A Few Portraits

Angela Wilson (above). Ben Kane (below). He needed a haircut but we got a few epic “before” shots.

A self portrait (below). Some camera tech/behind the scenes for the photo nerds: Since I was photographing myself the camera had to be on a tripod and triggered by remote, held out of frame. The camera was a 5D mk II tethered to my computer, tethered to my TV, so the images could be immediately played back and reviewed. 5 flashes (three 580 EX II’s and two 430 EX II’s) were synced by Pocket Wizards (Mini TT1 and Flex TT5). The key and fill lights were both shot through umbrellas to soften them up, and a white reflector filled in the chin area. The two back lights, left and right, were flagged off from the lens by those little cards. The final flash was used to light the backdrop, with a mini soft box on it. Lens: 50mm 1.2L. Camera settings: ISO 400, f16, 1/200th. I guess I sorta look like a serial killer in the BTS shot :-)

Joanne Mittelholtz

Joanne Mittelholtz is the owner of Crossfit Kitchener, and one strong woman. She had the idea to make a calendar of strong, beautiful women, and donate all proceeds to Anselma House, a local women’s shelter (see: the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region website). Ben Kane and I offered our services pro bono, and each took on the task of photographing six of the twelve women, one for each month. Special thanks to Carly Blasutti, who did make up on almost all of my shoots for the calendar.

Nicole Kruger

Shots for the Women of Crossfit Kitchener calendar (the above pic made the final cut). Nicole was photographed in Toronto, in the graffiti covered alleys behind Queen St. near Spadina. I love shooting there. We were rained out on our first attempt but that ended up being a blessing in disguise… we had the most amazing roti instead (Vena’s, on Bloor, near Lansdowne). The place even said it was the “best in town”! It also happened to be the day of the Zombie Walk, so the streets were crawling with Z’s. Were are lucky to be alive.

 

Camera tech for the inquisitive types: The top image was shot on a Canon 5D mk II, with a 70-200 2.8L IS II USM lens. The long lens flattens the perspective and makes the wall look huge. Settings: ISO 400, 123mm focal distance, f/5.6, 1/500th. The camera was on a tripod and we took two exposures, one with Nicole in place, pretending to throw the ball, and another with just the ball. Both shots were combined in post. We did many takes; thowing the medicine ball over and over would have killed Nicole. I’ve exposed just a little dark for the ambient light, and two flashes (580 EX II’s) are edge-lighting her from out of frame. Sweetened in Lightroom and finished in Photoshop CS5.

Ben Kane (below), who shot the other 6 photos for the calendar, next to “Kane” graffiti on the wall. He was standing in to test out a potential shot location.

Below is an outtake that didn’t make the calendar. It was a hard activity to photograph—the “wall ball”—and a hard choice to go with a final pic that didn’t show Nicole’s face. This was an attempt to solve that problem. Two exposures were mixed together in post, essentially cloning Nicole.