Theme 2 studio shoot

The following images are from my second college shoot, this time for my 2nd theme, which was along the lines of advertising/fashion.
The model I used was a friend of mine called Becky, she has only been modelling since August 2011 and already has a good professional manner, required very little direction, but responded well to the little direction I gave.

The Jewellery I used was lent to me by another friend who makes it all by hand in her spare time.

The advertising/products I was trying to advertise were, Jeans, T-Shirts, Jewellery and bags. In the images below I feel I have captured all of these aspects in one way or another. They are all unedited, straight off the camera as shot, I will edit the final images that I choose for my other module image presentation.

Looking at my research images I was aiming for a white background, but there was also a coupple of images I took inspiration from which had a black background. Time was limited for this shoot as the studio was busy, so to save swapping from a white to a black background, I decided to use the lighting in a way to give me a nice grey background.
So for the lighting I used a couple of combinations, both used 1 light quite far back (to give the grey background) but aimed straight at the model from just above head height, pointing down. This light had fitted, a Beauty dish, with a Honeycomb in the centre and a diffuser around the honeycomb.
For the 2nd lighting option I kept the same light as above, but then also added another light, to the right of the model, (as you look at the images) this was positioned lower down (about chest height) and was fitted with a barn door as shown in the image below.
My camera was set to F10, ISO100, shutter at about 1/60 and the white balance set to flash mode.

The image above is the 1st shot I took of the model, this was using the the 2 light option, with the other light hitting her left hand side, lighting up her hair and her right arm. 

A simple pose, framed close to her to make the attention on her/the black top.

I gained the grey background I was after, but the image itself seemed to be a bit warm in colour temperature, I also felt the light coming from the right was to harsh, I did turn this down later on in the shoot and these images will follow.

In this image I got the model to turn more towards the light coming from the right, This gave a better more even cover of light onto her, but still I wasn't completely happy with the colour temperature of the image. In the next shot I turned off the light to the models left to see what effect this had.

So this is the result of turning off the light to the models left, Again the grey background is there, but it looks more like a mucky/dirty grey, the grey I was after was more of a light cleaner grey. This meant I was going to have to play with my camera settings. I was happy with the ISO, aperture value and shutter speed, so due to the fact that I thought the temperature wasn't quite right, I adjusted the white balance from flash to 5500K. 

And this is the result of just changing the white balance, I was a lot happier with this, not only was the background a crisper cleaner grey,  but also the skin tone of the model is a better colour. After this I didn't change the camera settings again. 

Being happy with the overall colour representation of the images I moved onto adding in the Jewellery aspect of the shoot. 

The inspiration for this image came from one of my research images, (this can be found on my blog) It was of Cat Deeley modelling for Links of London. 

My model is facing the other way and I haven't cropped it as tight as the research image, but there is the option to do this when it comes to choosing and presenting my final images, with the concentration being the advertising of the Jewellery I would crop this tight to the hands, showing just the jewellery.

This is one of the next few shots where I framed it tighter to gain the focus being more on the Jewellery.
Again this shot was done with just the 1 light in front of the model and no camera settings where adjusted.

Once I was fairly happy with the Jewellery shots, I decided to add a bag into the mix as well, this is the 1st shot I took, which was from quite far back and not zoomed/framed to close onto the model, although I like this shot, If I was to do it again I would of put the model more to the right hand side of the image, I would maybe play with the camera settings as well, as the background has again gone closer to the darker/dirtier looking grey.
The difference that zooming into the model more can be seen in the image below.

With this being closer in on the model that the previous shot, the background has now become lighter and more appealing to the eye.
I think the position of the models head also give the image a better look.
The only other thing I would consider changing were I to do this shot again, is possibly  move the bracelets from the hand holding the bag to the hand on her hip.

