Jan Novák: A Story of Five Photographs
So now it’s my turn to share some of my work with you and to tell you about the creation process. I made the selection out of all my photos I took in the last few years. I think these five represent me well and, at the same, there is a story behind each of them which is worth mentioning.
Martina
I actually took this picture because of the article – I wanted to show the use of a Fresnel film
light in photography. This light creates a cone of hard light which means that the light source surface
is small and when aimed directly at the model, it creates hard reflections and shadows in the photo. Martina
is my make-up artist but sometimes I talk her into posing in front of the lens and this is the case, too.
My point was to show an absolutely simple way of lighting. That’s why I brought her to a long corridor
with white walls and aimed the Fresnel light at the wall, so that the light reflected from it. Finally,
I took the advantage of perspective – thanks to the wide focus, the chest is wider and more distinct,
and the torso narrows downwards to the waist. The side light was set in a way to emphasize as many features
of the model as possible, i.e. breasts, ribs, and face. The contrast between light surfaces and shadows
is what characterises the shape of the model and forms her features. This way we’ve created a photo that
Martina hung on the wall and that makes her happy every day when she enters her home. That’s actually
what I enjoy about photography: the original idea was to take a photo for an article but in the end, it
resulted in a print which looks great on the wall.
Týna
On Instagram I came across a girl who appealed to me, so I contacted her about photo shooting.
All arrangements and cooperation with Týna went absolutely great. I’d been wanting to try out neon-style
shooting with colour filters and to be able to do that, I needed a ‘relaxed’ girl who’d be fun to be with,
who wouldn’t take things too seriously and who’d let me experiment a bit. To begin with, I must admit
that the first few photos were a total fiasco. But then I decided to take a simple approach and I used
regular 16.5 cm reflectors on Digital Pro X 500 flashes. I attached colour filters over the reflector
and started playing with angles. I’ve found out that this method makes sense because the way coloured
light behaves in photography is completely different from the classic light. When you use colour filters
together with a soft box, the light softly illuminates the model and there are almost no reflections and
shadows, and the features and the shape are not distinct. If you use a smaller light source, you can find
a lot of details in the red and blue colours that define the shape of the model. Having realized that,
all I needed to do was to find the right angle. If I am to evaluate the work of the model, it was a huge
help for this experimenting of mine to work with someone who’s very independent and a little crazy. I
didn’t have to worry about posing at all, I just took care of the lights and captured the moments.
Veronika
Veronika is a gorgeous redhead with long hair and a beautiful figure. Now a few words about
the photo: I like simplicity. In the picture, I highlighted the model on a simple background. The vignette
effect on the background attracts attention to the model and possibly to certain parts of her body. I
used two lights, the first of which was aimed at the model and the second was hidden behind the girl and
directed at the background. The skirt and the scarf covering the breasts are made of a piece of lining
fabric which I bought at a haberdashers. You can buy it for about CZK 60 (EUR 2.40) for a meter and use
it in plenty different ways. In the back it is fastened by clothes pegs. As for the model, I can
say that Veronika and I have known each other for a very long time. She had never modelled before I met
her at a car repair shop. Right away I knew she’d be a perfect photo model, so I just went and approached
her about shooting. Then it took about a year to make it happen, but I can by all means say that all the
waiting paid off.
Katka
This shooting was just for fun, with no particular purpose. My girlfriend Katka, my friend
David Šanda, and I went to see an orchard close to Hradec Králové, David’s favourite place. The weather
was beautiful, and I wanted to take a little break from the studio and to go to the countryside with Katka.
David took us out to the orchard because it was just blooming, and I made up an experiment. On the
left from Katka, there is a reflector panel which casts a shadow on her, thus creating this soft illumination.
However, the magic is that the photo is composed of nine shots. It was shot on a Nikon Z7 with 50 mm f/1.8.
The photos were connected into one big panorama and the resulting photo has 8139 x 12360 px. If you’re
asking what good it is to make such a photo, it is because of the resulting depth of sharpness and, most
importantly, the print quality. I like printing photos very much because you can tell the true quality
only when you can see the photo on a paper. The clothes – the skirt and the scarf – were borrowed from
my friend David. After years of shooting, he has gathered an impressive collection of such skirts and
pieces of fabric. Every now and then I like to sort through them and to use them to shoot something unusual.
Veronika
I’ve saved this black and white analogue photo for last. I enjoy taking this kind of photos very
much. I shoot on a Pentacon Six TL with 80 mm and 180 mm lenses. I got this camera as a birthday present
from my boss and I can say that it’s perhaps the best present I’ve ever got. Shooting on medium format
and then developing the film at home in the bathroom is something I enjoy incredibly. Tiny and slim Veronika
with sharp features is a perfect model for shooting in bright sunshine. I’ve always liked working with
her because of her enthusiasm – she clearly enjoys shooting a lot. It was very hot, so my friend David
Šanda and I went to the water and we took Veronika with us. I usually cheat a bit and measure exposition
with my DSLR instead of a light meter. Unfortunately, this time the battery was dead, but I refused to
give up. I used the Ilford Delta 100 film, so I just eyeballed it and estimated the shutter speed for
the 2.8 diaphragm, and I was ready to start shooting. I think that in the end I used 1/1000. The photos
came out great. When I first saw them at freshly developed negatives, it made me super happy because I
hadn’t expected too much. Then I scanned the photos because I’m too much of a coward to try to enlarge
them. You might also call me lazy, that’s another point of view. I think that the only retouching I did
was to remove a bit of fine dust that got attached to the negative during scanning.
I enjoy shooting girls and I usually prefer simplicity. I try to make my photos worthwhile. I don’t want them to make it only to Instagram or Facebook, I want them to hang on the walls and to make people happy. With one exception, I’ve accomplished this goal with all these pictures, and I hope for the same in future. There is always something to improve, whether it’s the technique or the creative side, but I actually hope that there is still a long way ahead of me. A lot of people may not realize it but discovering and learning new things is the greatest fun in photography. At least that’s how I see it.
About author
Product specialist, photographer, photo lector and author of articles about photography. I graduated
from the SPŠ el-it high school in Dobruška,where my multimedia love started and where I learned
the basics of photography. I am focused on portrait and sports photography. I like to edit and
improve my portraits in post-production. I like action sports, which I also actively do. My photo wakeboard
project (https://www.redbull.com/en-us/showcase-wakeboarding-tips) won the Red Bull Show case project.
I also like to use old manual lenses. Since 2015 i am working as a product specialist for studio equipment
in FOMEI. I have the opportunity to assist as an illuminator in the shooting of prestigious photographic
projects. I use Nikon cameras and lenses for photography. Recently I became interested in analog photography
so I take pictures on Pentacon Six TL and try to improve in developing films, which I digitize with a
scanner. Follow me on social networks! :-)
GALERIE
Product specialist, photographer, photography lecturer and author of articles about lighting and photography. Takes care of technical questions, designing studios and making price offers. He focuses on portraits, glamour and nude photography using Nikon cameras and lenses.