It's Complicated!!!

"It's Complicated" as in:

• Getting access to a server room and then improving on the dim, flickering green fluorescent lights
• Working with a toddler teetering on top of thousands of dollars of equipment
• the Facebook status of this youngling

My friend and colleague approached me about doing something over the top - showing his tech savvy son "on top of the world" mastering technology and social media. We brainstormed a bunch of ideas that would be quintessential silicon valley, show a mastery of everything social networks and spotlight his son (of course). Fun assignment, fabulous client and the need to work fast (did I mention all those servers). Sounds like a perfect job for Phat Baby Photography.

Special thanks goes to the IT guys - you know who you are, for access and ensuring that I didn't become "that Photographer" that caused a system outage. Seriously, it's amazing how much effort goes into keeping everyone safe and all the equipment running as it ought.

Technical Baby Photography Note: This photo is the culmination of about ten hours of work. Besides planning there were a number of shots taken with just the servers, with parents holding on to child (safety always comes first) and screenshots to generate all the appropriate content to create a compelling and convincing composite image.

This shoot was one of the few where three lights were used and if I had more, I would have used them. The key light is a Speedlite with a 1/2 CTO on it to provide some warm skin tones. About the only advantage of having a toddler teetering on top of a narrow PC case is that I could actually aim the grid (which focuses the light into a very narrow beam) onto an otherwise active boy. Another Speedlite with a 1/2 CTB is aimed at the ceiling camera left and provides the fill which gives the server room the nice blue, techy feel. The last Speedlite is clamped to the ceiling with a 1/2 CTO to provide a hair light and is meant to replicate an overhead light and provide some separation from the background.

The photo itself is taken at 1/160 sec at f4, ISO 400, 32mm. Ideally I could have lowered the shutter speed to 1/40 to brighten up the monitors, but I decided the risk of blurring was too great. My trusty $30 tripod was used to make post-processing and Photoshop work a bit easier. And if you've made it this far, you're definitely a photo geek.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhatPhotographer/~3/jUNKZOEhAGM/its-complicated.html

babies photos cute babies share your baby photos Marc AnthonyDanielle Alexandra Belle Kingston