Not a long one today... instead a link to an inspiring photographer called John Michael Cooper. He has been credited for starting the Trash The Dress (TTD) ceremony of wedding photography. But that is not why I share this link with his site; rather it is so display what fantastic photography can look like, and gives me something to aspire to in the future.
Check out John Michael Cooper at http://www.altf.com/ and get ready to spend some time there...
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
February 5, 2009
February 4, 2009
Photoshoot - Day 3 Summary
Another morning out in the desert. The weather was suffering multiple personality disorder; Heavy fog for half an hour, then clouds covering the whole sky from the horizon up. The said clouds had little patches of blue in them and differed in thickness, which meant that the light exposures were bouncing up and down by the second.
To add to the trickiness factor - I was shooting in a northerly direction (sidelight on the models - heavy shadow when the sun popped out sporadically) so as to get a mountain as the backdrop. Models wore white tops, have black skin - an exposure nightmare considering all the aforementioned factors, and include that my brief was for a natural light shoot only. So, without the option of fill-flash... tough going!
The evening shoot was meant to be the crowning jewel of the three days. Fog as thick and dark as storm clouds as we arrived. I cursed. Dark, flat light meant slow shooting or pushing up the iso. Both could potentially mean high noise factors in the dark areas (the models skin). I opted out of the high iso and shot what I could at the fastest possible shutter speeds I could get without compromising my depth of field to much. Once again, a fill-flash would have made things easier, but was not to be. A strong, icy wind whipped over the dunes and Judith and Ester were amazing - although they were getting very cold, they did not complain once and were extremely patient with the designers and I when we pushed for 'just one more' in each outfit/setup. As you may suspect, that 'one more' always became another ten minutes before they could be covered by a blanket. I really felt sorry for both of them, but was so concerned about getting a decent shot that I pushed them as hard as I could. We bled the little bit of light that we had right to the end, and then all collapsed onto the ground in elation that we had done as much as we could for the past three days to try and get the best possible shots we were capable of as a group.
The shoot was over, and there was nothing else we could do...
To add to the trickiness factor - I was shooting in a northerly direction (sidelight on the models - heavy shadow when the sun popped out sporadically) so as to get a mountain as the backdrop. Models wore white tops, have black skin - an exposure nightmare considering all the aforementioned factors, and include that my brief was for a natural light shoot only. So, without the option of fill-flash... tough going!
The evening shoot was meant to be the crowning jewel of the three days. Fog as thick and dark as storm clouds as we arrived. I cursed. Dark, flat light meant slow shooting or pushing up the iso. Both could potentially mean high noise factors in the dark areas (the models skin). I opted out of the high iso and shot what I could at the fastest possible shutter speeds I could get without compromising my depth of field to much. Once again, a fill-flash would have made things easier, but was not to be. A strong, icy wind whipped over the dunes and Judith and Ester were amazing - although they were getting very cold, they did not complain once and were extremely patient with the designers and I when we pushed for 'just one more' in each outfit/setup. As you may suspect, that 'one more' always became another ten minutes before they could be covered by a blanket. I really felt sorry for both of them, but was so concerned about getting a decent shot that I pushed them as hard as I could. We bled the little bit of light that we had right to the end, and then all collapsed onto the ground in elation that we had done as much as we could for the past three days to try and get the best possible shots we were capable of as a group.
The shoot was over, and there was nothing else we could do...
February 3, 2009
Photoshoot - Day 2 Summary
On the 2nd morning of the shoot we were back on the beach. This time it was a narrow strip of pink and black sand. The sky was overcast with no sign of sun breaking anytime - exactly what we were not wanting.
Working in a small area (there were also fishing boats out at sea and fishermen along the coast to be avoided in the shots) was challenging and confined a lot of my angles. It was tough going but we managed to get some shots that we were happy with. The Judith and Ester (our models) had a fantastic time playing on the beach and got quite a shock at how cold the sea was. Beatrice and Henriette (our designers) discovered how badly one can get sunburned through the fog.
