Shoot Date: July 1, 2010

After working once with Yessie and Phi, I was definitely looking forward to our next shoot. This second shoot was actually Yessie and my originally scheduled shoot, but Yessie had been great enough to come out for an impromptu shoot a few weeks earlier, resulting in the photos in the link above.

This shoot was more punky/edgy than the pinup romance and rockstar glamour of our last shoot. Of course, Yessie, being the gorgeous girl she is, injected plenty of glamour into her punk style, while still pulling off the edge I wanted. Niiiice.

I had this concept that I wanted to convey with Yessie on the railroad tracks. I saw this young, punky thing… either hanging out on her own after classes, or possibly even trying to get away from home, but not because she was just blindly rebellious, but rather because she was inspired: a reader, a thinker, a dreamer… wanting more from life than she was currently getting. I asked Yessie to use some books as props, and though I think it was an odd concept for most people to vibe with (and perhaps felt a little after-school special, lol), she worked with what I asked of her, and gave me a shot I love:

Another thing that always impresses me about Yessie’s modeling is her ability to fill the frame. I kept noticing throughout the shoot how every pose she’d strike created a beautiful balance of form and negative space within my viewfinder, and I had only to frame and capture it. Definitely a valuable sense of self awareness (or natural gift) to have in a model. :)

Shooting Yessie is a delightful experience, because she really knows how to move and can pose easily for hours with very little direction. She naturally shifts her body and expression from moment to moment, providing the photographer with plenty to capture. Sometimes it’s hard to STOP taking pictures of her. I am very fond of this photo… we had the most amazing golden light that evening:

Just a few days ago, I decided to sit down and make sure I had edited the photos I wanted to post from this set (moment of uber-frankness: because I wanted to finally get back on track with this blog after my vacation, lol), and I found this last one that I finished up and simply adore. I can’t even put words to why I love it so much, but I do.

I tell ya, it’s certainly rough working with someone with such excellent bone structure and flawless skin </sarcasm>.  As we were shooting, and as we walked back to the car afterward, Yessie was getting plenty of male attention and car honking.  After one of the final car honks, I told her she just had to go out on the town and have fun that evening, since she was apparently already rocking the heck out of the look.  ;)

To see all of the frames from Yessie’s 80′s punk shoot, please view the slideshow:

Shoot Date: June 27, 2010

Sandy Moore arrived exactly on time, and had interpreted my wardrobe desires perfectly. She greeted me with a huge, sweet smile, and we chatted amiably as we walked from the parking lot to the wilderness area. I was so excited to see her in person: Many of her profile photos had a glammed-up style, but as soon as I saw her face, I thought of nothing but “bohemian girl in golden, rustling, tall grass.” I had to do a bit of scouting to find the right location, so I was very pleased when she showed up and proved me right as a perfect natural, bohemian model. :)

Since early morning assignments are not my MUA‘s favorite (she’s got kids!), and because this was a very natural-beauty themed shoot, Sandy provided her own make up, which was lovely shades of brown and neutrals.

We walked out into some tall grass, right off the bat, and the funny thing I noticed: when I had scouted the location a few days earlier with my best friend, I was pretty nervous about actually entering any of the grassy areas and whatnot, since I am a first.rate.PRISS! But once the camera was in my hand, and the model-photographer magic started flowing, I found myself tromping through grass, sitting in dirt, sticking my face through plants to get close ups… it was pretty amusing.

And Sandy was right at home in the wilderness! Within minutes she was sprawled out in the grass for me, providing that shot above, which I absolutely adore. :)

At one point, both the model and I heard a sound that sounded enough like a rattlesnake that we both, wide-eyed, did a “Did you hear that?”, “Yep… you did too?”, “Yep. Let’s scram!!!” I’ll tell you, that (be it snake or not) was my closest experience with a rattlesnake. Ever. Oh, how I hate snakes. But oh, do I love photography. ;P

I had really wanted to do a shoot in a field, where the varying depths of field are evident in the flowers/grass that surround the model. I got exactly what I wanted:

I’ve been told the photo would have been more striking with a portrait lens, rendering the background blurrier, but personally, I really like the bokeh as it is.

My scouting buddy and I had found a dried up creek bed, but assessed it a little too dangerous to climb into, since the rocks were unsteady and whatnot. But did that stop our Sandy? Oh no. She saw a prime location and she was not about to pass it up!! She found a path and jumped on down, and I followed, yet again amused. We got some great shots in there!

The lighting was beautiful:

And we’ll just ignore the fact that we found a dead bird carcass while there. Because, you know… that would taint an otherwise lovely story. ;P

As you can tell, Sandy and I had a really miserable time. And here’s the photographic proof:

I kept snapping candid shots of her laughing, and she told me I could post them and say, “See? Proof that I’m funny.” So there you have it. I’m funny. :)

In addition to mailing me her model release (since I, in my morning stupor, forgot to have her sign one!), Sandy was even sweet enough to contact me the next day, when she fell unexpectedly ill, to warn me to take a bunch of vitamin C. Adorable!!

