Love this! But how the heck?

The stuff in front of them could light stick/wand combined with a low shutter speed.

But the stuff round the back of their head sorry, looks like a photoshop job to me. Its the way the light goes into the side of the seconds lasses head...
 
It's a composite of three images. The background image is a mono of the girls, the light trail will probably be a torch moved around at night on a long exposure and a cut and paste of the image of the glass an bottle. All separate layers in Photoshop, the light trail has a reduced opacity so has a see through effect. Look at the heads of the girls and see that the light trails are not very convincing in terms of disappearing behind their heads.
The attached photo below is one of my humble efforts of Model Suzi Williams, which is a composite of 2 photos. Suzi was not at the Church and the Church was shot in daylight!
View attachment 21080
 
Guessing slow shutter & confirmed it's some sort of light stick, the photographer ran around the people with this "wand" - left before I got in as I had another job on so couldn't see what exactly was going on

There's a whole album of these type shots from the shoot

Would love to know how it's done :) im intrigued
 
Last edited:
Trevor Quinn said:
Guessing slow shutter & confirmed it's some sort of light stick, the photographer apparently ran around the people with this "wand"
There's a whole album of these type shots from a shoot in this bar.

Would love to know how it's done :)
Click to expand...


You've just worked out how it's done. It's pretty simple really.

Strong flash with slow shutter. Use large DOF and low iso. This could have been improved quite a lot if the photographer got that balance right.
 
Certainly a tripod job then, which I'd be wary of using in a hectic bar without someone to watch out for it & some drunken plank trying to knock it over
 
I don't think the light stick was at the venue, its an entirely separate image with everything removed except the trail itself.
 
HarveyM said:
I don't think the light stick was at the venue, its an entirely separate image with everything removed except the trail itself.
Click to expand...

Stick was present - was the talk of all the barstaff I work with that night, they're now looking me to get hold of one!
 
So if that was a light whizzed around the girls, with a flash on a camera : all you need to do is work out the shutterspeed, ISO, aperture and flash strength/duration ... and Bob's yer uncle!
It should take you about five minutes to replicate, if you can find a tall assistant with fast legs and long arms that would help.
(Or just photoshop the mutha)
 
Personally, as a piece of pro photography, I think it's bloody awful.
The key light is hard and careless, the light painting is untidy due to subject movement (the line cutting through the head of one of the girls.

And to top it off - spot colour! :eek:

Not even done properly.
 
Last edited:
I agree with Phil. It looks more like a quick PS job for somebody's facebook page rather than a paid pro job.
 
Phil V said:
Personally, as a piece of pro photography, I think it's bloody awful.
The key light is hard and careless, the light painting is untidy due to subject movement (the line cutting through the head of one of the girls.

And to top it off - spot colour! :eek:

Not even done properly.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Awful image.
 
It's not my field of photography but when I first saw it I did think it was a very poorly put together piece of amateurish tat. My dog could have done a better job!!!
 
it does look like the light stick has been added after the event either that or the photographer bashed the poor girl on the side of the head with it and whats going on the bottom right and corner ?
 
The second one in looks like she's being shot with a laser beam, not a good look.
 
Looks terrible! Definitely has elements of Photoshop
 
Does anyone know who the photographer is? Im sure they would appreciate the chance to discuss the critique being given.
 
Have to say that circle of colour looks like an add-on in post. Would be much easier that way and the shutter speed doesn't look long enough for it to be done in-camera. I wonder if the light stick was just a bit of theatre from the photographer.

As for the quality, who cares what we think if customers obviously love it?
 
Nikon_Nick said:
Does anyone know who the photographer is? Im sure they would appreciate the chance to discuss the critique being given.
Click to expand...

They might also like to know that their picture is being used here, apparently without reference or credit ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
They might also like to know that their picture is being used here, apparently without reference or credit ;)
Click to expand...

It's on Facebook so arguably public domain, and a bunch of togs are talking about it - something that would never have happened without it being posted here. ;)
 
Last edited:
ancient_mariner said:
It's on Facebook, so arguably public domain.
Click to expand...


I thought Forum rules stated if it's not your pic you have to post it via a link and not post the image directly into the thread.
 
Yup we may think that the image is pants, as presented, but it's out of context and therefore completely missing the point.

The shot is part of an extended marketing campaign by Hennessy in Northern Ireland and it's all shot to a theme:

https://www.facebook.com/HennessyNI

It's not meant to be stunning photography, it's about engaging with a target audience on social media and product promotion.

On that basis, I think that it's eye-catching and it serves a purpose.


HoppyUK said:
They might also like to know that their picture is being used here, apparently without reference or credit ;)
Click to expand...

There's enough detail there for me to source the image!