Our evening shoot was out in the desert, about 45km out of town. There was a moment of despair when we realized how deep the fog went into the desert. We struggled to find a straight length of railway in the sun and almost gave up. Fortunately, we found a great spot just as the light was entering the golden hour. Judith and Ester looked amazing in the garments in the sunset glow, and I was again more comfortable shooting in the desert than the beach.
Because the shoot incorporated a stretch of railway line, Judith had to have a crash course in walking on one of the steel girders in platform shoes. She mastered it quickly and did a superb job of both walking on a single track and maintaining an air of calm in front of the camera. For this she must be applauded!
Although it was a day of mixed fortunes, the overall feel was of optimism after the spectacular light and backdrop of the evening shoot. When we returned to Swakopmund, the fog was heavy again and we decided that we would do another shoot in the desert the following morning not too far from where we had done the previous evening's shoot. We had spotted a wonderful stretch of desert and small rocky hilltops that would work wonderfully with the early morning sun light.
Plans were made, and everyone went to bed tired but satisfied with the day.
Working in a small area (there were also fishing boats out at sea and fishermen along the coast to be avoided in the shots) was challenging and confined a lot of my angles. It was tough going but we managed to get some shots that we were happy with. The Judith and Ester (our models) had a fantastic time playing on the beach and got quite a shock at how cold the sea was. Beatrice and Henriette (our designers) discovered how badly one can get sunburned through the fog.
Our evening shoot was out in the desert, about 45km out of town. There was a moment of despair when we realized how deep the fog went into the desert. We struggled to find a straight length of railway in the sun and almost gave up. Fortunately, we found a great spot just as the light was entering the golden hour. Judith and Ester looked amazing in the garments in the sunset glow, and I was again more comfortable shooting in the desert than the beach.
Because the shoot incorporated a stretch of railway line, Judith had to have a crash course in walking on one of the steel girders in platform shoes. She mastered it quickly and did a superb job of both walking on a single track and maintaining an air of calm in front of the camera. For this she must be applauded!
Although it was a day of mixed fortunes, the overall feel was of optimism after the spectacular light and backdrop of the evening shoot. When we returned to Swakopmund, the fog was heavy again and we decided that we would do another shoot in the desert the following morning not too far from where we had done the previous evening's shoot. We had spotted a wonderful stretch of desert and small rocky hilltops that would work wonderfully with the early morning sun light.
Plans were made, and everyone went to bed tired but satisfied with the day.
February 2, 2009
Introducing the Team
From left to right: Judith, Henriette, Andrew, Ester, BeatriceHere we all are at one of the locations out in the desert. Judith and Ester are our two lovely models from Namibia and did an excellent job throughout the shoot. Both worked very hard for long hours without a word of negativity or complaint, and were always interested to learn more about their surroundings at each location. I am very glad I had the opportunity to work with them and hope that I will again in the future.
Henriette and Ester are the clothing designers from Germany. They spent the last six months putting together the collections we photographed. I was very impressed with their level of professionalism and really enjoyed their outfits. They are both very good designers and have contrasting contrasting styles, which helped made my job of photographing both collections back-to-back so much easier.
I would like to thank the team for their hard work, enthusiasm, humor, professionalism and faith in me to represent their work, despite my having no previous experience doing this kind of shoot.
Henriette and Ester are the clothing designers from Germany. They spent the last six months putting together the collections we photographed. I was very impressed with their level of professionalism and really enjoyed their outfits. They are both very good designers and have contrasting contrasting styles, which helped made my job of photographing both collections back-to-back so much easier.
I would like to thank the team for their hard work, enthusiasm, humor, professionalism and faith in me to represent their work, despite my having no previous experience doing this kind of shoot.
January 30, 2009
F@#K!!!
I'm knackered, so this will be brief.
