Documenting a scene involving a film crew and actors, chief photographer Mike Yoder was faced with some tricky lighting but photo opportunities with repetitive action.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Here is the scene I was presented when I first approached the subjects. Everything was in shade. I choose to base my exposure on the bright background and create a silhouette of the actress. Because of repeated run-throughs of scenes I was also able to predict action and location to better prepare my photograph.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The actress and cameraman are in shade in this photograph, so to get a correct exposure on them I had to overexpose the scene because of the bright background behind them. This could have been a usable image but I later choose to base my exposure on the bright background and create a silhouette of the actress. Because of repeated run-throughs of scenes I was also able to predict action and location to better prepare my photograph.

photo by: Mike Yoder

In this frame the actress has run from the shade to the sunlight where both background and the subject are in correct exposure. But I didn't think the lighting was as interesting or dramatic for the scene. Plus, in these frames the women's face was turned away from my camera.

photo by: Mike Yoder

With the actress and film crew in the shade I choose to base my exposure on the bright background and create a silhouette of the scene. This angle didn't work for me since the actress is shown running away from me. But because of repeated run-throughs of scenes I was also able to move to other positions and predict action and location to photograph.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The silhouetted form of an actress is shown against the brighter water and lilies on the surface of Potter Lake. While the image creates an interesting silhouette and texture, it lacks impact and dynamics.

photo by: Mike Yoder

I settled on this frame because it had a good balance between maintaining the highlights of the lake surface and the actress running in the shade beneath a tree. I photographed the scene to create a silhouette then using Photoshop software I lightened up the actress to reveal some details. The repeated run-throughs of the scene provided a way to predict actions to better prepare for my photograph.