I had an opportunity of a lifetime pop up last week. I got an email on Model Mayhem from Titania Lyn (pretty much top-tier professional model who's credits include little things like the cover of Playboy Special Editions and whatnot) saying that she was going to be in DC for a job and had time to schedule some fun shoots. So I penciled in a few hours on my day off and kept relatively quiet until I was certain that the stars were in fact aligning. In the week leading up to the shoot, I must have changed my mind a dozen times on what subjects and styles would be used, but I finally settled out after listing three main criteria:
1) What can I do to best learn from her experience?
2) What can I do to best focus on what I'm doing?
3) What can I do that doesn't already exist in her portfolio, in hopes that she likes one of my photos enough to add it, thereby giving me much higher-level exposure?
Once I ran with that, it was a matter of coming up with four themes, and choosing two of them the day of. Assisted by a lady from my church (who is incredibly awesome and as retired military isn't exactly your typical Virginia church lady), and armed with a standard-issue model release, I decided on a post-apocalyptic theme under the local high-tension power lines and traditional scarf-dancing. The post-apoc stuff would be entirely on film, save for random interjections of infrared, and the scarf-dancing would be digital spray-and-pray for timing whilst concentrating on composition.
What I learned:
The experience of a professional and seasoned model is irreplaceable. I never once had to describe a pose. I could simply say things like "give me forlorn" and she would go right to what I was thinking. She would also offer two or three different poses for any given thought process, changing up within a split second of hearing the shutter click. She even helped my assistant dial in the reflector when she was off-alignment without being prompted. I couldn't imagine some of what I did with an inexperienced model, but now I at least have food for thought when it comes to working with lesser experienced models.
Everything slows down on large format. And it pays to check everything twice. At one point, when I went to load the film cartridge, I noticed that my ground glass was stuck at an angle, thus severely warping my perceived focus. I shot four shots on the Crown Graphic I bought from a friend a while back (first time having it out with 4x5 rather than 120). I haven't developed them yet because everything slows down on LF. I'm ordering new chemicals to make sure they come out right.
Pay attention to changing weather. We started out with heavy overcast with soft lighting. We ended up with spotty clouds and bright sun and harsh shadows.
Having fun and staying relaxed is key. The three of us were chatting the whole time. Jobs, places traveled, favorite cameras, lenses, and styles of shooting, difficulties in shopping for 36F bras (strangely, I already had experience in that particular difficulty -- long story), you know, the usual. I don't think the shot would have had nearly as much flow without the banter. And it led to a humorous situation. We were discussing an idea for the next few shots when I heard a train approaching slowly. Given it's speed, I didn't think much of it assuming it was freight, until I saw the silver engine through a gap in the trees right before a wide open spot. I pointed out to her that it was a passenger train and before I could finish saying "if you want to cover up" she had turned around to face the train in all her naked glory and started waiving.
So, anyhow, I've been processing photos. There's still more to do, but I felt like sharing some of what's been done so far.
Redscale:
1) What can I do to best learn from her experience?
2) What can I do to best focus on what I'm doing?
3) What can I do that doesn't already exist in her portfolio, in hopes that she likes one of my photos enough to add it, thereby giving me much higher-level exposure?
Once I ran with that, it was a matter of coming up with four themes, and choosing two of them the day of. Assisted by a lady from my church (who is incredibly awesome and as retired military isn't exactly your typical Virginia church lady), and armed with a standard-issue model release, I decided on a post-apocalyptic theme under the local high-tension power lines and traditional scarf-dancing. The post-apoc stuff would be entirely on film, save for random interjections of infrared, and the scarf-dancing would be digital spray-and-pray for timing whilst concentrating on composition.
What I learned:
The experience of a professional and seasoned model is irreplaceable. I never once had to describe a pose. I could simply say things like "give me forlorn" and she would go right to what I was thinking. She would also offer two or three different poses for any given thought process, changing up within a split second of hearing the shutter click. She even helped my assistant dial in the reflector when she was off-alignment without being prompted. I couldn't imagine some of what I did with an inexperienced model, but now I at least have food for thought when it comes to working with lesser experienced models.
Everything slows down on large format. And it pays to check everything twice. At one point, when I went to load the film cartridge, I noticed that my ground glass was stuck at an angle, thus severely warping my perceived focus. I shot four shots on the Crown Graphic I bought from a friend a while back (first time having it out with 4x5 rather than 120). I haven't developed them yet because everything slows down on LF. I'm ordering new chemicals to make sure they come out right.
Pay attention to changing weather. We started out with heavy overcast with soft lighting. We ended up with spotty clouds and bright sun and harsh shadows.
Having fun and staying relaxed is key. The three of us were chatting the whole time. Jobs, places traveled, favorite cameras, lenses, and styles of shooting, difficulties in shopping for 36F bras (strangely, I already had experience in that particular difficulty -- long story), you know, the usual. I don't think the shot would have had nearly as much flow without the banter. And it led to a humorous situation. We were discussing an idea for the next few shots when I heard a train approaching slowly. Given it's speed, I didn't think much of it assuming it was freight, until I saw the silver engine through a gap in the trees right before a wide open spot. I pointed out to her that it was a passenger train and before I could finish saying "if you want to cover up" she had turned around to face the train in all her naked glory and started waiving.
So, anyhow, I've been processing photos. There's still more to do, but I felt like sharing some of what's been done so far.
Redscale:
Converted Brownie Hawkeye Flash:
Digital IR:
"Regular" Digital: