Shooting What I HATE Most with Dani Diamond
If you know Dani Diamond, you know he’s a master behind the lens, especially when it comes to urban landscapes. But today, we're diving into a scenario that makes him cringe – shooting in greenery! Yes, you read that right. Dani, the portrait and fashion photography whiz, isn't a fan of all things green and leafy.
So, what happens when you drop Dani into a garden full of greenery and tell him to get creative? He does what any pro would do – turns the challenge into an opportunity.
Check out the video above to watch the whole shoot and see how Dani overcomes shooting what he hates most. Can't watch the video for some reason? Here are the highlights:
Setting the Scene and Figuring Out the Lighting
Because Dani’s not a fan of an endless sea of green, task number one was to find a way to break up all that greenery. The solution? Repurposing a painter’s drop cloth as a picnic blanket for the models to sit on.
Once the drop cloth and models were in place, Dani began photographing with a Sony Alpha 1 on manual mode and the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM lens. However, he quickly noticed that the cloudy natural light wasn’t providing what he envisioned. So he brought in a flash and octabox on a c-stand as his key light to camera left. That combo yielded lighting that was too flat for his taste. Scrapping that idea, he got rid of the octa softbox and bare-bulbed the flash to camera left behind the models, creating a “kicker” (hair light) and that’s when things “started lookin’ amazing,” as Dani put it.
Angles, Poses, and Patience
To give himself options during post-processing, Dani shot a variety of angles: overhead/top-down, 45-degree angle, eye level to the models, and below eye level.
Meanwhile, the models, Esmeralda and Yuliya, played around with the poses, constantly changing things up to give the best possible chance of a good shot with both of them in a flattering angle and pose.
“You do the best you [can] to direct, but at a certain point, you just tell the models to kinda do their thing… You gotta just take a couple different angles and later on decide in post which one was your best shot,” Dani explained.
Shooting in manual mode allowed Dani to “really dial down and get that exposure perfect. Whether I was using a flash, natural light, or using the flash as a kicker.”
Take a look at a few of the final images; not bad for a photographer shooting what he hates most!
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Ever the gentleman and team player, Dani ended the shoot by thanking his team, saying, “Together, everyone did what they do best and that really helps the photographer concentrate on what he is there for: creating banger images.”
Shooting into greenery may not be Dani’s preferred portrait backdrop, but he definitely overcame his dislike and created eye-catching, compelling photographs. Way to rise to the occasion, Dani.
The Team
Photographer @danidiamondphotography
Stylist @y.threadz
Model @loginowski
Model @esmestyle_
Hair @nami_hair_harada
Makeup @yuminagashima.makeup
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1 comment
Dani Diamond is an awesome photographer. He adapted to the environment and made some great images outside of his comfort zone.
Dokk Savage
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