Martial Arts Photography Tips

Photography Tips

The Bonneville Salt Flats State Park near the border of Utah is an excellent location for a photo shoot. The salt laden ground is colored white and stretches on for miles. Plants do not grow in the Salt Flats and the lack of their presence combined with the solid white earth is almost other worldly. Perhaps that’s why Mike Tittel chose the location for a photo shoot he did on Capoeira, the Brazillian martial arts method. You can watch a short behind the scenes take of Tittel’s shoot here:

If you noticed in the video, Tittels setup wasn’t too elaborate. He utilized the sun by filtering it with a large hanging silk. For many of the shots, Tittel used a reflective board as a fill light, but on some of the more elaborate shots he brought in a few monolights. Add to one of those lights a softbox with a grid and an open-faced softbox on another, and there you have his setup.

Shooting in these conditions must be very similar to shooting in snow. For this Capoeira shoot, Tittel was able to use the reflective white ground to his benefit.

Have any of you shot in the Bonneville Salt Flats? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below or on our Facebook or Google+.