Cinematic lighting and a backyard short film.

I saw the light, so I shot it. 

Moments after a sudden summer hailstorm, our backyard was shrouded in dense fog. Every cinematographer loves fog, but then it got even better when the sun came out and made everything glow. It was the most incredible natural light I’ve ever seen. I grabbed my camera and my two oldest boys and we went outside and made this little short film. There was no plan, no real story being told. Just great light and atmosphere that had to captured while it lasted. 

Creating images that look “cinematic” is all about using light and shadow together. The TV and movie industry spends millions (or billions) of dollars on light every year. When nature just hands you an environment that looks like a big budget movie, you take advantage and make a portfolio piece just for the fun of it.

Shot handheld with Sony A7rIII and canon 85mm.

This is what our backyard normally looks like.