Outdoor Light-Studio Style...GBP Creative Photography and Video

Some of our favourite portraits as of late, we got when we were asked by Up Here Magazine to shoot Claude Vallier, who is one of our premier backcountry skiers.  (Get their latest issue to check out the article!)

Sweet assignment right??!  Problem was, at the time, there was no snow outside for us to use… and a portrait of Claude in normal clothes standing outside in the dirt seemed like a bit of a waste compared to the graphic elements of an awesome skier in full ski gear and the beauty of soft, snowy light. So... the only choice was to hit the studio and make it look like an epic snowy day...Challenge accepted.

SO have you ever been outside on a bright, snowy winter day? The light is rad… it comes from everywhere…well, I mean, it comes from the sun of course, but then bounces off the ground and the trees and everything else that is covered with snow (think giant white reflectors from every direction) and creates this amazing, soft, beautiful wrapping light….. 

So in order to get that all encompassing light feeling, we had to ask ourselves, how do we create that in the studio??  Turns out it takes a crap load of lights…. or 5... cause that’s what I ended up using, and a whooooooole lotta reflection. 

This was a cool setup because we used the studio "backwards", meaning, instead of having your subject stand in front of the big white backdrop wall, we instead put him at the other side of the room from the big white wall, with the camera's 'back' to the wall instead.  Fortunately our studio is painted flat white which makes it easier because this whole thing involves using the walls to create massive soft white light sources. (See super-detailed and very scientific diagram below)

The main thing to watch out for with this set-up is lens flare, as there is a lot of light going everywhere and it makes it really hard to minimize flare (which will washout and reduce contrast in your image)…. I have found that my 100mm f2.8 macro handles flare way better than any other portrait length lens I have, so it wasn't too much of a problem this time.

So, for you lighting nerds out there (oh how we love you guys...we are kindred spirits), here's a little breakdown of what we did...

A : 1 bare bulb light aimed directly up at the ceiling to create the light coming down from above (this was our key light).
B: 2 barebulb lights aimed back behind me to bounce off the back wall and angled ceiling to make our fill (about 1/2 stop under key)
C: 1 diffused uplight to mimic the light bouncing off the snow/ ground (1 stop under key)
D: 1 light behind subject to make our white background completely white and even glow a bit (about a stop brighter than group B lights)

After that's set up, you dress up a dude in ski gear and BAM you're shooting beautiful outside snowy light portraits in the comfort of you slippers! 

HUGE thanks to Claude for being so great to work with too...turns out he's crazy talented AND an awesome guy...

Headshot station...GBP Creative Photography and Video

Lookin' good, and feelin' great...That's what a head shot should make people think of...and we think our latest client fits that description perfectly.

Headshots are a great way to show off your personality and professionalism-and with all of the use of web content and social media these days, having a good quality photo (or even video as we're starting to do for some clients), can go a long way...

If you're interested in the benefits of head shots and getting some new images for your business give us a shout!

Info@garybremner.com

Moustache madness...A unique family shoot: GBP Creative Photography and Video

You know who's awesome? Our clients...

Why? Because sometimes they show up for a family shoot with a bag of moustaches....

Family Farm-GBP Creative Photography and Video

Sweet Family who's been with us since the early days of GBP + Epic family farm with big equipment, giant sprinklers and horses = One awesome family photo shoot.

Thanks to Deanna, Greg and Hayden for contenting to be oh-so-rad to work with!

Prom Dress Portraits-GBP Creative Photography and Video

So this is the time of year when hundreds of Yukon grade 12 students are getting ready to finish up their high school career and jump out into the world on a variety of adventures, whether that's through more school, working, or travelling...

But first, there is graduation. And there is prom.  Time to celebrate all of the hard work that went into getting them to where they are at...We'd like to say we remember exactly how that feels, but we're trying not to think about the fact it's been a while since we were both in their shoes....Like we don't even want to do the math...

BUT that's not the point! The point is to celebrate all of these young adults that are about to embark on the next phase of their lives...and we got to work with one exceptional young lady that fits into this category recently as her mom gave her some portrait sessions with us as a grad gift.

So this is part one of that series...the "Lookin' like a hollywood bombshell" half! 

For this shoot, we really wanted to focus in on the glamour of her dress, hair, makeup and energy, so we decided to go with a nice, simple studio environment with a bit darker of a backdrop to contrast with the tones of her dress.

We could not have asked for a better model...you looked stunning Megan! 

Maternity Portraits-GBP Creative Photography and Video

Baby madness!!
Anyone else notice there's a lot of new families starting here in the Yukon? Because we sure have...

We've been getting a ton of requests for maternity portrait sessions lately, which are always fun to shoot-especially when it's for the couple's first child...

We don't have any kids, unless you count our 'fur child' Bill Murray (he's a newfoundlander with an attitude), but we feel like we have learned a ton about what to expect if we ever do from our clients...they are always happy to share their nervous laughter when they are navigating through what to expect with their first child, and then the tales of both the highs and lows of the parenting process once they've met the new family member.

It's one of the best parts of these jobs, getting to know how each family works together...

These particular soon-to-be parents were top notch.  Great sense of humours, super easy to work with, and just so happened to have epic natural light in their home (Huge win for GBP!)

We'll be getting to meet their newest addition in just a few weeks too!

 

We heart local music...

So seeing as how we spent the day shooting our first ever music video,  we're in a bit of a music mood tonight...

This got us thinking about the other shoots we've been doing lately with a bunch of rad local artists and we thought it would be the perfect time to share one of them!  

We had the pleasure of working with the extremely talented Kelvin Smoler and Lauren Tuck who make up The Lore, in preparation for their upcoming album release.  The album drops this December, so be sure to keep your ears open for details.  We were so excited to work with these two as they have an incredible energy, are open to trying out new concepts/ideas and are just plain old awesome to work with.

Stoked to hear the new album guys, and looking forward to more shoots in the future!

A whirlwind wedding season...

Well it's official...we can't fight it anymore...The snow keeps creeping lower and lower in the hills and the leaves, they are a changing.  Winter is coming.
(Whoa accidental Game of Thrones reference!)

Anyways, in GBP land, the end of summer means that we are also at the end of what was a whirlwind wedding season...We shot weddings in Mexico, Haines Junction, and many in Whitehorse over the past few months and although there are a few more fall ones booked, the main wedding season is coming to a close.

Which brings us to 2013! We are actually just about all filled up for our summer wedding season already, with only a few spots left, so if you're getting married in 2013 and would like to work with GBP, please give us a shout ASAP at info@garybremner.com


GB &BB