Ron Shoots

When I was shooting in the rental studio last week, the access was through a skylit hallway. I knew I needed to do a shot in that location when the moment presented itself. One of the models had a simple white dress, and thus the moment. Sometimes its just a simple thing like the right wardrobe that will trigger an idea, sometimes a prop, or even a conversation. Like most shooters, or any visually aware person, I become totally cognizant of the environment. This is really what I enjoy about stock- being able to improvise and challenge myself at any given time.

Here’s the first shot in the hallway- uuugh! Wasn’t quite working. The model was directly under the skylight and clouds had just obscured the sun. With this dull light, the hallway became way too busy. Not the effect I wanted.

The next step was to back up a few steps, let the skylight fall behind the model, and keep her body in an area shadowed from the skylight. I changed the camera exposure from “center-average” to “spot-metering” and after a couple of quick test shots I was a happy camper! Here are a few of the images:

This shot was accomplished with nothing more than the right exposure. There were no reflectors or any extra light beyond the available light. When spot-metering, especially with a white garment, it’s best to meter on the model’s face. I typically will pop up the exposure by 1/2 of a stop to keep the effect on the light and airy side.

When I find out that a model is a gymnast or a dancer, all kinds of great concepts come to mind. Stock images are all about concepts. Whether the photo is a simple smile that says “happiness” to the viewer, or something more dramatic, successful stock images need to have a words that can easily be attached. And if you’re lucky, a great image can have many many headlines.

Flexible is the “keyword” of the day!

Flexible is a major keyword. Think headlines like: “flexible spending”, “we’re flexible”, “we bend over backwards”. These are all things that many advertisers want to say to their customers.

Back to the gymnast… my model I shot Sunday morning was an ex-gymnast from Canada and has kept up her flexibility through dance. So that part was easy- shoot lots of crazy flexibility poses. The next thought I had was to add a cell phone, maybe a cellular company will want to advertise their “flexible calling plans” so I asked her if she could talk on her cell phone. Sure no problem.

Amazing, I have trouble tying my shoes in the morning.

Now that I have your attention with that headline… that was what I’ll call the the “sound byte of the day” during my Saturday shoots. As you may know from previous posts, we work with many models that we find through online postings- some have a little experience while others are actually quite accomplished. I hear wonderful, and often, quite intriguing stories from the models! The model for this shoot is a nursing student in her final year. I take it that she works with patients fashionably dressed in only a hospital gown. So hence the quote!

And no, the images aren’t actually nudes, just implied beauty images. The lighting was really simple, a soft box on one side and a reflector on the opposite side. The gold background is a flat that was available in the studio that I’m renting.

Remember the post from a couple weeks ago from Mia- a model that I worked with in Maui who became inspired to attend Brooks Institute of Photography. She signed her email with a “P.S. Would love to model for you again just for fun!” Well, today, we shot again. I’m in Los Angeles for a week- rented a small studio for a few days- so she came down from Santa Barbara with a friend and shot for a couple of hours.

The studio has beautiful afternoon light when the doors are opened. The front light on Mia is all natural. I do have a soft silver reflector on the opposite side to fill in the shadows. I wanted to create a bit of a “Hollywood” movie set look since the studio had a couple of vintage Mole-Richardson hotlights available. The black background is just a piece of black 4×8 foamcore.

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With the camera set at daylight color balance, the hotlight warmed up her hair with its lower color temperature, and I ended up with a nice flair to soften the overall look. Oh, and I must have been doing the fashion photographer thing today- even had the fan blowing her hair with dance tunes playing in the background…  (crack myself up sometimes!) 

As promised, here’s a “behind-the-scenes” video of the yoga shoot from last week. I’ve modified a video system to become my “camera-cam” so you can see the shoot from the photographer’s perspective. Included are some of the final images.

Many thanks to Joshua (my 14 year old son) for editing the video! (This is my first attempt at embedding a YouTube video in the blog. Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing…)

After all the fun winter shoots, I do have to admit that its nice to be back on a beach! Or at least in warm weather. Worked with a yoga model Thursday afternoon at a new location on the north shore. She keeps her horse nearby and suggested we go check out these cliffs. (Love it when the model has a photographic eye for locations! In this case, she also works for another photographer so being in the business helps.)

We hiked down a dry waterfall and across the dusty rocks to the edge of the ocean. Remember that part about this job being more of an adventure! So with whales breaching in the background, and green sea turtles surfing the waves… it wasn’t hard to find creative inspiration.

Working on a video of the shoot now- stay tuned for the next post.

Strange things happen when photographers drive lonely roads in the desert. Personally, I have never seen alien aircraft although I have purposefully driven through Area 51 several times. This time was different. At least I saw a dinosaur crossing the road…

Click here to read the whole article…

I just finished the winter shoots for the year. From frozen lakes in Minnesota, to the Colorado mountains, to the Canadian Rockies. So in honor of the Northeastern USA which got a foot of snow this week, I’ll publish one last winter shot from British Columbia!

The next set of shoots will definitely be in warmer climates! Think Maui, Southern California…. may take a month for me to thaw out!