The ‘Hustle

Sun Goddess - Model: Barb. Shot using a Canon EOS-5D, equipped with EF70-200mm/f2.8 L USM lens, at f/3.5, ISO100 for 1/4000s. Image taken at Sandy Hook Park, NJ.

Today’s image comes from a shoot in August, featuring my friend and aspiring model, Barbara. The shoot came about simply as a test opportunity, and a chance to shoot on the beach, a rare blessing.

I simply asked Barb to give subtle sexiness, with a hint of relaxation, while thinking about sun-bathing. She did and it all came togther.

It was a very bright day, and I wanted nice bokeh, which dictated the aperture/shutter speed combination. The shot was captured in RAW, for ease of editing in post. The pic didn’t need much retouch: just some highlight recovery, and a minor tweak to the black-point and I was good to go.

The interesting part came in what I did in post.

I’m using a demo of NiK Software’s Color Efex Pro 3.0 and lemme tell you, it’s fantastic! It allows a very precise editing capability powered by what they call U-Points. They function kind of like masks in Photoshop, but with more specificity and the ability to easily apply multiple opacities of the editing effects.

In this case, I used the Bleach Bypass effiect and the Midnight effects with a few U-Points to selectively darken and desaturate the sky, while allowing Barbara to be nicely toned. It creates a surreal effect that emphasizes her, while muting the bright sky and reducing contrast. After that, all I did was apply some output sharpening and that was that.

I think I’m going to love this package! It’s a touch expensive right now, but perhaps as a Christmas gift to myself…

This post is tagged Barbara, Canon, Digital, EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EOS-5D, Images, Photography, Pictures