Besides which, it's a hotlink to an image hosted on Facebook and therefore perfectly acceptable practice according to the EUCtJ.
 
My apologies for inserting the image without linking it

The light wand or "LED on stick" was indeed used on location as staff & customers were raving about it.

What I'd like to know is where to source one, as I have other ideas for using it - if anyone knows I'd very very grateful :)
 
It's a flash drag shot. Shots like this are taken every night of the week in bars and clubs usually done a lot better than this too! Photoshop?? Nah.
 
Last edited:
Jayst84 said:
Love all the Photoshop theories and bashing the light quality. It's a shot in a bar, one of hundreds taken every week. Flash on camera, wave a light stick around, quick 5 second spot colour job, post to Facebook. It's not a full on ad shoot with models, lighting rigs and a post production team.
Click to expand...
I can see what it is.

The fact that it's being used as part of an advertising campaign when it's of that quality is what I'm surprised by (I must be getting old).
 
Muzzieman said:
It's a flash drag shot. Shots like this are taken every night of the week in bars and clubs usually done a lot better than this too! Photoshop?? Nah.
Click to expand...
It didn't come out of the camera with the dodgy spot colour? That's the only 'photoshop' work done and discussed here.
 
Phil V said:
I can see what it is.

The fact that it's being used as part of an advertising campaign when it's of that quality is what I'm surprised by (I must be getting old).
Click to expand...

Yea it's terrible, and having shot for Hennessy myself I thought they had better taste than that. :p

But it's not really an ad campaign as such. It's just to engage a sub-section of a local market on Facebook (and will no doubt have the meagre budget that reflects the value they put on that).
 
It must be that thing of offering something target market will recognise and relate to: photography for the instagram generation.
 
There is more photoshop on this, and its already been pointed out by at least one other poster.

Just look bottom right : awful awful cloning/pasting.
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
There is more photoshop on this, and its already been pointed out by at least one other poster.

Just look bottom right : awful awful cloning/pasting.
Click to expand...

I assumed it was intentional as they're meant to be ghosts. The bloke on the left is missing half his head...
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
There is more photoshop on this, and its already been pointed out by at least one other poster.

Just look bottom right : awful awful cloning/pasting.
Click to expand...

Agree the lower right does look a bit odd, but I think is just the dress is similar to the flower design on the bar.

As it's long shutter to get the LED light movement in, followed by a pop of flash to freeze the subjects , there will be a bit of movement / ghosting happening, which is all part of the effect.

simonbarker said:
I assumed it was intentional as they're meant to be ghosts. The bloke on the left is missing half his head...
Click to expand...

Who said they're meant to be ghosts? The missing / blurred head is agsin a result of the long shutter / flash effect.

I will agree the SC looks to have been done quickly but think it is suitable for this image.

Some will obviously think that SC is never suitable and are of course entitled to that view. :)
 
overbez said:
Who said they're meant to be ghosts? The missing / blurred head is agsin a result of the long shutter / flash effect.
Click to expand...


It was a joke, it looks terrible. Are you sure it's just shutter speed? I could see the arms having some blur but why the torso and only certain sides of the head?

overbez said:
I will agree the SC looks to have been done quickly but think it is suitable for this image.

Some will obviously think that SC is never suitable and are of course entitled to that view. :)
Click to expand...

I completely understand that sometimes you sacrifice quality and if they're happy with the results great but for me this is a turd that can't be polished. To be clear I'm referring to the execution not the idea and I'd hope people would aspire to better results.
 
simonbarker said:


It was a joke, it looks terrible. Are you sure it's just shutter speed? I could see the arms having some blur but why the torso and only certain sides of the head?


...
Click to expand...
Anything the flash exposure has rendered gets frozen. So anything in shadow from that will show as blurred or underexposed.

It's more predictable than people assume, and it's also nothing to do with 1st or 2nd curtain (which again is what a lot of people assume).
 
simonbarker said:

It was a joke, it looks terrible. Are you sure it's just shutter speed? I could see the arms having some blur but why the torso and only certain sides of the head?



I completely understand that sometimes you sacrifice quality and if they're happy with the results great but for me this is a turd that can't be polished. To be clear I'm referring to the execution not the idea and I'd hope people would aspire to better results.
Click to expand...

To me it does look to have been done quickly, the subsequent pp especially.

Maybe the brief was to get the shot onto Facebook asap, if not instantly. With a view to being viewed on phones that night and shared by as many revellers as possible.

Disposable advertising.
 
Maybe it was deliberately designed to look like something that might have been taken with a phone cam, and there's been a lot of careful planning to make it look like this? Maybe it was shot using a phone & then processed with those tools intentionally?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top