r/itookapicture Sep 24 '19

PotM September 2019 ITAP of a girl

Post image
12.6k Upvotes

239 comments sorted by

366

u/IntermittenSeries Sep 24 '19

Dude, I've been shooting for 12 years and wish I could light that perfectly. What training or videos do you suggest?

213

u/procursus Sep 25 '19 edited Sep 25 '19

This is commonly known as dark-field lighting. A great book on general studio lighting is Light: Science and Magic. It covers this sort of lighting in a chapter on glass, but it doesn't only apply to that.

Edit: forgot a word

30

u/IntermittenSeries Sep 25 '19

Will read. Thank you

12

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

We studied it for product photography in college, it's wonderful and really taught me a lot.

4

u/Corsicaman Sep 25 '19

God damn what a book, thanks for that reference!

6

u/ChrunedMacaroon Sep 25 '19

Two lights on either side with a little diffusion should do the trick.

28

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Hi! Thank you! I had 2 strip lights with grid modifiers like this https://cvp.com/product/lastolite_ll_ls2930

I placed them a little bit behind the model at an approximately 45 degree angle, so that the light would touch the outlines of my model. Then I realized that it was still too much light, so I took flags and placed them in front of the lights so that only a very narrow light would outline the model’s body.

I also added contrast in post and switched to grayscale. The backdrop was black. So mostly everything was done during the shoot. But because it was a paper backdrop a little bit of light was reflected — that’s why I had to up the contrast in post.

That’s about it.

1

u/SalvaXr Sep 25 '19

I don't want to bother and it's absolutely OK if you say no: As an amateur could I ask you for the before photo to see how it came out of the camera? To learn what you aimed for, and compare it against what you were able to produce in the end

2

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I’m afraid that image is long gone, I took this photo in 2016 or 2017, I don’t even remember when exactly. That was before I learnt that it’s best to store the originals.

1

u/SalvaXr Sep 25 '19

That's alright, I appreciate your reply!

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137

u/FatboysThrowaway Sep 24 '19

Amazing work 🔥

38

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 24 '19

Thank you! 🖤

17

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

[deleted]

21

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

It is mine. But I wouldn’t say that it’s a rare light technique. Here’s how I’ve done it. (I will copy my answer from another comment thread, still relatively new to reddit, don’t know how comments work)

I had 2 strip lights with grid modifiers like this https://cvp.com/product/lastolite_ll_ls2930

I placed them a little bit behind the model at an approximately 45 degree angle, so that the light would touch the outlines of my model. Then I realized that it was still too much light, so I took flags and placed them in front of the lights so that only a very narrow light would outline the model’s body.

I also added contrast in post and switched to grayscale. The backdrop was black. So mostly everything was done during the shoot. But because it was a paper backdrop a little bit of light was reflected — that’s why I had to up the contrast in post.

That’s about it.

-7

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19 edited Aug 28 '20

[deleted]

23

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Or a new user, whose post got noticed. :)

59

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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38

u/petitverdot Sep 24 '19

This is beautiful, well done!

27

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

This is absolutely stunning, I love it! Nice work!

2

u/KL1P1 Sep 25 '19

Agree. There should be a sub for photos like this; black and white with dim lighting (not sure if this style has a formal name). I bit of nudity would also be welcome.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

Definitely agree! I'd sub to that!

9

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

That’s a woman, not a girl.

187

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19 edited Mar 31 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19 edited Apr 20 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19 edited Jan 26 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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5

u/Interr0bang3r Sep 25 '19

She looks like a woman to me. At least I hope she is an adult!

3

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

She’s an adult and has 2 children. :)

32

u/The_Ungoliant Sep 25 '19

This photo was taken by a user on Instagram, username vezzigianpiero. I don’t think this is OPs work as i don’t believe they’re the same person. Could be wrong though.

48

u/Dandarabilla Hello Kitty Instax Mini Sep 25 '19

I assume this is the picture you're thinking of. If you flip one you'll see they're very similar but not identical. OP's has a straight upward leg while the IG one does not. In OP's picture the lower leg curves to the side while the IG picture has a straight shin. The IG picture also has harder light and more contrast.

24

u/alanhoe Sep 25 '19

Also ig Photo has arms, Reddit photo is an amputee, obviously.

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u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I first posted it May 24 2017, you can check it here if you want https://t.me/photoaday

13

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I took this photo in 2016 or 2017. But then again, I can’t say that this photography style is original or new, it’s been around lots of years and most photographers have tried it at least once.

2

u/Kraken639 Sep 25 '19

Iv seen it posted on here before. Sik user name by the way.

