Autumn

Long time since last text I wrote to this blog, but I’m back to talk about the photo shoot I had with Polish model Darota.

I was looking for models to take fashion or glamour photos in a park in Dublin, that was very beautiful because of yellow leaves on trees and on the ground, typical  of Autumn season. I put an advertise on Gumtree.ie expecting have answer from volunteers like I had from model Amanda, but this time nobody have contacted me. A couple of weeks later, I tried to find on Model Mayhem web site a model interested on this photo shoot . I sent a message to a girl and an other message to a guy. These guy had told me once he wanted some photos for his portfolio but he hasn’t answered. In my third attempt, Darota sent me a message back saying she would like to pose for these photos because she is building her portfolio.

Darota doesn’t have very much experience as model and she hasn’t been in many photo shoots, but in this shoot she was posing like a professional. She has such strong poses that gave fantastic results. It’s not ease to be model as it looks like. To be beautiful is not enough to become a model. Models have to know show their best look, to know make a continuous lines with their body and to know look confortable in spite of cold or hot weather.

I met Darota in the park where we wanted use as background for the photos. In feel minutes I set a stand with a flash and white umbrella to diffuse the flash light and to create soft shadows. The weather was very cloudy. It means that the natural light was very soft as well and, because the clouds wasn’t move the natural lighting wasn’t change. Therefore, I didn’t need to change the flash settings very often. Most of these photos I used 1/4 flash power and 80m setting.

During the shoot two guards came and said that is forbidden to take photos in the park. I was pretty sure we can take photos since if it will not be published as commercial propose.  I didn’t  want to argue because I got some really nice pictures that I didn’t want the guards demand to delete it. We just left the park so.

Therefore, Darota and I headed to an other park that was smaller but still nice, where we could to continuous with the photos. In this second park an other guard said that we need a permission to take photos in there, but now I told the guard the photos will not appear in any commercial publication but it was just a hobby and practising. So that the guard said it was fine and we could keep shooting.

I really like the result of these photos and so Darota. Everything is like I was expecting, the lighting, the mood of background, everything. And I’m very thankful for Darota.

New flatmates and new themes

I was quite busy last week. My flatmates are leaving so that I wanted to stay in the apartment and look for flatmates who I’d like to live with. The apartment has a big living room that I can use to set photo shoots, because that I was looking for photographers or students of photography to share it. I’d found an Irish girl who just joined the photography curse in a College in Dublin. She wanted to share the apartment with me, but she also said she wanted to ask a friend to come with her. I’d shown her the room and feel days later I called her twice and I haven’t got any answer. I was worried because I have to find three people to share the apartment with me before 20th. Then an Irish couple, who is not photographer, has came to see the apartment and wanted to stay as well. I said the room is their so. A couple of days later the girl who wanted bring her friend to live with her ringed me asking for the room but it was too late.

This week I had a photo shoot with a girl who have a punk style I liked. Before she make up I started using the speedlight sb800 but I had problems to fire it by flash command again. I had to use the natural light fromwards a big window. Instead to use the reflector to bounce the light I used the black side of reflector to create more showdown for a cool mood. After that I had to use the flash on camera. I don’t like it.

A pregnant women called me to take photos of her as well. It made me happy because I’ve never taken photo of a pregnant before and it was a good experience. Again, because the flash command wasn’t work I used natural and bounced lighting. I also used the sb800 on camera with the flash head pointed towards celling to bounce the flash light everywhere.

In spite of problems with flash command I took many interesting photos last week. I still suck and I have limited stuff but I can see improvement in each photo shoot.

5th Strobist Meeting

Have a look on Strobist Ireland Blog and watch the video from the last strobist meeting.

Dublin Strobist Meet #5 from frainphoto on Vimeo.

Indian style photo shoot

The strobist friend Oxana called me last week to take photos of Sonia, a Indian woman who wanted some photos of her wearing Indian Clothes. I met they Yesterday  for a photo shoot in Phoenix Park. While Sonia was “modelling” Oxana helped me as assistant.

I realise when we are making portrait with people who have no experience as model we have to tell them exactly  how they have to be, the pose of hands, feet, body, head, every detail. To make it ease and to Sonia looking natural I told her to make dance poses and Indian movements. Yes, it works very well.

The day was pretty cloudy and some times the sun shined. I prefer take photos with sunshine and use reflector to fill the showdowns because it looks more natural and is easer. When it’s too cloudy the reflector is worthless, so that I had to use a flash with a white umbrella to diffuse the light and try to create an interesting lighting. But when I really needed the flash light it doesn’t worked, because I fire the flash by Flash Command that doesn’t work some time. I took many good photos anyway.

Commercial Photography

I started this week talking with a model who I found on modelmayhem.com. (Is there where we can find models, makeup artists, hair and clothes stylist, and photographers. If you are curious have a look on my profile: http://www.modelmayhem.com/1251177 ). The model have some punk style I wanted for some shots. Since I was aloud to set a shoot in a pub I told the model about the pub that have a great mood for the punk style. Every thing was ready when she sent a message, two days before, saying she couldn’t pop in the pub for the shoot because a problem that she just had. I was so sad with the situation because it already happened before with an other model and now it seems I’m no longer allowed to set a shoot in that pub.

