Under Pressure

Although photography can be a solo endeavor, working with others can be an exciting experience and a way to stimulate creativity.  Brian mentioned that he wanted to do another Photo Contest and recapture the fun and energetic atmosphere our photography group's initial Photo Throwdown.

Brian came up with several challenges that would be decided at the time of the shoot.  The first requirement was 1) we would work in teams, Models and Photographers, and 2) that we were members of the Photo Group.  Originally, I was going to show up and help Brian out, but a model, Danielle,  asked if I was interested in pairing up.  We (7 Teams) all gathered together at 5:30 PM on Saturday at a local coffee shop to "meet-n-greet" and pick the challenge.  The official start time for the Challenge was 6:00 PM and the temperature was 97 degrees, sheesh.

Initially Brian was going to pick one challenge, but after the first challenge was read, the models wanted one, too.  So the photographers' challenge was, "Pros and Amateurs" which meant that all photographers had to set their cameras in Automatic Mode, or Program Mode.  The models' challenge was "Up, Up and Away", that meant that the models could not be touching the ground in the photo.  Both feet had to be in the air and the final requirement? A one hour time limit.

Danielle didn't bring any clothes with her so we had to drive to her house, select her wardrobe, find a locale, "get the shot", and then report back to the coffee shop.  Thankfully Danielle lives about 5 minutes from the coffee shop and she mentioned we could shoot at a nearby park, I asked if she played sports and she said, "Yes, Soccer!!!".  Easy, grab shorts, tank top, headband, soccer socks, cleats, and a soccer ball.

However, Danielle also wanted to do a Fashion shoot, too.  WHAT!?! 2 Looks in 45 minutes!!! Seriously? Fine, she showed me a couple dresses and I picked a nice off-the-shoulder black and white patterned dress with white heels.  Now while all this was going on, her parents came out to meet the photographers.  Danielle is only 19 and the youngest of three children. So talk about a flash-back to dating days.  "Yes sir, we will have your daughter back by 7:30 PM.  Here is my cell and we will be shooting at these two locations.  Nice!!!

We drove to the park, and as Danielle put on the soccer outfit, I scouted for a clear space to shoot.  I brought a speed light and my Flex system, which works fairly well in Aperture Priority Mode and more reliably in Manual Mode, but in Program Mode.  Holy Crud!!! The Aperture and Shutter was all over the place and so unpredictable.  My buddy Rob acted as my VAL (Voice-Activated Lightstand) and he held the SB-900 at the usual 45 degrees and up high.  It wasn't working, even when using E/V Compensation.

Fine, instead of using the sun as a rim light, it will be the key light and the speed light will be my fill.  I decide to use my 24mm - 70mm lens and zoom way out.  To make the model appear higher up, I laid on the ground and was about two feet away from the soccer ball.  After 15 minutes we got the athletic shot.

Onto the next image, change of wardrobe, hair style and locale. It was 6:50 when we were ready to shoot the "fashion" look.  This time no mucking around with speed lights, or reflectors just pure available light.  Luckily the alleyway runs East and West, so all Danielle had to do was look towards the sun and jump off the curb while wearing heels.  All I had to do was lay down on the hot asphalt.

I must say that she is a real trooper and kept doing take after take in the 97 degree heat.  Finally I put the shutter in Continuous Mode and then on the count of 3, I just held down the shutter.  It took about 25 frames to capture the final picture.

Just like the first Photo Throwdown, this one was really fun, Danielle really did her share of the work.  Aside from the two challenges (Pro and Amateur, and Up, Up and Away), there was our self-imposed challenges, Two Looks and Two Locales.  Do I love pressure, you bet!!!  Honestly, it doesn't matter if we win, the best part was the actual shoot.

Here's an outtake of Danielle getting ready to jump and me yelling, Wait, Stop, Okay Go!!!

What Did Learn?

• Program Mode has it's place, but it's definitely not for me.
• Sometimes the best light is to have the model face the "setting" sun.  Albeit, it wasn't quite the Golden Hour, but it worked.

For my Photo Challenge submission, I created a Diptych, showing Danielle's versatility.  Can't wait for the next challenge.