Shoot Date: June 15, 2010

This blog entry comes late and way out of order. Why? Because friends are awesome.

Friends say, “Sure, I’ll drive down from LA to pose for your test shoot.” Then, even more lovingly, they say, “Don’t worry about processing the photos now. I know you’re super swamped, so wait until you have time. And take care of the edits for your other models first.” So, to my friend and lovely model, Artos the Bear, I tip my hat in gratitude. Your patience is superhuman. :)

I’ve shot Artos in the past, but this was our first shoot together with my DSLR camera. It was really fun for me to work with a friend while my camera was still relatively new to me. She was patient while I fiddled with manual focus…

….she followed direction as I ordered her in different directions to play with light….

…and she held her beautiful poses gracefully throughout…

Modeling isn’t easy, ladies and gentleman… even if the model is good enough to make it seem so!

It’s also helpful that Artos is a photographer as well, so she sees her poses from both perspectives. Her style is mythic and storytelling, so her poses usually have a romantic and ethereal feel to them. I must say, I’m perpetually jealous of the slender sleekness of Artos’ figure. She has the muscle and body of someone who really moves as a part of daily life, rather than just hitting the gym once a week. And her modeling practice allows her to twist and twine her body into beautiful designs:

She also has these really gorgeous, piercing, golden eyes. I absolutely love this photo. It’s just so…. raaaawwwrrr!!!! I love it when a model can convey so much to the viewer through his or her expression:

This next one is always going to be one of my favorite photos. I love her spunky attitude (“You just try to stop me from whatever delinquent act I’m about to do, little puppy!“), love the light that’s burning amber on her cheek, and perhaps I love the most the feeling I got when I first saw the photo on the computer screen. There was something about this photo that proved to me that I could really be a photographer, and I won’t forget that feeling. Thank you, Artos. :)

And of course, when you’re shooting with friends, you have to be sure to get a silly shot or two…

Later, Artos changed outfits for some experimental night shots. This was my first attempt at nighttime shooting with the new camera, and I didn’t really have my settings down. But I like what we caught, nonetheless, and it was amusing trying to time the open shutter with the passing cars for optimal headlight blur:

To see more images from my shoot with Artos the Bear, view the slideshow: