A self portrait in Miniature

Hi and Welcome back.

The idea of this project was a self-portrait that defines Martin Palms Photography. I have done some miniature creations lately, so I decided to go for it.
The primary purpose was also to create something stunning for an upcoming article; I want to have a good, eye-catchy image to not scroll by.

The idea came after the writer was into my miniature projects. So I thought it could be cool to place the subject into the world itself and use it as a cover.
To be honest, I'm not the guy to really travel the world with my gear, even if I want to see those unique places. So this fits my style of photography so perfectly.

Create it, and be in it.

The process has been carving out those cliffs from Styrofoam and painting and adding details.
Adding grass to the ground and adding some rocks, even some coal to simulate unique stones. I added ropes that I painted green to attach to the mountains for more eye stoppers.

The lightning is a two-light setup, with a Godox SL-60 attached diffusor and a projector to catch light from behind to get this foggy look. Smooth shadows and then add the extra edge in Photoshop in post-production.
The most fun part of this is to pull all pieces together. My portraits and Gear bag are shot outside my studio in similar conditions to the final image.
I added a light behind me to simulate a Flash, which creates some Cool beams in the foggy area. Those Overlays can you find in the “MP Single Overlay Bundle - Latest releases”
This beam also draws the eye into the center of the image, which is helpful.
The camera is a Canon 5d Mark IV with a 24mm lens. 

All about this creation is the vision I had before it was done. It was simply there. And I love how it turned out.

All the best
-Martin