Anatomy of a photograph concept

With my photos, I do my best work methodically and thought out beforehand. I plan a session in my head. I take these thoughts and write them down in a moleskin notebook whenever they come to me. Maybe it's during lunch, morning, anywhere really, I try to always keep one moleskin reporter with me at all times.

iStockphoto.com released a new feature this year called BuyRequest. It allows graphic designers or art directors to request a photo to be produced that may not already exist in iStockphoto.com's collection. There was a request about a month ago for a shot of "a women being followed in a tunnel or some place secluded." I had planned to answer this request, but for a multitude of reasons, I didn't get the shot completed in time.


But I still had some concepts created for this, that I liked and thought about everytime I passed the location. I just HAD to produce them to stop thinking about them.

So, last night, armed with my new Alien Bee Vagabond Battery Pack power system and two Alien Bee 800s and two models from ModelMayhem.com Ashely and Chris ) I got the shots I'd been looking for.



It was great to work with Ashley and Chris and I look forward to doing more work with them and the new equipment.

So, this is my secret, how I work. How I envision a concept and what the end result looks like. Not very "secret", but it's how I come up with work. Grab a pen and give it a shot for yourself. See if you can't pre-visuallize your next photoshoot.

(still shooting on Canon 10D. Canon 5D is still in transit. Photos have minor processing to them. Will probably get some rework before releasing them to my collection.)

Comments

[Chad D]

Very cool! And I really like the final result of your vision.

[Mikec]

Interesting idea but I think you missed the mark. As a photographer, and especially when doing a photo by request, shouldnt you make an effort to capture the mood the client is looking for?

Its hard to read the instructions on the sketch but there are several serious differences from the end result. Its not clear from “a women(sic) being followed in a tunnel or some place secluded.� what mood the client wants but I think we can surmise that the woman is being stalked or is in danger from someone who could do her harm.

The woman in the sketch is looking down, perhaps timid and afraid. Vouerability makes her suseptable to attack and it invokes fear for the viewer yet in the photo she looks confident or aloof. The photo is well lit and clean and does not really create a mood of fear. Also, there seems to be a chasm between the man and the woman, sort of a barrier of safety--are they on different railroad platforms? The obstacles between them make it seem less dangerous. The mans body language also suggests he's not stalking her, and merely seeking attention.

I do very much like your idea of sketching out your idea, but more important than fitting all the required elements in a frame is capturing the mood you need for your picture.

[mari]

I doodle me crazy ideas too :) Great work! Has a mysterious feel and I like the big shadow casted on the street from the guy. Adds drama.

[Ed Hidden]

Points well made.

In this particular shot, I did a number of different poses and emotions. It isn't the "ominous" immediate threat, but more of one that she just "thinks" she might being followed. She doesn't think someone is right behind her ready to strike, but think of it more like the beginning of a "horror movie chase scene" where someone says, "do you really think we should be in here?" and then you see a glimpse of a shadow in the distance. The victim doesn't quite know she's a victim yet.

I'll post more photos from this session as I get more of the processed and completed that show much more emotion and the threat is much more immediate.

Pretty close on the railroad platform call, it's actually a two way road and set of bridges that go UNDER a railroad station.

[kickstand]

I don't think it's quite as effective as it might be. The figure in the background is really far away, he doesn't seem menacing. And she's looking to the left, and there's nothing menacing over there, either. It just looks like she's taking a stroll. And the lighting is bright enough that it doesn't look like night to me.

At first glance I thought she was in a subway station, and the male figure is across the tracks going in the opposite direction. In those circumstances, it's unlikely he would pose a threat, as they are separated by the tracks. Even as a street, he's pretty far away.