I have never thought about shooting in the woods before - always thought it was a cheesy place, but I'm in talks with a model and may have a shoot lined up in the near future.

Just wondered if anyone had any tips about shooting with all the greenery around. It's liable to be quite a bright day I think and I'm after a dark, even sinister, feel to some of the shots.

For those who don't know me, I don't have tonnes of kit - a couple of flashes (SB600 and an ancient Metz head) and some diffusers.

Thank you for any comments or advice. I will put some shots up after the event if/when it happens.

Jonathan

Yep ... find a small clearing with a bit of sun poking through and use it as a hair light
Fill with flash, use the techniques i know you know for balancing the ambient

Get the model to interact and use the trees/branches not just stand next to one ... get on them, move around them

If you wanna go for that sinister feel, find some more dead/bare trees/branches and have the model hiding behind them, drop the ambient another stop or so, use branches to create shadows on the model etc

Woods shoots are great fun if the models up for playing with the setting

Mr Wall! May i just say it's nice to see you in the forum other than stopping a silly fight breaking out

If it were me going into the woods for a shoot i'd lean more towards the sinister side of things. I'd also go for a late afternoon shoot or an early morning shoot so the sun isn't directly over head and more coming in from the side, you've got more chance of getting those shafts of light then.

This is just me but.. I would purchase a few smoke pellets from a joke shop and use maybe half at a time to emphasize the light shafts, you'll get that horror movie effect then. Set one off and let it settle you'll be amazed with the effect!

Good luck with what ever you choose to do and welcome back to the land of togging, it's all down hill from here


Freddie.

Thanks Peeps for all the great advice - I do hope to make one of the sets a bit on the sinister side and have some ideas although it's very much dependent on what the model's up for. I am hoping to get this shoot sorted at some point - it was going to be the end of August and I'm not sure what happened.

I'll let you guys and girls be the first to see them though (well after myself and the model of course!).

Thanks again.

J