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How I shot this brave themed fairy tale with real green fire

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For a long time I wanted to create a Brave styled photo shoot. I really love the heroic fantasy and Celtic moods that go with the movie and it would not be the first time I go Celtic :).

But, an official cos play version of the movie was already out there, so I wanted to do something different. Then I met Elyra Carrousel. Aside from being a wonderful model, she has a vast collection of wonderful costumes and dresses. And to make a good thing perfect, she invented a medieval and Celtic persona for herself – a red headed character called Lilwen. We had a chat, we were both excited about it, we went to work.

Oh, we also did not want to use any Photoshop special effects for that shoot

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While you were playing at your beach, a photographer turned his into desert planet Jakku

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Nothing like a good visit to the beach right? Some dips in the water, some laying in the sand and some visitors from planet Jakku. Wait what?

Singaporean photographer Mezame Shashin-ka used his time at the beach to recreate the desert planet Jakku. It really does not take much more than a good imagination, a strong vision and a clever edit.

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This crow and dove series was shot with dry ice and focus stacking

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We are big fans of Felix Alejandro Hernández Rodríguez and the way he uses creative ways to shoot scenes in camera. After shooting a world war II plane fight with power, he came back and shot a fantasy boat with some dry ice.

We approached Felix and again to gain some insights on his photos.

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How I took these gorgeous photos of girls playing soccer

After being dissatisfied with their team soccer photos, a good friend of mine asked if I could take some action shots of her two daughters playing the sport. I wanted to create an “out of the box” image that really showed their skills and passion for soccer. I consulted with another very good friend of mine, who happens to be a photographer and has kids that are heavily involved in the soccer world. Together, we collaborated to bring these shots to life.

I am a
huge fan of the “golden hour” right before sunset, although it really limits the amount of time you have (you have to be on your toes and ready to shoot). Choosing to shoot at this time of day was critical to the final outcome of the shots. To counterbalance the sunlight, I chose to use a combination of three Elinchrom Quadra 400s and flash.

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How I Shot This Farm House Environmental Portrait with a Perforated Cardboard

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I took this photo as part of a lighting class in Costa Rica. The theme was people who represent the spirit of the farm where the class was held. It was a colonial building hidden in the country side of Costa Rica. While we were fortunate to have a  great model, I used a few simple tricks to make the scene work.

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How I Created This Geppetto’s Workshop Photo Composite

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Geppetto’s Workshop is a precious image to me because it features my own father and my son acting the part of Geppetto and Pinocchio. When Child Photo Competition launched their ‘Father and Child’ theme for January, I knew this image was a perfect fit.

I was just awarded the winner of the competition with my fairytale themed photo and I’m thrilled! In this post I’d love to share some behind the scenes of the creation of the image.

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How I Art Directed A CD Cover Shoot Over The Internet

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When Chris Sebastian contacted me about creating cover art for his debut album ‘The Good Old Days‘, I initially wasn’t sure how the scenario would work. Chris was in Sydney, I was in Melbourne, and his photoshoot was happening in Sydney within the week. I admit, I’m a bit of a control freak… In order to create a cohesive composite cover art piece, I normally would shoot every element myself. I need to have control of the light and the perspective to ensure everything fits together.

I asked Chris if I could liase directly with the photographer and art direct the project remotely. I wasn’t sure how the collaboration would work, but I was willing to give it a try.

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How To Create A Land Cross Section Photo In The Studio

When we were asked to produce some creative product shots for a new client, I thought Challenge accepted! The product was an awesome high end cross country trainer with incredible grip on various surfaces and was to be photographer while not been worn.

I wanted to show multiple surfaces, but from a different perspective so decided to create a quick and dirty land cross section to sit the trainer on.

Here’s how to do it and it only cost a grand total of £10 to build.

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