Anyway, everything is fine because Wednesday I had a photo shoot with the students of ELTP. It’s the school where I was studying English and where I’m going to continuous my class next month. The school is about to launch a new website and they were need some photos of the student to put on it.

The ELTP have a method called Comics Class using comic books, to help the students learn more vocabulary and know the situations we can use it. I had to make some shots showing the students and the comics books. I also had to take some photos of the students being entertained by the books and enjoying it.

I was very worried because I’ve never made anything lake that. When we have a photo shoot with models we can set the lighting, looking for the best background and think about the composition while the model is being prepared for the makeup artist and/or stylist or by they own. The models take at least one hour to be ready. When I arrived at school, the students who I had to take photos was already waiting for the camera, looking I prepair the stand, the flash, setting the lighting and my camera. I was worried because I won’t want they apeair bored on the photos though everything happened very well. Actually, I didn’t set the flash very well so that I had extra work with photoshop.

I liked the experience and the school’s owner really liked the photos that made me very happy.

Dublin Strobist Meeting

This time the meeting was in Portmarnock. I had to catch a train and walk for 30 minutes to arrive on the beach where we set the shoot. I brought my new stand with umbrella but the wind was too strong to use the umbrella that we use to diffuse the light from the flash.

We didn’t planed any theme this time. The models just had to bring different kind of clothes. There were five models.

The group wanted to shot at sunset but it was too cloudy. The sky light was fine.

When studying photography and lighting we always heard that the flash fired fromwards cameras is not good because it doesn’t make contrast. But Bert Stephani says that you can take good photos with the flash on camera if you know how. I saw one of the strobist making faces portrait like Bert Stephani so that I wanted to try as well.

Thanks to Louis’ flash gel, who had the idea and creativity to use it, I could get a really nice blue colour as background. I have some gels that came with the flash when I bought it but I’ve never used it. I’ll try to remember about the gels for the next time.

It wasn’t a cold day but the strong wind make us fell cold. Pour models who had to pose wearing bikinis. We arrive in the Beach at 5pm and finished the shoot at 9h30 pm about. At the end, the great volunteers models got in the cold water for some different and nice photos.

That was a very cool day!

“Well I have to say for someone who is only learning you are doing great I am getting so many positive comments from your shots and the one in the water and the black and white shots are up there in my favourite shots ever taken so well done you!!” – “It was great working with you I am delighted with the shots. Keep up the good work I know talent when I see it” (Model Lisa Grogan)

To have friends as models

Boogii(left), Uugii(above) and Oko(right)

I don’t waste the opportunity to practise photography so that I look for every people who would pose as model. I told Togo, a friand from English school who wants become a photographer as well, to help me to find people to take photos. By this we can practise together.

Last Friday, Togo called me on the morning asking if I would like to go out for some photos. He also said that he has some friends and his sister who would pose for our cameras.

At 3pm I met Togo and the girls in the Merrion Square. We started taking photos of the girls together, walking and smiling. Using natural light and a reflector. We was assistant of each other to hold the reflector or flash when the other was taking photos. Than we took photos with a garden as background. We also tried to make some creative lighting with a flash.

The sunlight was very annoying. It was changing from diffuse to harsh very often because the clouds. But everything happened very well.

I thought It would be difficult to take pictures of Togo’s friends because they are Mongolians. I always thought that oriental people were very shy. But the girls came prepared with some different clothes. They also really posed for the cameras. I called many Brazilians girls, friends of my, to pose to me, help me to practise and try different and creative lights, but all of them was too shy for that.

I’m very happy with the results.

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I’m also happy because a girl called me to take photos of her for her portfolio. She had posed for some fashion shoots before but now she wants make a glamour portfolio with some sensual photos. She told me she is pretty shy because she never posed for a sensual shoot. I’m not sure if this  shoot will happy.

I’m looking for a stylist to make some photos looking more editorial and with a conception. I want to make a really good work telling a story and with a theme. But it’s very difficult to find a Stylist free on week days. If you know someone, please tell me.

In Howth with my friends from English school

Togo is a friend from Malesia who I met at English school. He wants to become a photographer as well and he just bought a Nikon D300. Very often in a photo shoot we need an assistant to hold a reflector or a flash, so that I told him to set photo shoots with me. By this way we help each other, practise and grown together.

I have two dancers and a model who want some photos for them portfolio. They are still volunteers but I think I can be paid as photographer very soon. Some professional already saw some of my photos and they liked it. The big problem is the clothes of the model, because that I have to find a stylist so.

Last Friday was bank holiday. Togo, I and some friends from English school went to Howth. The weather was pretty good for a tracking on the hill where there are some cliffs. I’ve been on Howth before and I have already many photos from there but as I told before, it’s always good to take picture of the same things or places. It’s because you have the opportunity to try a new perspective and practise you creativity.

As it’s summer holiday, there are many tourists in Ireland. In the train to Howth we met a German girl who joined us in the tracking towards the cliffs.  In the train back to Dublin we met a Spanish guy who was with a group of Spanish students.

The day was very good and we had a lot of fun.