Elevn Autumn

On October 25th, I drove up to Clinton, NY, for the Elven Autumn photo event held by Everlore Events. This was an all-day event that included a light lunch with soup, leatherwork vendors, three different styled shooting locations, and a trip to a stable for photos with horses.  I was one of the featured photographers for this event, which meant I was paid to attend and had to provide at least three images of each model I worked with.

For this event, I used:

• Canon R6
• 1 Speed light
• Trigger
• Umbrella
• Gels
• 24 - 105mm lens

Camera Settings:

This was an outdoor shoot with a forested area, a meadow, a pond, and a pasture for the horse sessions.  This event had dynamic lighting conditions because it started fairly sunny, but heavy cloud cover rolled in as the day progressed.  I used ISO 100 and 400, with most shots taken at ISO 100.  My aperture varied from F4 to F13, depending on the amount of background blur I wanted.  Most of my images were shot at F8, primarily for the pond and horse images to ensure greater depth of field.  My shutter speed ranged from 1/40s in the shadiest part to 1/1000s in the sunniest of locations.  My most common shutter speeds for the day were 1/160s and 1/250s.  My focal lengths ranged from 24mm to 105mm, with 24 mm being the most common.   During this shoot, I combined natural and artificial light by bringing a speedlight with an umbrella to act as fill. 

The Photos:

Before I delve into some of the photos from the event, I'd like to briefly discuss the theme, Elven Autumn.  This was a general theme but was supposed to focus on Lord of the Rings type outfits and imagery.  Now I shoot a lot of cosplay, especially Lord of the Rings, so I had some expectations going into the shoot of seeing a variety of Elves and Hobbits instead of general fantasy.  However, one of the nice things about this event was that three men participated with their significant others, so I was able to get photos of male models.  It is challenging to get male model fantasy pictures, even in the cosplay realm.  So, I was very grateful for that.

One of my favorite images from the shoot is of D’lynn and Ben at the horse stables.  For this image, I’m very grateful for Adobe Photoshop’s Remove Tool, which removed a metal fence and a second horse at the edge of the frame.  Beyond the major Photoshop work, I also worked in Lightroom to adjust white balance, exposure, and clarity.  I also added a yellow (highlight) / purple (shadow) color grade to the image to give a more faded, moody look.

Focal Length 25mm, ISO 400, Aperture F8, Shutter 1/125s

This next image is of Amanda.  I like this image because I used the sun as backlight, giving her hair a nice glow.  I then filled with flash located on my left-hand side to get a nice exposure on her face.  In Lightroom, I made basic edits to exposure, white balance, contrast, and clarity.  I also applied an orange (highlight) / blue (shadow) color grade to warm the image and align it with the fall leaves in the background.  The color grade also helped remove the slight blue cast to her skin without affecting the depth of the shadows.  I finished the image with a heavy vignette.

Focal Length 65mm, ISO 100, Aperture F6.3, Shutter 1/250s

This next image is of Hannah, acting as a very regal Elven Princess.  Here again, I used the sun to backlight the image, adding a nice glow.  I filled with a flash, places to my left.  In post, I made basic edits and adjusted some colors via the color mixer to enhance the rich green of the loke and bring out the color of the leaves without turning the model orange.  I then added an orange (highlight) / blue (shadow) color grade to warm the image and add depth to the shadows.  I finished by adding a heavy vignette.

Focal Length 31mm, ISO 100, Aperture F6.3, Shutter 1/160s

This next image is of Nora.  I like this image for the pose and the facial expression.  I get subtle “I’m judging your vibes” from the image.  To light this image, I mostly used a flash angled to my left.  In post, I did all the basic edits.  Then added two radial exposure masks.  The first is on the model’s face to slightly brighten it.  The second mask is an inverse radial mask that follows the angle of the model's body to darken the background to make the model pop.  I also adjusted colors via the color mixer to make the blues pop.  Then, I added an orange (highlight) / blue (shadow) color grade to the image.  I finished the image with a heavy vignette.

Focal Length 31mm, ISO 100, Aperture F5, Shutter 1/250s

This final image is of Ben, who was also the leather worker onsite for the event.  I like this image because he looks like a tracker or D&D ranger.   For this image, I applied basic edits and significantly increased clarity to give it a grittier look.  Then, I added a yellow (highlight) / purple (shadow) to give the image a faded rustic look. 

Focal Length 30mm, ISO 400, Aperture F8, Shutter 1/125s

Wrap Up:

Overall, the event was nice, but I didn’t feel it was as well-organized or as well-attended as the previous event I attended.  I was also a little disappointed, as I was expecting a heavier lean into Lord of the Rings, with some Hobbits and possibly some actual cosplay.  Maybe I should have asked some of my cosplay friends if they wanted to attend the shoot.  I did enjoy working with the horses, but horses know when people are not comfortable around them, and it shows in the photos.  I can do a lot to make a picture look nice, but I can’t Photoshop someone’s discomfort out.  I think the best horse photos I had were of people who were comfortable around horses and had ridden a horse before.  Finally, the heavy clouds rolling in throughout the day really changed the mood of the photos.  They went from light and airy to being a bit moodier due to the lighting and overall environment.    While it was a chilly day with heavy clouds rolling in, making the day go from bright to dreary, I still enjoyed myself.   

You can see all the images from the event here: Elven Autumn