Backdrop it like its hot!

Navi annoying Link like always.

So this past weekend I was up in Houston for an anime convention, Delta H Con. It was fun and I had my backdrop setup like before with the white but this time I had a different backdrop because my last backdrop was messed up by my last shoot :o but it was so worth it. So when I went online to get a new backdrop I got a vinyl backdrop and I LOVE it! Here are some of my favorite shot from this weekend!

Link ready for battle

Navi being ignored like always :(

 I did not have any lights directed at my backdrop so it came out a bit grey in photos but that doesn't matter because I was aiming for a solid backdrop. Also for this con I forgot one of the key pieces for my off camera flash system so I had to use all three flashes one on master the other two on remote and I was bouncing the flash that was on my camera. Most of these shots are from a production company I work for Twisted Dreamscapes Productions you can find us on facebook. I will post up a review for my backdrop I just need to write it up first :D

All of these have already been posted on my facebook but there will be more so keep an eye out!

The Mad Hatter

Ariel and her dinglehopper

Star trek engineer, she was super sweet!

Happy bat family? probably not...

Cat woman can steal me any day!

Better then spoiled milk!

Ok so I know this post is going up super late and I am sorry just been busy and time got away from me! So I know those of you who follow my facebook are expecting a fireworks post but I think I am going to save that for closer to new years so you can get your own amazing shots! So that being said I am going to talk about the amazing session that I had this weekend with the most amazing model ever!

So the best I can describe this shoot is basically we played in colored milk all day! Well we started with water but I am getting ahead of myself! So setup is the most important part of this because it can get MESSY! So this picture of the setup is after because I was too lame to get one before but you can see the mess it can make!

 

So for the setup we put the backdrop as far from the splash zone as possible. For the splash zone we had the bars for a backdrop set up and attached a painters drop cloth to it. This was to catch any extra spillage that didn’t immediately drop down into the little pool we had. As an added security we taped one of the drop cloths to the other to make it longer and extend into the pool so we could easily poor the liquid out.

For the lighting we had one strobe to the right of us and one strobe behind the model off to the left of us to catch the liquid. The camera was set at 1/250 shutter, 250 ISO and 13 f-stop which for me this is a usual “studio” setting.

Next was the fun part, so this shoot is only successfully able to be pulled off with a minimum of 3 people (a photographer, an assistant and a model). So to start this shoot we started with water because as weird as this sounds it’s not the easiest thing to throw liquid at somebody and make it land where you need it to. So we started with water to test our skills. We got fun and creative with the water because we didn’t have to worry about running out of it! We switched places so we could each get pictures and get the timing down because that can be tricky too! Everyone is different but the best way to be ready is have the photographer count down so that when the water is thrown the photographer is ready.

Next we moved on to the colored milk. For this we used a gallon of whole milk, a big thing of plain yogurt (for thickness) and dye. Mix all of these into a bucket with a mixer so that it is a nice smooth mixture. Then came the fun part, throwing the mixture on to your model. It was SUPER cold and she was definitely not expecting that but she was a trooper and continued getting pelted with freezing cold milk mixture.

We switched it up at the end, I was shooting the pink mixture and my super amazing photog friend Everett (who I posted about last week) was shooting the purple mixture. So we each had turns in the water round to get our aim right and then continued on to the milk mixture. After all was said and done we were ready for cleanup and our model wanted to take pictures of us in her position. We were a bit hesitant but we obliged because you shouldn’t make your model do what you wouldn’t. It was quite fun but in the end we ended up smelling like soiled milk which is why wherever you do it you need to make sure cleanup is easy. We were in Everett’s garage so we were able to mop everything up and spray it down with the hose. All in all it was a super fun shoot and I definitely want to be able to do it again with different colors!

Here are some other shots from this shoot! I'm just in love our model was amazing and was up for anything! The water portion of this shoot has inspired me to start a series of elemental shots so those will hopefully be on the way I have plans for fire, air and earth basing most of the posing off of Avatar the Last Airbender (because I'm a nerd and that;s how the idea came up).

Glam Maternity

So this past weekend I helped out one of my good friends Everett of Everett Ross Photography. He was doing a glamorous maternity shoot which is a little different form the normal maternity. I did not shot this but I did help with posing and lighting, all of the poses I am posting today are mine so this blog post will mostly be about the posing not the camera settings. For this shoot we only used one flash off camera to create a more dramatic lighting so I was holding the light stand and moving per shot to create the perfect mood for each shot. 

 So the couple wanted these pictures for their announcements and they wanted to do something different than the normal maternity pictures. So they decided on the Omni as the background and formal wear for the attire. We started in the lobby for the beginning of the shoot utilizing the decorative walls and the couches (not pictured). They were looking for some more “candid” type shots for the announcements so this first picture I feel makes it seem like we are looking in on a private moment. For posing we had them turn in towards each other and have him act like he’s whispering something in her ear. To showcase the baby bump especially if they are wearing a dress you want to have them put one hand below the bump making the bump more noticeable than if the hand wasn’t there. Working with them was quite easy seeing as she is actually a model so she knows how to work the camera and he, once he loosened up a bit, was super easy to direct.

 As we were shooting in the lobby one of the employees recommended we go up to the Republic of Texas, which for those who don’t know is the super fancy yet equally expensive restaurant at the top of the Omni. Since the restaurant was not open yet we didn’t have to worry about getting other people in the background which was perfect. For this next pose we had them on the stairs of the restaurant and had him one step above her. They has these cute little presents they brought as props and since the baby is a girl they had them wrapped in pink. The placement of the presents and his bowtie help draw the eye in and around the picture, also notice the hand placement accentuating the belly.

 This next shot was another candid one which we were able to get up higher making it look a little more intimate between them. We had her have a hand at her belly since she cant really put it below the bump but the idea is to draw the eye to the belly making it a noticeable baby bump. Usually you can have the guy kiss the girl on the temple and if she closes her eyes it makes it more intimate. This pose is actually good for any couple esque shoot not just maternity.

This final pose is probably my favorite of the entire set. This pose we had him pretend to serenade her on the piano and she sat there on the little ledge behind the piano. For the lighting for this one it was super special because I had the flash held high above their heads so it was coming from more a top angle than directly from the side. We put the presents on the piano as an added prop which helps the picture from completely dropping off on the left side.

Over all I felt this entire shoot had a 1920’s glam look and feel so in the editing that’s what I did. For all of the pictures I added a vignette, for those who don’t know what that is it is basically when the edges are darker (or lighter) especially in the corners. And as you can tell I turned one of them black and white for that added effect.

I hope you liked this shoot, I have a ton of super fun things I am doing this weekend that will give me blog posts for the next 3 weeks! I super excited to share this will you all! Hope you all have an amazing fourth of July, I will be on the harbor bridge taking pictures of the fireworks!