Studio Lighting – Page 3

Third Time’s the Charm

Beauty, Finding Solutions, Finding your Zen, High Key Lighting, Natural Beauty, Studio Lighting, Studio Photography, Uncategorized

Having worked with Tory on two separate occasions. We’ve worked towards creating some noteworthy images. Ones that displayed both her talent and beauty. Strangely enough, each of the two sessions left me scratching my head, thinking, she is far more beautiful than I’ve portrayed her to be. Far to beautiful to be hiding under all the clothes and makeup that only serve to mask any of her beautiful features.. Just an opinion, but one that cried out, begging for redemption on my part. For, in my heart of hearts. I had failed in not portraying her as the beautiful woman I saw her as.

Torry (1 of 1)

Armed with ideas and a sense of determination I reached out. Much to my surprise and slight confusion, she not only agreed, but thanked me for the second (actually third chance.) Knowing, as well as accepting that each individual has their own sense of style and look that they’re comfortable with. It can make for a difficult task in attempting to have someone give in to a look other than their own. In Tory’s case, she made it incredibly easy for me. My suggestion to wear a comfortable tee shirt and go minimal with the makeup could best be equated to a less is more theory. Personally, I felt that those small changes went a long way to bring out her true beauty. I was finally given the chance to see the woman I always envisioned was under the makeup and clothing.

TorryCoffee (1 of 1) TorryHair (1 of 1) TorryPic (1 of 1)

I can’t go without thanking her for both the opportunity and trust she gifted. I’m more than happy to report that I finally got it right.

Happy Returns

Canon Lenses, High Key Lighting, Music, Studio Lighting, Studio Photography

Last night I received a heads up that the print I had mailed to a friend had arrived. Just a week before, Cindi stopped in at the loft for a fun, laid back photo session that would hopefully allow me to test some new gear and experiment with high key lighting. I style I had just learned from a friend and fellow photographer. Looking at older studio sessions I often shot a darker, low key side that tended to produce, moody yet stark results. Hoping to bing light to both my work and mood. I enlisted one of my favorite musicians. The image below, her showing off my box set of The Replacements first four albums. Was a personal favorite. In the past we’ve shared our mutual love for the band. Sending her an enlargement was just my way of thanking her for helping me to try some new things while returning to the type of work that inspires me the most. Thanks Cindi.

Back to Basics

Beauty, Damion Photo, Finding your Zen, High Key Lighting, Modeling, Studio Lighting, Studio Photography

While my prior studio session helped me get on solid ground as far as my studio lighting was concerned. This weekends session with Audrey allowed me to take things a bit further. During my previous session I took full advantage of lighting the background from behind with a soft box while lifting the shadows at 45′ degrees with my new Photoflex 72′ SRP umbrella. This time around, I added a beauty dish that really highlighted the models skin and features while adding depth to the images overall quality. Moving the lights around and playing with photography’s rule of thirds More on that Here Most important was Audrey’s presence. With a sense of grace and an intuitive nature to know what I’m about to say before I utter a single word. She has made our annual studio sessions an opportunity to grow and learn while having an absolute blast. As the years comes to a close. I’m beginning to see where the next year might take me creatively. From here, the view looks pretty damn good.

Testing, Testing

Studio Lighting, Studio Photography

Last night a friend and fellow photographer visited to give me a lighting tutorial using just one hot light and a couple of flags. Having someone just down the hall from me who’s more than happy to stop by to talk shop while sharing his experience and knowledge keeps me inspired and appreciative. No matter where my journey as a photographer takes me. I need to learn and grow in order to keep that passion alive.

As we were shooting, he mentioned how this style would work well with my artist and musician portraits. Adding dimension and drama to my images. As we viewed each image as it was shot. I was reminded of a shoot I did with Brooklyn’s Cinema Cinema at my old home studio in Hoboken. This image was also shot with one light that was fitted with a soft box. At the time, and still to this day. Both the band and myself loved the results. It seems that this was the direction I was hoping to move towards for some time now.

Having all the space I need to shoot and the tools to help my work grow. I can only hope to continue doing what I love. To quote the late, great Joe Strummer “The Future is Unwritten.”

Learn as you Go.

Dramatic Lighting, Portraiture, Studio Lighting, Studio Photography

On an almost daily basis. I take a few minutes to spend a little time visiting a past shoot to either tweak an overlooked image while sending any less than worthy ones to the trash. It’s a practice that has allowed me to purge thousands of images while giving me time to savor and care for the ones that really count. As I look back to my earliest home studio work. I see my leanings towards broad/flat lighting. A style that may have worked for me at the time. Clearly displays my fears of fucking things up and making mistakes. Perhaps revealing my rookie status. And while the image below might look good to some. I clearly remember feeling like that first day on the school bus. Luckily, that day helped me capture a number of images that would lead to future work and ultimately, more confidence.

On this latter image I had not only gained confidence, but I learned some essential lessons about successfully communicating ideas and concepts while gaining the confidence and trust of the model. On this particular shoot, I took a more creative approach with both the lighting and concept. I knew exactly what I was looking to accomplish as well as the message I was looking to convey. As I revisited this image for the first time in over a year. I decided to add a little shadow and highlights while adjusting the contrast to give it the dramatic and moody feel the shoot called for. As I grow and hopefully evolve as a photographer. I look forward to taking chances with light, make some mistakes I can learn from and shoot with a more ballsy, confident approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfWXps93dg

A Slight Change of Plans.

