Min DOF Photography

Remember me? Some of you probably do . Good. I didn’t post anything since nothing interesting and new happened regarding my photography. I did shoot a wedding last weekend, but that was about it. Today I had a short session with Tjaša, since I needed a cover shot. I’m gonna cut to the chase and show you the photos that I picked for the cover. The first one is my absolute favourite, since it’s (in my humble opinion) very positive and you can “feel the energy” as well. Exactly what I wanted from the shots. The second one is, well, it’s positive, but I think it’s something you’ve seen (too) many times on my photos. Please tell me which is your favourite, or if you don’t like both of them (and if possible, why not). Opinions and pointers are appreciated.

I got a very interesting assignment last monday. Pro dance studio needed promo shots, a kind of portfolio of their dancers to forward it to their clients. So the point was not to show their dancing poses, but it was more or less to “introduce” the girls to the clients. So I went for the portrait/fashion approach to the shoot (of course we did also mix up some dancing poses). I had to shoot 15 girls in 5 hours and that included group shots in various outfits as well. So you can imagine what kind of pace I had to keep. I had roughly 5-10 minutes per girl. After shooting with each girl, we viewed the photos on the laptop. If the series was good we moved on, if not I had to take a few more shots (I also took a few more shots if the series was good, but the make up of the girl that was supposed to be next, wasn’t finished yet). The shoot looked like this: show me what you got girls! Strike your poses! Because of the previously mentioned ultra limited time frame, there was no time for me to guide them through the poses and make all the necessary corrections (regarding poses, mimics etc). I did, of course, make a few suggestions and (tried to) make them show more energy and passion. Most of the girls were pretty relaxed and that was a big plus for me. Usually every girl (that’s not a professional model) needs at least a few minutes to warm up. As always some did better than others, but all in all regarding the circumstances, I was satisfied with the results and most importantly, the client was pleased.

Because of the limited amount of time that we had, I used just one light set up. I did want to try out 3-4 various set ups, but there was no time (I’d need at least an hour or so) and I’m glad Mimi helped me out with the lighting, so I didn’t have to waste too much time setting it up. We chose to go along with the more dramatic, hard light. And I’m glad the client went along with it, since I’m just so tired of studio shoots with boring flat lighting (up to date, that was all that I shot in a studio, unless it was a personal project). I also have to thank Mimi, for letting me use her 70-200 2.8. And make my arms almost fall off after 5 hours of constantly using it .

Let me just wrap this up in a few sentences. Shooting was a blast. Not only because it was fun to shoot with all those girls, but also because of the pace (you really have to be alert all the time) and the fact that everything was running pretty smoothly, everybody was in a good mood, usually these kind of circumstances would be really hard for the people (meaning the girls) that are not in this “business”.

I’ll post photos in the order they were shot. As always, I recommend viewing them LARGER.

One of the first photos that were taken (I don’t count prep shots as real shots of course). The lighting wasn’t really there yet, it doesn’t have a “meaningful shadow” behind her, nor does it vignette the way it should. But I like the shot as a whole and it was one of the chosen (by me and pro dance staff) ones for this girl (I still haven’t completed the selection).

As you can see, I did manage to get shadows “in order”.

A classic, but photos like this, bring money to the clients…A song, shake that money maker, comes to my mind. I wonder why, hmmm .

BW or color?

I like the photo above. Let me tell you why. The first series that we’ve made, didn’t really look good. To be honest, the photos were bad. However, I suggested we make another brief series of shots and she was a bit hesitant, since she was also pretty disappointed after viewing the shots on the laptop. It was a tricky situation. It’s not good to push models, especially if something beats them down. But then we did make another try (to be honest I was quite doubtful of the outcome, because of her mood and state of mind). I cheared her up, pushed her a bit to show me more emotions, energy. And I think this photo shines. It shows energy. A real contrast to the first, completely lifeless and dull series. I must say I’m proud of what we achieved in just a few minutes. Because it’s so hard to turn things around so quickly. If you’ve done a lot of model (portrait, fashion etc) photography, I’m sure you know what I mean and probably also how good it feels to turn things around completely.

