Guess What, Another Photoshoot with Caroline Nauth

This shoot was an opportunity to do a B&W model shoot with Los Angeles based fashion photographer, Bill Jones (Tumblr & Model Mayhem).  Bill once again agreed to work with us while he was in town.  This session was a bit different because I also got to shoot with my two studio colleagues which is always fun

The model for this shoot was Carolyn Nauth. I hired Carolyn once again because this shoot was all about photographing the model while she constantly moved and presented expressive poses & expressions.  Carolyn is strong in this style.  MUA Jacks Von Liria was brought in to do both MU and hair. Both were good choices.

 

Caroline & Jacks chatting while getting ready

To get the shadows and contrasts desired I relied on a single light. The key light was an Elinchrom D-lite 4 with an Elinchrom 27" Softlight beauty dish reflector with a diffuser sock.  The light was set up on a standard Manfrotto boom light stand. Remember, whenever using a rig like this use proper counterbalance and sandbags. I moved the light around during the shoot but started with the light set camera right approximately 68" high from the bottom of the beauty dish. The light was aimed at Caroline's midriff approximately 3' away.  We photographed against a Savage seamless fashion grey sweep.  You may note that I've shot with this lighting setup several times before and have always been happy with the output.  The setup is simply and the contrasts are strong on the model but soft on the backdrop. 

Caroline getting directions from Bill Jones

I used my go to full frame Nikon D600 with both an AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G and my AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G-ED VRII. I ended up using the 50mm the most.  Camera was set at ISO 125, 1/125 & f/11. I used my Sekonic L-358 FlashMeter light meter to get the correct light power for my desired camera settings.

Once started Caroline took queues from both the photographer but also from Bill on how to pose and move. Note, Bill gave advice and chatted us up, but didn't shoot.  The result was a silky smooth flow of motion. Throughout, I tried to time my shots to the peaks of Caroline's moves, dramatic poses, tension & hair flowing. It was great.

 

Since we were trading off shooting between myself, Paul and Eric it took about 2 hours. The benefit of this setup was to look at photos everyone was taking. It's interesting to see how different photographers get different looks with the same model and lighting. 

Overall, it was a learning experience since I got to watch others shoot and take in Bill's tips directing Caroline. Also, I am happy with the results.

Tim Burton Style

Something a bit different.  During a Creative Meet-up I was chatting with a model friend, Caroline Nauth. She said she was interested in doing something Tim Burton-like.  That’s like dangling a piece of string in front of a cat, I jumped at the idea.  First, I wanted to do something different versus the fashion-type portraits I’ve been focusing on, and secondly it was an opportunity to play with different lighting / location moods.

I lined up a MUA after we agreed to work together.  I used Sasha Star because she’s good with these types of concepts.  You’ll note from my earlier posts I use Sasha often.  I talked / emailed / FB’d both Sasha and Caroline over the course of a couple of weeks to lock down the clothes, mood, makeup, etc., etc. We locked down a date and off we went.

On shoot day it was interesting because I allowed another photographer, Mike Arledge, to use the studio in exchange for watching him shoot.  Mike has a nice style, so I wanted to pick up a few tips.  Guess what, he had arranged to use Caroline for his shoot as well.  That made things easy.  After Mike’s shoot was over, Sasha arrived and we got to work turning Caroline into a full-on Tim Burton freak. 

Half the fun was just watching Sasha and Caroline work while chatting them up.  I also brought one of my old school Polaroid cameras, so I took a few shots with an expired pack of instant film.  Instagram old school!  Also, while they were working I set the studio up for my shoot.

I planned 2 locations and 2 lighting setups for the shoot.  The 1^st shoot was in the studio, and the second in an industrial part of the building where the studio is located. For the studio shoot, the lighting was straight up.  Like recent shoots I simply used 1 light.  I set up an Elinchrom D-Lite 4 with an Elinchrom 27” beauty dish reflector.  This was shot against a fashion grey seamless sweep.

I used my Nikon D600 with a AF-SNikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens.  I set my speed at 1/160, ISO at 200 and used my Sekonic light meter to adjust the D-Lite power so I could get f/8.  Straight forward.  I set the light at approximately 70” camera right (to start) aiming at Caroline’s midsection.

Makeup on, Tim Burton styled clothes picked out and on, so off we went.  I took about 30 minutes worth of photos against the grey sweep.  During the shoot I moved the light constantly from camera right to camera left and adjusted the height and direction multiple times.  The goal was to get very interesting shadows.  After about 30 minutes we finished with this portion of the shoot.

Next we moved to an abandoned space next to the studio.  The space used to be a garage for the original company that used to be in the building.  Very gritty.  For this part of the shoot I used a second Elinchrom D-Lite 4, but added a simple reflector with a 30 degree grid.  This allowed me to put a focused beam of diffused light on Caroline and get some mystery.  I controlled the amount of light falling on Caroline by moving the light forward or back and increasing or decreasing the power.  Worked great. 

