Featured Photography – Gavin James
1. Tell us a bit about the image?
Mike Laverdure and I tend to shoot creative works like this piece in tandem. We called this portrait “femme elegant”. Our model Alaska was very patient with us, the bottom half of the “dress” was actually a curtain that we fastened to her dress with safety pins to give us the extra fabric we needed to create the beautiful flowing effect.
2. What inspired you to take the shot?
Our concept was partially inspired by a youtube video, using fabric to create an added element to the photo with angular lines. We ran with the concept and made it our own. I wanted more flow than angles, we achieved great shapes and angles with our model and used the dress to draw attention to our subject instead of distracting from our subject.
3. What gear did you use for the shot including lighting?
This image was shot using the new Canon EOS R, 18-55mm kit lens, ISO100, f5.6, 1/200s. It was lit with Flashpoint eVOLV 200 R2 strobe in a deep parabolic softbox as the main light and an AlienBee 800 with reflector dish and a 30% Grid, gelled right behind the model onto the thunder grey seamless backdrop.
4. Tell us about the editing process?
The editing process was pretty fun. I used pieces of the fabric from several other shots to meld the dress together to create a beautiful flow. I colour matched the curtain fabric to the colour of the dress, then used the smudge and liquefy tools to blend the two pieces together to give the appearance of once long blue dress. The skin was retouched using frequency separation. I then colour graded the image.
5. How does this piece reflect you as an artist?
Mike and I have been slowly perfecting our crafts together, both feeding off each other and teaching each other. This piece is a very good representation of the ebb and flow Mike and I have established. Mike’s technical knowledge of lighting and my photo retouching/composite skills pair well together. Like fine wine and Gouda.