As I have never taken any photography courses, I wanted to start off with the standard beauty shot.  This was with a white background and a hair light and a soft front fill, then it’s just a matter of positioning the light/model in the right place.

hit the link for a couple other lighting practice shots.

This shot was inspired from a series of photographs I saw ages earlier…they are suppose to mimic a theatre/cinema audience lighting, hence Sofia’s concentration/shock.   This was taken with a single gridded light pointed solely at Sofia’s face.  In order to break up the light a bit, we added some foli to create a rough looking snoot so there is irregular light fall off (a little trick I learned from Paulo).   Then we had to add a little diffusion as to get a soft focused light.   I think this effect worked out.

From my previous shoots with Gigi and Nicole, oftentimes I get caught outside in bright sun and I shoot into the sun, using the model to block the sun.   I wanted to create the same effect in the studio.  So this was taken with one light shooting bare top right behind the model and a soft fill up front and then Tony was holding the fan to get the hair moving.

This last one was similarly executed as the photo above.  Just had to time the hair right.

A few more photoshoots to go and I’ll be all caught up…wooohooo!!!

Kamilah came to the open call this Tuesday as a make up artist (MUA).  She’s actually studying for a MAC certification and was hoping to get behind the scenes for a photoshoot.  Unfortunately for her and fortunately for me, she was put in front of the lens and she became quite a natural model as well.  This was her first time in front of the camera for a photoshoot.  Hit the link for a couple more shots.  

These couple black and whites were taken with just the ambient modelling light and shooting with high iso at f/2.

Afterwards, in the slightly warmer weather, I couldn’t resist going out for some on location shoots.  This time I wanted to test some slow sync flash shots to get the urban shopping/movement look.  Took a few tries to get all the settings right balancing the lighting and all.  Then it was just shooting with the SB-900 on the D2x.  

With the slow sync shots, the most difficult part I found was the timing.  Since the flash actually fires a split second after the initial shutter release, you have to preempt the movement and try to capture the hand swing the right time.  I thought this was alright for a first time.  I think Kamilah would’ve stood out better if she wasn’t wearing all black.  Next time then.  

DC photo coop also has an open house coming up this Friday, please RSVP on the DC photo coop site if you are interested in coming to network.

The Mirza Mperial crew, one of the few brief stints of free time when we got everyone together for a group shot.  Hit the link to read the whole story…

The Northern Virginia Fashion week was held at the Masonic Memorial in Alexandria.  I arrived at 3 in the afternoon as all the models arrive to get ready to start the show at 7:30 that night.

All the jewelry and accessory laid out for the models.

First thing for the models is the hair…almost like a mass production system as all the models get prepared.

Then comes the makeup.

Since there were only 3 hairstylists and 4 makeup artists…the models queue up along the side waiting their turn.

Taimur and Beth go over the outfit orders and accessory pairings.

All hands in to fix and sort out the outfits and put it all in the correct order for the show.

Make up artist at work with Oxsana (spelling?), one of the models for Mirza Mperial.

MUA working on Stacy’s smoky eye.

More outfit debate and discussions.

All the outfits and orders…as we wait on the seamtress to finish up on a couple of the last minute designs.

Figuring out the poses during the dry runs.

All the empty chairs waiting for the VIPs as we observe the final walk through.

More wardrobe discussions.

Happy models  getting their nails done.

Double sided taping everywhere.

ETA 90 minutes…let the mayhem begin.

One model ready…eight more to go.

Lipstick and gloss touch up.

Standing still amidst all the commotion.

Hats and jewelry ready to be put on.

All ready with about 20 minutes to spare…the calm  before the storm.

Just chilling now…letting the nerves settle…no sitting allowed…must stand on the heels and keep the dresses in the proper places.

Place looks almost deserted now as everyone waits for the music to begin and kick things off.

Final going through with the runway order, the second change of outfits and timing.

All queued up and ready to go.

Pretty shoes on marble stairs….careful..no slipping.

All jokes as the show kicks off.  All the planning lingers on 15 very brief minutes.  Fantastic job everyone.  More candid photos to come tomorrow…getting late now.  Watch this space.

Unfortunately I had about 3ft by 6ft area to work with, or about 1m by 2m.  Since I didn’t prepare for on location studio shooting, I had left all my umbrella’s and stands at home.  I only had two speedlights, my homemade beauty dish and a bunch of velcro straps.   So I quickly strapped the beauty dish to the nearest  clothes rack with the SB-800 and bounced the SB-900 off the wall.   Not a perfect system, but got the job done…sort of.  Here are some snaps of Taimur’s collection.

Some of these outfits were from the first shoot.  Hopefully we will be planning a new photoshoot soon with these gorgeous outfits….

