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PHOTOGRILL: Why did you make the photo of the exorcist?

PHOTOGRAPHER: I photographed Bob Larsen for Metro a section in the Age in 2005, he was the Exorcist that had a run in with John Saffran on his popular ABC TV series ’John Saffran Vs. God’. The footage Saffron shot with Larsen was pretty disturbing. I asked Saffran (we did a photo shoot for A2 a few weeks before) about the ‘possession’ he had apparently experienced on the show and he assured me he hadn’t been hamming it up and that he had no idea what had happened that night.

PHOTOGRILL: How were you planning to photograph him?

PHOTOGRAPHER: With some trepidation I set off to meet the Exorcist at The Westin Hotel in Melbourne. Hotel rooms are probably the worst place you can do a photo shoot in. So I took him to the City Square to could use St Paul’s Cathedral as a suitable ‘gothic’ backdrop. I asked him to bring his bible and I set up a Norman flash unit with a soft box. Norman flash units are portable studio type flash heads with large battery packs for use on location when power isn’t available. Soft boxes or grids etc can be attached to the heads. These days I use a set of Elinchrom Quadra Rangers which are highly portable and come with wireless remotes so you don’t have to mess with synch cables. I use small Manfrotto light stands that attach together for easy carrying.

It was the middle of the day and I wanted to do the ‘day for night’ effect where you light up the subject and underexpose the background by several f stops. Exorcists don’t look very spooky in the middle of the day and I wanted him outside, so I controlled the light by turning the flash unit to high power, used a low ISO and closed my aperture right down for a more atmospheric result.

PHOTOGRILL: How How did the photo shoot go?

PHOTOGRAPHER: I started shooting and then all of a sudden three Ravens flew out from the bell tower and my flash unit failed and refused to work again for the rest of the shoot. I was really annoyed as I reviewed the shots on the back of my Canon 1Ds as I’d missed THE shot. In one frame Bob was beautifully lit and in the next the ravens were perfectly positioned but Bob was a silhouette. The exorcist assured me that I was not the first photographer or cameraman to have ‘technical’ difficulties while attempting to photograph him. (oooh spooooky)

Anyway I wasn’t about to let the ‘dark forces’ beat me so I used some modern day magic, Adobe Photoshop, to make a composite of the the adjoining frames and voila.

PHOTOGRILL: So are you an artist or story telling press photographer?

PHOTOGRAPHER: I think most press photographers these days are a combination of artist and story teller. If I’d just shot the Exorcist sitting on a seat in his hotel room it would have been rather dull so you try to get a little creative by choosing locations and lighting techniques and hopefully a bit of luck to make the shot more dynamic and tell the story you want to tell. Sometimes you can get pretty abstract with what you shoot but you still have to tell a story. Perhaps an example of this is a shot of mine that was published recently with a story on bad weather. I photographed a kids’ sandpit filled up with water. It’s kind of abstract but it tells a story in a different way rather than just photographing people running with umbrellas, like you’ve seen a hundred times.

a a This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 3:46 pm. It is filed under Fairfax Photographers, The Grill and tagged with Creative Photography, Lighting, People, Photographic Techniques, Portraiture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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Sometimes, even a fleeting thought about your wedding day can be a stressful event in itself. So, if you can’t afford a wedding planner or you’ve decided to take it on yourself, here are a few tips to help you calm your nerves.

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Knowing that everything has been thought of well in advance, approved, changed and approved again and is now in place, will help you to know that your day will go smoothly. There are a range of online and app form wedding planners, so in case you don’t have an actual person to think of everything for you, then there’s an electronic version instead. Usually free, it can help you deal with every aspect of your wedding, from invitation tracking to seating plans.

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Though making it yourself is a money saver, unless you have hoards of helpers, it can be a massive black hole with regards to time. Especially when you want save the date cards, invitations, menus, programmes, etc all in the same theme. Have someone make the stationary and relieve the pressure of deadlines, shoddy workmanship and unimpressed guests.

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Anxiety about walking down the aisle (or the processional) with everyone watching can be quite overwhelming for some. To alleviate some of the stress, consider walking down with flats on and that way you know you won’t fall or stumble. You can change into something with a heel a bit later and show them off then.

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The speeches can be among the most stressful moments for those in the wedding party leading up to the wedding. Perhaps it’s your shy, gentle father or two best men, or someone who doesn’t traditionally make a speech at a wedding, but everyone get’s at least a little bit nervous before their wedding speech. What can make it particularly nerve-wracking is the fact that you’ll want to move people, whether that’s to laughter or tears. If you’re not a writer, or a particularly good public speaker, then consider hiring a speech writer. Always make sure they have good testimonials, and remember that you don’t have to read it if you don’t think it’s good enough. For a good speech writer who will get to know you and what you want to convey, and consult with you on it, visit www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk.

Wedding Planning News Around The Web

1. David Tutera Talks Wedding Planning via Youtube
2. Beautiful Winter Wedding Details via Huffingtonpost

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Tagged as: Tips and Techniques

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: WPD TEAM
Aurora Gatbonton and the rest of the WPD Blog Team wants you to get hitched with creativity, style, and technology. Brought to you by iFoto Xpressions Studio

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The invites are among the most important things that you need to think about for your wedding. They are the first taste that your guests get of your wedding, of what the tone, style or theme of your wedding will be.

Write a list of everyone you want to attend your wedding, and how many invites they will need. Generally families and couples will only need one, but young adult children within the families may want their own- particularly if you want their partners to attend.

There are a lot of stationary that you need if you want to give your guests as much information as possible.

These initially inform your guests of your engagement, get them to ‘save the date’ and give them the very first hint of your wedding. This is why it is important to figure out whether your wedding will be formal, casual, or romantic.

Not as simple as they sound, wedding invitations should ideally have included the invite itself, RSVPs, Order of Service (if you’re getting married in a church, or Order of Day if not) and information such as maps, places to stay and gift registration. Remember to include a date on RSVPs, so you know who is attending and who is not. If your guests to the ceremony and guests to the reception differ, then you will also need to think about this, and make sure you don’t mix up who is going to which part of your day.

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You can either decide to send individual seating plans to everyone, for ease of consultation, or have one at the venue itself to be consulted on arrival.

If you have a seating plan, then place cards will be necessary. Order over the necessary amount, in case of mistakes.

This obviously depends on your wedding. If it’s informal, with a buffet, then a menu may not be necessary. If it’s a set menu, you’ll need to take into account special dietary requirements and request this knowledge well beforehand. This may mean that you should include a menu on the table to remind guests what they will be eating.

Thank you cards are always a lovely gesture that lets your guests know how important they are to you for attending your wedding.

There are a wide range of different styles out there, so you must think about your own personalities and the theme of your wedding and choose a design that reflects this. Look for value for money but a quality design- cheap wedding invitations UK.

Wedding Stationary News Around The Web

1. Wedding Trends 2013: The Hottest Invitation Trends via Huffingtonpost
2. Design Trend: Monograms via Washingtonpost

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Tagged as: Tips and Techniques

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: WPD TEAM
Aurora Gatbonton and the rest of the WPD Blog Team wants you to get hitched with creativity, style, and technology. Brought to you by iFoto Xpressions Studio

View the original article here