That Sultry Night

Faradilla

Commercial

Licensed under Creative Commons

Marriage Proposal

I was asked to shoot the the couple above for their special occasion on the yacht.  The sun was really harsh, and the sea was pretty rough, which makes it really challenging to shoot. All the camera or lens  stabilization is not going to help when your camera can rise and fall several feet all in a second. What more I am using Nikon gear, so no stabilization for my standard f/2.8 zoom which I mostly used for 90% of the shooting done here.  But to my advantage, I could use wide-open aperture at very high shutter speeds to freeze both my client’s movement as well as my own movement. As a plus, with larger apertures I could also gain a shallower depth of fields which throws the background into a pleasing blur. In fact, most of the time I was alternating between f/2.8 and f/4.

So I can freeze motion with no problem as the huge amount of light entering the camera enables me shoot with a high shutter speed. But all that light coming from high above our heads also equals to very harsh lighting and too high a contrast for pleasing portraits. I needed to find a way to lift the shadows forming on my client’s faces and necks. How do I do that? Well, I could use a reflector but the strong winds could also mean that my reflectors would make very good kites and that will be the end of them.  So I needed a more compact solution that will enable me to work quickly, efficiently and safely. I turned to the humble “fill flash” solution. Most of my clients find it very strange that I use flash during the day. But flash with reasonable power could overpower ambient light at close distances and since I was working within 10-12 feet of my clients, I have more than enough “flash” to work with. Firstly, for fill flash duties, I don’t need the flash at full power. This ensures faster recycle time, which gives me predictable exposures from shot to shot. I wanted to take spontaneous shots of the clients having fun, and thus I preferred to think less when making decisions about flash power. So I let my camera decide by using i-TTL (e-TTL for Canon, I believe) and feathered the power up or down using the flash compensation on the flash. I also manually zoomed the flash to a fixed focal length, so that the strength of the flash does not change just because it “followed” my lens as I run through the different focal lengths. After all, I zoomed to change the composition, not for the reach. The less variables I needed to be aware off the better for me, so that I can work dynamically. What’s important for me is that since I almost exclusively shoot JPEG, I needed to ensure that exposure is “spot on” or very close to “spot on” otherwise I’m done for!

I have recently handed over the photos to my client and I’m glad to say that they are happy with the results.  A happy client is all that I need! On this page is a sampling of the photos I took after the the editing process that I do, to add more value to what my clients pay for. Do enjoy the photos, and if you need me to shoot that special moment, you can find me here .

Celebrating Their Birthdays!

Saliha and Nisah wanted something a little different to mark their turning of age. They wanted to remember their day in a special way and what better way than to have their photos taken by someone who knows what they’re doing! Anyone can take snapshots of times that they cherish. But it takes more than a little know-how when clients want photos that seem to lock their joy and happiness into slices of time that they can always go back to. Photos that can vividly evoke their senses and can make them relive that moment again and again. For that is how memories are meant to be remembered! Thanks again Saliha and Nisah for looking towards me, to preserve your special occasion. Here are some of their favorite photos from that day…

Home Sweet Home

Land is scarce here in Singapore. Property prices are crazy and yet demand is still high. So you can imagine how much a homeowner loves his home. They don’t mind spending big money, just so they can have a place they can call their home. I was recently called upon to photograph this place on behalf of a design and renovation company, D’Esprit Interiors. They have spent lots of time and creativity, to turn this place into what you see here. My challenge?  To depict an airy, cosy sanctuary tucked away in the hustle and bustle of urban living. Enjoy some of the photos captured that day. If you have a home that you are especially proud of and would like some appreciation, please feel free to drop me an email at bumblebeezack.gmail.com