It was March 9, 1999. I was sent to the Los Angeles Convention Center on assignment to document a ‘mass naturalization ceremony’. Keep in mind, at that time, I was a staff photographer for the Press-Enterprise newspaper based in Riverside, CA.
I remember walking in and loading my Nikon F4 with Fujicolor 800 because the interior was dim. I remember thinking back that film was pretty awesome because it could be pushed to 1600 if needed.
I recall thinking I had to find someone who best epitomized a newly made American citizen among a sea of 5000+ faces.
I walked up and down then peered through my 80-200 zoom and finally saw this lady who was so enthusiastic waving her little Stars and Stripes flag.
Those of you who know anything about how a journalist works will understand that just merely taking a picture means nothing.
Caption information about “who, why, what, where & when” was just as important. Don’t believe me? Stop reading here.
My buddy OS Low holds my Godoz TT600 which is inside a Lumiquest softbox powered by 4AA batteries.
A big part of the fun in taking portraits on location is finding a location that you recognize as promising and full of possibilities.
This time while I was still in Penang, OS Low, Johnny Lee and I took a drive to a sleepy neighborhood by the sea called Damar Permatang Laut in the southern tip of Penang Island where the runway for Penang International Airport ends.
Rohaya Roy and her husband by their motorcycle. On the right is my buddy OS Low holding my Godox speed light which has a 1/4 color temp orange gel inside a Lumiquest Softbox
As the ‘director’ of course you could work one or two ways:
Have a concept or idea of how your subject will be dressed then find a location to match it.
Find a location then hope you stumble across someone who is willing to be your subject making the most of what you ‘find’.
Since I was on vacation without much gear, I had to work with the 2nd approach. Find a scenic spot and hope for the best as far as finding a suitable subject.
Pantai Pasir Panjang (Long Sandy Beach) a west-facing beach to the Straits of Malacca on the island of Penang is nearby to the town of Balik Pulau. 1/125 sec f5.6 ISO 200 24mmNur and Syukri posed patiently while I tried my best to relax them using Bahasa the language spoken widely in Malaysia.
When we came across Nur Atilla at Pasir Panjang beach, it was close to noon.
Her husband Mohd Syukri said they had been at the beach since 9 am.
When I inquired as to whether whether Syukri had caught anything. He smiled but didn’t answer. The smirk is universally understood.
Nur Atilla & her husband Mohd Syukri at Pasir Panjang beach were kind enough to pose for me. I later found out they were newly weds. What a cool coincidence. ISO200 1/125 sec f5.6 with my speed light inside the softbox placed about 2 feet away on the top right held by my buddy OS Low.Notice how contrasty the image out of the camera looks?Reverse angle showing the scene.
It was my first time at this west facing beach on Penang Island.
If my recollections were correct this side of the island experienced extensive damage from the Boxing Day tsunami of 2015.
Another view behind the scenes. Photo by Johnny Lee.
At noon the sun is directly overhead just about anywhere and especially here in Malaysia which 3 degrees north of the equator.
Light was not the best for portraiture because of the extreme contrast.
Thankfully there was shade and I at least had my speed lights to help tame it.
I looked around. Then walked a little further. I counted less than 6 people including me and my two photo sidekicks Johnny Lee and OS Low
Map of Penang Island where these 2 portraits were done
In my halting Bahasa I explained I was in need of two subjects to show how gorgeous this scenery was.
Nur and Syukri were happy to help me out.
I put my speed light Godox TT600 inside my beat up Lumiquest softbox, handed it to my buddy OS Low while Johnny Lee grabbed the behind-the-scene pictures.
I of course attached the Godox transmitter on my Canon EOS-R ‘s hotshoe. The Speedlight probably was set a 1/8 or 1/4 power.
Couples are often easier to coax especially newlyweds like them.
Ignore the surrounding, how do you think I did? If you were the couple, would you have been happy? Would you buy the picture?
Other Considerations
I’m sure there are some reading this asking why I didn’t use High Shutter Speed Sync. In this instance I can tell you a 4AA battery speed light inside a softbox has little or no chance of generating enough power to over power the sun.
I would probably end up with a picture that has a darker background but better or prettier? I think not. Also I only had 24-105 mm lens with a maximum aperture of f5.6 so I wouldn’t have been able to blur out the background anyway.
Thankfully these days if you had access to software you can use Adobe camera raw or Lightroom. All you have to do is move some sliders in the LENS BLUR panel, dial in what you want and you have more control. No one way is correct. It’s all in how you want to work.
If you shoot it with the background blur, you don’t have to tweak it in post. But you lose the ability to control how much you can blur the background.
My Crew
Thank you OS Low and Johnny for accompanying me and showing me Balik Pulau, the other side of Penang island on my last trip back.
The 3 amigos at Pantai Essen.. Canon EOS-R triggered by iPhone. Low holds a speedlite to light all 3 of us. Photo taken at Pantai Esen on Penang Island
Photo tips from a creative Southern California photographer
