The process of constructing a fictional image can be a complicated one. Pro shooter Murray van der Veer explains how he planned and produced this fabulous image.
Is this for real? There are a lot of things that fascinate me in the process of building a fictional image – the importance of light, the layering of imagery, and the symbolism, to name a few. These days most of the commercial work I produce is created digitally, so let me tell you something about each of these considerations, within the digital process.
In the image illustrated here the source of the light is crucial in tying together each of the elements in the image so they look like they belong in the one scene. The sky, bridge, man, city, and water on the rocks were all shot separately, and combined in post-production. The first element I shot was the sky, and the angle of the light in the sky set the pattern for the angle of light hitting the other elements.
Combining each of the elements into the one image was easy because the highlights and shadows created by this lighting technique guided the placement and direction of the elements. The Art Director also had some input into this process – we’d decided before I began to shoot which elements would go where, but the exact placement was guided by the light.
It always seems like the easy option to “light it in post”, but believe me, you can’t correct the lighting for objects or people in post if they’ve been lit poorly to start with. There is no compromise for excellent lighting!
Some of the elements for this image were shot on location – for example the bridge is created from a photograph I took of an aqueduct in a park in Annandale, Sydney. I took a shot of the arch of the bridge. Then in post-production, using a CGI sketch of the completed form of the bridge, we built its length out of repeats of that shot taken from different angles. The man was shot in the studio, the sky and the water on the rocks are pretty much as they were on the day of the shoot, and the city was created out of a shot of Sydney, with the landmark buildings removed in post.
Symbolically the image represents a new start. The dawning of a new day and the choice to have the man facing a bridge that can take him to a world of possibilities are elements that are also symbols that contribute to the overall story of the image.
I’m fascinated by the strength of the symbols in our culture – how one object can tell a whole story just because it traditionally has been linked with a thought, or an emotion, or legend.
Post-production processes on images like this one can be time consuming, and attention to detail is again mandatory. These days I mostly use Photoshop to combine the image, then retouch. In preparing the files for print I pay particular attention to how and where the final will be presented so that the image is correctly colour managed.
Planning and paying attention to detail at the technical and conceptual level is what makes images like this work. I encourage you to have a go at creating your own world out of the symbols around you!
Article first published in Australian Photography magazine.