienced. She knew how to pose and change poses when the shutter goes off. You don't need to explain to her in detail what you want. She knows how to get you the pose you wanted.

Of course being drop dead gorgeous with a megawatt smile helped tremendously. The theme for the morning was backpack traveler. We began at around 8am. The sun was just peeping over the roofs of the buildings around Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. It was a nice day and the lighting was great. So we shot using just ambient light.

Without further ado, here's Agnes, the backpack traveler in KL:

When focusing on a person in portraiture, aim for the eyes. You get the eyes sharp and the photo will pop out. Like in the shot below, you can see that I nailed the focus in her eyes. They are tack sharp and they are the first thing you look at when you look at the picture. Noticed that her hand that is closer to the camera is already out of focus and is blurred due to the narrow depth of field (DOF)? Thing is you won't mind as the eyes are tack sharp.

The bright patches of the sky reflected in her eyes brings life to the eyes. That's the reason photographers use big softboxes inside studios. They not only provide light, they also serves to give catchlights into the eyes.
Noticed the lack of harsh shadows on her face? We were shooting in the shade provided by the buildings. The morning sunlight is soft and diffused and gives even lighting. That's why photographers like to shoot in the morning.

Another reason why photographers love the morning sun is because of the directional lighting it produces. Look at the shot below. The warm and soft morning light gives Agnes' face a beautiful outline that helps to give separation of your subject from the background.

Directional lighting also helps to give a more 3D look to your photos. In the shot below the light and shadows on her face give the subject a more 3D look.

In the last picture in this post, The sun is shining from the right, highlighting her hair. Normally this puts her face into shadows if not for the fact that on the left there is a beige wall reflecting light back to her face. The wall acted as a reflector to bounce some light back to her face to lift the shadows and provide more even lighting to make this shot possible.

Like I always say, photography is all about light. When you go out and shoot, you have to train yourself to 'see the light'. That will help you to recognize scenes like the above. FYI we were in a backlane and there is nothing interesting about the place if not for the light. The more you shoot, the easier this becomes which is why experienced photographers will always tell you to shoot more.

That's the end for the backpack traveler theme. In my next post, you will see Agnes is a 'cheongsam' themed shoot.