In the space there is an old circuit breaker box so we started there.  Got lots of fun shots, asking Caroline to move constantly.  The goal was to get lots of edge on the photos.  After about 15 minutes I moved Caroline against an oil stained wall and again asked her to move.  This time I also asked her to crouch down and slink around.  Even though the floor was a mess she was a real trooper.  During this time I moved the light all around and at all heights.  

Camera settings for this portion were adjusted to open up the aperture to f/7.1 and the speed to 1/160.  ISO remained at 200.  Also I switched to my AF-S Nikkor 24-70mmf/2.8G lens so I could get a bit wider.

After about another 15 minutes we were done.  Overall the shoot including MU took about 3 hours, and we all had a blast. 

After action: 

• Scout your locations out before hand.  I did this for the industrial portion of the shoot so I knew exactly where I wanted to position Caroline.  When you are paying a model it’s best to spend your time shooting versus looking at your shoot location.

• If you have a Polaroid, bring it.  So much fun.

• Do something different.  As I mentioned earlier I have been on a fashion bender for about 6 months. Doing something completely different while at the same time using lighting techniques I was comfortable with made for a unique shoot.

• Be mindful of everyone’s time.  I knew Caroline had to boogie at a set time, and if I hadn’t been watching the time we would have been there for a couple of hours longer since I was having fun. 

• Experiment.  I had absolutely no idea if the theme was going to be pulled off, but we did it anyway and I think we hit it.

Model Photoshoots Galore!!

 

Wow, I've been crazy busy in studio doing model photography.  I've been lucky enough to work with some skilled models and makeup artist recently.  12 shoots in January and 3 so far this month.  Needless to say I'm behind on my blog posting about the shoots.  In the meantime a few images.  Blog posts to follow.

 

Model - Mina Vee

Model - Peyton Drew

Model - Emmy Lindgren

 

Sculpted Light with Emmy & Caroline

I recently did a shoot at M10 Studio with models Emmy Lindgren & Caroline Nauth.  The theme for this shoot was sculpted & controlled light.  I wanted to do this shoot in studio and the industrial portion of Circle City Industrial Complex, where M10 Studio is located using controlled and directional light.  The goal was to create a dark atmosphere, but the models lit.  While at it lets squeeze in a shoot against a fashion grey seamless why don’t we.

The first setting was in the industrial space.  I used a single Elinchrom D-Lite 4 with a 24” Vagabond softbox.  The space had only a small amount of ambient light from overhead industrial style windows.  I set the strobe 70” high with the softbox aimed at a spot on the ground about 12 feet away.  The idea was to have Emmy and Caroline walk to me and as they walked through the area where the light aimed take the shot.

To accomplish this I marked a spot on the concrete floor about 8 feet away from the strobe.  When the models got to this point I would take the photo.  I metered the strobe by having them stand at this spot and I used my Sekonic L-358 FlashMaster lightmeter.  I adjusted the power of the strobe so I could get ISO 200, 1/125 second & f/5.6.  I wanted the image sharp enough to get Emmy & Caroline in focus, but the background fairly out of focus.  I wanted as much contrast as I could get between light and dark as these images were going to be processed in B&W (I set my camera monitor to monochrome so I could chimp in B&W).  I also used a large silver reflector camera right on some shots to throw some light back onto my models.  This worked well.

For this series I used my NikonD600 with an AF-S 50mm f/1.4G lens.  I wanted the option to go full bright with the lens as needed with minimal need to adjust my light.

With everything set I backed my models off the spot, and then told them to walk to me.  About 1 step behind the mark I took a 4 frame burst.  This setup took lots of attempts to get it right.  The biggest challenge was that even with a D600 and the 50mm lens I had some focus speed issues.  I switched to manual focus for some shots to help.

We tried this style at 2 locations in the complex.  I asked both models to be as expressive as possible while walking.  Move their bodies, flip their hair, look at each other, look away, etc.  Basically, I wanted to get something like the vibe of walking through a dark city alley after coming home from a night out….you get the idea, don’t you?  Anyway after about 45 minutes we had what I thought were going to be some good shots. 

For the next set we went back into the studio.  I set up our studio’s sofa against a plain dark grey concrete wall in the studio.  The plan for this set was to have Emmy & Caroline sit & recline on the sofa and the floor in front of the sofa.  I was going to light the sofa with a single Nikon SB-600 speedlight with a HonlPhoto Professional ¼” Speed Grid mounted on a boom arm.  The speedlight was triggered with an Elinchrom EL-Skyport.  

The plan was to start with the speedlight overhead and then adjust it throughout the series to get the light to fall at various spots on the floor and sofa.  I initially set the set the speedlight at ½ power, arranged the models on the sofa, turned off the studio lights and then metered the light.  I wanted a dark effect so I wanted the light as low as possible.  The effect was very nice, but with the studio lights off my camera wouldn’t focus…. No dramas, I simply closed down my aperture to approximately f/11, ISO 100, 1/125 and kept the studio lights on.  I metered again and POW.  Worked great.  I got a nice circle of light that I was able to play with by moving the speedlight around on the boom.  I also brought in a second speedlight during the second part of this series at very low power 1/16 & 1/32 to get selective fill.  I mounted a simple translucent domed diffuser on the speedlight and put it on a light stand.  I had to play with this light quite a bit to get the effect I wanted.