Morning Shoot:
A complete disaster. The weather was terrible - fog as thick as a light rain at 05hoo. No sun on the beach (or anywhere else in sight) until 11h00. 5 minutes of great light, the horrible, midday top light.
And me shooting like a complete amateur. Most pics are a write-off. The keepers are far from great.
Lesson of the day - stay calm and humble.
Afternoon Shoot:
Great light, new rocky desert location far out of town (far from the fog bank engulfing Swakopmund), and great models. And great looking clothes by the designers that really suited the location.
After the morning panic, came in slightly unnerved but focused. Got a couple of great shots, quite a few good ones and the usual number of crap photos. At least I'm back on par with myself.
Explained to everyone I had a disastrous morning. They were very understanding, but haven't seen the actual pics yet.
We shoot the same thing tomorrow morning. Just a little later ;-)
Morning Shoot:
A complete disaster. The weather was terrible - fog as thick as a light rain at 05hoo. No sun on the beach (or anywhere else in sight) until 11h00. 5 minutes of great light, the horrible, midday top light.
And me shooting like a complete amateur. Most pics are a write-off. The keepers are far from great.
Lesson of the day - stay calm and humble.
Afternoon Shoot:
Great light, new rocky desert location far out of town (far from the fog bank engulfing Swakopmund), and great models. And great looking clothes by the designers that really suited the location.
After the morning panic, came in slightly unnerved but focused. Got a couple of great shots, quite a few good ones and the usual number of crap photos. At least I'm back on par with myself.
Explained to everyone I had a disastrous morning. They were very understanding, but haven't seen the actual pics yet.
We shoot the same thing tomorrow morning. Just a little later ;-)
January 29, 2009
D-Day
I just spent two-and-a-half hours doing a meet and greet with Henriette, Beatrice and the two models who will be wearing their collections. Meeting everyone and speaking face-to-face has calmed my nerves. Judging by the way we all communicated with each other, the running of the shoots should be okay. I'm sure there will be some niggles to iron out as we each get used to the others' style of working, but I'm certainly feeling much more confident that there should be no problem with the basic running of things.
The collection's of each designer are very different as are their ideas of the final look they would like to present. This will make it easier for me, as the photographer, to switch between collections on the fly. Both collections look good and I'm sure will be very impactful when worn by either of the very lovely models.
We start with a beach shoot tomorrow morning. Up at 04h00; meet at 05h00. Sunrise is at 06h31. The weather looks like it may actually play in our favor after more than a week of being terrible. I have my usual gear and have managed, thanks to a good friend, to borrow a Nikon D80, reflector, 85mm prime lens, and 17-135 zoom lens. Having a good variety of gear certainly goes a long way to calming my nerves too.
I'm going to try and run (inadvertently) the shoot like a film shoot. There will be little scenarios to play out using slow movements and strong energy. The scenarios will be discussed in detail before being played out, and very little intervention (hopefully) will happen while they happen and as I photograph them. Not quite what models are familiar with, but with some techniques I learnt from dancing butoh, I think we could get some interesting results if they manage to get into it.
And so, my nerves are all directed to where they should be - taking photographs. I would like to have as much concentration there as possible with as little distraction from other elements as possible. Sounds naive, I know, but that is where I would like to ideally be.
Will keep you updated about how it goes...
The collection's of each designer are very different as are their ideas of the final look they would like to present. This will make it easier for me, as the photographer, to switch between collections on the fly. Both collections look good and I'm sure will be very impactful when worn by either of the very lovely models.
We start with a beach shoot tomorrow morning. Up at 04h00; meet at 05h00. Sunrise is at 06h31. The weather looks like it may actually play in our favor after more than a week of being terrible. I have my usual gear and have managed, thanks to a good friend, to borrow a Nikon D80, reflector, 85mm prime lens, and 17-135 zoom lens. Having a good variety of gear certainly goes a long way to calming my nerves too.
