{"id":19387,"date":"2014-02-23T22:06:30","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T02:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=19387"},"modified":"2025-03-21T00:31:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T04:31:42","slug":"photography-style-inspiration-adjusting-adapting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/photography-style-inspiration-adjusting-adapting\/","title":{"rendered":"photography – inspiration, learning, and then adjusting & adapting"},"content":{"rendered":"

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photographic style – inspiration, adjusting & adapting \u00a0(model: Ulorin Vex)<\/h1>\n

Photography has a never-ending learning curve. I think this is even more true as the technology expands and accelerates. Sometimes I feel that we’re running at full speed just to remain at a stand-still. That’s just the technology that we have to acquire what we need to know about to do our work and art the best. But even with the techniques and methods we have as photographers – we should always be investigating and analyzing the work of others, learn, and then rework and adapt it in our own style. Even if we acquire new skills in minute ways – it all adds up to where we are always on an upward curve, learning and becoming better.<\/p>\n

When I first dived into photography, I spent countless hours reading books and photography magazines. I eventually discovered heaven – the Bensusan Museum and Library of Photography, in Johannesburg. Shelves and shelves of books on photography! That was then – now we have complete overload with the work of other photographers and artists just a click away. \u00a0With that, I am constantly looking at the work of others, soaking in what others are doing.<\/p>\n

A photographer that has really stood in the past year or so, is Craig Lamere<\/strong><\/a>. His style is clean and striking looking. There’s a dramatic simplicity to it, with beautiful lighting and impeccable post-processing. Check out his work.<\/p>\n

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With Ulorin Vex’s recent visit to my studio, for the one sequence I thought we could emulate some of Craig’s style. \u00a0I had bought two of the SilverLake backdrops\u00a0that Craig Lamere helped design in conjunction with them. Hey, the studio needed some new backdrops anyway! Using one of these backdrops, and playing around with the lighting in the studio, I wanted to see if we could approximate something similar. But instead of a boudoir \/ fashion styling with a model in a soft feminine style \u2026 we have Ulorin Vex in a latex outfit that somehow still has a retro look to it. So there is that bit of dissonance there.<\/p>\n

The lighting was with two Westcott Spiderlites. But we’ll get to the lighting and the gear in a moment. Where I am headed with this topic – since the lighting looked good, and there is a fabulous model in a striking outfit, why not play some more? And that is where the image at the top came from. By changing up the lighting a bit, and different angles and a different lens, there was a variety to the images, instead of just staying stuck on the one initial idea. Adjust and adapt.<\/p>\n

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camera gear\u00a0& lighting used in this photo session (or equivalents)<\/h2>\n

Image at the top (shallow-depth-of-field portrait)<\/p>\n