Next we changed the pose, so this time I was able to get all the aspects of the shoot into one shot. Still the lighting stayed with just the one light, but again I should of maybe opened the aperture slightly, as the detail of the bag cannot be seen and also the jeans at the bottom are a bit dark close to black. Opening the aperture may of also allowed the background to be a slightly lighter grey as well.
Again the crop of this image could be made slightly tighter in post production.

Next we went for an outfit, Jewellery and bag change. I also turned the 2nd light back on to give the images a different look/feel.
This is the 3rd shot I took of this style combination, the other 2 I don't like as much as this one, the 1st was too far zoomed out and therefore took away from it being about the products. The 2nd image the model was playing with her hair, and the light hitting it made it a bit to over exposed and again attracted away from the products being photographed.

1st image is to the left.



2nd image is to the right.

 This image was taken with the focus being on the bag and the jewellery and not so much the model.

 

This is again another one taken to make the focus be on the bag and jewellery but I have changed from Landscape to Portrait. I think this is a better way of taking the shot, as it cuts out more of the background and includes a bit more of the model.

After doing a few shots with the red top we then took the bag out of the images, changed tops and added a necklace into the images.
So out of the jewellery supplied to me by my friend, we found this lovely heart shaped necklace, which went well with this top that the model brought along.
Again the light coming from the right, hitting and lighting up the models hair works well and makes these images stand out from the earlier ones that didn't have the other light in use.

Liking the outfit/necklace combination we tried various different poses, this one I like as the model is turned more towards the light, so more of her body is lit up, yet moving the arm position from behind her back to behind her head, created a nice shadowed area across her face, also a line across her chest where the light is lighting up the heart piece of the necklace well.
It is not so tightly framed but I think this also lends itself to the overall finish of the image.

This os the last shot we took with this outfit/jewellery combination, I wanted to get a full body shot so I have got the option of all the aspects of the shoot being available.
This will obviously require a crop in post production as the background scoop wasn't quite high enough and the top of it can be seen.

This is the next outfit change we went for a nice body sculptured dress, broken up with a red belt. We also changed the Jewellery again, this time to a nice multi coloured bracelet and almost matching necklace. This is the 1st shot we took and we were both fairly happy with the outcome, the only thing I wasn't sure about again was the background, it looked a little dark again.

In this image I moved the light coming from the right, so it was pointing further back behind the model and more onto the background scoop.
It has as I was hoping for lightened the background but not gone too far away from the model, so there is still the element of half light half shadow on the model herself.
The change of head position from looking at the camera to looking to the left slightly, has also created some nice shadows and well lit portions of her face/neck.

From the previous image I swapped back from Portrait to landscape, I did this as I want to try and concentrate more on the Jewellery, by getting the model to lean forward helped to move her hair from around the neck line, allowing the necklace to be seen.
Cutting the image off just below her hands, also helps draw your attention to the Bracelet.
There is of course the option of cropping this image down, so it becomes a head shot with the bottom of the image cut off just below the necklace.

This shot again I took inspiration from one of the research images, the result is pretty close, with again the only problem with the image being the background scoop  being to low.
The image is designed to be advertising the bag, by putting it in an unusual position this helps make it stand out.

This is the final outfit change we went for, a nice black dress with a turquoise/ bluey green pattern/detail on the front, we went back to the 1st items of jewellery we used, using just the watch this time, as the colour of this matched the colours on the dress.
Although I like this shot, for the purpose of advertising the jewellery it wasn't quite the right pose.

This pose I thought worked better for the purpose of showing off the Bracelet, it's not only closer into the model and jewellery, but the matching colour detail on the dress can been seen better.
I think in post production I will crop it slightly to remove the hand from the bottom left hand corner.

This is one of the last images, and the last pose of the shoot. I took this in both Landscape and Portrait framing.
From the previous images we added the black heart shaped necklace again. Shot in this way almost uses the rule of 2 thirds, yet the jewellery is still there and can be seen.

A studio visit

So recently I attented a visit to the studio of Adrian Heapy in Belper, Which had been organsised by my tutor Steve Davies, who used to work for Adrian.

