Often we scroll through other photographers' Instagram feeds, wondering "How the heck did they get that shot?" We now have the unusual opportunity to learn exactly how one photographer captures “that shot,” and what we learn is surprising.
Popular portrait/lifestyle photographer known on Instagram as Omahi has decided to share snapshots of his process with his social media followers. The interesting revelation is that the images seem to be using very little artificial (strobe) lighting, and rarely employ lighting modifiers from the looks of it. In fact, the only artificial light seen is a small vanity makeup mirror (which comes with a built-in ring light). So the photographer is relying on a combination of natural light and creative post processing to achieve the fantastical images.
Despite how unflattering an iPhone snap of a setup can be, I'm a fan of showing off behind the scenes images next to a finished photo. This provides both photographers and non-shooters perspective on our working lives, making our processes more approachable and understandable.
My apprehension at showing too much of my process doesn't come from paranoia that someone will steal my style, rather that it creates so much extra work. You wind up processing and editing images of yourself taking images that you also need to process and edit. Plus, we're often in a scurry to get the lighting correct and move on to the next shot, and this frantic pace can be compounded when dealing with models. The best route for showing off your process is having an assistant on hand to capture these moments as they happen.
I can't think of many reasons against showing a bit of your undertaking, but please feel free to leave thoughts in the comments section below regarding why you do — or don't — share your photographic process with the world.
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