Rajasthan Trip and a Tube Well Dip!

Hi,

Rajasthan, a brand name itself. People across the world relate India with so many things and places but I am sure Rajasthan has topped the list, and is certainly a name which has become synonym to India. Though I have never been to the heart of Rajasthan; where sand dunes have spread over miles and gypsies gathering in the evening, dancing on folk tunes and camels sitting beside them. But who would miss a chance to visit a Rural Rajasthani Village and that too for a photo shoot. So when I heard that one of my friends had organized this photo shoot session for me, I was dancing with a joy. I was really fortunate enough to get this wonderful experience of life. Thanks to Ravi! It was him who got us there. His family still lives here, but he has come out from his village in search of better prospects in life. 

So we packed our bags and headed towards Jaipur from New Delhi, which became our center point for the next couple of days. We stayed in the Welcome Lodge situated in heart of the city, MG Road. I was accompanied by my younger brother Udit and his friends Pompy and Dumpu. We drove in my brother’s car and that journey itself was fun and while listening to the music, catching up on things we reached Jaipur. In Jaipur we were greeted by one of our friend, Sardar Singh. He was working as a Manager in a restaurant called Moti Mahal, it’s one of the famous chain of restaurants in India and believe me the kind of food you get there is outstanding and incomparable. He showed us his restaurant’s kitchen and introduced us to his warm and friendly staff. So I asked them if they are fine doing a photo shoot with me and they agreed happily. Next day we came with our equipments and took few shots. That was a random photo shoot which got accomplished amazingly. Thanks to Sardar Singh! Here are few shots from that session:

So this photo shoot came to me as a bonus :) and we headed to our main destination the very next day, the date was 15th March 2010. It was a hot and a sunny day but we were quite comfortable inside our car. We picked up Ravi from his Coaching Institute and proceeded towards his village called Jujharpura in Tonk District, Rajasthan. It took us around 1.5 hours to reach his village from Jaipur. The road was quite narrow and we could hardly see any vehicles moving around.

We reached there at 3:30 PM so we had only around 2-3 hours to shoot in daylight. The sky was clear and the light was perfect for the shoot. We assembled our equipments and got ready for the shoot. We were talking to people and shooting their natural portraits. Ravi introduced us to them and they all were very happy to get their photographs clicked. In the midst of answering their queries we continued our photo shoot. After clicking quite a few photos we took a break for a few minutes, while taking a break we saw this little boy trying to climb up on the Buffalo to get his photo clicked that way…and we thank him for that.

By now we had taken shots of families, individual, oldies, grannies, children and almost entire village was out of their houses to witness this photo shoot and we felt as if we were some movie directors or something :). The whole experience and feeling was awesome.

This is Ravi’s Grandfather and Grandmother:

Few of My Favorites:

Behind the Scenes Video:

Here’s a link to the entire light box of this shoot:

 

We had achieved what we wanted. Now it was time to go back to New Delhi. We started off at around 1:00 PM from Jaipur and when we were about 110 kms away from Delhi, everyone decided to take a plunge into a Tube Well which was catching our eyes while traveling and we crossed many of them earlier - until we stopped over at one. Now that’s where the fun begins…it was a hot and a sunny afternoon and the temperature outside must be around 40 Degree Centigrade. Every one took off their clothes and jumped straight into the Tube Well after taking permission from his owner and a Caretaker. That Tube Well which was meant for the irrigation purposes - was surrounded by the Barley Fields all around and the scenic beauty and was mesmerizing. We had a good time. After spending about half an hour playing inside the Tube Well the Photographer inside me came up with an idea to shoot in the Barley fields as I had never done it before and I was very excited to see the final results. I asked them to come out from the Tube Well and give a few poses for me in the fields. They all were so co-operative and excited during the entire shoot. I made them jump till the time I would get my desired shot. And the results were brilliant!

Here are few Videos and “Rang De Basanti” Shots from that fun filled photo session:

Now I am wondering when will I ever have this kind of journey and photo shoot again. Will share that too… :) Drop me a line if you need any further info on this setup and shoot @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography

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Vikram Raghuvanshi

Black Portraits – Home Made Setup Explained…

Hi, I have talked about on how to create a Home Made Setup to shoot on a White Background. Today I’ll share my experiences with you on how I shoot on a Black Background.

Shooting on a Black Background is comparatively easy vs. shooting on a White Background, and I find results better on a Black Background simply because of the mystery and warmth attached to these images.