At the time of the visit Adrian was in the process of  building a bedroom set, which was going to be used to take shots of many different beds for a bed manufacture.
Adrian kindly let us students interrupt  his day so we could look round his studio and ask him questions about the industry of photography.
He has got one of the best attics ever!! it is full of so many props I can't list them all on here, but to mention a few would be toys, Vase's, lights, plastic mouldings, cushions, materials, signs and the list goes on and on.
I took a few shots of various parts of his studio and they can be found below.

So above there is shots of the smaller area where they do product and model Photography, (1st 3 photos and the last one 9above)) then there is the type writer in his office, (4th photo) all the other images are of the bigger studio area, the set being built, one of the lights he uses and all the bits of wood, tiles, fire places etc, that they keep for set building.

I really enjoyed the day and a half that I spent there, Adrian is a very passionate man, knows his stuff about business and clients, which after 40 years in the business is not surprising.
I learnt that to be a true professional photographer, you have to also be business minded, and a good DIY person, as sets don't build themselves and it's not always cost effective to get in contractors.
If I get the chance to go again I would be there in a shot.


His website can be found at the following link. http://www.adrianheapyphoto.co.uk/

Location Portraits - Jewellery Editorial

This video shows the photography shoot of 2 models and lots of Jewellery, I can hopefully use this video to take inspiration for my shoot and how to use the Jewellery that I will be provided with.
In this video, 1 model has lots of Jewellery, rings on most fingers, 2-3 necklaces, whereas the other model has just 1 necklace, a couple of rings and bracelets.

Theme 2 Studio shoot planning.

So for my theme 2 shoot I am going to be doing Advertising/Fashion.

I will be using at least 1 model and various different outfits and Bags/Jewellery.

I will again be using my Sony A300 with the standard 18-70mm Lens, The lighting on my last shoot ended up being 1 light, with a beauty dish and a honeycomb centre, pointed straight at the model and shooting from  underneath. This time though I think I may change the lighting depending on the shot I'm going for, I would of thought at least 2 lights will be used this time, maybe even a third to light the background, positioned behind the subject.

I will be using simple plain backgrounds, mainly white, but I may also try a black background, if time allows. So ideas for shots i will try to get are shown below.

I think I will start with Jeans and T-shirts, which could be merged into the same photos, but then also concentrating on them in their own forms.

For example, in the Jeans/T-Shirt shoots I could do a full body shot to show off the 2 items, or I could do a close up shot of just the Jeans cutting off the image just above the waist line. 

I will hopefully get time to use a variety of different poses, angles and crops.

So the above 3 images are good examples of shots I could do which concentrate more just on the T-Shirt.

The above shot is one I would like to try, maybe towards the end of the shoot if time allows, as this is looks a grey background, with just the 1 fairly harsh light pointing at the model. This could take some time to set up after having shot with several lights and white background/boxes/props etc.

I will then move onto incorporating jewellery and/or bags. 

When it comes to incorporating a bag or some form of jewellery, be it a Necklace, Ring, Bracelet, Watch or a combination of a few, the shots can then again be close ups on a hand holding a bag or a full body shot with the model holding the bag, showing the perspectives of the bag.

The above 3 images are all from Tiffany & Co. advertising campaigns, although the model is the main subject in all 3, the product is still in there as well and I will try and incorparate this into the shoot and try some similar shots.

This image is the only good one I could find for Vivienne Westwood advertising, again although it is a head/shoulders shot, the chunky necklace in this image stand out well, I could try this but the background would be more plane, but the option of Editing in a background would be there if I shoot it ona simple white background.

I like this pose, again it has the head and shoulders of the model in, but there is a good sense of focus on the jewellery around the wrists.

The above 3 images show different poses/positions for bags that could be replicated in my studio shoot. I think if I was to copy the bottom image though I would be tempted to include all of the models head.