It was during one of my slow periods that I decided to look through the DC area for new models and scout for hot undiscovered talents.  This is when I came across Angela.

Hit the link for more photos.

Angela has a very unique face and that’s what we often look for when we look for a new model.   Warren and I partnered up for a beauty story.   We started with very simple things at first but the ideas and concepts simply developed and we went all out for some fun crazy drastic makeup and beauty shoot ideas.   Warren made a beauty grid on Angela’s face using a stencil and then Warren brought a piece of gridded metal which made for a gorgeous contrast with the softness of Angela’s features.

As for the lighting, these were taken with a simple beauty dish to camera high right with a AB800 with small umbrella camera left low and to the left of the model a white board to fill in the shadows.   Enjoy the pics.

If you can shoot tethered, I highly recommend trying it out.  It saves frames and you are able to figure out what’s wrong quickly instead of regretting something while sitting in front of your computer afterwards, or spending hours in photoshop.   enjoy

Bianca has really strong facial features which make stunning portraits…but this time she was looking for more photos to expand her portfolio for full body shots.  This is the first set of shots from the same shoot.  [lighting info at end]

Love the liquid tights…such a sleek look.  hit the link for more pics.

Bianca had brought her own wardrobe…surprisingly enough, the top she’s wearing is actually a mini-skirt which works really well with the black tights.  love the splash of white with that scarf.

Sweet boots.

Love the pose for this one.  

Techy Stuff: lighting wise, I used 3 lights.   A 500W strobe on background to camera right behind model, this light was flagged to create the diagonal shade/line you see in the photos.  And for the model, an umbrella high camera left and a softbox low camera right. 

Bianca is a great model…definitely looking forward to working with her again in the future.

This post will just have a selection of portraits from the shoot.

hit the link for more pics

Just a few quick almost candid portrait snaps.

Katelin had put her hair up which provided a much edgier look.

It was a gorgeous sunny day as well, with bright blue skies…here are a couple of the sunny day.

It was a REALLY sunny day, this was shot with a big 48″ gold reflector right in front of Katelin.  The sun was so bright, I had to use the reflector to create some fill.  Poor Katelin was nearly blinded as I snapped away.  Her eyes even started tearing, but she continued on…now that’s a model.

So Katelin took a break and closed her eyes which provided this quite sensual shot.   More photos coming.

This is the first set of photos in front of the modern-esq building near Metro Centre Stop.   I had wanted to shoot at this building when I first saw it during my shoot wiht Darina last November.   

hit the link for a few more pics.

We were lucky with afternoon sun which reflected off an office building on the opposite side of the road and created just spots of highlights as shown in this photo.  Then it was just a matter of standing in the right place and following the sun.

Love the hair…lucky gust of wind.

Just playing with wide angles a little.   More to come.

After the motion photos with Katelin from last week…Katelin and I got together to do more of the same theme of movement.   This time we decided to take advantage of the cherry magnolia blossom and do the shoot late afternoon and night.  This time, I had the pleasure of shooting with Joy, a local photographer friend this time around.  This shoot was cut short by the police and mother nature (more on this later)…but regardless we got some quite good shots.  [Technical stuff at bottom of post]

We picked Katelin up at her place, and as always Katelin picked out the perfect pink dress which worked brilliantly with the cherry magnolia blossom.   Hit the link for more pics and the rest of the story.

After finding the tidal basin and securing a parking space, we got started finding the biggest and most bloomed cherry  magnolia tree and got started setting up.  Fortunately we were able to find a big tree with little tourists around and I quickly set up my octobox and started testing lighting.

Soon enough we got the lighting right and quickly got Katelin walking back and forth and we started getting some fantastic shots.  

Some as Joy pointed out gave a bit of Alice in Wonderland look.  With the movement and the flowy dress it did give it a bit of the dreamy style.   

Just as we started rolling (about 15 minutes into the shoot), a cop car pulled up next to curb…our hearts sank but we ignored him and continued shooting.   He strutted our way and observed our operation.   He asked for our permit and apparently we are not allowed to do a “commercial shoot” without a permit on federal ground.  When we told him it’s not commercial, it’s just for fun, he picked on my octobox and claimed that any ‘light setup’ on federal ground would be considered commercial and hence requires a permit.   Apparently I can shoot as long as I don’t use the lightstand and if it’s just the camera and the model.

He was pleasant enough to say he will drive away now, but if he saw us in 20 minutes he will kick us out.   Lovely chap.  

So to follow suit, we took the stand down and Joy became the lightstand and held a bare SB-600 and we continued on to grab a couple shots.   Not to push our luck and get on the black list of the park service, we changed location and just strolled around the Tidal Basin to get some more random shots.   But the cherry blossoms around the basin were not full blossom yet…so I wasn’t too happy with those.   Adding on the the fact it soon started rainy…our shoot was cut quite short…nevertheless I think it was rather productive and Katelin and vow to be back on Monday to shoot.

