How do I keep developing, improving my craft, so that I know I can deliver results for clients? Learning, experimentation and practice.
One of my favourite ways to solidify my understanding of a photography concept/technique or to try something new is to do a test shoot.
Fitness Test Shoot Goals
In this fitness test shoot, here’s what I wanted to achieve:
- Add Light – I’ve always wanted to find a way to use lighting add an extra layer of quality and polish to my fitness images. When Profoto recently launched the HSS upgrade for the B1 strobe, I knew that I had to see if it worked as advertised.
- Work with a Model – Contrary to what you might think by looking at my current fitness portfolio, I don’t usually work with models. Most of the people I shoot are real fitness instructors in the community. Adding a model or two to my portfolio is good to show to commercial photography clients. It’s also a great way for me to keep improving my skills at directing talent.
- Network – Getting to know people in the industry, showing them who I am on set and what I can deliver is something I haven’t done enough of. One of my goals was to connect with a modeling agency and create imagery that would add to a model’s portfolio.
- Retouch – I recently learned a bunch of great new retouching techniques from Pratik Naik of Solstice Retouch through his CreativeLive course. I knew that this would be a great opportunity to practice what I’ve learned and become a better and more efficient retoucher. This will allow me to offer high-end retouching to future clients.
[bk_button link=”https://photoproventure.com/profoto-hss-review/” target=”_self” size=”large” button_custom_colors=0 color=”#909090″ hover_color=”#27CCC0″ ]Read my Profoto HSS Review >[/bk_button]
Setting up the Shoot
I thought the biggest hurdle would be finding a model. Luckily I had recently met Natascha, the managing director of Vicious Models at a Koukei workshop by Peter Coulson. We decided to do the shoot with Tayla H, and it all had to come together quickly as she would be leaving for a trip to Hong Kong.
Now all I had to do was figure out the rest. I found a location (the roof of a local car park), rented the Profoto Air Remote (to test HSS) from my local Profoto dealer Specular and had my friend Fatima kindly spend her Saturday with me assisting on shoot.
Things fell into place and here’s the photos from this fitness test shoot:
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 70-200mm lens at 95mm
Lighting: Profoto B1 with an Elinchrom 175cm Rotalux on camera right triggered by a Profoto Air Remote TTL-C set to HSS and TTL
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 70-200mm lens at 165mm
Lighting: Profoto B1 with an Elinchrom 175cm Rotalux on camera right triggered by a Profoto Air Remote TTL-C set to HSS and TTL
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 70-200mm lens at 160mm
Lighting: Profoto B1 with an Elinchrom 175cm Rotalux on camera right triggered by a Profoto Air Remote TTL-C set to HSS and TTL
1/4000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 24-70mm lens at 47mm
Lighting: Profoto B1 with a Small Profoto Deep Umbrella (White) on camera right triggered by a Profoto Air Remote TTL-C set to HSS and TTL
1/4000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 24-70mm lens at 67mm
Lighting: Profoto B1 triggered with a Profoto Air Remote TTL-C set to HSS and TTL with a Small Profoto Deep Umbrella (White) on camera right
[bk_button link=”http://mattkorinek.com/” target=”_self” size=”large” button_custom_colors=0 color=”#909090″ hover_color=”#27CCC0″ ]More Fitness Images >[/bk_button]
As a final bonus, here’s a behind the scenes snap taken by Fatima:
You’ll notice that in this behind the scenes image the Profoto Umbrella is on camera left. I tried this orientation as well but those shots didn’t make the final cut.
Thanks for having a look! Hope you’re having a great week.
Cheers,
MK