T Incorporated

Caution, photography geek talk ahead:

Aside from the photos of Obama set against the “Change” banner, this is my favourite photograph from the rally. The lighting was challenging because the extremely bright stage lights were positioned almost directly overhead. Additionally, Obama’s shirt and skin were acting as strong reflectors. And because of the strength and position of the light, he was furrowing his brow the entire evening. I was already overexposing the images by about two stops because I wanted to preserve as much detail as possible in the shadows of the background and his eyes. It was a bit risky because I could have (and several times did) clip the highlights altogether, which is nearly impossible to recover (versus recovering info from the shadows). But I’m pleased with how well everything came together on this image. There’s a slight edge of his shirt collar that is still a bit too hot (which I admit I was too lazy to burn in). But other than that, I love the detail in his face and hands, and I love that faint hint of rim light on his left shoulder.