Ella De Vine
I spent some of this afternoon shooting in TechnicalBoy's studio in hackney. This was part of his new Meetup Group Light Spot Studio Photography As part of his group session, he arranged for us to have an hour-long session with a model. We were working with the lovely Ella De Vine.
It is quite a different way of working than most of the groups who tend to book someone else's studio for the day, but bring in all the photographers at the same time and let us shoot in 5-10 min sessions, across the whole day. I have to admit I prefer TechnicalBoy's approach on this, getting a full hour shooting, rather than a few minutes works well. It has the downside that you don't get the same social aspect to the event, as it’s you, TechnicalBoy, and the model, but many would ask if I really need another encouragement to go to the pub...
TechnicalBoy gave me free rein as I'd shot in his studio before. I was using a pretty standard one light set up on a softbox, but given my penchant for harsh shadows, I shot most of the time without the diffusing canvas in front of the softbox to give a more contrasting image.
Ella had brought a variety of outfits with her, and as TechnicalBoy cheerfully pointed out, I have a very short attention span, and so I did make the poor woman change four times...
The first round of images were in an emerald green dress with a matching corset. I wasn't particularly happy with how these came out, the lighting was, dull and uninspired. The later shots however were much better.
The second outfit was a leather skirt with a black top, a single lacy sleeve. It really played well with the harsher light which came with removing the diffused from the front of the softbox. It was a more alternative outfit, and so worked with a slightly more alternative look.
The third outfit, I found, gives a sense of engagement with the viewer, very direct looks, and a sensation similar to what you'd see in a cool clothing or editorial image.
The final change was a long purple dress, very elegant, and with a satin finish. The shoulder straps and Ella's look gave some of the images here a very 'come hither look which worked really well.
I don't typically do a great deal of post-processing, for various reasons, partly because I enjoy shooting more than editing and partly because I generally prefer an unedited look (well, playing with contrast and some presets don't count.) For these images, however, I find that I'm keen to do some more studio work. Retouching them to give them more of a catwalk impression. Perhaps that is due to the nature of this shoot.
It revealed to me, quite clearly, how easy it is to get out of practice when you don't do a lot of editing. I was diving back into my notes to find out how do some of the effects I knew I could once have done. At this stage, I've only edited two images, which can be seen on my Facebook Page
