articles/Lighting/bg-1-page4

What is the secret to taking great pictures? - part 4 of 1 2 3 4

by Damian McGillicuddy Published 01/10/2016

'FAR OUT OF REACH, PRETTIER THAN EVER'

For the final image, I was taken with the paintings on the back of this room’s wall - all horsey hunty battle type scenes. So I wanted to take something that was a bit 'Goddess of the Hunt' - which is what the picture is called! We got little bits of antler holding Jess’ veil up, which can easily be fashioned out of wire, foam and a bit of paint. I stood her atop a table for two reasons, firstly to get her head in among the wall frieze, and also to use all the material to create a long, disjointed shape to the subject that wasn’t easily recognisable.

The room was empty so we dressed it from scratch, positioning the tables and chairs how we wanted them. We upturned them and covered some with material to echo the thought of this abandoned ghostly house, where things have been covered because they’ve not been used, and to echo the depth through the material, so it looks like volume and trail.

The lighting is actually exactly the same as in the last picture. The only difference is the ratio of light used and the direction that the light comes in - that’s all that’s changed. I think you’ll agree that it looks radically different to the previous image, but it’s exactly the same tools in roughly the same position. So the skill is in knowing how to make it subtly different through learning and application, which enables you to create something visually different that stimulates different senses in the final picture.

In essence, then, I think being a picture maker is about evoking feelings and moods - it’s about deliberately creating something that resonates, rather than simply recording what’s in front of us. And all the processes that produces that - the conceptualistion, the narrative, the technicality, the creative vision - are things that we share in our workshops and training schemes. If you’re interested in what you’ve read about here, then our Concept, Capture, Create workshop will probably be of particular interest. As ever, you can find out about that as well as our other training experiences at www.damianmcgillicuddy.com. Thanks as always for reading, and keep on shooting!

• What is the secret to taking great pictures? page 1
  
• What is the secret to taking great pictures? page 2
  
• What is the secret to taking great pictures? page 3
  
• What is the secret to taking great pictures? page 4
  

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