Wildcat. I love it when girls get wild! Don’t you?

As you can see, every photo has (a slightly) different post production. The client will, of course, get them post processed in the same style, as it’s logical for a series of photos. But I’ve decided to post process every photo differently for this blog post, to make it a bit more interesting and to get a feedback on what works best for the photos in your opinion.

Here are a couple of samples from yesterday’s short session (I think it lasted less then half an hour) with Dolores. We had to cut it short, because it got pretty cold (12C), cloudy and windy and she was wearing only a top. Nevertheless I shot quite a few photos next to that blooming tree. I wish we had more time, to really work out the facial expressions (and I know it’s not easy if you’re freezing) and by that, get better photos. But it is what it is, comments appreciated.

’sup?

Springtime happiness

Since I’m still waiting for the spring and warmer weather so I could finally have a session, I’m posting a photo from my archive. I’m sure most of you know who Brina is and some of you have probably seen the photos from the session we had last spring. One of those photos was also published on the cover of ONA. Anyway here’s another photo, playful and positive. I intentionally eased up on contrast for this one.

Ahhh I can’t wait for the spring to come, flowers and fields to start blooming, models getting reed of all those redundant clothes, so me and my beloved Canon can finally get to work.

Please view LARGER.

I dug this one from the archive. Winter is far from being my favourite season for sessions, so you’ll have to wait a few more months for something fresh. The girl on the photo is Eva, I find her to be one of the best models I’ve ever worked with. I know this photo is more or less just a simple portrait, but I find her look (as in glance, not physical appearance) really special - If you view the photo in the LARGER version (click on it).

I got a call from Lana yesterday, she asked me if I’d take a few photos of her. She is a model on the wedding fair, which is organised this weekend in the congress center of hotel Union. So I went there today with a couple of ideas in my mind, since I already shot a wedding there last summer and I knew which locations are cool to shoot at. When I got to the entrance, a stretch limo was parked there. Great, I immediately started thinking about how I could use the limo in the shots. Unfortunately the company’s representative that was showing their wedding dresses (and of the one that Lana was wearing) wasn’t to keen about the idea of taking the dress out, since it would get wet. I had no other choice than to “obey” her, since I wasn’t shooting for them. Otherwise I’d just ask if they wanted good photos or not. I’m sure they wouldn’t care about the dress anymore . So I had to find another place to shoot. The exhibition halls were way too crammed to shot in and I couldn’t find an interesting location to shoot anyway. So we went to the adjacent hotel and shot on the staircase and in the elevator. I wish my reflector wasn’t stolen along with my Audi. I had to really improvise with my flashgun (it was to dark to shoot without it).

Here are a couple of shots. Make up by Tina. You probably know her better from this magazine cover.

First of; I know I suck. I haven’t posted anything for a week. I just didn’t shoot anything interesting, besides that it’s been a really lousy week for me. This photo is almost 3 years old, taken on the second session with Tisa. I’ve intentionally lowered the color temperature, to give it a more cold, wintery appearance. It’s funny to look at a 3 year old photo and see all those small mistakes I’d never make today (hair all over the face and hands).

I know I already posted last set. But I decided to post this one as well, since a few people liked it. I don’t. I’m posting it for you . Tell me whether you like it or not.

Of last weekend’s session shots. And also the set, that I really can’t put my finger on whether they’re any good. I just know I can do much better…Ok I’ll let you be the judge of that.

The last one could be good, but it lacks energy…It’s just too lifeless for my taste, I wanted to show something completely different. ISO 400+3 stops (I guess metering was even more off at 4fps - I wanted to capture her in movement, waving the whip).

EDIT: I guess I wanted something like this for this photo, LOL.

Foto: Anže Vodovnik

As I said pohots from my last session will bi dripping in slowly. I need time to figure out which one I like and which not. Your opinions, thoughts, comments etc would be very helpful as well. This one is (like the last) PS untouched, straight from Rawshooter with a real contrast boost.

Canon, Nikon, lens, depth of field, flash, aperture, raw, jpg, Pentax, portrait, portrait photography