For more images from this wilderness shoot, view the slideshow:

Shoot Date: June 24, 2010

There’s something special about Lore.

It started when she commented on one of my pictures on Model Mayhem, and I saw a very intriguing avatar of her rocking it in a trash-bag. No, really! One of her designer/photographer friends whipped up these avant-garde outfits from trash bags and tin foil. And there she was, modeling the hell out of it, with the fiercest attitude. I knew I definitely wanted to shoot her, so I sent her a message and we set up a date.

This was my second collaboration with the marvelous and creative Phi of Phi’s Pretty Faces. Just as with our first collaboration, Yessie, our three personalities clicked beautifully, and we all had a blast gabbing as the make up went on and the hair went up!

This shoot is particularly special to me, because it was really the first execution of a concept I dreamed up pre-shoot and brought to life with the help of my model and MUA. My other shoots thus far had been mostly model-style portraiture (a favorite genre of mine), in which most of the details (such as location, poses, and wardrobe style) were determined by factors other than my own creativity. But in this case, I really had a style and feel I wanted the photos to evoke.

Phi interpreted my rather vague descriptions beautifully, and created the perfect rocker style. I couldn’t have even imagined the style coming out so right – both in the intense eye make up and in the gorgeous curled faux-hawk she created. And Lore has the most gorgeous, natural red hair I’ve ever seen:

The concept centered around an edgy, metal/rocker feel. The location was the top floor of a parking structure, at sunset, with a backdrop of shiny corporate buildings. I was holding this ideal vision of what I wanted, and man if Lore didn’t give it to me exactly:

I can’t even express how giddy I was when I was editing these images. To see the visual embodiment of the concept I’d been ruminating on and mentally nurturing… it was just mind-blowing. And I honestly couldn’t have had a better model for this shoot. It was like Lore and I were connected, brain to brain, and she kept giving me the exact poses and attitude that I wanted:

But at the same time, while appreciating her following my vision, I also love letting models do their own thing. Yes, it’s nice to direct them to get the pose you want, and sure, I do that sometimes. But I also value the fusion of two uniquely creative minds. See, I would never have posed a model like this… and I never would have gotten this shot! I love the detail in Lore’s poses. Note how her left heel is slightly lifted, millimeters from the ground:

But I must say, I think the show-stealer from this shoot is the following image. The fierceness of her attitude, the motion in her pose, the lighting of the sunset, the colors of the foliage behind her, the angle of the framing, the rebel faux-hawk curl, and the glint off of her shiny (sexy!) heels (which I asked her to bring)… it just adds up to more photographic satisfaction than I think I can bear:

On second thought, I’ll bear it gladly. And with much giddiness. :D

My vision being fulfilled, Lore and I decided to play around with some other ideas as the light faded:

Due to some garish yellow paint in the parking garage, I decided to give this shot a bit of a cyanotype feel. It came out with a very 60s spy feel, to me. (Okay, minus the modern cars in the background… :P)

And since our shoot started a little later than planned, we were soon testing out night photography! I had only done one previous night shoot, and with a bit more light, so we had some struggles trying to get good images. Luckily, Lore and I were getting along swell, so we just had fun playing around:

Also, note her necklace in the following shot. It’s from her own independent jewelry label, Rawwrkat. Yep, she models, makes jewelry, writes, learns languages, sews… the list goes on. My kinda girl! I’ve got lots of admiration for the way she lives her life.

After a very satisfying few hours (Lore arrived for make up around 5, we started shooting at 7, and ended after 9), we packed it up and headed back to the car… only to discover that the gates to the structure had been lowered, and the pedestrian doorways had been locked! Slightly panicked -since both of our cell phones, wallets, etc were in the car (lesson well learned!)- we tried to wave down people inside the structure, but were ignored. We were glancing around at all the closed or closing businesses, pondering our fate, when Lore (ever cool-headed, and apparently having been in this situation before) insisted that we try every door. We found an open one. Oh the relief! While Lore was uncertain, I was pretty sure the gate would lift as we drove near it (not entirely sure, but surely hoping!), and it did. So we ended our fun shoot with a little adventure!

I really clicked with Lore on a personal level, in addition to being impressed with her modeling, so you’ll definitely be seeing more of her soon. (In fact, since I’m writing this post weeks after the actual shoot, I can say that I just sent her proofs last night from our second shoot, on July 17th! She was, again, amazing! Can’t wait to blog about that day! 5 models, 9 hours, tons of fun!)

For more images from Lore and my first shoot, with make up by the incredible Phi, view the slideshow: