Fields of Gold

A good landscape photographer needs to excel in a variety set of skills. He/She needs to be a pre-visualizer and a person who truly understands lighting, composition and skilled in Photoshop. On top of that, knowledge on meteorology, topography and copious amount of patience play a big deal. It is the former set of skills that scored me great shots in landscape but my type-A personality prevented my photographs from rising into the stratosphere work of geniuses (the likes of Ansel Adams).

However, I do understand the basic requirements. I have shot my share of great landscape throughout the world, from the luscious rain forest and great ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia; to the Antelope Canyon in Arizona; to the 3000 year old ancient Bristlecone forest in the White Mountains.

My experience with landscape photography allowed me to utilize some of my skills in that arena to be applied to the arena of modeling photography. Case in point is my recent modeling portfolio shoot with Katie Sue and Madeline of Look Modeling Agency. The shoot was fraught with disasters back in December with two cancellations due to family emergencies with the crew. "Third time is a charm," I said. And it was. Christal Saville helped with both hair and makeup. She's quite the multi-talented whiz, helped tremendously with picking the wardrobe as well.

After finishing up with the indoor studio shots, we adjourned to a field of yellow wild flowers, a location I selected specifically for this shoot. It is truly about timing and planning. These fields of golden flowers do not last very long, about a week or two at most each year. So, to catch them on full bloom is quite an amazing sight to behold.

Capturing such a large field of flowers without diverting the attention of the images from the model is a key compositional skill that is needed. The point to remember is that this is a model shoot. The subjects are the model and the beautiful field is only secondary that compliments the subjects.

Using elements such as those that shows the size of the fields (using the horizon line and blue sky), color matching (dress colors to match the flowers), knowing when the sun will set (timing for the best lighting), how to use the shadow of objects in the vicinity, will all help to craft the final art form. Rapport with the models to contribute towards great expressions will pay big dividends as well.

So, as you can see, photography isn't just a single point of mastering one or two skills but rather about gaining proficiency in a multitude of skills. These skills range from soft (people) to technical, and together create a work of art that elevates a photographer from someone who merely records an event to an artist that can create masterpieces.

- Michael Soo