d said:
Hi CFB,
I like the first image of this series (Samantha 2) - it looks like you've caught a candid moment between poses and your model looks naturally happy.
I think the jacket is a little unflattering in the final two shots - the shoulders sit up a little high, making her neck and shoulder area appear a little boxy and stout. Were you working with a stylist, or just yourself and the model?
What did you find challenging at the time?
Cheers,
David
Hi David. Thanks for the feedback. This was a tough shoot. It was very windy and raining hard off and on most of the day.
There was no stylist. I can't afford that and the model is a volunteer. It was very hard for me to show her in a good light.
The first image is the only one I like in the group, though I wish I had remembered to ask her to brush her hair through. I completely agree about the jacket. I think a great big cigar would have looked good there.
She just looks so tough. I need to find a way to take advantage of that.
We will be working together more in the near future so the challenge will be to find flattering poses. I do have a pose book, so we will have to work through some of those.
She does her own makeup, but I think we will start out with just a lip gloss next time. She can always add the lipstick together. Back when I was a young man and I was photographed for black and white the makeup people always used purplish and grayish tones for makeup. I need to research that.
We are still getting to know each other and build trust. She thinks I am an awesome photographer (poor lady) compared to the photographers she's worked with in the past. I am better, but not awesome. The black and white of her looking up is the best of the day. Most others were deletes. Some of that is me, some of that is that she is very hard to shoot in a flattering way. So really, I guess it was all me.
After a few more shoots she will decide whether or not she is comfortable with some fine art style nude and boudoir work. She is already comfortable with implied nudity, though we have not done any of that yet.
This was shot with a single 72" umbrella and a Flashpoint Streaklight 360ws flash. I need to start working with more of my flash units to get rim lighting and etc. I also need to quit forgetting about my ND filters, but they probably would be of no benefit on a cloudy day like that day anyway.
Thanks again d.