It’s #anythingcanhappenday and today’s post features the legendary Internet model Maria Cedar. Whenever I post an image of her, I get email from photographers who want to work with her but, as far as I know, she has retired from modeling. Speaking for myself, I’m as sorry about that as you may be but I treasure the four shoots we had together, including this one where the featured image was made.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Glam culture is ultimately rooted in obsession, and those of us who are truly devoted and loyal to the lifestyle of glamour are masters of its history. Or, to put it more elegantly, we are librarians.” ―
Ever since my friend Mark Toal introduced me to the Panasonic Lumix system at a press event for the Panasonic Lumix G5 at Sonoma Raceway in 2012, I’ve been using Micro Four-thirds cameras for almost all my studio portraits. Along the way I’ve embraced Olympus Micro Four-thirds cameras and lenses and use a mix-and-match equipment approach for my mirrorless photography, especially portraiture.
Ii you think the 18×13.5mm sensor that’s found in Micro Four-thirds camera is too small for this kind of photography, you might want to read my post Who Cropped My Sensor? for my take on sensor size.
Small Sensor Big Image
I’m not oblivious enough to believe that the image quality from a 20.3-megapixel Panasonic Lumix G9 is equal to that of a 45-megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1R. But what I am suggesting is that a 20.3 or even a 16-megapixel camera like the (now outdated, I guess) Lumix GH4 I used to make this portrait of Maria Cedar produces image quality that suits my needs. As I’ve said here before, only you get to decide what your needs are. For a long time I’ve decided that the Micro Four-thirds system fits mine because of the size and weight of both camera bodies and lenses.
During a portrait session the real advantage of using a Micro Four-thirds camera, or any mirrorless camera for that matter, with their electronic viewfinder, becomes immediately apparent. When you click the shutter, the just-captured image is immediately visible in the viewfinder. You don’t have to remove the camera from your eye and chimp to see what you just made. You see the portrait right away and will immediately see if the subject blinks so you can re-shoot. This instant feedback also makes the ability to refine a subject’s pose, the lightning or even the exposure go faster, all of which makes the shoot progress smoothly producing higher levels of quality and productivity.
How I made this portrait: I photographed the famous Internet model Maria Cedar in my 11×15-foot home studio that’s located in the basement of my house. This particular portrait was made during our second shoot together. In looking at the RAW+JPEG files I created of her wearing this outfit, I kept thinking that it should be made in black and white and then I though it should be in color. The upper right image is a monochrome version of the color RAW file that was converted into black and white using Exposure Software’s Exposure’s Panatomic-X emulation. Let me know which version you like better.
The lighting for this portrait used a Paul C. Buff DigiBee 800 with Plume Wafer soft box attached as the main light and placed at camera right. An AlienBees 800 with 16 x 30-inch Westcott Apollo Strip soft box was located at camera left with another Digibee with a 48-inch Dynalite Quad Square black/silver umbrella that was placed in the back far left corner of the studio. Paul C Buff is not a sponsor of me or this blog. I don’t get a penny from you clicking those links; they are provided just for your convenience.
The camera used was a Panasonic Lumix GH4 with Lumix G Vario 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at 45mm with an exposure of 1/125 sec at f/10 and ISO 200. The background was an, inexpensive muslin backdrop that was suspended and draped from JTL background stands.
If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($3.50), click here. And if you do, thank you very much.
My book Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography is full of tips, tools and techniques for glamour and boudoir photography and includes information on all of the cameras used as well as the exposure data for each image. Used books are available from Amazon for $45.08, I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital format.