How I Got the Shot with Jared Platt

Jared Platt is a professional wedding and lifestyle photographer from Phoenix, Arizona. Jared holds a Masters of Fine Arts in the Photographic Studies and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography from Arizona State University and has been a professional photographer and college educator for the past 12 years and has been a speaking, debating and lecturing for the past 17 years. His attention to detail and craft make him a demanding photography instructor. Jared has lectured at major trade shows and photo conferences as well as at universities around the world on the subject of photography as well as workflow. Currently, Jared is traveling the United States and Canada teaching and lecturing on photography and post production workflow. Website: https://jaredplatt.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaredplatt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaredplatt This image was shot in northern Arizona at Slide Rock State Park for Luca Magazine. In this shot there was a lot going on, with the river, blue sky, rocks, and our three models and of course, the sun is as bright as can be. Because it was for a double truck spread in a magazine, the direction of the shot was fixed and so was the frame, so we couldn’t just simply turn them away from the sun, the issue had to be dealt with. To get the light right, we used an extra-large Profoto translucent umbrella to shade the models from the sun, then we used two Profoto B1 off camera lights (one with a Profoto 2×3 RFi Softbox and the other with a Magnum Reflector) to re-light them. Of course, to fully shade the girls and to soften the light, we needed the umbrella and the light close to the models, so they were brought into the right side of the frame.  With the girls on the left of the frame and a mess of lights and scrims and assistants on the right side of the frame, we needed the help of a tripod and our tethering tools. We put our camera on a tripod so that it wouldn’t move throughout the shot, and tethered the camera to our laptop so we could see the shot perfectly. As we photographed the girls, the art director watched for the perfect shot, since the scene and the crop were not changing, she could focus completely on the models’ poses, hair and clothing.  One we had an approved shot, the model’s left the frame and the assistants pulled the lights and we quickly took the final shot, which was a background with no changes to the framing, the focus, or the exposure.  A quick confirmation between the AD’s pick and the background was made by toggling back and forth between the two shots to confirm we had the right match and we called it a wrap for the shot. By tethering this shot, we were able to get an instant approval from the client, and be absolutely certain that our composite was going to work before we moved onto another shot. I shot the image using a Canon 5Ds R, which was tethered to my Apple laptop using a TetherPro USB cable and TetherBoost to maintain a stable, reliable connection. Our ThinkTank Sun Screen was shielding the laptop on a Tether Table Aero so we can clearly see the screen in bright conditions. For a shot like this, I’ll use a tripod so that I can pull my equipment in and get much more power out of my lights. Then, I’ll check the computer screen with the client to ensure we got it right, and move out the lights, taking one more shot, and I know they’ll match because we’re lined up and the tripod hasn’t moved.