I’ve had this mysterious / wrapped in shadows / out of focus sparkles idea for a while now, so when Camille came over to the studio the other day I seized the opportunity to get it done. Camille has such a great mysterious / suspicious look in this one, it really helps sell the shot and takes the image to a whole new level. I love it when that happens.
I had a great photoshoot this week with Camille, who brought some great vintage hats to wear. She has a really subtle forlorn/tragic look that I love. We shot a bunch of different ideas I had kicking around the studio, and she was very patient with my experimenting process, which made everything go really smoothly. We got some really good stuff, I’m looking forward to sharing it.
I found this great video on DIY Photography’s page, showing a behin the scenes look at a photoshoot by Horst P. Horst from the 1940s. I love this kind of thing. If everyone is using HMI lights and small flashes, I totally want to start using giant oldschool hollywood lights and fresnel lenses. Stand there smoking a cigarette, studying the light and then finally drop a negative into a large format camera and release that shutter. So cool.
Also, check out that fill light position!
Other pics by Horst:
I’m no Street Photographer, but you can’t help but be amazed by these pictures by Fan Ho. Born in Shanghai in 1937, he moved with his family to Hong Kong at an early age. He started shooting with a Rolliflex camera his father gave him and developing the pictures in the family bath tub. His work is both capturing an instant, a moment and exceedingly well composed and constructed. Nearly abstract, but always with a human element in motion. Amazing work.
This is a great post on Gizmodo by Sebastian Petrovski about how the quality, direction and amount of light on a subject can dramatically change their appearance. I’ve always thought that lighting is the most important thing in a picture. If you can provide great light, you can almost always take an amazing picture. Figuring out what type of light will work best on your subject is at least half the battle, and once you’ve got that, the sky’s the limit.
Hey Melissa,
Sorry for my late response, it’s been a busy week for me. Thanks again for reaching out to me about collaborating, I’m definitely interested in working with you.
Right now I’m really into playing with and manipulating reflections in my work, as well as some more conceptual ideas. Last night I was up late working on a glittery-reflection type look, and I was able to come up with this:
I’m really interested in creating elements in the foreground, middle and background of the image as you can see. I think your look would work really well in something like this.
I have a variation on that idea, where instead of just a single circle with light reflections around it, there’s actually a series of concentric circles or diagonal lines around the center of the image.
And then there’s a third idea, which is more of a model-wrapped-in-fabric like a chrysalis or cocoon…. That one might need more thought and conceptualizing, but it’s another possibility.
I think you’d be great for any of these projects, and if you’re open to a TFP/TFCD situation, I’d like to go ahead with planning the shoot. I have a website at:
http://TimLewisPhotography.com
if you’d like to check out the quality and level of my work. I have several other concept shoots in the works as well, if you’re not feeling these particular ideas or if another model jumps on one of them first.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you,
take care.
Tim
I’m a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s. From the Sandman, to his short stories, to his run on “MiracleMan”…. he’s pretty great. And this speech is no exception. Neil gives out advice he wishes he’d had when beginning his career, and mentions a few things that he did know as well.
My favorite part was when he said to break the rules when you’re new and don’t know that they’re there. Brilliant.