Oddly enough, I find the above shot quite appealing.   Technically, it’s a crap shot (blurred underexposed and much more)…but I love the mood of it.   

ps.  as always..great to work with Katelin again…don’t need to mention it anymore…highly recommended model.

Technical stuff: this was shot with D2x and a couple different lenses.  The key is panning while using rear sync.   Rear sync freezes some of the flowers and the model…the rest will be attributed to motion blur.  Loving this technique at the moment.  I used an sb900 in a softbox to the camera right which was triggered by an sb800 on camera.

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.

Once we are inside, I set upon quickly choosing the background and come up with a new concept.  Luckily, Paulo had stashed the studio lots of mirrors and as always there was the gorgeous insulation.  So we ended up with soem futuristic looking setups.

I thought the silver background and jewelry works a bit.  I did over process these a little to get that slight oomph….anyways hit the link for more pictures.

With some shots I was playing with the focus either focus on the figure in the mirror or on the real person.  This seemed like a good idea at the time, but once I loaded the pictured, the ones where I focused on the mirror just seemed to be slightly out and looks bizzare…but still usable as show above.

Mirrors are fun, but at the same time rather hard, trying to figure out where to place the light and keep an eye on background and the stuff getting reflected.   Also mirrors = two models = twice as much touchup.

Melissa and I played with a variety of poses looking in at the mirror, looking straight at me, looking at me through the mirror and things.  Seemed to work well.  Much easier to pose in the warm confines of a studio.

Hand interactions with the mirror seemed like fun.  I was tempted to be cheesy and call this set of photos: Duplicity…but I think there is a new film coming out named that.

This is the final headshot that we took before heading inside.  Melissa can turn on her model looks with a snap of a finger and ignore essentially everything else, brilliant.

Again, a big thanks to everyone involved: Fortunately, Melissa (model), Sherritta (hairstylist), Salsabil (MUA), Natasha (Stylist) and Diallo (Designer).

A few more photos to process and I think I’ll be caught up very soon.

Mirza Mperial Clothing Line

Well as the story goes…I did event photography for Taimur at Mirza Mperial at the NoVa Fashion show.   Below are some more general random snaps from the event.  Nothing special really.   

happy models

Hit the link to see more snaps.

last minute clothes trimming and knots tying

more clothes adjustments

oxsana..waiting waiting waiting

trying out outfits for other designers

stacey

jordyn practicing the walk

Jayda's turn

Megan with her final pose

model with kid in another designer's clothes

jordyn

des, patrick and beth….mirza mperial team

ready to roll

that’s it…

A simple concept but things snowballed…I can play with gravity and make it look as if the model had wind blowing in her face with her hair flying behind her and other concepts.   All these ideas started pouring in at 4am, and as excited as a little boy on Christmas morning, I started blasting emails to all the hairstylists, MUAs, designers and models, hoping they will understand my whacky idea and play along. 

Fortunately, Melissa (model), Sherritta (hairstylist), Salsabil (MUA), Natasha (Stylist) and Diallo (Designer) all got on board for this idea and the location was the wonderful alley just outside the DC Photo Coop studio.  Hit the link to read more about the shoot and see photos.

The shot above best conveys the vertical walking up the wall idea I had.   Melissa is actually sitting on the ground (bricks) with her feet and hands on the wall (corrugated metal).  The idea was that she will be in a bit of a olympic runner start position with her hair blown back because of gravity.  

As with my luck, the day of the shoot turned out to be fantastically freezing.  Poor Melissa had to wear such skimpy outfits which I doubt provided any warmth since most parts were essentially thin silk.   Furthermore she had to sit on hard brick ground and put her hands on cold metal.   I can’t wait for the weather to get warmer so that it will make life easier for everyone.

Sherritta did an amazing hairstyle.  I think I initially described the hairstyle I wanted as a cross between Princess Leah  bob(yes, star wars) and a long flowing braid.  And Sherritta came up with something fantastic.  I watched her working through the hair adding so many different pins and clips…I’m simply speechless.

It was my first time working with Salsabil, who’s an experienced MAC artist.  She did a phenomenal job creating flawless skin and subtle yet powerful eyes.  Love it.  

Needless to say, this was my second time working with Natasha and her choice of earrings really made the above headshot pop.  I love the colours!

This is actually just the first outfit from the shoot.  There is a second outfit which I’ll start processing soon.

For those of you interested in the lighting setup, here is a photo of the actual setup.  

I used two softboxes and one blue gelled grid (in the back).  I was taking the photo near the softbox on the ground.  Melissa was sitting on the towel.  

More to come.  watch this space once again.