Au Revoir Taylor

This photo session closes my collaborative chapter with Taylor.  She ships out May 13, for Great Lakes, IL.  This young lady joined the U.S. Navy, but before she left for Boot Camp she wanted to do one last photo session.  She's been wanting to re-create an image taken by Herb Ritts and Brigitte Nielson and we decided to shoot it the day before her left.  I wish I could say I did my part to duplicate the photo, but there were a few faux pas that happened:

1. We didn't get started until 7:00 PM  - If you review Ritts' image you can tell it was around noon based on the shadows
2. The $10 Fish Net had a lot larger openings than the one in our reference image
3. I should've brought a step ladder to get a similar angle

There were two positives, 1) I did manage to bring a rake to help sculpt and smooth out the sand since we shot on the Kern River Bed, and 2) I found another Make-Up Artist (MUA) named Clara Torres.





To compensate for the  lighting, I brought an SB-900 and cranked it up high above Taylor and instead of using the Pocket Wizard Flex system, I switched to Nikon CLS and even used the on-camera pop-up flash for fill.  We really had to move fast since Taylor had to be on the road by 8:30.

We shot some Available light images as the sun was setting and then once it set, I switched to the the speed light.





I tried using a second Speed Light to fill in the background, but it didn't look right.  We shot until 8:00 and then packed up the gear and headed home.

What Did I Learn?

• Clarify with your Model what you mean when you say, "Let's shoot at 5:00 PM"  To me, that means, "Make-Up Ready"
• Bring the freaking step stool - I bought one that doubles as a dolly and a 4-Step ladder, but I'm not too sure how stable it would've been in the sand.

So farewell to Taylor, thank you for working with me on four shoots in the last five months.  I'm sure you will do well in the military and maybe you'll get stationed nearby.