Trying the Prism (Brandon Woelfel style)
What is for sure a characteristic about us photographers, is that we never stop learning, or that's the way it should be.
And with that being said, I can start this first post in my blog telling you about something I tried yesterday and what I think it's gonna be present in my pictures (not all of them, but a few) from now on.
So looking through internet, I came across a few websites with Brandon Woelfel's tutorials and I started wondering why everyone was so obsessed with this photographer.
After a few videos and a quick visit to his website I realized how magical and different his techniques are, and I fell in love a little bit too with his work. In one of those videos, I
saw something that got my attention really quickly: The prism.
I didn't know at first that actually it was something lot of people were using in photography, I thought it was just an "improvised" tool like the CD Brandon uses too.
So I went on amazon and there was the wonderfulness! I sent the link to my husband and he said "Let's get it!" and that was the beginning of our adventure.
We decided to walk around the mall since the Christmas decoration and the lights everywhere were going to be useful for our practice with the new toy.
At first we didn't understand what was the right way to grab it, move it or use it, but after try different things we understood why it was such a cool tool.
When you are surrounded by lights, this tool is perfect to make them part of the scene, creating the same effect as a filter or mask (saving a few hours of trying to find the perfect light and color effect for your photo)
The mall was pretty busy (considering that Christmas is in just one week that was pretty normal). So we decided to go out and see what we could find to keep with the practice.
Exploring the outside part we find a little corner perfect for Brendan's outfit, and I decided to use the prism just a bit in the corner, to add a little bit of color, but I wanted all the attention on him and his look, so I didn't want too many effects on the photo.
I've read that Brandon Woelfel just shoots at dusk and it wasn't the case for us, but the light was so pretty that we didn't care.
Brendan took my camera and the prism and this was the result. I'm trying to teach him and I'm really proud of his skills and his choices.
And again, I'm in love with the effect of the prism in the right of the photo. It's just magical.
The photos with the prism were beautiful but we decided to rest from it and keep taking photos in our style, and Brendan decided to practice a little bit more, which makes me happy because being a photographer I don't get too many photos of myself.
And after the adventure trying the new toy, I decided to edit using some Brandon's (The photographer, not my husband, I know, they have a similar name haha) techniques on lightroom and photoshop, playing a little bit and tryng to find a style that I feel comfortable with, something between what my style is and his style. So now I can show you the before and after:
So if you are thinking on trying and experimenting with the prism, I highly recommend you to do it, it's fun, not expensive and a great tool for creativity!
Never stop learning, that should be our motto.
Tools used in this adventure:
Nikon d7100
Nikon Lens Nikkor 85mm 1.8
Prism
Software:
Photoshop + Lightroom
Music while editing this photos
#photography #brandonwoelfel #photoshop #lightroom #photographytools