⭕️ Hey, how are you ❓
⚠️ First of all, I would like to apologize for those of you who might find this first picture too violent. If so, check the 2nd one at the end of this post, it is more peaceful 😉 ❗️
🌳 Today, I’m sharing 2 pictures made during the lockdown in France with Alexia (the model). These shots were both made in 1 exposure. The 1st one was made without a macro lens but the steps trough the shots are the same. I now do the same kind of shots but always using 2 lenses for each shot : a macro lens (for the leaf macro) and a 50 mm lens (for the profil portrait). The 2nd shot is at the end of the post. This is an important post for me as I've been working on this theme for at least 2 years. More pictures & content to come if this speaks to the community 😉 ❗️
🌳 The technique I use is called : lens swapping or lens swap and was inspired by 
🌳 These Leaf Portrait Pictures (LPP), as I like to call them, are my way to say nature’s future is connected with ours. If we destroy nature (or when 😰), we won’t be able to survive for long.
Maybe this is why we should stop talking and start acting ❗️
🌳 So why do we keep on not respecting our environement ❓
Most of us take care for our home, where we live, nobody wants to live surrounded by trash, wastes but there still is a long way to go to live with nature, not against it.
🌳 Of course, this is a rhetorical question but feel free to answer… If you can 😉❗️
#nature #leaf #portrait #macro #whitebackground #lensswap #LP
As always, those shots were made in 1 single exposure in complete darkness.
🔦🎨 LP is MAGiK 🤪
⭕️ Steps through these LPs (studio) shots :
🌳 I think, the first thing that came to my mind is the way light comes from under when we scan a sheet of paper. I thought this "method" could also be used to add textures, in portraits (like today's pictures) or more but this is a story for another post... 😉
🌳 In fact, I had already made a DIY scanner that I mostly use for my stencils. It looks a little like a small soft box and has been used like so a few times. You can see a picture of it at step 1
🌳 So I thought about using a real leaf 🍁 fallen from a tree that I picked up outside & washed. Once I had the leaf & the "scanner", all I needed to do is try and this is how i did it...
1- Use double-sided tape to stick the leaf 🍁 to the DIY small soft box. Make sure the leaf is flattened everywhere so the leaf is evenly lit up.
Here is a picture of it with the leaves used for the final picture (here i mixed 2 leaves) :
2- Place the 1st tripod in front of the DIY small soft box with the first flash gun inside the small DIY soft box. You can put your camera with the macro lens on the first tripod and try different flash gun powers to test and find the one that suits you the most.
3- Place the 2nd tripod in front of the big soft box & the model (who better be sitting on a chair so she can stay still). For this kind of shot, I chose to take a profil portrait so there is more leaf texture in the end. Focus on the model and keep it in mind because you’ll change it manually later in the shot.
Here is how it looks before starting, with lights on (this was taken at step 4 only to show the set up) :
4- Change your 50 mm lens to a macro lens and put your camera back on the first tripod. Focus on the leaf,
(⚠️ double check your focus because macro lenses focuses are often very thin).
5- Remember to talk to your model so she stays awake 😅 because preparing for this kind of shot can take long, especially in the beginning and once you focused on her, she shouldn’t move. One more thing, this shot is made in complete darkness and at first, it isn’t easy for models not to move for a few minutes, even more in complete darkness.
This shot was quite difficult for Alexia because she had to hold still with a toy gun in her hand = no pain no gain 😅
6- When your focus is perfect on the leaf, you can start the shot in bulb mode & manually fire the 1st flash gun.
You better have a remote control because this kind of shot takes at least a few minutes.
7- Once this is done, place your lens cap on the macro lens, take your camera to a safe and dark place to swap lenses (macro lens to 50 mm lens).
8- Ok, your 50 mm lens in on, so is its lens cap. You can put your camera on the 2nd tripod that is already perfectly placed in front of the model & the big soft box.
Talk to your model again to tell her the shot is almost done (she has been posing for a few minutes already 😅).
9- Remember to manually change :
- Your focal to the desired one (50 mm)
- Your focus, I hope you remember it, after a few of these kind of shots, sometimes I forget the exact focus distance 😅 ❗️
Not so funny for your model if you have to redo the shot from the begginning - Your F/ stop or aperture if necessary
11- Ask your model one last time if she is OK & if she is ready. If the answer is "yes", take your lens cap off and go behind the big soft box to the 2nd flash gun. I often count to 3 and tell my model (before the shot) she has to be ready at 2 because I will flash on 3. It might sound stupid but doing this kind of shots is unusual and the first time for most people so making the steps simple for the model will help her focus only on what she has to do, remember, you both are in complete darkness.
12- 1… 2… 3 💥 FLASH 💥 Once you flashed, end the picture & tell your model the picture is done so she can relax ❗️
13 Say THANK YOU x100 to your model, her part is as difficult as yours and without her (him), you wouldn't be able to create the crazy ideas popping up in your head 😉 ❗️
You did it, this is the end of the shot explanations 😅, I hope it wasn’t too long, I’ll end this post with a quote I love :
🌳 "Dans chaque forêt, il y a un arbre qui te correspond, pour ne pas te detruire, protege là" 🌳
▪️ Gilbert Choulet
The original quote is in French and might not be perfectly translated in English :
🌳 "In each forest, there is a tree that corresponds to you, so as not to destroy you, protect it" 🌳
▪️ Gilbert Choulet
🌳 I made around 50 (maybe more) Leaf Portrait Pictures (LPP) since I started working around this theme, this is a work in progress meaning I need feedbacks and/or ways to exhibit this, contacts who can help (…) please, s’il-vous-plaît 😉❗️
🍁 Here is today's 2nd shot made with a different leaf, different textures, different colors. This looks a lot more to what i do today as the portrait and the leave's textures are closer :
🌳 As you can see, the lockdown gave me a lot of spare time to think 😅,
thanks a LOT for your time, if you have any questions, feel free to write them in the comments 😁❗️
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