Sani/Nation: The Surreal Grief and Loneliness of Quarantine

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers share how they created an image with lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how to submit.

“I’ve never before included so much practice and rehearsal time for a series’ images,” Christine Ren tells us. We’ve featured her work many times on this site, and it’s always dazzling. “Justin and I spent at least 2-3 sessions of practice shooting at different times of day and with different lighting setups before we layered in sets, props and I brought Sammy in for her and me to rehearse together. All of that incremental prep I think also really shows in the final shots.” The collaboration between Sammy, Christine, and Justin is a result of quarantine. When you’re stuck inside, you tend to become creative. And arguably, we’re in a golden age of creativity right now. At least Christine’s series, Sani/Nation, is big evidence of that.

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How Audrey Woulard Captured the Girl in the Woods in Urban Chicago

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers share how they created an image with lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how to submit.

Photographing on location can present unique challenges for photographers just starting out. But, for world-renowned photographer and Nikon Ambassador Audrey Woulard, it’s just another day at the office. Perhaps best known for her portraits of young people, Audrey’s love for the art of photography began with the birth of her children. This led to her leaving the corporate world and embarking on a career in portrait photography. In addition to her portraiture, Audrey also teaches photographic techniques around the world via in-person workshops and her online educational platform. We spoke with Audrey about her workflow and how she created her Girl in the Woods portrait of one of her clients.

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Tony Gale Finds Creative Outlet With Social Distancing Self Portraits

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach how they created an image with their lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has been a huge blow to the photography industry. With most photographers being homebound and in socially distanced self-isolation, the normally simple act of creating has evolved into a new and unique challenge. This presented a unique opportunity for self-discovery for portrait photographer Tony Gale. Based in New York City, Tony Gale shoots regularly for a variety of editorial, corporate, and advertising clients. He is also a Sony Artisan of Imagery, a Manfrotto Ambassador, an X-Rite Coloratti, and the National President for American Photographic Artists. Turning the lens towards himself allowed Tony to continue creating despite the restrictions brought on by the pandemic. His daily creative exercise would eventually turn into an entire series of Social Distancing Self Portraits. The lead image accompanying this article is Tony’s 56th self-portrait in the series. We spoke with Tony recently about his project and what went into creating this particular self-portrait.

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COVID-19 Sent Photographer Michel Leroy Down AC/DC’s Highway to Hell

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach how they created an image with their lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

Michel Leroy is an entertainment and advertising photographer based out of New York. As most of you are undoubtedly aware, New York is one of the cities hardest hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak. As a result, much of the photography industry in New York is in a holding pattern at the moment. To say that we’re living in interesting times right now would be quite an understatement. Creativity is what drives us as photographers. But how do you create when we’re all confined within our homes? When the whole world is essentially on pause? Looking to social media for inspiration, Michel stumbled upon his friend Phil Adams’ recreation of Blondie’s Parallel Lines album cover using found objects from around the house. This project led Michel to do a similar project with his family. For his take on the concept, Michel decided on AC/DC’s classic Highway to Hell cover. With celebrity chefs and Olympic athletes amongst his subjects, Michel’s produced style lends an authentic connection to these personalities. His images reveal a level of comfort and vitality shared amongst friends, and you can clearly see this on display here.

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How Carl Schultz Shot an Environmental Portrait of a Chief Flight Instructor

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach how they created an image with lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series places a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

Based out of Scottsdale, AZ, photographer Carl Schultz has been shooting editorial work for magazines in his area since the mid-2000s. His “Chief Flight Instructor” image is an example of one of the many commercial editorials he’s produced. Schultz began his journey in photography through his previous life working in the gaming industry during the ’90s, where he took images in order to create texture maps for 3D models. Remarking about his start in photography, Carl added, “I got the first digital camera ever made and loved the instant gratification of having the image instantly without having to get film developed. I’ve been getting better digital cameras ever since that day.” The rest, as they say, was history.

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Creating the Star Wars Photograph: Vesa Lehtimäki’s “The Longest Night”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers share how they created an image with their lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

We’ve got a very special Star Wars edition of Creating the Photograph in store for you today in celebration of Star Wars Day. Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, Vesa Lehtimäki is better known by the mononym Avanaut online through his various social media platforms. While you may be learning about Lehtimäki’s work for the first time, you’ve likely seen his images floating around the web. In fact, Vesa’s previous Lego-centric photography projects actually inspired the hugely popular (and Hugo Award nominated) Lego Movie.

