Last summer my partner LeRoy Armstead and I wanted to do an urban night shoot. After scouting out a number of locales in downtown DC we settled on a site in Chevy Chase, MD. The retail strip along Wisconsin Avenue near Western Avenue offered many rich backdrops and easy accessibility. Shoot was done in July 2010. I finally got around to editing the images during a recent lull in activity. Model is Isabella. Makeup by Shana Janelle.
I met Masha on Model Mayhem. She is new to modeling and interested in starting a portfolio. I’ve been testing some new lighting setups that provide more dramatic lighting and this would be a good opportunity to to try them out. A couple of sample shots are below. I used a 7″ reflector with a 20 degree grid as the key in the second shot. A large softbox set about -3 f-stops and placed almost at floor level is the fill. The other shots use a 22″ beauty dish with a 40 degree grid as the key. Fill is the same. Touch of Makeup handled hair and makeup.
This was also the first shoot where I used a gray card — at the urging of my colleague Bo Zhang. Tonight I began photo processing using the card. It’s not the final answer in color correction But it’s a great place to start.
I photographed model Mekeda at the KAS Collection VIP event in the Sunset Room at National Harbor around 6:30pm. She was playing mannequin with one of Kas’ designs. The room was surrounded by windows looking out at the harbor and I shot without flash using available light. This portrait is about a 50 percent crop of a midriff up shot made at f4 and ISO 800. It’s a bit soft for portrait work but works OK for the web.
Rachel is interviewing with several model agencies in the US and abroad. They asked her to provide updated photos in the next couple of weeks. I agreed to help in getting her some images she could submit. Kim Reyes joined us as MUA/hair stylist. For the shot below I used a 22″ beauty dish, 40 degree grid. The second beauty shot uses a similar setup but adds a diffusion sock to soften the effect. Kim’s natural beauty look had just the right touch of pale color for Rachel’s rich complexion. Kim also provided the head scarf in the middle shot.
In April Becky contacted me to let me know she was beginning a model portfolio and to ask if we could get some shots together. We set a shoot date of July 3. Two early edits are below. Since Becky is a new model, we did a lot of work on posing techniques. She proved to be an adept student. For these studio shots I worked with a wider aperture than I typically use to create more depth. All shots were made with my 5D2 and 70-200mm L f4.
I met Channel 9 anchor Anita Brikman at the “Pink Jams” fashion show in February 2010. Anita mentioned that she was interested in updating her Facebook page. She wanted photos that could promote healthy living, fitness, and personal style. She was also interested in updating her head shot. I invited Anita to my studio on April 19. Some of our shots are shown below. Styling was provided by StylZ By MYKAL.
I met Noreen last winter at the February 2010 DC Fashion Week where she modeled. We met up again when she responded to a casting call I posted on Model Mayhem. Priya Sethi was the make up artist and Noreen provided wardrobe.
I met Sylvie at a Halloween event at Carriage House Studio last fall. Recently we decided to get some more images and set up a shoot at my home studio. Kim Reyes was the MUA and Carina Eala provided hair styling.
Sylvie is a professional dancer — a creative and free spirit. The shots below shows a light hearted, fun, casual, and appealing beauty.
Catherine’s Model Mayhem port showed a lot of potential for head shots. Invited her to do portraits with me. One example from our May 30 shoot is below. Catherine also wanted to get some outfit shots and three examples and those turned out to have a nice editorial look to them. Kai Amerson of Uptowne Klassics was the MUA.
May 22 Shoot with Orsi
Orsi is a Hungarian student doing an intership in the US. This shoot was her first time modeling. Teresa Atchison handled makeup. Unique Thrift Store provided wardrobe.
CANON BG-E6 — This was my first shoot using the Canon BG-E6 grip for my 5D Mark II. It is certainly more comfortable shooting with the extended grip. But I found it has other advantages. I made greater use of the now more accessible auto focus lock. This will hopefully reduce the amount of lens blur that occurs. Most important though is that I spent more time composing. That’s a result of being in a more comfortable shooting position. I didn’t feel rushed to get the shot since I had a steady two hand grip on the camera.
