p.1 #1 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Hey Folks,
I have no idea if this is the right place for my question or if the question itself is worth asking at all... I am a huge fan of Lisa Holloway and her pictures of children. Her pictures inspired me to buy my first camera as my daughter was born and since then (1 1/2 years later) I am still trying to learn everything I can about photography. Unfortunately my day job and private responsibilities do not allow very much time for this hobby...
Long story short: I am not professional nor do I intend to become one. I just want to hang a similar image to the following over my desk and have a look at my beautiful daughter while working. And to get better at photography I do not want to hire a professional for this but rather do it myself.
From my understanding I would need:
- A summer evening, moon at the correct position but still enough light. Or is this just added during post processing?
- a similar shaped tree with some space around it
- some lights to hang around the tree
- a lens between 100 and 200mm I guess with around f2 (a wider angle lens would not match the image, right?)
- a pretty big distance between subject and me
- A tripod
- A shutter speed of around 1/10 to get the glow of the lights but not blur my daugther. Or are the lights "enhanced" during post processing?
- Where does the light on the girl come from? A reflector would have been visible in the frame and hard to remove. A speedlight in the grass I assume? Or just dodge and burn in lightroom/photoshop?
As I said before: I am sorry if this is not the right board or if questions about recreation of photos are not allowed. I am thankful for any advice I can get (obviously I googled Lisa Holloway and found the few free interviews about her style. I am not asking about her general style but this specific photo).
If Lisa is reading this: Hope you are not offended by me asking this question about your work.
p.1 #2 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
I think the sky, the moon, and the lights were added in post....as far as the exposure for the girl, Lisa uses all natural light...photo is exposed for the girl and then significant D&B in post.
p.1 #3 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
I think the sky, the moon, and the lights were added in post....as far as the exposure for the girl, Lisa uses all natural light...photo is exposed for the girl and then significant D&B in post.
p.1 #4 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
You've picked a very experienced artist and the task will not be easy. Lisa's photographic work and subsequent PP have long been recognized as 'special'. She does like to work with her f/2 lens (200mm I believe). It will come down to location, timing, technical skill with equipment and a fair amount of PP knowledge to blend them into a final product.
p.1 #6 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Thank you for your replies! I took your advice and PM'ed Lisa. Hope she does give a bit of insight on this image.
Currently I am struggling as much with finding a similar location as with the technical aspects :/
p.1 #10 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Thank you all. I know she has classes on postproduction. But I am not interested in getting the look (i am a graphic designer). Only how this Image was shot is unclear to me. So lenses, settings, distance, special equipment and such things...
p.1 #11 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
I don't shoot this type of photography.
That said, I think your approach should be changed. Don't look for a similar tree and a moon is such a position and add the lights (I could do without the lights, but that's my preference). Work with the locations you can find near you and make them the background for your shot. In other words be creative in your composition, rather than copy Lisa's composition. This creativity is a big part of photography. Learn from her lighting, but do your own thing.
p.1 #12 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
DTFagus wrote:
Thank you all. I know she has classes on postproduction. But I am not interested in getting the look (i am a graphic designer). Only how this Image was shot is unclear to me. So lenses, settings, distance, special equipment and such things...
I remember Lisa discussing this image. As I recall, the basic capture had the tree and her daughter. The moon, the sky and the lights were added in post. I also remember her saying it was shot with her 200mm f2.0. Therefore technical specifics such as exposure time to catch the lights that weren't there is irrelevant.
She has posted some SOOC shots along with the finished photo in the past. Often the subject has been underexposed to hold the background, then using various techniques the subject exposure is lifted. Then using dodge and burn techniquesWanda Jackson reckless, the lighting on the face is modeled. Add to that white balance curves (working with RGB separately) and spot vibrance/saturation, plus overlays for glow.
In other words, this image can't be replicated by just knowing which lens at what aperture and exposure time, camera to subject distance, etc.
p.1 #13 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
DTFagus wrote:
Thank you all. I know she has classes on postproduction. But I am not interested in getting the look (i am a graphic designer). Only how this Image was shot is unclear to me. So lenses, settings, distance, special equipment and such things...
Lisa actually has a thread on that image where she gives a good description of the shot. Might want to look it up, but others here have given the clues: a 200mm f/2 lens and I believe it was a few (or quite a few-I kinda remember 10-20 images) images stitched together. There was a great amount of work and planning that went into the shot.
p.1 #14 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
mikekeating wrote:
a 200mm f/2 lens and I believe it was a few (or quite a few-I kinda remember 10-20 images) images stitched together. There was a great amount of work and planning that went into the shot.
I remember that there were several images stitched together for this but when you said 10-20 that jogged my memory because I remember her pushing her computer to the max with Photoshop because of how many images she was using. I think it was 20 if I remember correctly. Attempting to recreate this image would not be for the faint of heart or skill. Personally, I would just hire Lisa and call it a day :-)
p.1 #15 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Hi Daniel! This image was a panorama. I took it with the 5D Mark IV and my 200L - it's about 20 images stitched together in Photoshop. It was taken during the day on an overcast day. The lights were already on the tree (it was an air bnb rental we got in Texas - this oak tree was in the back yard and had star lights wrapped around the branch). I lit them in PS, added the moon, and added the sky in PS. This was shot using natural light and the finished result was done through post processing to turn it into an evening scene. I hope this helps some!
Edited to attach a screenshot of the RAW file used to create this. You can see how much was added to create the panorama by looking at this shot. You can see the settings used as well.
She periodically has a sale on her recorded photography workshops. I've watched them and learned some useful techniques, but what I found out is Lisa has a special eye, creativity, experience, and understanding of photoshop and lightroom that I will never have.
Nonetheless, I do think it is interesting to watch the videos and get a peek inside her mind and workflow.
p.1 #17 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Lisa_Holloway wrote:
Hi Daniel! This image was a panorama. I took it with the 5D Mark IV and my 200L - it's about 20 images stitched together in Photoshop. It was taken during the day on an overcast day. The lights were already on the tree (it was an air bnb rental we got in Texas - this oak tree was in the back yard and had star lights wrapped around the branch). I lit them in PS, added the moon, and added the sky in PS. This was shot using natural light and the finished result was done through post processing to turn it into an evening scene. I hope this helps some!
Edited to attach a screenshot of the RAW file used to create this. You can see how much was added to create the panorama by looking at this shot. You can see the settings used as well....Show more →
Hallmarks of a supremely confident artist and profoundly generous soul.
Lisa, you are remarkable in every sense of the word.
p.1 #18 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Right now, Lisa has a few sales going on. Some of these are a steal. I just bought one. She is generous, with permission to view the webinars as many times as you want for 6 months.
p.1 #19 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
Hey Folks, hey Lisa,
thank you so much for your quick response!
I think you are right, I should not try to replicate this exact shot but learn from the techniques used and create my own artwork. I won't find such a great tree anyway... I will probably buy into Lisas online tutorials soon
Just a quick follow up question: This kind of panorama is also known as brenizer panorama, right?
So the main reason for stitching so many images is for the shallow DOF and I expect some resolution gain?
If I do not need that super shallow DOF I could get away with a "normal" panorama with about 3 to 5 images, right?
p.1 #20 · Advice - Want to recreate one photo from Lisa Holloway
The photo shows good things don't necessarily come easy. I love the finished product, composition and her impressive technique (not for amateurs though). The only thing I would have preferred to see is not having those lights strung out on the tree. It goes against the natural scenario.
Lisa, if you are listening, maybe softening up the entire photo would even remind me of those classic landscape paintings of Watteau and Fragonard (with people on them)
