I shot this sequence of pictures about 25 minutes from when we started. Initially, I began with my portable strobe but I couldn’t help reacting to the geometric shapes made by noon light coming through the skylight, so I switched to ambient light. To me, those rectangular patterns gave these pictures a cool spiritual element that resonates well with Yoga. Besides, I think shooting in ambient light also helped Danielle and Brett be more casual and focus on their exercises.

I intentionally shot these pictures with the idea of turning them to black and white. On the technical side of things, my lens was set to a closed-down aperture to retain detail on the highlights, so I underexposed my lens 2 F-stops to bring back detail on post-production. On the downside, I shot with a slow shutter speed, which limited some sharpness.

One thing about compromising when I choose to work with minimal gear is that I run the chance of not having something when I need it. In the case of this sequence of shots, my large reflector would have been great to boost reflective light, and perhaps that would have given me a little extra leeway to increase my shutter speed.

Troubleshooting how I could have made these pictures better reminds me how much more there’s for me to apply to my workflow when doing photography. Adjusting camera settings, responding to the subject and framing are all essential, but learning to anticipate and be prepared also makes a huge difference in getting a decent shot.