Heidi and Nikki

The last two White Sheets shoots didn't quite end up as expected, on one I forgot to dry the sheets, and the other I changed the entire lighting set-up.  I still attained decent results, but something didn't click.  I decided to go back to my standard lighting and made sure the sheets were dry.

I found Heidi on Kern Models and Photographers (KMaP) Facebook group as a Make-up Artists, but noticed she had some cool tattoos, so I asked if she would be interested in being in my White Sheets, and she agreed.  As with most White Sheets sessions, I asked Heidi to bring along a chaperone.  She brought Nikki, who is a model on KMaP.   Nikki hasn't shot in awhile, so I told her to bring some clothes she would like photographed.

The White Sheets was my standard lighting set-up,  86", "broken", PLM shot-thru my white muslin and my 22" White Beauty Dish for Key and Einstein with the 8" Reflector bounced off the garage as Fill.  Heidi was on my blow-up mattress and I also laid down the bamboo flooring in case I wanted a full body shot.

The Metering for ISO 200 and Shutter 1/125 was:

• Key: F/8
• Fill:  F/4
• BG: F/11 

And of course, my Grey card for more accurate White Balance.

Heidi was a real trooper, not having done Boudoir stuff before, she kept visualizing that she was at the beach and we kept things light and funny.  After a few White Sheets shots, we switched models and wardrobes.  Nikki brought along a really cool Gold dress, so while we shot, Heidi warmed up.

This image of Nikki with her eyes closed is really for Heidi, since she did Nikki's make-up.  I love the colors Heidi chose and Nikki was definitely relaxed in front of the camera.

The ladies had two to three wardrobe changes and we shot for a total of three hours, which isn't too bad for two models and different lighting set-ups.

For the balance of the shoot, I switched the B/G light to a Rim light using my Strip box, but kept the key and fill.

I left the white muslin up instead of switching to my grey seamless, I need to drive to L.A. and pick up another Grey Seamless; my current one is depleted.  $44 for a year's use isn't too bad.

So What Did I Learn?

• I need more space -  Actually just a taller space.  I really like the image I got of Lara, but my garage door opener and it's track kept getting in the way
• Get casters for my Studio stands - The Boom stands are fairly heavy and moving them around is laborious, especially for minute adjustments
• Use my PEN, iPad and Eye-Fi when shooting as a mock Polaroid - I used this set-up during my shoot with Heidi and Nikki and  it gave them an idea of how they looked and the lighting.  In fact the first image above was taken with the PEN

To date, I've photographed 14 models for my White Sheets, including some with tattoos.  I still would like to add more, but I'm tired of the same look and feel.

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