Dandelion

蒲公英

Concept

A summer field is full of giant dandelions. A girl with curly blond hair is standing in the middle of the field. She's wearing white see-through clothes that seem light and airy, just like the surrounding dandelions.

Inspiration

When I was riding a motorbike near my city, I noticed that field with enormously big dandelions. I pictured a beautiful blonde lady wearing something light and see-through amidst the field.

Choice of color

The field was covered with various flowers, which looked quite bright. I didn't want them to distract the viewer's attention. It was necessary to focus the viewer's eye on the lady, dandelions, and airy, light clouds. Therefore, I decided to make the picture almost monochrome and resort to greenish-brown shades. At the same time, I decided to edit the blue color of the sky.

Wardrobe

According to the concept, the girl should wear something light, transparent, and airy so that the viewer should think of dandelions and clouds. I found a lace summer white dress with see-through top fabric and just cut off the lining. It is crucial that the clothes are white; in this case, other colors are not suitable at all.

Background

It was necessary to show a girl surrounded by plenty of dandelions. However, they do not grow in one place, so it took me a while to wander around the field, picking up dandelions one by one. Once I'd done that, I put them on the grass around the girl.

Hair and makeup

I planned to show the face side-on, and the girl was about 3 meters away from the camera, so the makeup was unnecessary. But the hairstyle in this photoshoot played a significant role. Hair had to be as light and airy as dandelions. For this purpose, the girl had her hair permed before the photoshoot. A simple hairstyle would have made the photo more primitive.

Light

The photoshoot took place at 7 pm in natural light. The sun was on the left, slightly behind the model, and beautifully outlined her face, shoulder, and arm. The model was illuminated from behind with a reflector so that the buttocks and back could be clearly traced in the shot.

Posing

The pose in the photo seems simple, but it took around 20 minutes to create the perfect one. I had to take a beautiful side-on picture of her face in the main light, and the girl was supposed to look at a big dandelion she was holding in front of her. The shot should definitely capture breasts that would look nice in see-through clothing. In addition, the body turn had to ensure the girl's beautiful buttock was in the shot.

Camera and optics

Nikon D750, Helios 85 1.5 F1.5 1/2000 ISO 100. Sometimes I use a difficult-to-use old Soviet lens. Despite the difficulties, it produces stunning bokeh at an open aperture, with blurring and "twisting" of the background. It creates a certain artistic effect that I like.

Depth of field

Depth of field is determined by the chosen lens and the fact that it produces the most beautiful bokeh at a fully open aperture.

Shooting angle

The girl's face is filmed side-on, and her body is filmed from behind so that her buttock is visible. At the same time, the left part of the shot, which includes the arm, breasts, and face, is essential. As I said before, the pose may seem simple, but it's difficult to achieve. The camera was placed as high as the top of the girl's head so that the horizon line was slightly above her head and the white clouds did not intersect with her blond hair. If you move the camera to the left or to the right, the parts of the body that look perfect will be less visible. If the camera is lower, the clouds will merge with the hair, and there will be no beautiful light contour on the hair. It makes no sense to raise it any higher because the model's body will be deformed.

Cropping

The picture was cropped in such a way that it shows both the girl and the beautiful dandelion field. Besides, the idea was to show white clouds that match perfectly the dandelions, the girl, her clothing, and her hairstyle.

Expression

The mood I wanted to convey in this photo is the tranquility, calmness, lightness, and airiness of the character. To do so, I appropriately chose numerous elements, and the photo looked harmonious and complete.

Post-processing

The photoshoot took place on a sunny evening, and the sky was clear and cloudless. While processing the photo, I inserted the appropriate cloudy sky from a different photo. The main criterion for choosing clouds was their being white and resembling cotton wool. During the color correction, I had to get rid of unnecessary colors (sky, bright grass, and rich colors) and switch the viewer's attention to the harmony of shapes.

You can view and upload the high-quality “Dandelion” photo to your smartphone via NYMF photo gallery.