Ribride
This image was taken as part of a series for a fabulous company in North Wales in the UK called Rib Ride. I found out about Tom and his team from an old friend who put us in touch. We set a date for the shoot and headed to the Menai Straights. RibRide are a company that specialise in speed but I wanted my portraits to capture the people very much behind the experience.
INFO
The shoot started off at Toms house, right on the beach front. We had his Landrover down on the beach and we started the shoot there. I love mixing portraits with things, boats, vehicles etc. I find it just gives the portrait a grounding and it gives the subject a little comfort instead of being stood alone in the open. It doesn’t always work this way but if there is something there to use and its poignant to the shoot then I use it. We drove the Landrover down on the beach which was I have to say very muddy. Ofcourse the vehicle could take it but I was hoping our kit could also! I am glad I took my boots as there were times when it went knee deep!
The light set up that you see above is pretty much what shot the below image with also. Once the lights are set I often use the same spot as I know the light is good and even though I had an assistant on this shoot it takes a lot of time to keep moving set. One thing I learnt many years ago, set the lights and shoot as much as you can in one place! I set up my 190cm indirect Octabank , a great soft source of light but certainly testing in such conditions. Not only is it huge but the flash also is indirect. This gives a wrap around effect to the light, the light hits the centre of the Softbox and the disperses to the edges giving the light a beautiful feel if used right. Outside you have to increase the power of the pack in order to get enough light to hit the subject.
GIVING THE LIGHT MOTIVATION..
For my back light I use ( and usually do ) my square reflector. The sun was just peeping through the clouds so this is a little technique I look to do. Give the light motivation. Especially the rear light. You can see on Toms face on camera left that the light is hitting him. So I put my light high, just out of shot to his left to make it look like the sun is shining on him. In reality the sun wasn’t strong enough but to light like this it makes it look like its coming from the sun. I always use heavyweight stands when using the 195cm octa. You have to make sure that its grounded and weighted down! For my other lights I use C stands, Avenger brand. These allow me to angle the lights and always use them with the boom arm. More on stands in another post as they are super important out on location. Ben, my assistant also ran around in the back of the shot with some smoke pellets! I often use smoke in my imagery, it gives my lights in the background something to ‘bite’ onto. We couldn’t use my smoke machine on this occasion as it’s mains powered so I had with me some smoke pellets that chimney cleaners use to check that there are no blockages in the chimney. They light fast and give off a lot of smoke so you have to try and wait until the smoke is just clearing to get the best effect. It does make a big difference to the shot when they are used.
After a few shots alone and with the Landrover we headed down the beach to his boat which was moored . At low tide we could walk out to it and it gave a great backdrop to another portrait.
You can see the lighting set up from the shot below. I tried to get my 190 Octabox on the right higher as I usually have the bottom of the box in line with the face of the subject but the stand kept sinking into the mud so I had to make do with it at this height. With this set up as the water was too deep behind the boat I used my second light as almost a side fill to counteract the main light. I don’t do this too often but felt a more balanced look to his face suited the shot better.
The Main Shot
THE SET UP
KIT LIST FOR THE WHOLE SHOOT
Pentax 645z & 55mm
Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS Pack
ELB 400 Pack
Elinchrom 135cm Octa
Elinchrom 190cm Indirect
Pocket Wizard Plus 2
Lee ND Filters ( 0.6 )
Lee Wide Angle Hood
Lexar SD Cards
So for the main shot at the beginning of the piece we headed out in one of Toms boats. Fast, yes fast! But of course flying along at 70mph wouldn’t have been too great with Ben, my assistant holding onto a 135cm Octabox! So we headed out at a more gentle pace! I wanted to get the Menai Straight Bridge int he background to give the shot context and also incorporate a little of the boat also. So I had Ben hold the light above my head and point it past Tom so it brushed his face. On the video below you will see the light on my right but after a couple of shots we changed angles so I could get the boat in frame too. I knew I wanted a particular look on this shoot. Quite moody but strong lighting so I tried to use the lights the same for each shot. Continuity is important when creating a brand or a look. People need to know what they are getting. The fasted Shutter Speed on the Z with the lights I have anyway is 125th, that’s why I use ND filters. I have never had an issue with such a slow shutter. Many people prefer high speed sync and Ill cover that another day but you get used to what you are shooting with and work on the application of the light with what tools you are used to. This is what gives my images a ‘look’ . This way of shooting isn’t for everyone, it’s not easy. But making the effort and taking the kit into places like this pays off.
So you can see in this very short video a little part of the shoot. I am holding the Pentax 645z & 55mm lens. I have a Lee filter Wide Angle holder with a 0.3 stop ND filter in it. We ended up moving the light to the left as I changed places with Ben who was holding it. Once Tom had slowed down a little we managed to get the 135cm octa out from Ben’s tight grasp!
This image above is also shot on the 645z with the 55mm. One of the team members standing with the boat in the water. Using just one light and the 135cm Octabox as a lot of the shoot was done quickly and in places where we couldn’t use two lights.
This shot taken through the glass of the boat. It can be tricky shooting through glass but by separating the light from the glass it makes it easier to achieve.
Some Behind the Scenes Imagery