Canon Lenses, Finding Solutions, Natural Beauty, Studio Lighting, Studio Photography

The lights and backgrounds were all set up the night prior to the shoot. The pre shoot nervous knots were kicking and screaming and the beautiful woman scheduled for that afternoon arrived on time. The dye was set. Or so I thought. As the session began, the communication I shared with my model began to taper off. She seemed antsy and uncomfortable under the lights and during the moments I tried to keep a comfortable distance from my subject. She seemed to object, asking that I sit closer. Before long I realized it was the studio setting that made her feel overly self conscious and uncomfortable. Before I could suggest it myself. She asked if we could shoot in natural light. I wholeheartedly agreed and from there on we were cookies and milk.

After a short break we restarted. Finding a balance between window light and that of my external flash. And while I have come to detest using external flashes indoors. I found a nice way to bounce it properly to avoid those ugly shadows created when using it directly. I’m extremely happy with my new surroundings. The loft offers a nice balance and barrier between my work and living space. In the future, I’m going to have to work on defining and ultimately, separating the two. Until then, I have plenty of room to improvise.

Balancing Your Creative Passions

Portraiture, Studio Lighting, Studio Photography

If there’s anything I missed in 2014. It would have to be portraits and studio photography. While the year presented many opportunities for travel, event and real estate photography. My studio work suffered greatly for many reasons. Moving to a new and spacious loft in nearby Jersey City offered new opportunities while allowing me to expand and grow. Unfortunately, I stalled in the process and temporarily lost my way. It seems I lost my ability to communicate in a way I’m used to, in a way I’m accustomed to. Then came the winter, the cold, the ice and the snow. During that time, I kept busy, worked on other aspects of my photography and waited. Suddenly an opportunity showed itself when our interior decorator, friend and neighbor stopped by to see the remaining pieces he ordered for our kitchen. A great communicator and story teller in every sense. I asked him to sit for me as I tested some lighting set ups. He happily obliged and within five minutes we had some great photos to go with the stories we had shared. It was a nice moment that reminded me about navigating the highs and lows of creativity. How when one aspect of your work loses steam, another might thrive. Like life itself, creativity is a balancing act. Thanks to my new friend for reminding me.

Things Go Wrong

Humor, Modeling, Pin Up, Studio Lighting

The night had all the markings of a great shoot. A beautiful model, a talented make up artist and good lighting. Erica and Denise got to the studio on time and got right to work on the hair and make up. When Denise first brought up the idea of body painting we had very different ideas of both the approach and overall look. A couple of years back I photographed a fully body paint job from start to finish. It was quite and eye opener to say the very least. Denise’s idea seemed a little less larger in scope. Maybe some basic face paint, not much else. However, as the days past and the date was set, we came closer to a middle ground and came up with a great concept.

About two hours into the make up job I began taking shots and only minutes after the job was complete, so was the photo shoot. Not that it was rushed or anything of that nature, no, not in the least. We got some great shots in a sort amount of shooting time. We all parted on friendly terms with some new experiences under our collective belts.

A few days later after sending the images out to both Denise and Erica I began to see pictures find their way onto Facebook. Normally I would have no issue with it whatsoever. However, the images she loaded looked washed out and less than flattering. I commented on one of the images how they looked as if they were taken with a cel phone. That is when the fit hit the shan. Denise blew up on me on both Facebook and in a text. “How dare you criticize MY picture?” “You are a rude fucking so and so.” The tirade continued and grew in anger and threats of retribution. It seemed uncalled for and quickly took on a comedic level of neurosis. It left me wondering, “Did I really say anything that could be construed as demeaning or cruel.” In going back to the picture and my comment I could honestly cut myself a break and chalk it up to somebody just completely blowing something way, way out of proportion. Though there are always three sides to every story, I really have a hard time seeing myself as the bad guy here. Needless to say, it was an important lesson in being very selective in who you spend your time with. Do what you must to control the crazy that sneaks it way into your everyday.

Support Your Local Drummer!!!

Music, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

If you’ve been following my recent posts you’ll know I’ve been dragging my favorite musicians out from behind their instruments of choice and putting them in front of my camera. Anthony Arena, the drummer for New Jersey’s dynamic rock n’ roll duo The Undergrounds. Anthony, much like his band, is somewhat of a throwback to a better time. After seeing The Undergrounds live a number of times and interviewing them for my old web zine Unite. I thought about offering my services to the band but never really approached the subject. So when the idea for this project came about, Anthony almost immediately came to mind.

When Anthony arrived we got right down to business. My approach was to keep it simple. Like I had mentioned before, I really liked Anthony’s throw back kinda persona and look. I wanted to capture that while keeping things relaxed and low key. We talked about the blues, our favorite drummers and bonded over our mutual love for Jimi Hendrix while listening to “Are You Experienced?” It was a short session but one that allowed me to capture some cool images for my project and get to know someone who’s music got me listening to The Sonics again.

Support Your Local Bass Player!!!

Music, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

When asking local musician and all around cool chick Cindi Merklee to participate in my mission to get some studio time with my favorite local musicians, it wasn’t without some trepidation. Though I had seen her former band The 65’s a number of times, shared many mutual friends and had a few casual encounters at shows. We never really went past more than a few back and fourths on Facebook.

After meeting around the corner at L&J’s we headed upstairs to begin our session. Whatever shyness or nervous knots I might have had prior to meeting Cindi quickly dissipated as we began to talk. We talked and listened to The Replacement’s “Let it Be” while talking about our musical idols. In between the laughing and all out silliness, I managed to take some pictures. Though I had a blueprint for the shots I wanted and the look I wanted to convey. None of it really mattered in the end. I made the most of my time getting to know Cindi. Listening to her stories while sharing my own.

Cindi was a real pleasure to work with and above all, get to know. She re-enforced my belief that beauty has many layers and levels. Thanks for your time Cindi.