Milton and Sarah - Creative again

I've been having photographer's block since June and decided to lay-off shooting until I felt inspired again. So I re-read some books, web stuff, magazines, and watched some DVDs to stimulate the creative juices. Last weekend I photographed a co-workers friend to play with cross lighting for photographing male models, which can be seen in Frank Miller movies (e.g. Sin City)and felt pretty good about the results. The lighting is pretty simple. Two strobes with barndoors and honeycomb grids set at 100 degrees from camera right and left, feathered towards the camera. Placed directly in front of the camera and model is my 4' x 6' reflector to catch the light from the strobes and reflect back at the model.

Careful attention was also paid to the sunglasses so I wouldn't catch any lights from the strobes or the reflector. The session lasted about an hour and we got some good pictures, but at least I felt creative again.

About two months ago I received a MySpace e-mail from a young lady who knows my model friend, Katrina, asking if I would shoot some pics of her. We tried for months to sync our schedules, but to no avail until finally we agreed to July 4th.

Sarah was on-time and ready to shoot, we decided we'd do some dramatic lighting and then some high key lighting. A quick thanks to my Dad who bought me a roll of Snow White 9' x 36' seamless paper. Anyway, I need to work more on my high key lighting, but I still think I got some good shots of Sarah. The low key stuff, such as the pic above, is still my favorite. The pic above was done with a softbox, 45 degrees camera left, 8 feet high, and a strobe with barndoors and honeycomb grid at 100 degrees for accent, reflector in front of camera pointed up at model about 30 degrees.

What did I learn?
From a lighting perspective, have a model who is patient and fun, that will let you experiment and not be in a rush. Sarah was awesome, she was a blank canvas and took direction well. She also left her cell phone in the changing room, and asked permission to use it. Wow!!! I like her already.

Use your Flash Meter when doing High Key lighting, all that white reflection can throw off your on-board meter. I used my Flash Meter, but also bracketed some shots, too.

Hopefully I've got back my desire to shoot, but only time will tell. I think a majority of the issue is the 100 degree heat wave we've been having here in Bako.

Photo Info:
f-stop:7.1
Shutter: 1/125
ISO: 100
Focal: 95mm
Mode: Manual

Thanks for reading and That's a Wrap!!!