Red River Pros: Joel Grimes

Joel Grimes is a Los Angeles advertising and commercial photographer whose clients include the Denver Broncos, Kodak, Hyatt, National Geographic, Nikon, Visa, Pentax, Sony and Volvo. He's shot images in more than 50 countries on advertising and annual report assignments and has won more than 30 major awards for his work. His coffee table book on the Navajo Indians received national acclaim and he teaches his edgy-lighting portraiture techniques at workshops.

The Client

Personal project for portfolio to show Art and Creative Directors at agencies.

The Assignment

Photograph a swim model in high key using "edgy" lighting.

The Execution

"I posed the subject in the studio against a white background using a Paul Buff 22-inch beauty dish with a diffusion sock overhead and two small soft boxes from the side. I then used a pool image that I had previously shot with five exposures at one-stop intervals to be combined for a high dynamic range image."

Post Production

"The subject was knocked out from the background using Vertus' Fluid Mask (I've also used Photoshop with good results). The five location images were merged using HDR's Photomatix. Then the two images were merged creating the composite. While I would like to shoot everything as one shot on location, it is just not always possible to do so because of time, scheduling and other constraints."

The Output

“With over thirty years experience printing in the darkroom, my objective in choosing a current digital photo paper is getting deep blacks and a smooth continuous tonal range across the board. I chose Red River Ultra Pro Satin paper to print this image because it beautifully handles the subtle highlight tones both on the model and in the background, while retaining excellent detail in the shadow areas. It truly gives me the effect that I had envisioned.”

Contact

Joel Grimes' web site is at: www.joelgrimes.com. He may be emailed at: [email protected]. His workshop schedule and tutorials describing his techniques in detail may be found at: Joel Grimes Photography on iCloud

Favorite Papers

UltraPro Satin

UltraPro Satin looks and feels just like traditional photo lab paper and features a medium depth luster finish.

Favorite Of: Jim DiVitale & Peter Randall

River Linen

River Linen adds a special dimension to your printed image with its premium quality linen surface paper.

Favorite Of: JVS & Helene Glassman

Aurora Art

Made using fine 100% cotton rag content, Aurora Art White and Aurora Art Natural offers the look and feel of fine art paper.

Favorite of: Marilyn Sholin, Matt Hoyle, Susan McCartney, & Kaitlin Walsh

Arctic Polar Satin

With its crisp blue white shade, Arctic Polar Satin ensures your images will project more brilliance. Its state of the art microporous coating will enhance details and color saturation.

Favorite of: Al Francekevich & Susan McCartney

Polar Gloss Metallic 255

Your images will take on a brilliant, almost luminescent quality with Polar Gloss Metallic 255. Everything from airplanes to flowers will look bolder, more saturated, and more real.