Odinsoff Photography

03/12/2023

Music Video - Center of Attention
Song and Performance by Al Calderon

https://youtu.be/YhXSd904Ftk

In this video, I document the production side of things. This encompasses everything from first impressions with the talent to what happens in the midst of filming, and then the take-aways from each video.

The purpose of this video is not only to shed some light on the production process, but also to normalize the idea that mistakes happen on set, and it is how you work through them and learn from them that elevates you as a filmmaker.

I hope you enjoy!

www.unapollogeticmedia.comwww.instagram.com/odinsoffphotographywww.facebook.com/odinsoffphotographyMusic Video - Center of AttentionSong and Performance by A...

04/14/2021

https://youtu.be/DkyAZ4-WyUM
Today I’m going to talk about something I think is very important, and that’s lighting. Lighting is one of the most important parts of facilitating a narrative. It helps your audience determine the time of day, and the mood you are trying to portray. Lighting also helps give your frame depth.

Now in the earlier clips, for example I used lighting to help create the atmosphere of waking up in the morning. I also used lighting to parody a stereotype with gels. In the last clip I used lighting outside at night to help amplify the aesthetic of what it might realistically look like having somebody stand where the model stood during the time of day he was standing there.

First I want to talk briefly about lighting inside. So when lighting Indoors I try to imagine where lights might be placed in the real world and how the gradient of that light might fall. Second, I try and dramatize that light. Use of practicals like lamps or candles help create that depth, especially if you don’t have a ton of artificial lighting to work with. I’ve also used flash lights with gels taped to them or construction lights from Home Depot in a pinch.

Now lets talk about gels. Gels are a great way to recreate a visual. I might not be a fan of the typical YouTube lighting, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it’s place. I personally try and light with gels the same way I light everything else, and that’s deliberately. A good example of this is a shoot I did a while back outside at night. The model was in a truck and I wanted to replicate what it might look like in the real world with them maybe parked or stopped at a red light, then amplify that light to help dramatize it. So I added some a light with blue gel, and I added a light with a red gel coming from a different angle. This gave me the look I wanted.

In the last clip, I tried to recreate and then dramatize what it might look like standing outside of that building at night. Part of what you have to consider when looking for a location at night is, how well lit is it already. That could make the difference between no lights, one light, or 5 lights. So this location was already decently lit. All I did when lighting it was try and follow the path of light that was already there. I used a magnum reflector to amplify the light coming out, and then I made sure to bounce it off of the white wall. This diffused the light and created more of a gradient of light to shadow.

The last thing I want to talk about is angling light. Lighting is not as simple as putting a flash on your camera and going. Depending on the angle of the light and the spill of the light, your going to create a different mood. Shooting straight on with an on camera flash creates a harsh bright light with no shadows on the face. This doesn’t necessarily look organic. If you were to take that flash off camera, and aim it at a 45 degree angle at the subject, you’re going to create some shadows, and harsh ones at that. Think of it as being outside on a bright and sunny day. This usually is associated with a more dramatic aesthetic. Now if you add some sort of diffuser onto that light, it’s going to help even the spill of light so there is more of a gradient of light to shadow. That is a more natural look and is associated more for example with something like an overcast day outside.

So to summarize, going forward, ask yourself, what is the aesthetic I am going for, what story am I trying to tell and how can light help facilitate that story.

www.odinsoffphotography.comwww.instagram.com/odinsoffphotographywww.facebook.com/odinsoffphotographyToday I’m going to talk about something I think is very i...

03/14/2021

Today, I want to discuss my venture into medium format film with the Mamiya RZ67. I have been experimenting with film over the last year, and over the last six months, medium format film. What is medium format film? Well, generally speaking and in the broadest of definitions, its film that covers a larger surface area, giving you a different field of view and quality of compression than that of standard full frame cameras. In other words, the aesthetic is different. Couple that with the fact that this is film we're talking about, and you're going to get a quite different look than you would with a full frame digital camera.
I've noticed that using this camera has forced me to take photos differently than I normally would. This has led to different compositions and shot planning than I have had in the past. In other words, it's led to me experimenting, and experimentation is always good when it comes to creating!
In this video I talk about the camera I've been using - some of its benefits, and some of it's downfalls. I also provide plenty of examples of images taken with it as well as some behind the scenes with the camera. Whether you're interested in learning about the camera or if you just want to see some good photos, take a look!

After about six months of shooting with the Mamiya Rz67 in the field I've developed some strong opinions on the system. The form factor can be a hindrance at...

12/27/2020

We're living in a time where the internet and social media give us the ability to present the best version of ourselves to our viewers. The reality is, we're so accustomed to only seeing the results without understanding the process, and I believe part of what makes someone successful is making mistakes and learning from them. In this video I talk about some of the big fails i made in photography and how I've learned from them. Hopefully this will help you either avoid making the same mistakes, or make them sooner to ensure you won't make them when an important project comes along!

