TetherTools is a great way to take your photography shoots to a very high level of professionalism. You may think it's just an unnecessary complication to add cords and laptops to your shoots, but we promise it can make all the difference in the end result of your photos. And it's not hard to do! It's as easy as 1-2-3. TetherTools has put together a fully-comprehensive guide on how professional photographers have used TetherTools to create beautiful images in all types of setups. Below you'll find one of the 10 articles TetherTools put together for your education and use. To find the other nine "How I Got the Shot Guide" articles head this link here.
"How I Got the Shot Guide" By: TetherTools + PhotoShelter
Featuring: DANIEL LINNET
photo credit https://www.tethertools.com/how-i-got-the-shot-educational-guide/Passionate about photography is the best way to describe Sydney-based photographer, Daniel Linnet, a Master of Photography with the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) and a Canon EOS Master. Never one to shy away from a creative challenge, Daniel has built his career in the Commercial and Editorial photography fields through his aptitude to interpret the brief and add that certain creative flair to every assignment.
Magical and Theatrical Workshop by Daniel Linnet
"I was commissioned by Canon Australia to present a workshop, and provide "an unforgettable shoot experience", for Canon resellers. Canon gave me an open brief and a small budget to work with, but I believe the results certainly lead one to believe that big budgets and significant production values were involved. The aim of the workshop was to educate, inspire and entertain the participants, with each one having the opportunity to shoot on the set and control and direct all the elements within the lighting framework."
Setting the Scene
The set was created to resemble a theatre stage. During the workshop, I controlled all elements and aspects of the shoot to help me arrive at the final image. Part of being able to produce strong images often relies on elements that one looking in doesn’t immediately take into account, and a great set along with the right model and creative team go a long way in producing the final result. The set was versatile, and the fact that it relied on reused objects and props from past theatre productions, all designed by Browne, greatly simplified that aspect of the production.
In order to amplify movement within the scene, the set was styled with objects designed to appear as though they were flying, caught in a gust of wind. All the furnishings and props were suspended by fishing wire from above the set. I knew that most of it would be hidden by the lighting and texture of the background, and any that remained would give the shot a slight behind-the-scenes feel, which I was quite happy to have incorporated.
I made the decision to work with an aerialist rather than a model as she would have the upper body strength needed to work within the constraints of the environment for the duration of the shoot. The choice of an aerialist also meant that the fundamental aspects of movement would be understood resulting in more dynamic poses.
Lighting and Gear
With the opportunity to use any of the 5 series cameras in the Canon range, I opted for the Canon EOS-5Ds. I chose the camera for its impressive 50-megapixel sensor, and the fact that the details in the files are outstanding. I also like to have a smoother, less sharpened file straight out of the camera to handle in my post production, which often include sharpening or use of Tonal Contrast from the Nik Colour Effex PS Plugin.
For this series of images, I relied on just six speedlites, all of which were controlled by a Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter. Although it wasn’t a prerequisite of the workshop for Canon, I decided that I was going to light the whole shoot using off-camera speedlites. I used the speedlites as I would normally use bigger studio lighting setups. The idea was to demonstrate the ability of the small lights in turning what would normally be a complex lighting setup into a quick and simple setup with the flexibility to make adjustments whenever necessary. The white set coupled with the unique lighting setup meant that I was able to get two entirely different treatments in the final images from exactly the same lighting set up.
Small Lights – Big Results
Having worked with speedlites now for a number of years, I was able to tailor, adjust and perfect my approach. I always work with my lights in individual groups so I can control each light or group independently from the camera controller. To make adjustment of lights quickly and easily, I clearly label each light stand with the lighting group letter for easy identification. Controlling all the lights from one location, via the Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter, means that I, or my assistant, wasn’t required to walk around set manually adjusting each light individually. A successful final result relies heavily on the lighting being as close to perfect as possible. To this end, I paid particular attention to the lighting ratios. I always start the ratio adjustment by testing each light individually after which I do the final tweaks with all the lights firing simultaneously.
Benefits of Tethering
With the participants required to control so many variables during the workshop, I wanted to have a way of fine tuning the individual elements on the fly. The fact that cameras were tethered meant that participants could very quickly assess their lighting and make any adjustments required, rather than having to rely on the tiny screen on the back of the camera to make critical lighting and exposure decisions. As well as this, tethering the RAW files straight into Lightroom meant that I could print in high resolution immediately.
https://youtu.be/DbrmGkb-FRc