How I Got the Shot 3

WHEN CHAOS BECOMES THE COMPOSITION

Sometimes the environment gives you something you never could have planned.

I created this image during one of my Light Exposed Workshops. I had already chosen this location for a very specific reason, and in this tutorial I take you behind the scenes and show you exactly what I saw there, why the light caught my attention, and why I decided this was where I wanted to create the photograph.

Then everything changed.

While I was photographing, an actual emergency began unfolding around us. The street was being shut down, emergency vehicles were moving through the scene, lights were flashing, and suddenly the environment I had chosen looked completely different.

Instead of fighting the mayhem, I used it.

Those elements became part of the atmosphere, color, depth, and composition of the finished image.

And no, everything wasn't technically perfect. Things were happening quickly, and I even realized afterward that some of my camera settings weren't where I normally would have wanted them. But that's also part of this lesson. Creating a strong photograph isn't always about having complete control over everything happening around you.

Inside the tutorial you'll see:

• Full BTS video and photographs of the location
• Why I chose this particular spot before the emergency happened
• What I saw in the existing light
• How the environment changed while I was shooting
• How I incorporated that unexpected chaos into the photograph
• The actual RAW file
• My complete hand edit from RAW to final

The real lesson is bigger than recreating this exact photograph. It's learning to recognize possibilities as a scene changes around you...because sometimes the thing disrupting your original plan becomes the thing that makes the photograph.

Editing is completed manually using Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop. No actions are used.

This tutorial is included in the VP Box. Standalone purchases include lifetime access.