We're living in a time where the internet and social media give us the ability to present the best version of ourselves to our viewers. The reality is, we're...

11/13/2020

Finding your Inspiration
When I started to shift gears with my photography, from restaurant, food, and real estate photography to photographing models, I found myself in a bit of a bind. Some of the most popular photos on social media are pictures of pretty people with blurry backgrounds, and so naturally, that’s what I tried to emulate.
At this point I equated likes and followers on Instagram to success but didn’t fully understand the definition of it. After not so long I realized a few things, first – My photography wasn’t standing out. I wasn’t any better at taking the same bokeh’d out photo with an attractive model and an indistinguishable background than any of the other photographers with an already established following, who had a slew of Instagram models wanting to photograph with them. Second, I felt confined. I was copying photographers, copying other photographers, who were copying other photographers, and frankly, I couldn’t answer for this specific genre of photography – why do I take pictures?
One day I was looking through some of the poetry and short stories that I’ve written, and it dawned on me that I could potentially get the same message across in a different medium – photography, so I gave it a try and translated one of my poems into a photo series. Not only did I attempt to take photos that I felt had substance, but I also felt accomplished because I felt like a broke through the barrier I was faced with. Simultaneously, my photography was evolving into something that aligned closer with what brands are looking for – the ability to send a message through a photo, or series of photos.
It wasn’t long after, that I began analyzing some of my favorite writers, artists, movies, and tv shows to try and find ways to tell a similar message with my camera. Consuming these forms of art in a different light gave me a new source of inspiration, and a way to use different mediums to tell a story with photography, but most importantly, it gave my photography a purpose.

Website: www.odinsoffphotography.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/odinsoffphotography Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OdinsoffPhotography Finding your Ins...

10/22/2020

Like many of you, I’ve spent copious amounts of time watching YouTube tutorials. For me, lighting was the subject I became obsessed with. I would look at the work of many other photographers and the first thing I would think was – wow the photo must look so good because of how it was lit. This led me down a path of slowly accumulating a bunch of strobes and modifiers – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the long term when building a business in photography, but I became “lighting obsessed” so to speak.

I started with an off-camera flash and a trigger. I was so proud when I first managed to make my grey seamless (my second purchase) white for the first time from shooting a flash onto it. I quickly realized that the flash was limiting my potential after watching more YouTube videos on lighting, so I upgraded to the Profoto lighting system. Instantly I noticed a difference, mostly in ease of use, color consistency, and the best part (the strobe never misfired!) – But I definitely felt that buying into the Profoto system gave me an edge in lighting. I was using my Profoto b10 just about every day. Rembrandt lighting, check, Butterfly lighting (with a reflector, another purchase I made) check, Loop lighting – you get the idea. I realized I was improving, but I knew I was far from achieving the look some of my favorite photographers would produce, so I read more articles, watched more Youtube videos.

After attending a lighting workshop, I came to the conclusion that one light just wasn’t enough (real shocker there). Naturally, I bought a second light. Perhaps by now you are starting to see a trend, and keep in mind, throughout this purchasing process I was also purchasing lighting modifiers which can be quite expensive themselves. I’ll spare you the rest of the very predictable details and finish by saying I ended up with 4 lights, a plethora of modifiers, and was still unhappy with the look I was producing.

It wasn’t that the photos didn’t look technically well lit, the problem, which I think many others overlook as well, was the content. My photos were not saying anything other than – I spent money I could have been saving, on camera gear. The skill that my idols had that I needed wasn’t necessarily lighting, it was the ability to tell a story. I was shook by this discovery, and just how long it took for me to acknowledge it- I am a writer after all.

Soon after I realized the narrative was what was missing, I began to pick up on nuances in each Youtube video. A lot of professional photographers tend to dumb down the clarity and sharpness of their images in post-production, some of them add noise, and almost all of them dodge and burn. In essence, it wasn’t until I discovered how important being able to tell a story is that I discovered that you don’t need a state-of-the-art camera, or 8 strobes to accomplish that. Now don’t get me wrong, I still love my Profoto strobes and use them on just about every shoot, but now I ask - how will this help advance my story - whether that is creating a mood or conveying a certain emotion, adding depth to the image, or facilitating a grand narrative. So next time you get out there, ask yourself - what message do I want to convey?