For this shoot I moved around quite a bit.  I stood on a step stool, sat on the floor, laid on the floor – I know, this is no way for a FINANCE exec to act…and move around both of the models.  Throughout the series both Emmy and Caroline were changing positions.  

About ready to wrap up, but hey I already had the grey seamless set up, so over to the background where I had set up another Elinchrom D-Lite 4 with an Elinchrom 27” beauty dish reflector.  As I had learned with a previous shoot I left the internal reflector / diffuser off the beauty dish, using only the diffuser sock.  I had both the models switch into a black dress and pose together.  We cranked the music up and had them move to the music.  No more than 15 minutes on the seamless, and we – were – done! Once again this was going to be processed in B&W so the black dresses and the light metered at f/11 created some nice contrasts.

Overall, a good shoot.  It’s always fun working with models that know what they are doing and don’t mind that I spend ½ the shoot adjusting / playing with the lights.

Shannon Barry Photoshoot

Model Shannon Barry

 Did a photoshoot recently with model Shannon Barry.  The goal was to work on some lighting techniques, but also give a photographer friend a chance to work with me on a model shoot.  I put a call-out for a model and Shannon agreed to work with me.  We agreed to her fee and off we went.

As normal I sent a written summary of the theme, lighting technique I wanted to try, and that I would be working with another photographer.  For this shoot we would be doing 3 sets.  The first in the industrial side of M10 Studio.  A second with spot lighting on a couch and lastly a fashion styled shoot against a Savage Seamless Background Paper fashion grey sweep.  All shots were going to be shot in RAW, but processed in black & white.  Since I didn’t hire a MUA for this session I discussed makeup plans with Shannon along with the clothes to bring.  I shared the same information with my co-photographer so he would know the concept.  Good to go.

Because we were shooting in the industrial space I loaded all of my camera gear, light meter, reflectors, stands, extension cords, etc. onto a studio cart.  Key lighting was from an Elinchrom D-Lite 4 with a softbox on a Manfrotto rolling light stand boom. All shots were taken with my Nikon D600 and either my Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 G-ED VRII or Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4G prime

We set up in a very gritty part of the building for the first shoot.  The idea was to create a light “trap” for the shoot.  I aimed and metered the light at a specific location.  I then had Shannon walk into the light and when she got into the right spot I fired off 2-3 images.  I wanted the effect of her walking along a gritty back alley.  Got some cool effects.  I couldn’t resist myself and also had her do a few poses in the same location.  While in the back I showed the other photographer what I was doing and let him shoot an equal number of photos.

After about 45 minutes we went back to the studio.  I had originally planned to use a beauty dish on an Elinchrom D-Lite 4 set at the lowest power to give a spotlight effect on Shannon while she was sitting on the couch / on the floor leaning against the couch.  I was going to shoot the images with the studio light off.  This didn’t work.  The light was too diffused so I didn’t get the desired spotlight effect.  No dramas, I switched to a simple Nikon SB-600 speedlight with a HonlPhoto ¼” Speed Grid and a second Nikon SB-600 set at low power hand held aimed in various locations.  Both speedlights were triggered with my Elinchrom EL-Skyports.  This worked great.  I put the gridded speedlight on a boom and moved it around as needed.

I had Shannon switch into black tee, black tights and long black boots along with dark sunglasses.  A cool vibe.  Smoky club meets Terminator. 

Finally, I switched Shannon over to a Fashion Grey sweep and we did directed and free formed posing.  This was done with my Elinchrom D-Lite 4 mounted in an Elinchrom beauty dish.  Taking tips I picked up a few weeks ago I used a number of sheets of black foam core mounted on lightstands to prevent light bouncing back onto Shannon.  I wanted to maximize the lighting contrast.  I light this lighting setup and I think we got solid results.  

During the studio part of the shoot ½ of the time was spent showing my co-photographer how I was shooting, how I was setting my camera settings, how a light meter worked, how to position lighting, etc.  It was fun to talk through what I normally just do in my head from experience.  Overall, a fun shoot with an excellent model.

Tips for my next shoot:

• If you are doing a lighting “trap” make a mark someplace on the ground to watch.  When the subject gets to the mark that’s when you take your photos.  I had a few where I shot too early or too late…thus the value of burst mode,

• Use manual focus set at the “trap” spot.  Because the location was fairly dark – as I wanted – the auto-focus lagged even though I shot with top notch glass.  At the wider aperture that meant I had a few out of focus shots.  Shift in manual and focus on a prearranged location.  Problem solved,

• Play with your lighting.  When I did the couch shots and for the first 15 minutes I thought I wouldn’t be able to get the look I wanted with the Elinchrom even at the lowest power.  I thought, “might as well try a speedlight” and this worked great.  Play with your lighting.

• If you are shooting with studio strobes out of studio and without portable rechargeable batteries make sure you know where the plugs are in advance.  I did this and was glad I did.  Some of the plugs in the industrial space were not hot.  I avoided spending lots of time finding juice.

• If you are shooting with someone else walk them through everything.  This was half the fun.