I met Edward Pikar about 10 years ago. Ed, as we all call him, was an artist, professional photographer, and architect. Now retired, Ed still dabbles on canvas occasionally, spending time in his library and fusing around in his garden. My challenge in capturing this amazing man would be no different than any other client that I would prepare for.
However, this assignment had an additional element that I had not had before, Ed is also my father-in-law.
How do I capture his life in a single shot? How do I live up to his expectations? Here is a man that I admire and respect and will be having dinner with him later that day.
I always wanted this opportunity and thought hard for a long time on how I would do it. I did not want to photograph him in his library or studio, nor working in his garden. That would be too typical and too obvious. I decided to grab one of his old Leica cameras, the chair he loved painting in and decided to use one light set up with a simple backdrop set up right in his garage. Ed strong features in his face complemented the one-light approach. Holding as many details as possible in the shadows were going to be very important too, holding all the detail in his face tells where the story begins.
My gear, my set up:
Canon Mark EOS 5D Mark III with a Canon 70-200mm 1:28.
ISO @ 200 – Aperture 7.1
Westcott FJ 400 Strobe
Westcott 24” Beauty Dish
Westcott X Drop Backgrounds
Workflow: Lightroom and Photoshop, with some use of 3rd party filters.
Instagram Link to how I set up my one light for dramatic shots.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpaoInnDeRS/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