10/16/2020

I’ve been doing all of my studio shoots with the medium format Fujifilm GFX 100. So why am i testing the much older Fujifilm 50s? There have been a lot of critics of the GFX 100 on YouTube. Many of them have complained about the auto focus speed and shutter lag among other things. All the while, I’ve been happily shooting away with my camera. The auto focus, while not as snappy as something like the new Canon R5, is more than enough for me in the studio. In fact, I prefer to be more in control of the focus with back button AF, as opposed to continuous AF which i’ve found to be inconsistent in some cases with the most highly touted AF systems. And in terms of the type of shooting I do, and 5 frames per second is more than enough. Over the past year I have been testing a wide array of cameras, from crop sensor mirrorless, to older film and rangefinder cameras. Besides reaffirming my initial stance on being happy with the GFX 100 - having to manual focus and shoot with cameras with closer to one frame per second had sparked a curiosity to see whether or not a Fujifilm GFX 50s could hold up for me.

A few things i’ve noticed that I am happy with. Firstly, the battery grip, it’s great. I feel much more comfortable with the 50s and the battery grip in my hands then I do the battery grip the GFX 100 comes with. The camera is definitely lighter as well. Another thing I do like is the hump in the back. A lot of people criticize the hump, but it definitely reminds me of a modular style camera similar to Hasselblad or Phase One (hope Fuji comes out with their own soon).

A few things I dislike - First, the lack of a usb c port for tethering. There are ways to get around this, but we’re talking of a matter of convenience. It should come as no surprise as the camera is five years old, but still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Second, the Electronic Viewfinder lag. I’ve noticed that sometimes the EVF decides to act up and as a result there will be some significant latency in the EVF. This for me is a bit of a deal breaker as I am not an LCD shooter.

Few things I am indifferent about. 50 Megapixels. While 50MP is more than enough in most cases, what I notice with a 4x3 sensor is that unless I am shooting specifically for instagram, I am required to crop in post. In order to maintain a composition I am happy with, I have to sacrifice image quality. With the GFX 100 I’ve never worried about image degradation doing this, but with the 50, in some cases I have noticed it’s limitations. And yes, I could just shoot in a different aspect ratio, but part of the beauty with a 4x3 sensor is the composition.

Takeaway. What i’ve learned shooting with the Fujifilm GFX 50s is that for studio work it is still most definitely a viable option. The fact that the camera is five years old, yet still has features that I actually prefer over the flagship camera is quite impressive. I think that if Fujifilm came out with an update to the 50MP GFX camera, it would have my name written all over it.

10/09/2020

Is film viable in the studio?

This is a question I've been asking myself more and more as time goes on. The "Film Look" has become quite a popular term amongst the photography community. The praise film receives is an interesting juxtaposition during a time where photoshop composites, CGI and heavy edited images dominate advertising. Our digital cameras are adept at communicating with state of the art strobes making the ex*****on of very technical images much easier with digital. This was my first studio shoot using a film camera to supplement the digital images, and the results were surprising, despite the challenges.
No doubt, it is possible to add a flash, or strobe to a film camera, however - not all film cameras can use strobes, and not all strobes are compatible with all film cameras. In more complex lighting scenarios the photographer may need a light meter to find the correct lighting ratios for a given scene. And then there's the fact that you have no sample image to view to see whether or not you are achieving the look you desire. Some photographers use digital cameras to test the lighting first, and then switch to their film camera - however, we are talking about convenience here and whether or not it the look film provides is worth the extra effort. In other words, In order to answer whether or not film is viable one must ask how much they value convenience, and whether or not the look film produces outweighs the convenience of producing a digital image.
Below are two images from my most recent shoot. The first image was shot with 35 mm film and the second with a 100 megapixel medium format digital camera. Let's ignore the fact that my digital camera has a larger sensor than my film camera - and many film photographers who shoot studio portraits use a medium format film camera. How do you think the film photo holds up compared to the edited digital image?
Disclaimer, the film photo was not edited, and I did not have a compatible strobe or remote so I was limited to the modeling lights on my strobes - which meant less light was hitting the model.
In the digital image, the magenta and blue gels stand out as well as the smoke. I've dodged and burned the photo in photoshop and used tone curves, to name a few extra steps. While the two photos have different compositions, it is hard to refute the fact that the digital image is more technical, yet, there is something about the film image, I suppose, a "film look". The gradient from light to shadow is so subtle, maybe because of how well the grain sits on the image. The magenta gel has turned a bit red (probably due to the film stock) but is also more natural looking, and overall there is a nostalgic feeling to the image, which I suppose I was going for to begin with.
To answer the question of whether or not film is viable in the studio - it depends. Ask yourself what emotion or aesthetic you are trying to convey and whether or not film can help advance that vision. In this case, despite the composition maybe not being the best way of telling the story, I think that the qualities of film definitely helped convey a sense of nostalgia. Overall, I am happy with how the image turned out, and will definitely be using film in the studio to supplement my digital images in the future!

09/04/2020

The before and after from my most recent shoot. How I turned a vision into a story.