Having Fun Requires Trust

This post, to be the last installment in this series of “Going Beyond Code”, centres on something I’ve written about in earlier blog entries...trust.

It is my firm belief that trust forms not only one aspect of a professional being able to go ‘beyond meeting code’, it, in fact, may be the most important aspect.  As a photographer I have worked with brand new babies who are only days old, I have photographed conservative and modest women with nothing between their natural beauty and my lens, and I have been given the opportunity to document “I do’s”…none of these projects would have been possible without my clients’ trust in me:  trust that I could ‘deliver’ as a photographer, as a professional, and as a human being.  I take great pride in my client’s trust in me, and I also place a heavy weight on said trust – I promise to always do my best in my preparation for the shoot, in my gear choices, in my attitude toward my subjects, in my commitment to getting great images, in my delivery of the proof gallery and the retouching of subsequent prints, and in everything in between. 

If you are looking for a professional photographer I encourage you to find someone who has a photographic eye that appeals to you; I hope you will meet with them to determine if you share a rapport (photo shoots are a lot of fun, you should be able to laugh and feel at ease while ‘under the lights’!); and find a professional whom you believe will deliver to you the experience you are looking for (hiring a great shooter who notoriously takes forever to return phone calls or provide your order may or may not fit the bill for you – hey, we all have our own pet peeves and expectations!)

I truly believe that every aspect I’ve written about over these past few weeks is important in the services I am offering; however, I think that trust is likely the pinnacle of what is required in exceeding expectations – in life and business.

© Bella Faccia 2011

So, make an investment in yourself and your family…document this special time in your life, and it is special as you will never be ‘here’ again; go outside your comfort zone and be rewarded with a truly liberating gift to yourself; and, above all else, HAVE FUN! 

Life is great!

Lori

The background to the story...

I first met Bryan Peterson in June 2010 when I attended his workshop in Edmonton, Alberta.  It was during that workshop, when he was telling me about an upcoming form shoot he had, that I decided I would like to do a boudoir/fine art nude/form shoot – and it would be ultra cool if Bryan (whom I like very much and who is an extraordinary photographer) would be the one to do it.  Fast forward to June 2011 and there I was in Bryan Peterson’s Chicago studio with my makeup on and not much else!

People have varying opinions on this type of shoot, but I felt really comfortable about my personal and professional reasons for wanting to do it:  I thought it would be a wonderful keepsake for me (I’m not getting any younger!); a beautiful and intimate anniversary gift for my husband; and the only way to truly know what it feels like to be on the other end of the lens.

Over the past year I have done shoots for women who wanted to capture a meaningful time in their lives.  The reasons women have for doing a shoot like this may vary greatly – whether it’s during pregnancy, after a significant weight loss, having a milestone birthday (which, let’s face it, aren't always by the decade!), after surviving an illness or accident, or just ‘cause they want to feel the freedom that is inherent in this experience – but, I can assure you, there is one constant theme: the woman’s desire to evidence her innate beauty.  

Photo by B. F. Peterson

This type of shoot, in my opinion, will only render truly beautiful results if the subject trusts the photographer.  I’ve spoken before of my belief in sharing a rapport with clients to ensure their images are portraits and not merely pictures, you can see it in the body language and without question in the eyes.  Some of the work I’ve been most proud of has come from shoots with women, and I’ve always been truly honoured and appreciative that they would allow me to post photos from our time together in my marketing – this is the ultimate display of trust and generosity (having the shoot is already a big deal for most of us, having the images out there for the world to see reaches a whole new level of courage!).  So, out of my sincere appreciation to clients past and future, I will be including photos from my shoot…it only seems fair!

And so, now that I’ve provided you the background to the story, I’d like you to join me for the upcoming few blogs where I will speak candidly about this experience, both as a woman and as a photographer. 

Stay tuned for Chapter 1 – The Personal Journey!

Life is good!

Lori

Lighting For a 'Form' Shoot

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of doing a shoot for a fitness model.  When I posted some shots from the session I had enquiries from friends and fellow photogs for what the lighting setup was...see below if this is of interest to you.

She had spent months in preparation for a competition that was held in Calgary on October 23 and she thought her hard work merited being captured in photographs - and I couldn't have agreed more!  On the day of the competition her muscles were at their prime (that process is an entirely different discussion, but I will say - MAN, it takes dedication!) and so we wanted to make sure we fit the shoot in between the early judging and the main show that evening.

My client was keen to achieve a few different types of shots: gym shots for her portfolio, shots of her in her competition bikini (for her portfolio and for her), and some classy, form shots.  Let me stop here to describe what I mean by 'form', as I am not sure if anyone else uses this as a description!  When I say 'form' I envision that we are going to display parts of the body...these aren't boudoir shots, in my opinion, but rather an opportunity to capture images of the person's physique in an artistic way (well, that's the hope!)  I have nothing against boudoir (think it's pretty coo actually!) but I think there is a differentiation.

In the gym, I wanted to make sure that any other gym members weren't going to 'appear' in the shots - better for everyone - and so we introduced a flash, which my assistant held, and which was being triggered remotely by a set of Pocket Wizards.  This allowed us to capture the client, highlighting her toned muscles and virtually eliminating background distractions.

For her model and form shots I chose a low key approach by using a black seamless paper backdrop and side lighting (side lighting helps accentuate texture by creating shadows).  I thought this lighting and black paper would provide a level of sexiness to our shoot and I also thought that her physique would show up really well against the dark background.  The lighting (all set up on camera right) included a strip light (16"x48" soft box that modifies a strobe) set beside the backdrop and pointed toward the subject's back to create side lighting.  Another strobe with a larger, rectangular soft box was used at about 45° to the subject (as we moved through the shoot the positions varied and, therefore, so did the lighting angles...we used light angles between 30° and 60° to subject and we also varied the height of the light).  Because the subject's hair was very dark I knew that we would want to use a light to help separate her hair from the black backdrop, for this we used a flash which was held above her (above and toward the back of her head so as not to fall on her face at all) by my assistant on the shoot.  Lastly, I did use a large soft gold reflector on the opposite side of the subject to help fill light a little...this technique did not work as well as I'd hoped, but it did help.  In the future I would use a third strobe on low power to do the fill lighting.  The lights were all triggered using a Pocket Wizard on my camera with another on the 580 EXII flash, and the two strobes fired as slaves.

There are many ways to light and I am definitely still on the journey of learning lighting techniques...but if what I tried is of help or interest to you, I'm glad to share!  Please have a look at a few more shots, below, from this session.

Life is good!


Lori