Archive for June, 2009
Portrait Tips – Kali’s Bikini Shoot
June 25th, 2009
We planned to shoot out by The Great Salt Lake, but the weather didn’t cooperate. Instead, we headed to Salt Lake City’s best looking club: Jam. It’s such a pretty club that I could spend days there shooting models in various locations – and then stay for the talented DJ’s and great micro brews.
Special thanks to Vincent at Jagged Edge Retreat for the terrific hair style, and Nicole for her excellent makeup work!
Tip – Improvise – Our original location didn’t pan out, but after calling the owners of Jam, we came up with an even better shoot than the one we had planned! Sometimes you just have to wing it.
Tip – Network – If I didn’t have a great rolodex with some of Salt Lake City’s hippest scene-makers, we never would have scored such a great location for our shoot. Network with EVERYBODY. You never know who can help you out in a pinch!
Tip – Incorporate Background Contrasts – Those great backgrounds aren’t PhotoShop, peeps. That’s the real deal. In the close-up head shot I used a closely placed strobe to create the high contrast background that makes the photo pop. The dark stripe down the side of the body shot is a corner on the DJ booth. The dark / bright gradient on the seated photo is an angled corner at the front of the DJ booth. Take advantage of changes in the background to add interest and enhance the composition – but be careful that it draws attention to your subject!
Equipment List:
- 1x 6′ oval reflector – Gold side out.
- 3x Nikon SB-600 strobes.
- 1x Nikon D90.
- 1x Nikkor 50mm f1.8D lens.
- 2x 9′ light stands.
- 1x Boom stand.
One last tip: Whatever you’re doing – remember to have a blast!
Babylon – Utah Gay Pride
June 10th, 2009
Babylon was the biggest and baddest gay pride party in Salt Lake City. Hosted by Miss Jeffree Star and attended by some of Salt Lake City’s hippest socialites. If you missed this one, you missed one of the best parties of the year!
Before the crowds got too crazy, I had a couple trusty SB-600 flashes and a hand-held 32″ umbrella with me. I captured some great shots with those, and then I slapped on my Gary Fong cloud diffuser for the rest of the night. Things got pretty tight in the club. Dancefloors hopping upstairs, downstairs, and outside, so the bulky umbrella didn’t fly after it picked up.
Check out the full set on PartyUtah.com!
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Quick Tip – Club Photography @ W
June 5th, 2009
No time for a big post today, so I’ll just leave you with a quick tip. There’s a time and a place to be a control freak and a director. When people are having fun and looking great naturally, just go with the flow and shoot what you see. Don’t forget to have fun!
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