first lighting lesson

Danielle E Lewis (Model)
anphotography (instructor)

My first lighting lesson. Danielle, a wicked fun model, got together with myself and andrew ness to do a shoot and was kind enough to be my model for my first lighting lesson.

After doing her hair and makeup, and andrew getting in a few sets, it was time to learn. Andrew set up the "box" which is what we referred to the jungle gym of light stands, clamps, white boards and lights we set up so he could show me how to properly light a model with what i had at home.

These are the images i walked away with. Including this EPIC one of andrew!!! :)

I was incredibly excited to learn i was lighting everything ALL WRONG before and that there WAS a right way to do it.

Thank you andrew and Danielle for being so awesome and helping me further myself as an artist!

"The Friends of Eddie Coyle"

"The Friends of Eddie Coyle"

Another actor/filmaker friend of mine invited me on set to do hair and makeup for a project he was doing. JP was remaking two scenes from "The Friends of Eddie Coyle". The actors you see in the images are D'Angelo Midili, J.P. Giuliotti and Eric Riedmann.
It was an awesome experience, i was able to take photos of each actor in character as they rehearsed their scenes in between takes. Which i think made for some really interesting emotional photos, i'm very excited about this set.

I also pulled out my macro (i was thinking about selling it) and was able to experiment with it. To my surprise and excitement, it captured the expressions from the actors at a much more personal level then i was able to obtain with my other lens... so i think my macro is a keeper!

first time with studio light on my own

D'Angelo Midili (model)

My first time ever lighting my own shoot with studio lights. After a fellow SPA photographer gave me a quick lesson on HOW to set up strobe lights, i used two soft boxes on the model, and light the cyc with one more strobe, this was what i achieved.

I was incredibly frustrated because i went to the studio with no idea really about what i was doing. Fortunately i shot with Jan (one of my mentors and fav photographers) and he gave me a crash coarse on basic lighting in between sets on one of our shoots. It took me a good 30 minutes JUST to figure out how and why the lights were responding like they were and why the slave on one strobe wasn't working so i just set up another remote light thing on it.. and TADA, it worked.. SOOO on i went.. adjusting, moving, shooting, until i finally got a some what light set up that i figured would work. These are some of the photos that i produced.

Leaving the studio pretty annoyed with myself, for no good reason, i got the images on my computer and was actually impressed.. But i know NOW next time, i'll head to the studio with a game plan..

Krista Gibbon (Model)
freakishly beautiful (makeup and hair)
rita (wardrobe)

While on set doing a period shoot with ANPhotography, my Audrey Hepburn model Krista Gibbon was kind enough to let me take some photos of her using andrews lighting he set up. Here they are

while i'm still learning how to take photos, i also forget a few minor details.. one being, i left my white balance on tungsten which is what i use with my clamp lights, so that explains the blue cool tones.. I'm also finding the difficulties in posing my subject. Though in the past i've coached models for other photographers, capturing the actual pose/image while paying attention to cropping, lighting, shadows, etc etc is a lot more difficult then i thought!

Photos from first editorial shoot

Model: Julie Cassedy

So after figuring out WHY i couldn't get more light in my shots (my iso was too low) i decided to play again. I recently worked with a great model, Julie, on an editorial shoot that she had gone out and got an EPIC wardrobe for, so i wanted to take FULL advantage of it!!

I went out and bought a chunk of fabric from goodwill to use as a background, after getting home and REALIZING it was TOO short to do full body shots, so i made due and shot some 3 quarter.

anyways, when setting up i realized just how small of an area i had to shoot in so i was fighting with the closeness of my "light stands" (a chair, a fan, and a lamp) in which my clamp lights were attached to. Having my "assistant/boyfriend/whipping boy" constantly move my back drop which was thumb tacked into the wall UP and DOWN, and OVER, and then i had the shadow issue.. I remembered another shoot i had done and tried to remind myself to shoot AWAY from the backdrop/wall.. but hey, it's a note for next time i guess.

all in all, i'm pretty happy with these shots. first time shooting this style, and i really did enjoy it. It's very appealing to me because theres so much more envolved then "sit here, smile, turn, tilt, smile, click click click"

first Editorial shoot

First i would like to thank Craig Thomson and Brad Lashua for having me on their shoot on Saturday and giving me a quick lesson on white balance, steadying the camera, and the lighting issue i was having and WHY THE HECK i couldn't get enough light in my shots. I found out i was foolishly setting one number thinking it was another (can you tell i'm avoiding using proper terms, since i still don't know the difference between apature, iso, etc) ANYWAYS, feeling pretty confident, i'm shooting at my house tonight. Model Julie Cassidy will be modeling her wicked cool editorial wardrobe for me so i can practice my lighting, steadying, and white balance.

After searching for poses, lighting ideas, and shot ideas today, i'm pretty excited. Another amazing photographer i work with "Allklier" is my inspiration for this shoot tonight. I love his work, and he's a great photographer to work with. So i'm kind of mimic'ing how he approaches and delivers a shoot. So heres hoping after the shoot i can get at least ONE edited tonight, which will ALSO pose as educational experience. This will also be the first shoot i do in which i have to make all the tones and colors look realistic! WHew lots to learn tonight..

My shoot is at 7pm, so if anyone has any tips for me, i will GLADLY except them!!!

shyn
( and thank you to all of you who are inspiring to me)

Little red riding LUPE!

OK so last night, with the help of my AMAZING boyfriend/assistant/whipping boy i got some shots in of one of my best friends. Keeping with the halloween THEME of things we did little red riding hood.. because she's a nerd, and well, HAD the cloak (don't call it a cape in front of her).. ANYWAYS, i learned 2 very important things amongst alot of other things, but ONE being, i need better lights, at least stronger bulbs.. and TWO, what the hell was up with my focus? i would take focus from her eye, then shift the camera for composition and CLICK the camera. BUT after viewing them on the computer, the face was ALWAYS blurry but her chest was clear.. SO new note in photography book, find out what the hell i did with the focus.

I also found some fun new things in photoshop.. BUT still have NO idea if i'm doing this right!!

These are photos from last night as well

Playing with lighting and photoshop

Last night between drinking tequilla, and listening to remixed pop TO heavy metal music i found some time to set up a few lights and play with faces, lighting, and then photoshop.

I used two clamp work lights, which i realized i need to get a higher wattage, shot the models in the door way so the back would be blackened out and played with some beads hanging from the celling. Over all i think the photos turned out pretty cool, and i totally got effect i was going for! YEY me!

my son my favorite model

Below are photos i took of my son on our trip at the pumpkin patch. I am learning to crop the photos properly and playing with the colors on the photos..

Lupe (model) hair/makeup/photography Shyn

So i recently purchased a Canon 20D with two lenses. I am delving into photography, something in which i have wanted to do since i first picked up a camera when i was 10. But never though i was talented enough to follow through with it.. BUT screw that i say, i'm doing it anyways!.

This blog is for people to critique me, compliment me, help me, and all that fun stuff!!

shyn