Category: Fashion

Light Testing with Masha

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.

Mekeda at KAS’ Show at National Harbor

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.

KAS Collection at National Harbor

I photographed the KAS Collection show at National Harbor including the VIP reception, rehearsal, and  after show.  It was an exciting and festive evening with many local notables attending and lots of media coverage.  KAS’ designs are very appealing and styling for the show was first rate.  Hair and makeup were top notch too and each model was looking his/her best.

You can view all my photos at this link —

KAS Collection Inc. at National Harbor

For a full report on the show and the events of the evening check out the De La Style blog

Some of my favorite shots are below.  They include a rehearsal shot , the show itself, and the after show.

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“Faces” Show at Washington School of Photography

Two of my portraits are included in the “Faces” show at the Washington School of Photography, a collection of images that express the depth and breadth of human emotion.

This is one of two juried show in which my work is appearing.  “Portraits of DC” which opened in April at “Social” restaurant will be installed at the DC Convention Center in September and includes one of my portraits.

In the images below the blond gal is local rock musician and model Chelsea Alexander who shot with me in my home studio.  The gal in pink is Miss Teen DC Hope Wiseman at the “Pink Jams” fashion show in February 2010.

Rachel DeMita

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.

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Becky Chen

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.

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Channel 9 Anchor Anita Brikman

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.

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VIP Exclusive Fashion Show at Russia House

I photographed a fashion show at the Russia House in DC that was produced by VIP Exclusive. I got the two head shots below using my 580EX II flash mounted on my Canon 5D Mark II. First shot is Yaskarita who was photographing the event and not modeling this night. This candid shot was made during intermission. The second shot of Bekka one of the show models was made at the after party. Don’t recommend using on camera flash for these type of shots because the light is hard and overall not complimentary. But if flash is all that’s available, you sometimes have to go for it. These came out good enough for posting.

Note: I used a Sto-Fen diffuser on the flash head

You can view my shots from the show at the link below.
VIP Exclusive Fashion Show at Russia House

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“Runway Ready”

I attended the annual runway show at West Potomac Academy in Alexandria, VA.  The show is produced by Maggy Fancy Francois who runs the school’s fashion design program.  The show had the high energy level to be expected from a high school production.  But it also had some great designs from the students and also from establishedl designers including Betsy Johnson.

You can find all the details about the show in Jimmy De La Cruz’ informative blog at this link —

De La Style: “Were You Runway Ready?”

You can view all my photos from the show at this link —

http://gallery.me.com/philkdc/100956

Photo of  local runway model Nora Sommerkamp —

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