New Feature on the Blog
The MagMod Community on Facebook is consistently full of incredible images posted by amazing photographers from all over the world. One glance in the community and your bound to be inspired by what others are creating and learn new techniques and tips from other MagMod users. In a short time, it has become a very popular community on Facebook full of extremely talented photographers. This new feature on the blog is to showcase some of these photographers and share their great images with all of you.
To get this new feature started, I want to introduce you all to Geoff Wilkings.
Based in Calgary, Canada, Geoff lives near the gorgeous Banff National Park. He specializes in shooting weddings and travels anywhere in the world to photograph these events. What caught my eye most about Geoff’s work was his perfect balance of flash and ambient light. The images never looked “flashy”, but yet any trained photographer eye would be able to recognize the level of skill that went into each shot to get them to look the way they did.
Here’s an example, and one of the first images of Geoffs that caught my eye. Shooting this in natural light would render a good photo, but the sun lite landscape behind the couple would be bright and nearly washed out. To create the drama in this image with the mountains and clouds Geoff knew he would need to underexpose the picture by about two full stops. By doing that, though, the couple would naturally be underexposed. To light them properly Geoff placed two Canon 600 Speedlites near the feet of the guests in the first row with a MagSphere on each.
Geoff says that his favorite MagMod modifier is the MagGrid – and I can see why. He loves that precise control of light as you can see in his images featured below. He also enjoys using the MagSphere and gels to help soften and control the color of light. Shooting most of his weddings in and around Banff means that Geoff needs to be able to travel light and be able to setup and take down his lighting fast and efficiently. He’s found using Speedlites with the MagMod modifiers help him do just that. As Geoff said, “Knowing one’s gear is super important and having the MagMod setup makes life so incredibly easy.”
Images and Details
Here are some more of Geoff’s tremendous photographs with details from Geoff, himself, describing each shot.
“A MagGrid and MagSphere were used here. Settings were ISO 100, 85mm 1.2 lens at around F2.8. Alexis was actually lit by some gorgeous natural window light but I wanted something different after getting the typical window lit shots. I pulled out my MagMod modifiers and I was able to override the natural light with ease. The area in the back went dark due to the rapid drop off with light. Sometimes it’s about just doing things different to create those images that stand out.”
“I shoot a lot in The Canadian Rockies so I’m always after a something different. This photo I shot with the 70-200 2.8 Canon Lens. It was around F11 at 1/200th, ISO 100. I used the MagGrid with an OCF + Full CTO MagGel. The key here was to fire the flash into the lens to create a different mood. I love yellow and sunset shots so it was about balancing sunny midday sun and the backlight with moving subjects plus framing the scene and using the flash into the lens. Stars have to align for this shot to work.”
“I asked my client and her hair/make-up artist to come over to the wall area. Having a darker background I knew the background would emerge as black and less to be concerned about. I did want the brides face to be shown, not just silhouetted, so it was a balancing game between ambient light, flash and the action of the makeup powder. I used a MagGrid behind the bride to help bring out the particles of powder in the air.”
“With only minutes to shoot this shot (literally), my mind per usual was about ambient light and what I wanted to do with it. Override it, or brighten thing up. In this case, I wanted to bring down the brighter areas in the valley, but to a point where the trees on the left still had detail in them. I underexposed the shot by a stop or two. In order to get the couple to pop from the background I had my assistant, Cassie, hide behind them. The Speedlight she was holding had a MagGrid and 1/2 CTO MagGel on it. I love this shot as I remember that so much was taking place and with zero time to waste. The bride and groom were laughing so much as I was motivated and on fire to get a ton of great shots in a matter of seconds.”
“Two Speedlights, each with MagSpheres. The key for me was to darken down the ambient light, and then used a bit of flash to put light exactly where I wanted it. Settings were around ISO 400, f2, 1/100th with a Canon 50mm 1.2 lens. One of my favorite go-to lenses.”
“Shot at f11 at 1/125th, ISO 200 with a Canon 16-35 2.8 lens. I climbed up as high as I could so that I could photograph Lauren’s dress plus capture the lake and some of the boat house to the left as well as some of the mountains. I used 3-speed lights here, each with MagGrids to contain the direction of light. One was up high, one towards the middle and then lastly on the dress. Flash does wonders to a photo as it makes it more punchy which is definitely my style.”
See More of Geoff’s Work
To see more of Geoff’s work be sure to check out his website, Instagram and Facebook page. Also, if you are not already a member be sure to join the Facebook Community where you can see images that Geoff shares there as well as many other skilled photographers.