I'm going to try and run (inadvertently) the shoot like a film shoot. There will be little scenarios to play out using slow movements and strong energy. The scenarios will be discussed in detail before being played out, and very little intervention (hopefully) will happen while they happen and as I photograph them. Not quite what models are familiar with, but with some techniques I learnt from dancing butoh, I think we could get some interesting results if they manage to get into it.
And so, my nerves are all directed to where they should be - taking photographs. I would like to have as much concentration there as possible with as little distraction from other elements as possible. Sounds naive, I know, but that is where I would like to ideally be.
Will keep you updated about how it goes...
January 26, 2009
Nerves
I'm feeling a bit down today.
There is no prospect of any income coming in soon, and it's nearly the end of the month. I hate living like this; each month-end is a battle of nerves. And yet I know how much more fortunate I am than so many others. Which is precisely why I feel compelled to chase my dream, because to do anything less, I feel, would be an insult to those in this world who do not have (the opportunities that I do). Yet, on days like these, I feel I am only a moment away from joining the destitute. I almost convince myself of the need to look for a regular 8-5 job and all the security it appears to promise. And then I hear about the 'massive retrenchments' that major corporations both globally and locally will need to make to survive. And for a moment, I feel hope again in the choices that I've made. But hope doesn't pay the bills. (Ask several thousand Americans?)
I am also nervous about the shoot this weekend. I have always suffered from a slight case of performance anxiety. Call it the perfectionist in me. Or idealist, or dreamer or whatever. Before an event I'll run through, in my mind, the results I'd like to achieve by the end of it. And what the actual results are and what I imagined are always light-years apart. And then I feel a failure because I did not live up to my own high expectations of myself, even if I knew before the time that I am not capable of achieving the results I want to.
This is slightly different. I feel that I don't have the level of experience shooting fashion to get the results that Beatrice and Henriette will want. It's not that I think I'm a poor photographer, but I know that 'fashion' photography can be the most demanding and usually requires pretty big budgets and really fancy equipment. I'm going in with a severe handicap regarding my equipment and have a budget of zero. And that stresses me a bit right now.
I won't pursue my negative rant, but think it is important to document moments of doubt.
I thought I'd add a photo to today's post, considering that this blog is supposed to be about photography. This is a shot I took in December at a local coffee shop. I'd asked permission to do a shoot there a few times, and was repeatedly told that it needed to go before the committee for a decision. I never got a response from the committee about their decision. So, while photographing Chris and Kerstin around town during the holidays, I suggested a cup of coffee. The coffee shop was full of people and we luckily managed to get a table near the location I wanted to shoot. And so, in full view of a packed out coffee house, Chris, Kerstin and I had an informal photo shoot. I have to laud my young models for their willingness to be fearless on the day...
Model: Kerstin, Natrual Light
There is no prospect of any income coming in soon, and it's nearly the end of the month. I hate living like this; each month-end is a battle of nerves. And yet I know how much more fortunate I am than so many others. Which is precisely why I feel compelled to chase my dream, because to do anything less, I feel, would be an insult to those in this world who do not have (the opportunities that I do). Yet, on days like these, I feel I am only a moment away from joining the destitute. I almost convince myself of the need to look for a regular 8-5 job and all the security it appears to promise. And then I hear about the 'massive retrenchments' that major corporations both globally and locally will need to make to survive. And for a moment, I feel hope again in the choices that I've made. But hope doesn't pay the bills. (Ask several thousand Americans?)
I am also nervous about the shoot this weekend. I have always suffered from a slight case of performance anxiety. Call it the perfectionist in me. Or idealist, or dreamer or whatever. Before an event I'll run through, in my mind, the results I'd like to achieve by the end of it. And what the actual results are and what I imagined are always light-years apart. And then I feel a failure because I did not live up to my own high expectations of myself, even if I knew before the time that I am not capable of achieving the results I want to.
This is slightly different. I feel that I don't have the level of experience shooting fashion to get the results that Beatrice and Henriette will want. It's not that I think I'm a poor photographer, but I know that 'fashion' photography can be the most demanding and usually requires pretty big budgets and really fancy equipment. I'm going in with a severe handicap regarding my equipment and have a budget of zero. And that stresses me a bit right now.
