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

Introducing a Princess

It is with great delight and anticipation that I am planning the addition of a permanent studio space in our home!  Of course the primary reason is so that I can eliminate the need to set up and tear down the ‘studio’ for each shoot (‘cause I’d rather be doing something productive or fun with that time!); the other reason, which is actually really exciting for me, is that I will then have a space to practice lighting set ups and techniques any ol’ time I feel like it!  

So, there I’ll be in the new and wonderful space…but then what?  You can’t really learn to light a subject without a subject!  I do a lot of learning, just like everyone does, on the job; but I wanted more time to play, to fiddle, to experiment, and to be curious.  My first thought was to use models, but they’re expensive and when you're working around your kids’ schedules (which is true for any at-home parent) you want to be flexible…it was pretty clear, pretty quickly, that models weren’t the way to go.  My second thought was an assistant, which is what brings us to the focus of this piece…

I’m thrilled to introduce you to my new assistant!  She has agreed to sit for me whenever I want (in between serving Froot Loops and resolving disputes!), she won’t charge, and she’s flexible/positionable (you can imagine how brutal my web history was last month when 'googling' "flexible dolls"!  I think I had a permanent blush during those few weeks of searching for the perfect ‘assistant’ and had to keep my fingers crossed that the police didn’t need to use my computer for anything!)!  All kidding aside, I am thrilled with the thought of learning whenever I want while not inconveniencing anyone or going broke!

Now, what kind of boss would I be if I didn’t give my new assistant a name?!  For me it felt like naming a baby and I didn’t want to get it wrong.  I desperately wanted a name that would inspire me and so I made a list of things she would serve to represent: grace, beauty, sexiness, intelligence, playfulness, elegance, and confidence all were fairly immediately jotted down (this is how I want my women clients to feel while they’re in front of my lens) and it led me to:  Principessa.  Just like when I named the company; this name simply makes me smile (plus I like the subconscious thought that this very rich, extraordinarily beautiful, and powerful woman has asked ME to light HER!).

Now, this isn’t the ‘secret project’ that I wrote of a few weeks ago, that will remain under wraps for now, but Principessa will certainly play a role in it!

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