Behind The Frame 09

This is easily one of my top three most viral shots ever, with around five million views across platforms, and yet, once again, it came from a completely spontaneous moment.

My now-fiancée and I were sitting on the upper deck of a classic London double-decker bus, resting our legs after the usual strain of a proper city trip. I had just started experimenting with filming on my iPhone and was casually pointing the camera in different directions, not really looking for anything specific.

As we reached our stop and stood up to get off, I suddenly noticed a beautiful combination of shadows, colors, and composition unfolding in the stairway. There was no time to take the shot, so I grabbed my fiancée and told her we had to stay on for one more stop..

I waited until the bus rolled through a tree-lined passage and took the shot.

It was around 3 p.m., the sun still fairly high, but low enough to stream through the window at a beautiful angle. That higher sun position was key: it created harsh, graphic shadows from the railing, adding depth through contrast while also strengthening the composition. A nice little double whammy.

If you want to read more about utilising natural light read this post from my quick tip series!

As you can see in the image below, several strong leading lines guide the eye toward the bottom of the stairs, creating a visually engaging composition. The only element that could elevate it further would be a subject placed where those lines converge, whether that’s a person or something entirely different.

That focal point would give the frame a clear visual anchor and complete the story. That said, the composition and the movement of the shadows are compelling enough on their own, which is why I still love this frame as it is.

I once again started with a LOG file to give myself more flexibility when it came to color grading.

I then applied my LUT as a reference point to see what adjustments were needed. In this case, it was mostly about lowering the black point and fine-tuning the overall contrast ratio. As you can see in the settings screenshot below, I usually handle this with the highlights and shadows sliders. You could achieve the same result using curves, I’m just more accustomed to this approach.

For white balance, I only reduced the warmth slightly so the contrast with the cooler tones outside the window would stand out a bit more.

The final touch was a subtle vignette mask that lowered the exposure outside the frame, pulling the viewer’s attention even more toward the bottom of the stairs. That gave me a nice combination of composition, color grading, and masking, all working together to guide the eye to the same focal point.

In the end, it’s all about directing the viewer’s attention exactly where you want it. That’s the core goal of any creative. If you want an in depth read on this, check out this article!

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Exact camera settings from the Blackmagic Camera app

Thanks so much for being here, I genuinely appreciate every single reader.
If you ever have questions or ideas for future issues, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!

Until next time,

Stefan

Minimal tools. Maximum creativity.