I won't pursue my negative rant, but think it is important to document moments of doubt.
I thought I'd add a photo to today's post, considering that this blog is supposed to be about photography. This is a shot I took in December at a local coffee shop. I'd asked permission to do a shoot there a few times, and was repeatedly told that it needed to go before the committee for a decision. I never got a response from the committee about their decision. So, while photographing Chris and Kerstin around town during the holidays, I suggested a cup of coffee. The coffee shop was full of people and we luckily managed to get a table near the location I wanted to shoot. And so, in full view of a packed out coffee house, Chris, Kerstin and I had an informal photo shoot. I have to laud my young models for their willingness to be fearless on the day...
Model: Kerstin, Natrual Light
January 25, 2009
Upcoming for the Portfolio
Later this week, from January 30 to February 01, I will be doing a photo shoot with with two young fashion designers from Germany.
Beatrice and Henriette are in Namibia as part of the p.art.ners Berlin-Windhoek program, an exchange program for the arts between Germany and Namibia.
A good friend of mine, Jost Kirsten, is currently on a one year residency in Berlin through this program. He is a fantastic young sculptor and the program is a wonderful opportunity to expose the quality of his art on an International level.
Beatrice called me a week ago and asked if I could do a photoshoot of their clothing collections. She explained that they are on a very tight budget and are not familiar with this region of the country. I considered the proposition, and after much discussion and deliberation with the two ladies, agreed to take the project on.
I decided that I would not charge them for my work. Firstly, I support the p.art.ners initiative, and am willing to contribute to it functioning. Secondly, I thought it better to donate my time and effort than to fix a low market value for my work and get follow-up jobs that expect to compensate me the same amount. Thirdly, I decided that it would be a good project to have on my portfolio at this point in my short career. There is a possibility that the shots may get exposure in magazines or even an exhibition in Germany.
I have also been booked to shoot a wedding on the 14th of February. I am not the official photographer nor am I the official 2nd shooter. I offered to do some photographs for free - once again so that I can add the work to my portfolio.
Both of these opportunities are good news for me, as well as for my currently very thin portfolio. I don't feel entirely comfortable working for no money, but since there are no professional photogs anywhere near where I live, I am unable to be an assistant to anyone and have to gain experience using any means possible.
Has anyone else had similar experieces? What have you done and what advice could you give me?
Beatrice and Henriette are in Namibia as part of the p.art.ners Berlin-Windhoek program, an exchange program for the arts between Germany and Namibia.
A good friend of mine, Jost Kirsten, is currently on a one year residency in Berlin through this program. He is a fantastic young sculptor and the program is a wonderful opportunity to expose the quality of his art on an International level.
Beatrice called me a week ago and asked if I could do a photoshoot of their clothing collections. She explained that they are on a very tight budget and are not familiar with this region of the country. I considered the proposition, and after much discussion and deliberation with the two ladies, agreed to take the project on.
I decided that I would not charge them for my work. Firstly, I support the p.art.ners initiative, and am willing to contribute to it functioning. Secondly, I thought it better to donate my time and effort than to fix a low market value for my work and get follow-up jobs that expect to compensate me the same amount. Thirdly, I decided that it would be a good project to have on my portfolio at this point in my short career. There is a possibility that the shots may get exposure in magazines or even an exhibition in Germany.
I have also been booked to shoot a wedding on the 14th of February. I am not the official photographer nor am I the official 2nd shooter. I offered to do some photographs for free - once again so that I can add the work to my portfolio.
Both of these opportunities are good news for me, as well as for my currently very thin portfolio. I don't feel entirely comfortable working for no money, but since there are no professional photogs anywhere near where I live, I am unable to be an assistant to anyone and have to gain experience using any means possible.
Has anyone else had similar experieces? What have you done and what advice could you give me?
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