Per my previous post, we put together a photo shoot yesterday to help my cousin showcase her fashion designs. It all went fairly smoothly. We met at my daughter's house where makeup was applied, hair was styled, and the models (there were two of them) were fitted. After all that was complete--it took about three hours--we headed to the local Metro Rail station to shoot some photos.
Almost as soon as we arrived, we met the station's security guard. And wouldn't you just know it, there was a local sheriff's deputy there as well. I performed a spontaneous song-and-dance routine, convincing both the deputy and the security guard what we were about to do did not qualify as a "commercial" shoot and, therefore, we didn't need a permit... and they bought it! (I have other skills besides camera skills.) Once that potential disaster was averted, we set about the business of photographing our models in and around the train station.
It was already fairly late in the day, requiring me to expend quite a bit of energy reminding everyone we were quickly burning daylight and that we needed to be constantly moving forward at a rapid pace. (I have much experience with running out of daylight.) Since everyone helping out was there out of their own, personal generosity, and they were either family or friends, I restrained myself from becoming a Nazi and barking orders to keep the photo shoot focused, moving forward, and on-track. (I knew all that sensitivity training would come in handy someday.) Leesa shot quite a bit more than I did and got some great images! Maybe she'll let me post some in another update?We shot two models: Faye and Bree. The images I'm posting for this update are all of Faye. Generally, we went with more of a "catalogue" approach to the photography.
Faye did a terrific job. She donated her time and was enthusiastic throughout. I've shot Faye before but under completely different circumstances and for content that had nothing to do with fashion design. Who says an "adult biz" chick can't legit model? BTW, today Faye is on a shoot for Italian Vogue! MUA Jennifer, stylist Tracy, hair Heather, assistants Shauna, Kyle, and Leesa. This was a "for fun" shoot for everyone's portfolios... mostly for my cousin and her fashion designs. The first two images were lit with reflectors, silver sides out. For the third photo, I used a single Vivitar 283, Strobist-style, unmodified, mounted on a stand and fired with a cheapie, Hong Kong-made, Ebay wireless. Shooting this kind of stuff was a whole different ball 'o wax for me. Not much processing on any of these.
4 comments:
First off, spontaneous song and dance???? Hardly! I asked you 3 times to go talk to the train people.
And second, that was restraint???? You act like that again and the only time I'll shoot with you is if I have a gun in my hand. Ya fuckin Nazi!
You act like that again and the only time I'll shoot with you is if I have a gun in my hand. Ya fuckin Nazi!
ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!
I think the photos look great because you didn't use the lights to totally overpower the sun. It's a great balance of ambient and strobe. Also, the photos look more aesthetically pleasing on the blog due to the black background. When opened, the white background, imho, doesn't do justice to the images.
Carlton-- Thanks. I also think the "overpowering the sun" thing is overused. Lately, it seems the Strobist guys seem way to fixated on shooting "day for night" shots. Although those shots are quite dramatic--almost other-worldly so--they've become repetitive and commonplace. If there were some interesting cloud cover the day we shot, I might have clicked a few using the "overpowering the sun" gimmick but I think, given the ambient lighting conditions, the images worked better by balancing the light rather than overpowering it. BTW, that was shot late in the day, just before the sun went down behind a hill across from the train station which pretty much ended our shooting day.
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