Laurel & Hardy

[Ian D J]

I've always been told that when I grin, I look like Stanley.
So, since the weather was being appalling, and thanks to the wonders of digital imagery, I decided to have a little photo shoot in my room, then had a play about with the images in my favourite paint program . . . and came up with this picture.

You may take the micheal out of me, or you may think of it as a great photography idea but I like to think of this picture as a homage to the greatest comedy duo this planet had ever witnessed.
It goes without saying that I am a HUGE Laurel & Hardy fan and I think their brand of comedy is timeless. Even though they came into existence 90 years ago, nothing I see on the telly these days can come anywhere near the geniuses who are Stan & Ollie.

 

[Tyke Tiler]

Superb! Fantastic! Bravo Ian! You can look like him!
The idea and effort is amazing, the lighting could be a little more dynamic and have some more contrast, maybe I could encourage a bit of off camera flash? the background could do with being much further away too mate.

T.

 

[Betty]

Haha, awesome

Agree with Tomas about the flash and contrast though, but love the idea

 

[Ian D J]

Glad you like them! Unfortunately, the background (which was an old black bed sheet) has to be that close due to everything taking place in a tiny room (10' x 10').
I've not got one of those off camera flash, are they expensive as I've heard good things said about them? But For now I'm having to rely on the built in flash, but the idea of a bit more shadow about them does seem quite appealing!
The original image was actually darker in nature, which you'll see for yourself:

Does that work better? I only made the whole thing lighter as the bowler hats had the appearance of blending in the background too much. But at the same time, I've found darker backgrounds easier to work with than a white or lighter coloured background.

 

[Betty]

Better

I cant stop grinning at this shot

 

[Ian D J]

Better

I cant stop grinning at this shot

Awww, glad it's having that effect on you. That's why I did it and I think I've really pulled it off!

 

[Tyke Tiler]

Glad you like them! Unfortunately, the background (which was an old black bed sheet) has to be that close due to everything taking place in a tiny room (10' x 10').
I've not got one of those off camera flash, are they expensive as I've heard good things said about them? But For now I'm having to rely on the built in flash, but the idea of a bit more shadow about them does seem quite appealing!
The original image was actually darker in nature, which you'll see for yourself:

Does that work better? I only made the whole thing lighter as the bowler hats had the appearance of blending in the background too much. But at the same time, I've found darker backgrounds easier to work with than a white or lighter coloured background.

I'm hearing you with the space issue, unless I can blag some time at my agents studio I also have minimal space to get creative on my own time.

RE off camera flash, basically mate, I use flash guns!
Here's a viddie that explains a little about the names of the bits of kit and how to use it:
[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKAD7leNOVY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKAD7leNOVY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

There are many places that sell this stuff and in truth alot of it can be found either second hand on ebay for cheap and even new for a price that can be met without having to harness the power of manifesting money out of thin air.
2 flashes is a great number to begin with. Any questions see here:
www.strobist.com in the lighting 101 section

T.

 

[Ian D J]

I'm hearing you with the space issue, unless I can blag some time at my agents studio I also have minimal space to get creative on my own time.

RE off camera flash, basically mate, I use flash guns!
Here's a viddie that explains a little about the names of the bits of kit and how to use it:
[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKAD7leNOVY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKAD7leNOVY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

There are many places that sell this stuff and in truth alot of it can be found either second hand on ebay for cheap and even new for a price that can be met without having to harness the power of manifesting money out of thin air.
2 flashes is a great number to begin with. Any questions see here:
www.strobist.com in the lighting 101 section

T.

Ta for that post and the explaination. Indeed, space is a real issue, but the idea of using a seperate flash other than the built in one for portrait-type shots really does appeal to me.
Of course, I can use a different lighting source (eg a lamp) when it comes to experimenting with shadows and lighting but as far as I know, it's only effective with static objects.

 

[Tyke Tiler]

Ta for that post and the explaination. Indeed, space is a real issue, but the idea of using a seperate flash other than the built in one for portrait-type shots really does appeal to me.
Of course, I can use a different lighting source (eg a lamp) when it comes to experimenting with shadows and lighting but as far as I know, it's only effective with static objects.

Indeed a continous light source is a possibility but it's a little limited, plus it gets mighty warm when you have a few on the go. In the early days I went out and bought five tungsten lamps, phew it was hot! and all the cables trailing about the place!
The great thing about the strobist technique is that it really can be done cheaply, it can be done expensivley too but to get started and begin producing images with punch and dynamics won't cost the world.
T.