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Creating the Photograph: Jason Lindsey’s “Cabin Fever”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach how they created an image with choice of lighting and minimal post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

Photographer Jason Lindsey first began his career as a photojournalist prior to becoming an agency art director. After five years, he followed his passion and became a photographer and director. Leo Burnett, Subaru, Adidas, Belize Tourism, and Wyoming tourism are just some of the clients Jason has worked with. His accolades include being selected for the Communication Arts Advertising Annual 2019 and being named one of the 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide for 2018/2019 and 2020/2021 by Archive Magazine.

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Creating the Photograph: Claudia Paul’s “Red on Red”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach how they created an image with their lighting and minimal use of post-production. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

Photographer Claudia Paul is a German-born, New York-based creative with over ten years of experience shooting editorial and commercial work. Her “Red on Red” concept is something she’s been developing for some time. For a bit of background on Claudia, she works frequently with Non-Profits and utilizes the power of strong imagery to help create positive change in the world. She lends her self-described ‘always personal’ approach to whatever the project might be with the goal of capturing authentic visuals. Claudia also runs a hands-on production company called Doppelganger Motion which focuses mostly on storytelling for small businesses and NGOs across the globe. She also recently joined the board of American Photographic Artists’ New York Chapter and is excited to strengthen the photo community and offer members crucial tools for growth.

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Creating the Photograph: Donald Bowers “Why Here! Why Now?”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they created an image with minimal use of post-production and all about their lighting. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

Photographer Donald Bowers is based in New York City with over 12 years of professional experience. And for “Why Here! Why Now?” Donald decided that he wanted to play around and experiment a bit. For a bit of background on Donald, he’s a contributor to Getty Images and has had a wide variety of clients including Cohn & Wolfe, Grey Advertising, CNN and Heineken. He describes his work as inspired by polished photography with elements of rawness and unpredictability. He loves collaborating with clients and is always eager to find innovative solutions to challenges that arise during the process. To put it more concisely, he says that it’s “mildly wild and slightly styled.”

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Creating the Photograph: Mary Ann Wamboldt’s “Pink Kiss”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they created an image with minimal use of post-production and all about their lighting. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Here’s how you can submit.

Photographer Mary Ann Wamboldt is an Ontario based creative who shoots weddings, portraits, and a number of other things including travel photography. She’s been published a number of times and has won even more awards for her work. So when she submitted “Pink Kiss” to our Creating the Photograph series, we were very intrigued. The photo doesn’t have a whole lot of post-production and instead focuses more on in-camera techniques and lighting to get the look we see. There isn’t any sort of post-production trickery or layer upon layer–instead there is just Mary Ann’s own creativity and technical know how. Here’s how she got the shot.

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Creating the Photograph: Pauleth Ip’s “Dying of the Neon Light”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they conceived an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

As working photographers, oftentimes we’re essentially guns for hire, executing concepts assigned to us from art directors, companies, or private clients. We may have creative input, but ultimately, the concept still belongs to someone else. This is why I feel it’s important to pursue personal projects whenever possible between paying assignments, as they play an integral part in our growth as photographers. Personal projects allow us to exercise our own creativity, and affords us opportunities to try new techniques and pursue creative visions without the burden of success. As the old adage goes, we learn more from our failures than our successes, so fail, and fail often, but fail on your own time and learn from your experiences.

This is why I started this personal project.

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Creating the Photograph: Ronen Goldman’s “Danger Close”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they conceived an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer Ronen Goldman is a surrealist who finds a way to channel feelings into images. We’ve featured him and his work on the website before but nothing could prepare us for this story. To preface this, it’s the story of an agonizing wait to hear about whether the life of someone very close to you will be in jeopardy. Those feelings were channeled by Ronen into a photo shot on film. And by all means, it is fantastic.

Here’s Ronen’s story.

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Creating the Photograph: Chris Gampat’s “The Underground Club”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they concepted an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

I’ve done a number of posts for our Creating the Photograph series partially because they help me to show off a different way or thinking about a problem that needs to be solved on a set. So recently when working with the Fujifilm GFX 50s on a shoot, I tried to find a way to deliver that “club” type of look that’s becoming so popular again in photography. I’ve written about it before, but not a whole lot and not in terms of practical application.

So here’s my story.

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Creating the Photograph: Travis Singleton’s “There’s light in the dark side”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they concepted an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

In the early 90’s, photographer Travis Singleton got his hands on a Minolta XD-5 35mm film camera. then he took a break from photographer and went digital. Born on a small farm in rural Nova Scotia, he grew up on the east coast of Canada. Even during his younger days, he had an interest in photography. “As I didn’t have the money, I would buy the rolls of film to take pictures but often didn’t get them developed.” he tells us in an email. “Or I would put the roll aside to get developed later, only to forget.”