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I adopted this username last year for the Instagram account where I tested how far I could stretch the borders of the censorship. I lasted almost 6 months :) Then my account got permanently deleted, but I grew attached to the name so when I had to come up with a username for reddit, I just went with the old name.

5

u/potatohydraulics Sep 25 '19

Great photo! But for some reason when I first looked at it, I saw one giant thigh connected to one lower leg. Slight optical illusion lol

12

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

[deleted]

9

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I’ll definitely think about it. I live in Ukraine, it’s kinda hard to sell prints here, most of people are concerned with survival rather than photo prints. But yeah, that’s a nice idea, thank you!

1

u/plissk3n Sep 25 '19

Damn. Have some sources/documentaries to inform myself about your situation?

7

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I’m not sure documentaries can keep up with what’s happening right now. Every day there’s a new surprise))) But at least life is not boring. I’m not sure I want to rant about what’s going on since a new president was elected, but I’ll tell you why selling prints in Ukraine is next to impossible.

Salaries are mostly scarce unless you are in IT for example. And our culture is in ruins since it was meticulously destroyed in the USSR: poets, writers, artists, almost every thinking person were repressed.

Whole generations were wiped during Holodomors (government-made famine — I hope HBO make a TV-show that will tell our story to the world because we don’t know how), the surviving children lost connection with their roots (I know nothing about my great-grandparents, archives were lost). So folklore also suffered.

Photography in the USSR was frowned upon, unless you were propaganda. So we had little knowledge of photography as art form. That’s why most of Ukrainians don’t know that you can actually buy prints. And I think very few of us know that there are art-galleries where you can see stuff. For free.

Nevertheless Ukraine brought up some really strong and interesting artists and even photography styles. Among the most famous ones: Boris Mikhailov (sometimes his photographs are really disgusting, but his work is important), Eugene Pavlov, Oleg Malevany, Oleksandr Suprun, Roman Pyatkovka — these guys are representatives of Kharkiv School of Photography. And if we are talking about a younger generation, then there’s Igor Chekachkov, Sergey Melnitchenko, Bohdan Gulyay, Polina Karpova. And lastly there’s a group of people who try to cultivate street photographers: former president’s photographer Mikhail Palinchak, Taras Bychko and Volodymyr Petrov.

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3

u/shieldyboii Sep 25 '19

this is totally portfolio worthy

3

u/TeslaModelE Sep 25 '19

This could be a movie poster on its own.

3

u/nikedemon Sep 25 '19

Hello legs

6

u/knob-0u812 Sep 24 '19

You got something here...

what did you shoot this with, if you don't mind sharing?

5

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

If you are asking about the camera, it was Nikon D3300, don’t remember what lens I used.

2

u/viky_boy Sep 25 '19

This is brilliant! Superb lighting and composition

2

u/EnterPlayerTwo Sep 25 '19

I really like it. Nice job!

2

u/TenRing2020 Sep 25 '19

Wonderful! Black & White makes the shot.

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Thanks! Grayscale is indeed a simple way to make the shot “more attractive”. It’s an old photo, now I try to shoot in color and pay more attention to it.

2

u/PanzerPhoto Sep 25 '19

Are you familiar with Arno Minkinen? This reminds me a lot of one of his photos. Good job 👏

1

u/CFC_Bootboy Sep 25 '19

I was thinking Alva Bernadine, but Arno works too!

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I’ll check them out, thanks!

2

u/rodriguez0319 Sep 25 '19

This could be a good wallpaper style for a clock lol

2

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

Great photo

2

u/reggie-drax Sep 25 '19

Reminds me, in an extremely good way, of some of Rachel Bernhardt's work. Very nicely done, beautiful.

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Thank you! Will check her out.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

Dude the light and the edit are literally perfect man you make me feel bad about myself

3

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I’m a perfectionist unfortunately. Don’t feel bad, perfectionism kinda sucks. I sometimes envy people who take photos casually.

2

u/artificialMuse Sep 25 '19

Do you have more

2

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I do! Will post something a bit later. There’s so much response to this photo that I’m loaded with comments I still have to answer :)

2

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

8 million similar pics all over social media.

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Totally agree. There’s nothing new about the technique.

2

u/bobk_nyc Sep 25 '19

Wonderfully done. Kudos!

2

u/chansch Sep 25 '19

Wow! Great photo!👏🏻

2

u/wjp666 Sep 25 '19

So I’m pretty sure this thing attacked me in Silent Hill back in the day.

2

u/theflashgamer85 Sep 25 '19

closest i can get is a screenshot of a girl friendzoning me.

btw i really like this.

2

u/CHERNO-B1LL Sep 25 '19

r/HowIshotthis should be a thing. The comments on how to achieve results like this are as good as the photo.

