October brought Nanci back to Portland and with her the opportunity to shoot our first studio session. I decided to do a boudoir shoot in Floofie's studio in NE Portland. I had hoped to shoot primarily with natural light from the studio's double doors and the two windows, and although there was some illumination from outside, the day was too dreary for much light to enter the set.
I had expected this and brought along a set of Newwer LED panels as supplemental light. I also brought my Canon RF 24-105 f/2.8 L IS lens so I could shoot in the lower light. The panels can easily emit enough light for video, but for still photography, they're supplemental at best.
One advantage of the panels, though, is that the color temperature and lighting ratios can be controlled via my phone or directly on the panels. This allows me to match the color temperature of any available lighting, or choose my own color temperature for warmer or cooler shots.
This was my third shoot with Nanci, but my first in an indoor setting. We had previously done two shoots at Sauvie Island where Nanci had impressed me with her poses and joyful attitude. She brought that same attitude to this shoot and the two hours passed quickly as she worked her way through the many outfits I brought to the studio. She's just as impressive in the studio as in the field and we got some great shots despite the reduced natural light.
I have only two more scheduled shoots until the end of my shooting season and the beginning of my editing time. I plan to write a non-technical review of the RF 24-105 f/2.8 lens during this time as well. Until my next shoot, enjoy these photos of the lovely Nanci.
I just finished my fourth shoot with Jade. This shoot differed from the previous three in that we focused on a warrior motif. This included the Sword & Chains theme, my Military Glamour (pinup) project, and Animal Print pinups. I asked Jade to go wilder with her eye makeup and to keep her hair to a more casual style consistent with the themes.
For the location, I used a spot that has worked well for previous shoots with a similar theme. We shot in the early afternoon since these early days are now shorter. Fortunately, we had nice weather. Our shoot started with cool temperatures, but it warmed up nicely after the first hour of our shoot.
After a bit of instruction on how to hold the swords and other weapon props, Jade's poses easily met and exceeded my expectations. She wore several sets of chains and wielded several swords, as well posing as an elven archer before we moved on to the military pinups.
I brought along a portable Bluetooth speaker so we had music during our shoot. I like to have music during my shoots, and my models seem to appreciate it as well. Jade certainly liked my playlist and asked for a copy or a list of the songs I used.
At the end of our shoot, I had a quick scare as my car's battery seemed to have died. Once I returned from asking the property owner for a jump though, it started right up (without a jump) and we headed home.
Shooting with Nicole is a blast. For my second shoot with this beautiful lady, I chose a magical theme as we both have an interest in the fantastical. We picked a late afternoon shoot time to take advantage of backlighting from the sun for the outfits and the foliage behind the model. I had several concepts in mind that needed that style of lighting and the timing worked great for those shots.
Nicole had perfect makeup and hair for the shoot because we collaborated on the planning and I shared examples of what I wanted to shoot with her well ahead of the shoot. She's a very experienced and versatile model, so I expected no less. The property where we were shooting worked well for the concepts too, and we took full advantage of the backgrounds it provided.
Nicole suggested several ideas we incorporated into the shoot. I love it when models give me suggestions and make the shoot a collaborative, rather than a directive process. Also, shooting with Nicole is just plain fun.
