Pretty in Pink

Right after I posted the pics of Missy Van Gore, I received an e-mail from Sarah Lynn asking me if we could do a shot using my black background.  I agreed with a one stipulation that we also do a High-key shoot, too.  I really watned to try out my Alien Bees Ring Flash and the PLM on a model shoot and not just on my boys.  We really didn't have a theme since she wanted to shoot kinda quickly, but she did bring a couple outfits. After having her hair and make-up done by Angel, we began shooting. 

I used my PLM and silver reflector for the first shot.  The PLM was feathered towards the camera and set at about 45 degrees camera left and about two feet from Sarah. Power was set to1/32 and triggered via my Pocket Wizard.  The silver reflector was just out of frame camera right about 60 degrees.  Of course, I used my Sekonic L-358 Flash meter to dial in the exposure, which I'm starting to carry with me for On Location shoots.  That's a whole other post.

This next shot I left the PLM (texture/cross light), camera left but moved it to about 80 degrees.  I added a background light, camera left, with a frost white diffuser and a softbox (Key light), camera right at 80 degrees.  All units were triggered via Pocket Wizard.  The PLM was set to 1/16 power since my RPS Monolights only stop down to 1/8.

I really like the combat boots in this shot, along with the stockings. I've read that blondes look better with High Key shots and I tend to agree.  The next set of low key shots were done with traditional clamshell lighting.  Not much to write about, except that Sarah was more talkative this session, which hopefully means she was comfortable around me.

So What Did I Learn?

1) Have a plan/theme prior to shooting - Sound familiar?  To be fair, I really wanted to play with my light, so it was a win-win.

2) Use that Light Meter - There's a reason people have used them for decades, especially for Studio work.

3) Have another set of eyes, preferably female.  Notice Sarah's dress on the image on the left.  When I'm shooting, I'm looking at composition, expression and lighting.  the last thing I'm looking at are wrinkles, labels, tags, etc...

Well I did it again and booked four to five shoots for January.  One is a paid gig, so that is nice, and...

...That's A Wrap!!!