Sunflowers a DC Cosplay Event

On August 31^st, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots’ meet-up held at Lescher’s Poultry Farm Sunflower Fields. We shot here last year but at the end of the season when the sunflowers were well past peak bloom.  This year, we managed to hit peak bloom; however, we had about 60-75 minutes to shoot because of a major storm with lighting rolling in.  So, I had to shoot very quickly to be able to work with a variety of people as well as be aware of the weather.

For this session I used:

• Canon R6
• 1 Speed light
• Trigger
• 1 Light stands
• 1 small bounce umbrella
• 24 - 105mm lens
• ¼ cut CTO Gel

Camera Settings:

For this shoot, I ended up using ISO 200 and ISO 250.  I think I might have bumped the ISO adjustment at some point, as ISO 250 is an odd ISO.  I used an aperture of F4, which allows me to blur the background but still allows you to see it is a sunflower field.  My shutter speed varied from 1/80s to 1/250s, with the most common shutter speed being 1/250s.  My focal length ranged from 24mm to 96mm, the most common being 24mm.

The Photos:

I used a small bounce umbrella for this shoot to create a softer light than my usual straight-on flash.  I also put a ¼ cut CTO gel on the flash to add warmth to the image as we were supposed to be heading into the sunset; instead, we had an oncoming thunderstorm.  Though the plus with the oncoming storm was we had very interesting cloud formations making for a dynamic sky.

This first image is of Gloria from In the Long Run Designs. For this image, the flash was to my left, just slightly off parallel to the model’s face.  To edit the image, I adjusted the white balance using the white collar of the dress, bringing the exposure down a touch, and up the clarity.  I also reduce the highlights while increasing the whites.  I used a medium contrast tone curve and then pulled down the saturation of the oranges, yellows, and reds.  I then added an orange (shadow) / blue (highlight) color grade.  I added two masks, a radial gradient on the model’s face just to brighten it a touch, and then masked the sky by applying an Adobe Preset called “Blue Drama” to pop the sky from a stormy grey-blue to a lovely blue sky that matches the lighting and overall feel the pose.  I finished the image with a medium vignette.

ISO 200, Aperture F4, Shutter 1/160, Focal Length 43mm

This next image is of the lovely Saragobragh.  I wanted to do something a little different, as I knew most people at the event, including me, would have the faces of the sunflowers in the photo.  I decided to do some with the backside of the flowers.  The thought behind this image was exiting the field.  For this image, the flash was set to my right.  In post-processing, I adjusted the white balance and brought the exposure down a touch while using a medium contrast tone curve.  I also applied a purple (shadow) / yellow (highlight) color grade to the image while in Lightroom.  I then applied three masks, one a radial gradient to the model’s face to brighten it a touch, one to the giant dandelion puff to lighten it up and remove a color cast from it.  Then I applied the Adobe preset called “Blue Drama” to the sky to turn it from grey to blue while keeping all the cloud texture.  Finally, in Photoshop I removed a few insects, and added an overall 5-percent luminous magenta filter that removed a green cast from the image.

ISO 200, Aperture F4, Shutter 1/160, Focal Length 26mm

This final image is of Mirroredmoth, with one last look of the shoulder before disappearing into the sunflower fields look.  For this image, the flash was to my right. For this image, I adjusted the white balance and increased the exposure by a stop.  I then added some clarity and used a medium contrast tone curve.  I then applied a blue (shadow) / orange (highlight) color grade to the image.  I also added two masks, first a radial filter to the model’s face just to lighten it a bit, then a mask to the sky where I again applied the Adobe preset called “Blue Drama” to bring the sky from grey to blue.  I then pulled the image into Photoshop and removed a dress strap that was peeking out, as well as some insects to finish the image.

ISO 250, Aperture F4, Shutter 1/250, Focal Length 35mm

Wrap Up:

This year, the sunflower fields were gorgeous in full bloom; I just wish we had more time to shoot.  Last year, the sunflowers were past peak, and we were working to beat a storm but got about two hours of shooting in.  The sunflowers were at peak bloom this year, but again, we were racing a storm and only had about an hour to shoot.  If we shoot here again next year, maybe the stars will align, and we will have peak bloom, not have to rush, and a lovely sunset as this meet-up is usually scheduled for the evening to capture golden hour. 

Overall, I’m happy with how the images came out.  I’m glad I applied Adobe’s “blue drama” preset to the sky, as I feel it helped elevate the photos without using sky replacement.  Without the preset, the skies would have been a drab grey and not match the foreground.

You can see all the images from the meet-up here: Sunflower Fields II.