Fast forward way ahead to 2015, and his company, 20two19 Photography, started to get noticed through social media by local businesses, and has now worked with a number of businesses and professionals in town including the Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Dundas Museum, Dundas, WIllow Salon, The Red Door Cucina, the Dundas Farmers’ Market, Jax Sweet Shoppe and others.

Besides all of Travis’ commercial work though, he still manages to get creativity; and sometimes he finds the inspiration in his adorable daughter. When the family went to go see Star Wars Rogue One recently, he was inspired by the film to create this pretty awesome photo.

Here’s his story. Be sure to follow Travis on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Website.

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Creating the Photograph: Tomasz Kedzierski’s “Tribute to Krzysztof Kieślowski”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they concepted an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer Tomasz Kędzierski has been a pretty fantastic and creative analog film photographer for a while. We’ve featured his work a number of times on this website. Besides the Square Lips project, his homemade pinholes and his solarigraphy, he’s done some higher end work too. Most recently, he was working on a shoot where he was shooting with Provia 100, and to ensure that he got the shot right, he used a Leica Sofort first before switching back to his Hasselblad 501C.

Here’s his story.

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Creating the Photograph: Rob Lee’s “The Ice Queen”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they concepted an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer Rob Lee describes himself as a Massachusetts based portrait photographer. Rob got into photography when his son was much younger, and that grew and evolved into his interest in live concert photography. Then it evolved into portraiture which he describes as trying to balance both beauty and darkness. Indeed, he’s a man that likes the darker side of culture–as do many others. So a part of that was the inspiration behind his photo, “The Ice Queen.”

Despite its simple look, this image is a very clever use of light, reflectors and colors to make this scene effective. Here’s Rob’s story.

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Creating the Photograph: Dan Bannister’s “The Boxer”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they concepted an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer Dan Bannister has been featured on this site a number of times but most notably with the Blacksmiths. His work has evolved and more clients ask him to shoot video in addition to stills. And so the idea behind “the boxer” is an interesting one. “Walking into a set and shooting stills of what you see when it’s been lit for motion can be a real challenge, especially when the client needs the stills at F11,” says Dan.

And so Dan tells us about how he tackled the challenge.

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Creating the Photograph: Trupal Pandya’s “Heads were to us what Money is to you!”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they conceived an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer Trupal Pandya is quite the photographer. He’s documented head hunters in Nagaland, and soon plans to go back to continue documenting these people in an attempt to keep a working record of their culture. But he’s also got room to bring other people, and those that wish to go with Trupal can sign up for his workshop at his website.

In this piece, he talks to us about how he shoots some of the subjects.

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Creating the Photograph: Danny Alexander’s “Pink Rose”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they conceived an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer Danny Alexander has tagged us in a number of his images on Instagram and we discovered him and his great strobist work this way. He’s a portrait photographer working in Louisville, KY. “I’ve slowly been turning my passion into a full time job and my work can be found in local and nationally published magazines,” says Danny. “Although I spend most of my time shooting editorial portraits, I do make time to work on creative personal projects. If I had to say I had a style in photography it would be that I take a strobist approach.” That’s perfect for our Creating the Photograph series.

In fact, Danny rarely works with just natural light. “I love the technical side of working with strobes to create interesting lighting in my portraits.” he states.

So that’s where the story of Pink Rose begins.

 

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Creating the Photograph: James Andrew Ridley’s “Zoe Ziegfeld as a Menorah” (NSFW)

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they conceived an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com.

Photographer James Andrew Ridley and I have known each other for a while now, and like me, he has involvement in the NYC Burlesque community. He’s a serious photographer, not only in the sense of his work, but also from the fact that he understands and values the idea of relationships. He works to develop a rapport with subjects and he keeps their comfort in mind. Sometimes, in order to make a subject more comfortable you’ll need to do things like working one on one. For part of a series that he’s working on, he did just that with burlesquer Zoe Ziegfeld. Then they turned her into a human menorah.

Here’s their story.

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Creating the Photograph: Chantal Routhier’s “Science Fiction Fantasy”

Creating the Photograph is an original series where photographers teach you about how they conceived an image, shot it, and edited it. The series has a heavy emphasis on teaching readers how to light. Want to be featured? Email chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com

Photographer Chantal Routhier was recently named one of Canada’s Top 30 Inspiring Wedding Photographers for two years in a row. Part of this for sure come from her special creative vision that’s evident in her “Science Fiction Fantasy” photo. Her work has been featured in a number of publications. She describes her work as fun, bright, and modern.

So when she showed us her portfolio, we just had to ask her about her image, “Science Fiction Fantasy.”

Be sure to check her out on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

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