January is Jenn-uary!!!

So this January I shot three times with Jenna, or basically four times in a five week period, thereby dubbing January as Jennuary.   Jenna is on break from a Nursing School program and we figured we'd help each other out.  It's been a pleasure to collaborate with Jenna since she is easygoing, and has a quirky sense of humor, like me.

Back in December when we did our Holiday Session, we shot an implied Santa's Helper image, and although it was really well done it never made off the Memory Card.  Since that time, a friendship built on trust was established and Jenna felt comfortable participating in my "White Sheets" series at her own request.  We chose January 24, as the date of our shoot unbeknown to me that the New Orleans Saints would make it to the NFC Championships.  Thankfully she was running a little late and didn't make it to my house until Half-Time.  My girlfriend kept me updated as I Jenna and I worked.  At one point we needed to take a break so Jenna could fix her hair, and as luck would have it I was in time to watch Hartley kick the game winning Field Goal.  Wow!!! what a tangent.  

Pretty simple lighting for this shoot.  One monolight was equipped with a silver umbrella and placed behind my white cotton background, about 6 feet up and slightly angled downward to simulate the sun,  and triggered with my Pocket Wizard.  The key was softboxed and placed about 60 degrees off camera to "short light" Jenna, and then fill was basically behind me at all times, softboxed, too.  I used my Sekonic Light meter to ensure that the background light was about one full-stop brighter than the key and the fill about a half-stop darker than the key.

We also did some low key shots, but I really like the contrast between her tattoos and the high key white.  During our shoot , when the Saints won, Jenna agreed to do a cheesecake pose with my Reggie Bush jersey, but I was struggling after awhile and forgot, so it might have to be someone else wearing number 25.  I did manage to capture a candid shot of Jenna being herself.  It was pretty cold in my garage and so C.J. let her use his Peacoat.  As I was setting up for the shot, I asked her to pose so I could test my lighting and here is the image I got of Jenna. This image truly captures her personality.

What Did I Learn?

• Put out all the props you want to use ahead of time and have a checklist to make sure you get the shots you want.  As I mentioned in my blog, I really wanted a pin-up shot of Jenna wearing my Reggie Bush Jersey.
• Have all your clippings and tearsheets of poses you want to re-create or emulate on hand.  At the C.O.M.P. event, one of the photogs I respect had a notebook full of killer poses he would have the models emulate.  Smart.

So ends my January shoots with Jenna, we don't have anything scheduled in February since I'll be doing some low pay shoots for some of Tonya's friends, but heck up until now everything has been free.  This upcoming Saturday I'm doing an On Location Fashion Shoot  for a local Bakersfield Clothing Store, so stay tuned and...

...That's A Wrap!!!