A Mid-Day Shoot

I had a gig yesterday that presented an interesting challenge. We would be at a home in the hills above the San Fernando Valley. The backyard of the property overlooked the valley but, unfortunately, we would be there at mid-day. Also, the way the property was oriented to the sun meant, in order to place the models with the valley behind them, they'd be looking into the bright sun. (Few things worse than squinting models.)

Fortunately, there was a large awning over a patio area in the backyard. It provided complete shade. I had brought along a couple of monolights with stands, a 5' Octodome, and a small, white umbrella. I also had a large, silver reflector.

I figured I could place the model in the shade and frame her and light her so that it appeared she was standing in the direct sunlight with the valley behind her. The clients, btw, did not want the home, as nice and upscale as it is, as the background to the images.

I used the Octodome as my mainlight, set the umbrella behind her, camera-right, and enlisted an assistant to wield the reflector, also from behind her, camera-left, to add some subtle highlights. The sun kept going in and out of clouds which meant the reflector was sometimes effective and sometimes not.

Time was also an issue as we only had the location for a few hours. Also, the client had many guests at the shoot, most of whom had cameras, and nearly all of whom wanted to ask a lot of questions regarding why I was doing this and that. Of course, they also wanted to interact with the models which made keeping the model's attentions focused and directed towards me difficult. It was a bit strange having more than a half-dozen guys standing behind me while I was shooting and, every time I snapped a shot, there would be a barage of on-camera strobes going off right after I'd click one off.

One of the models the client hired for yesterday's shoot was Natalie. I've posted a few shots of her along with today's update. Natalie's from England and only in the States for a few days.