The fashion show itself was quite a bit of fun, rather hectic.  I arrived around 3pm just like the models and started snapping away from the fitting to the make up and hair to dry rehersal to the final mayhem before the final show.  There are some beautiful designs and even more beautiful models.  I  didn’t have a chance to take the actual runway photos but instead I covered the behind the scene editorial side of things.  I’ve got lots of photos to go through, and unfortunately processing those will have to come after the other photoshoots.  So here are just a couple of the event.

After today’s shooting, I have come to realise that I don’t really enjoy event photography.  As much as I like taking photos I enjoy the partying and socialising at the event even more.  Having a camera in hand doesn’t allow me to socialise and chat as much as I want to.   Event photography seems almost lonely in some ways.  Anyways more photos to process in the coming days…i’ll finally give give my D2x a well deserved rest.

Paulo hosted our first Figurative Art workshop this past Friday.  (I should be hosting a fashion workshop once I’ve got more time.)  This was my first time shooting nudes and it proved to be an interesting and educational experience dealing with lighting setups, not ‘everyday’ to fashion photography.  click below for more photos

Katya kindly was the model for the shoot and here are some of my snaps from the workshop.  Not too many photos this time, because it was more of a workshop and less of a shoot.

what can I say….she's got great legs…

a few hot light shots (ie no strobes/flashes)

We had a bit of a radio trigger/ sync cable shortage.  So I caught my self taking photos simply using the light from the modelling lamps while the other photographers used strobes.  I quite like these results.  Though D2x is no low light demon…it turned out alright overall.  Thanks again to Paulo for leading the workshop and Katya for modelling in the frigid indoors.  

That’s all the photos for now…would be interesting to see what the other photographers got.

Click here for Part 1 of Katelin’s Shoot

Click here for Part 2 of Katelin’s Shoot

Above is my absolute favourite from this set.  

Overall I’m quite happy with essentially a one in 50 retention rate for this shoot.  That’s one image out of 50 which I really quite like.  This is much better than my other shoots, which typically is about one in 80 or 100.  I would attribute this mostly to Katelin’s posing variety and style.  Most of the time I have to work with a model through quite a few shots to get that one pose spot on.   With Katelin, it was much easier.  If all models have the same amount of creativity and energy…   

These shots are not necessarily ‘in studio’.  These were taken down the alley, just outside the studio.  I simply love all the different textures the alley provides.   Katelin braved the cold and the ice…note the snow and Katelin’s high heels.   Without further ado…here are the photos.

I really quite like this somber muted doll like look.

Suddenly contrasting to this mad crazy haired look…versatility!

Played with the Tokina wideangle for this shot…really long legs you see.   This was during the cigarette break (her right hand).

If anyone was wondering…all these were shot with a Photech Soft Lighter to camera right, a bit higher than the model.  (2 speedlights in the softlighter).

Found a rusty door way, so tried something else out.

These photos have only been processed in LR, hence there is stray hair etc….will sort them out when I have more time.  For now…that’s the end of the Katelin shoot.  Will probably see more of her in the future shoots as well.

Having said that though, I have been spending lots of time browsing the web and have got a few new photo styles to test out.  Most of these will be portraits in studios or on location around Bristol.  If you are around and fancy joining me for some photo fun come June, give me a shout.

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After 4 years at university, Jo’s finally convinced me to get my own website/domain, although revision procrastination was a big motivating factor. Without further ado here is my official site: www.boandbro.com.

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As for the name, yes I do have a brother, and no he is not working with me in photography. Not yet at least, although he may be in the back of my head as a subconscious motivator. I would’ve loved to get bozhang.com, but that was taken by a giant finger nail sculptor. Any name photography related would’ve been a bit tacky and probably not too useful when i decide to stop the photography business and move on to olive oil or the bagel market. I did look into bonana.com and bolongaise.com, but to no avail, all taken. So were www.bo.bo (courtesy of bolivia) and bo.bz (belize). Hence I end up with a wonderfully catchy (if only a bit too American, as a friend had commented) website of BoAndBro.com. Almost a follow up to boandjo.com come to think of it.

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As I mentioned, this has been a big revision procrastination effort, I’d highly recommend every student to get their own website. Instead of killing off 1 or 2 hrs watching neighbors or topgear…this website thingy takes over one’s life almost. I haven’t done any proper work during the last two days. I’ve had a blast tutorial of php/html (thx to Jo) and also a self taught design exercise using Dreamweaver. Hopefully the commercial site (www.boandbro.com) brings the words: smart, classic, clean, sharp, sexy to mind rather than botch-job etc.

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When I get more time (tomorrow), the gallery will be posted and all will run smoothly.
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Until then…sweet dreams.

ps. Formula 1 tomorrow! come and watch kimi whoop some lewis ass.