The Trail of the Catwoman
I was rather looking forward to this shoot, as I am a huge comics fan, and the chance to shoot a model dressed as Catwoman was too good to pass up.
The shoot was done outdoors, in the area around St. Pauls in London, and there were about six photographers working with the model. The outfit was good, though the purist in me was hoping for one of the modern Selina Kyle outfits with vaguely steam-punk goggles.
We moved through a variety of settings, from a well-lit area with a Range Rover to a pillar of fire, a set of lit columns and some garden areas before I had to leave due to work commitments.
One of the most interesting things about shooting this session, was, as you are shooting a cat burglar super-villain, you want shadows and the suggestion of form rather than actually taking any direct images. I found the well lit Range Rover images unsatisfying because the glare did not work well with the expectation of the character, whereas the pillars allowed for shadow and obscuring parts of the model’s body as if she was hiding from patrols of security guards.
It was a technically challenging shoot, due to the high degree of darkness, and the light that was there was very bright, meaning it could easily be overblown by the camera if you either weren't careful or didn't use exposure locking.
All in all, it was a really enjoyable experience, but I did feel the lack of my speed-light in this situation, something I rarely miss. A little more controllable light would have enabled some interesting effects, especially with some gels to work with.
