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How To Shoot Fantasy Photos With A Green Screen
By guest | December 21, 2009
Increasingly popular green screen photography is adding a creative new twist to the image of small photography studios, allowing them to provide a service that big corporate photo studios have chosen to overlook. Green screening, also known as chroma keying, is often the perfect edge that a small studio can use to blow the competition out of the water. And the studio can increase their customer base by branching out into the niche market of fantasy photography.
In the world of green screen photography, there is the fantasy-theme option known as “sword and sorcery.” Some examples include the role playing game “Dungeons And Dragons” and stories such as the “Lord Of The Rings”. To take these types of pictures, shoot the client in full garb (slang for period costume) in front of the green screen, holding the weapon of their choice, such as a sword, bow and arrow, or wand. Then, add digital background scenery such as breathtaking views of nature or ancient architectural structures — especially castles. Tip: If the client wants to have that soft mystical look, take a piece of nylon and strap it to your camera lens with a rubber band. Instant dreamy mystery.
Science fiction is another well-known fantasy niche. Common settings for this genre would come from Star Trek, Star Wars and Babylon Five. But it also includes steam punk (a Victorian era character who uses steam to power today’s technology) and the time and inter-dimensional travel character of “Dr. Who.” This particular niche come complete with thousands of costumed characters who are eager to be photographed. Great ideas for pictures would include replicating Star Trek’s observation deck by shooting a large window with a field of stars behind it or imitating the cantina in Ten-Forward (by making the background a modern bar). For steam punk, choose interiors of old Victorian homes.
A niche that is often mixed in with these two previous ones, yet also deserves it’s own category, is that of fairy tales. These are the pictures of fairy folk and other gentle creatures. Magical landscapes that relay an air of mystery and a bit of mischief work well for this genre. However, don’t think that fairy tales are only for small children, nor only for cos-players. Another group of people who love these types of photos are female high school seniors. Consider shooting their portrait with them in their prom dress, but then placing them in this mystical land. This way, your clients get magic and memories from a single photo.
The last category, which borrow elements from all of the previous ones and yet remains unique, is known as Anime and videogame costumed characters. For these types of photos, look into a lot of Asian inspired locations (both interior and exterior) as well as dilapidated locations such as an old warehouse or the remains of an ancient civilization.
The most important factor to remember when you take a fantasy picture is that, no matter how odd or extravagant the costume is, and no matter where the setting is supposed to be, if you can make the photo realistic, your client will return to you time and time again.
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