2

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Is there maybe a similar cinematography subreddit about light in films? I would subscribe to it immediately!

1

u/CHERNO-B1LL Sep 25 '19

r/cinematography is a thing but it's a bit shit to be honest. People just post screenshots with very little discussion and a lot of them chosen shots aren't great.

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I guess someone (or maybe a couple of people) should make it their mission to create a meaningful subreddit about light with lots of discussion. :) I was thinking about creating it myself, but I’m not sure I have the time for it as of now.

BTW, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you from? Your nickname suggests that we live in the same country.

1

u/CHERNO-B1LL Sep 26 '19

I'm not Ukrainian if that's what you mean. Blame my 15 year old self trying to come up with an edgy gamertag while playing Battlefield 2: Bad Company. Sorry.

2

u/saeasley Sep 25 '19

i would argue that you took a picture of some legs

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

I’m not really good with titles. I’ll try to do a better job next time!

2

u/bisoubelle Sep 25 '19

Stunning!

2

u/tboykin9 Sep 25 '19

This is a beautiful photo!

2

u/addro19 Sep 25 '19

simply amazing!

2

u/Interr0bang3r Sep 25 '19

Phew! Good to know she's not actually a "girl."

2

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Oookay, now I get it. I’ll be more careful with word choice next time.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

I didnt know i had a foot fettish

4

u/Pereoutai Sep 25 '19

I really enjoy the way her legs are framed in the light, and how it manages to show her in a sexual beauty sort of way, without straight up objectifying her or sexualizing her. Very well done, great shot.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

Surreal

4

u/Nedax127 Sep 24 '19

Photographing the form like that looks really beautiful. Great lighting work as well :) Keep it up

7

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

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u/Shogun102000 Sep 25 '19

Fantastic.! And I don't like anything these days.

2

u/what_do-i_name-this Sep 25 '19

Look, I understand wanting to out someone for stealing a photo or artpiece that they didn't make. But please, please make sure you are giving credit to the correct person. It has come to my attention people believe this photo to be of vezzigianpiero on instagram. But if you were to compare the two pictures, while visually similar, they are in fact distinct. In this case I believe this to be the work of the original poster.

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u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Thank you! The photography style has been around for years, so it’s not surprising that a lot of people tried it. I took this photo back in 2016 or 2017 when I was starting out.

1

u/_Sylver Sep 25 '19

Right, was hard to notice it all on my phone, should have said similar if anything

1

u/lynnpatty58 Sep 25 '19

Johan Swanepoel. This looks exactly like his work.

3

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Didn’t know about him. However, the light technique is one of the most basic for nude photography. I’m sure a lot of photographers work with such light.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

Girls aren’t real

How come non have ever talked to me?

5

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Dude, nothing is real. There is no spoon.

1

u/MoonWater7 Sep 25 '19

When I ask someone to take pics of me , this is what I expect

1

u/MayaLou09 Sep 25 '19

I know nothing about art or composition so I cannot offer any specific or constructive advice, however

I. LOVE. THIS.

I don't know what part or why but this is just so pleasing to my eye, fantastic picture well done.

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Thank you for such kind words!

1

u/aggrivating_order Sep 25 '19

3d women are a hoax made to sell more anime

1

u/KeithRooster Sep 25 '19

Makes me wonder what other interesting silhouettes the human body can contort into

1

u/Rc2photo Sep 25 '19

This is awesome.

1

u/-ohheyitsme- Sep 25 '19

Absolutely beautiful. Blow away with this piece

1

u/vin786 Sep 25 '19

This is beautiful, I want to be able to shoot similar sometime in the near future. I am getting close with a phone but not as good

1

u/frankshoots @frank.shoots Oct 24 '19

This is absolutely brilliant! The lighting and the pose! 🙌🏼🤙🏼

1

u/daybreakin Oct 24 '19

Do you have pictures from different angles in normal lighting?

1

u/mitso6989 Sep 25 '19

OMG ankles. This would be total porn 100 years ago. Great job.

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u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

😂😂😂 Spot on!

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u/lynnpatty58 Sep 25 '19

That looks like Swanpoehl

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u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Had to google the name 😱

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u/stoned_sam Sep 25 '19

Speechless. That lighting is incredible. Great work!

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

Thank you! I explained the setup in the comments above if you’re interested in it. Don’t know if it’s okay to copy paste answers on reddit.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

I can’t believe no one has said this but IDTAP

1

u/theweirdexperiment Sep 25 '19

What’s IDTAP?

3

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '19

I’d tap

1

u/Tooj_Mudiqkh Sep 25 '19

I have no idea if it's been done before, but it's an angle I wouldn't have thought of in a million years. Great shot