Behind the scenes dance photoshoot
How are y’all doing? The sun is almost shining here, and for me, this means more outdoor photoshoots. This is great because I’ve been waiting to use more and more colored smoke grenades in my work. Before diving into this session where I will break down a few shots and show you how they were made. I would like to finally talk about a camera… The Fujifilm GFX100s! It is the camera I used for this session (and for many others). I had the chance to have the camera early and play with it, and finally, last Friday a first video showing samples of the work I've done with it was released on Fujifilm’s channel. If you haven’t seen it, here it is:
Share some love, in the comments, and let them know they should consider me as an ambassador... All jokes aside, I will of course share longer videos here, on my channel, and blog, with more images, starting next week, so stay around.
LadyBionic Emma Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 30mm F3. 5 R WR 1/640sec f/5.0 ISO 50
So there are no secrets here, I’ve shared my process in the past so if you are a regular, you probably know what’s to come. I don’t like when models actually manipulate the grenades, and I love thick smoke, or when the smoke considerably alters the mood of my shot even if this means sometimes, dealing with dramatic changes in my exposure. The problem with that is that you cannot work alone... Sometimes, you will need to work with multiple grenades at once, or one at a time depending on your preferred technique, and your options will depend on the size of your team.
LadyBionic Emma Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR 1/640sec f/4.5 ISO 50
Doing this alone is complicated so you will need at least the help of one assistant. The other problem you will run into every time is obvious, it’s the wind, and the slightest gust of wind will modify the trajectory of your smoke and ruin the shot or magically make it amazing. A lot of trials and errors, and sometimes, unfortunately, a heavy use of photoshop!
LadyBionic Emma Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR 1/800sec f/4.0 ISO 50
For some of these images, I had to merge different takes to have almost exactly the smoke where I wanted. Of course, the goal is always to make your images in-camera, but having the ideal conditions, every time is impossible. So knowing how you can still make it happen and make it work, can save your session. For this one, I was accompanied by my wife who assisted me, and the talented Emma a local contemporary dancer. I really liked the light we had that morning so I decided not to work with flashes. And of course, I used Enola Gaye-colored smoke grenades, the ones that I use all the time.
Have you ever used smoke grenades in your photography? No? Why not? You can also share your experience, tips, and tricks in the comments below, let us know how you do it! If you have nothing valuable to share with us and if your heart is filled with hatred, just troll another blog. Thank you all for the love and support, See you all in the next one, but until then, please, have a good one.
LadyBionic Emma Fujifilm GFX100s - GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR 1/1600sec f/2.8 ISO 50