I’ll pick up this example and will explain you the setup I used to shot this image:

That’s my friend Sunil, we did this photo shoot late in the evening to avoid any sunlight coming from the window as we were living on the sixth floor during that period. I used my living room as usual for this setup and photo shoot.


Equipment used:

Camera: Canon 400D DSLR

Lens: Canon 50mm F1.8

Strobe Light 250 Watts (1 Nos.)

Remote Flash Trigger

Black Satin Backdrop

Curtain Rod (which was already there)

Dining Table (whose height was around 3Ft.)

Black Portraits – Home Made Setup

First, install your Backdrop, I have used my window curtain rod but you can use the backdrop stand if you have. Backdrop texture is of a satin material which if placed on light background becomes a bit transparent and will give you problems in post processing, so I would suggest you use a thick black material cloth or at least place your satin backdrop on a dark background. It becomes somewhat “see through” when you try to increase the brightness while doing the processing. Plain Black colored wall would be a best option.

Ok. Now place your Strobe light on the table and make it face towards the wall in 45 Degree angle so that the light bounce back and fall on your Model, not direct. The distance between the Strobe Light and the wall should be around 2 Ft. Get ready with your camera and place it on your tripod. Keep a distance of around 3.5 Ft. from the model. Distance might change depending upon the lens configuration and the kind of framing you want to choose, close up or till waist length.

Switch on the Light, Camera & Action!

Here are few shots clicked on this setup with a bit of twist in the placement of Strobe light:

I hope you find this piece of information useful. Drop me a line if you need any further info on this setup and shoot @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography

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Vickramh

Photo Shoot on a White Background: Home Made Setup

Hi,

Here’s the home made setup, to shoot on a White Background. Many of us including me find it difficult to shoot seamlessly on a white background. Being associated with the stock images, I find it very useful to have a collection of people portraits on a white background. Simply because the usability of the images multiplies when you shoot on a plain background - as most of the time designers want to place cut outs of the people on their customized designs; which makes it easier for them too.

So, I’ll try to share and explain the setup I made to get seamless images on white background.

Let’s list out the things we need for this kind of Setup: (Please refer image below)

1 - Foam boards - 8x4 ft (2 nos) Costs me around Rs 900 per sheet. Stick on the wall with a Adhesive
tape.

2A-2B - L shaped Wooden Panel – 7ft High and Two feet Wide so if you fold it the one leg of ‘L’ would be 1 ft Wide. I got it done from one of local Hardware Shop and it costs around Rs 1200 in total.

3A-3B – Strobe Lights (2 nos) which will be focused on the Background ONLY.

4 - Foam boards - 8x4 ft (2 nos) Costs me around Rs 900 per sheet. Placed on the floor and properly
connected with the foam boards (1) coming down from the wall.

5 - Place where our model will be standing/sitting

6 - Main Light

White Background: Home Made Setup

Let’s talk about the distances between the props. After putting the Foam Boards (1,4) in place, install your Strobe Lights (3A,3B) in a straight line from the edges of the Foam Boards with a distance of 3-3.5 ft and turn the focus of the light towards the Background (1); say around 20 degrees. Now place your Wooden Panels (2A-2B) covering the Strobe Lights such that the reflection of the flash should not fall on the Model; this is quite useful technique to avoid extra light falling on Model’s Head and Shoulders from behind or on the entire Body edge - in case of a full length shot.

Now, ask your Model to stand in the middle (5) of your Foam Boards (1,4) and make sure that the distance between the wooden panels and your Model should be at least 5ft, ideally it should be more say around 7-8 ft but being a Home Setup we need to manage it within the area we have.

You can now place your Main Light (6) in whichever side you want and start shooting. I have used 50mm fixed focal lens from Canon for this series. The other main aspect to look at is your F Stops. If you are getting F 22 on your background lights then the Main Light should read F11 you try increasing it to say F13 or F14, in this way your main model will look little dark and under exposed but when you do a post processing and when you increase the exposure or brightness you will get Pure White Background and with your Model/Subject exposed appropriately. I have to do bit of post processing because of the lights falling back on the subject too harsh. The reason is nothing but the constraint of the space. Hope I’ll have a proper studio setup soon, where I don’t have to move our Sofa/Couches and Tables to make space in our living room for this setup.

Here are few shots I clicked on this setup:

I hope you find this piece of information useful, may be a bit of it, if not all… Drop me a line if you need any further info on this setup and shoot @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography

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Vickramh

Managed Lightboxes @iStockphoto - Series...

Have a look at my Managed Lightboxes @iStockphoto

Indian Business People

Vetta Collection

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Vickramh