After Saturday morning's Model Mayhem shoot I sped home to set-up for my 2:00 PM shoot with Sabrina. A couple of female photographers asked if they could tag along from the MM shoot, so I complied. Boy was I glad they were there to help out.
My buddy Phil showed up with his Harley freshly detailed wearing his Bad "A" riding gear and ready to lend a hand. The girlz arrived pretty much ready to shoot, with some last minute touch ups. It was cute to see the girls all dolled up and lookin' hot. Usually at work they wear medical scrubs, sneakers and daytime make-up.
The Set-up: It was not a difficult shoot from a lighting perspective, at first. ISO 100, f8 and between 1/60 to 1/125 shutter speed. I played around with "stopping" up and down to get a better exposure, but with Capture NX2 I can go two full stops either way for exposure.
The shoot went from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and all those in attendance were great sports. Especially Phil, since he had to move his 800 lb Harley several times. I used my softbox for the key light, a strobe with an umbrella for fill, strobe with diffuser for backlight or hairlight and the silver side of my reflector, opposite the softbox also for fill. It didn't make sense to use the gold side since the strobes emit a white light. I also had a fan and fog machine for atmospheric enhancement. The entire shoot took place at Studio In The RAW (my garage) which provided me with valuable lessons about the constraints of my garage and my backdrops.
What did I learn?
1) If you can find a a huge "lazy susan" for the vehicle, get one. lol
2) Oil tattoos to enhance their look
3) Pay attention to details, like the models earrings, placement of clothing (i.e. what is it covering) hair if it is parted, reflection of your lights, or yourself on chrome and mirrors.
4) Buy a curtain track to hang your backgrounds, it'll make it easier if you are using big heavy objects that are 10 feet wide to photograph. In some shots, I had to process the background to hide my vaccuum cleaner, storage cabinets, etc...
5) Test your equipment the day of the shoot one more time. I plugged in the Fog machine on Saturday and everything worked great. Yesterday, plugged it in and Nada, zip, nil. Arghhh!!! The fan I used was more like a mild breeze. Oh, BTW, the model of the fan is a Hawaiian Breeze, should've guessed the output wasn't too variable.
6) Take your time with each shot, review the capture after you change something, especially lighting. I lost a good series of shots because the hairlight was no longer pointed in the correct direction. Especially because I like to move around when I shoot.
7) Have an extra set of eyes, especially a woman to help out. It makes female models more comfortable, and they give you great feedback from a female perspective.
That's a Wrap!!!
My buddy Phil showed up with his Harley freshly detailed wearing his Bad "A" riding gear and ready to lend a hand. The girlz arrived pretty much ready to shoot, with some last minute touch ups. It was cute to see the girls all dolled up and lookin' hot. Usually at work they wear medical scrubs, sneakers and daytime make-up.
The Set-up: It was not a difficult shoot from a lighting perspective, at first. ISO 100, f8 and between 1/60 to 1/125 shutter speed. I played around with "stopping" up and down to get a better exposure, but with Capture NX2 I can go two full stops either way for exposure.
The shoot went from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and all those in attendance were great sports. Especially Phil, since he had to move his 800 lb Harley several times. I used my softbox for the key light, a strobe with an umbrella for fill, strobe with diffuser for backlight or hairlight and the silver side of my reflector, opposite the softbox also for fill. It didn't make sense to use the gold side since the strobes emit a white light. I also had a fan and fog machine for atmospheric enhancement. The entire shoot took place at Studio In The RAW (my garage) which provided me with valuable lessons about the constraints of my garage and my backdrops.
What did I learn?
1) If you can find a a huge "lazy susan" for the vehicle, get one. lol
2) Oil tattoos to enhance their look
3) Pay attention to details, like the models earrings, placement of clothing (i.e. what is it covering) hair if it is parted, reflection of your lights, or yourself on chrome and mirrors.
4) Buy a curtain track to hang your backgrounds, it'll make it easier if you are using big heavy objects that are 10 feet wide to photograph. In some shots, I had to process the background to hide my vaccuum cleaner, storage cabinets, etc...
5) Test your equipment the day of the shoot one more time. I plugged in the Fog machine on Saturday and everything worked great. Yesterday, plugged it in and Nada, zip, nil. Arghhh!!! The fan I used was more like a mild breeze. Oh, BTW, the model of the fan is a Hawaiian Breeze, should've guessed the output wasn't too variable.
6) Take your time with each shot, review the capture after you change something, especially lighting. I lost a good series of shots because the hairlight was no longer pointed in the correct direction. Especially because I like to move around when I shoot.
7) Have an extra set of eyes, especially a woman to help out. It makes female models more comfortable, and they give you great feedback from a female perspective.
That's a Wrap!!!
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