Behind The Scenes Photo Shoot With My Girlfriends!

So here's the scoop....I invited my girlfriends over last week to be my models so I could practice working with some softbox lighting.  Studio lighting terrifies and intimidates me but I know I MUST learn it if I want more control over my portraits.  So I've been using everyone I can to practice on before I actually have a real client that expects me to create something marvelous~

Back to my story....Raindog and Queenie come over and we all have different agendas...
Raindog is currently studying to be a professional make-up artist so she was happy to have some models to practice on too. {and I totally stink at eyeliner so I was thrilled not to have to do my own makeup!}
Queenie was in need of some new headshots for her Image Consulting business and is always a willing volunteer when free photos are included.

We spent the morning as all professional, serious models do ~ we played!  My house was a mess of make-up, hot rollers, and a tiny dog desperately wanting to be included in the photo shoot.  And just for the record, my experience with the hot rollers was not pretty!  I ended up with poufy princess hair that Raindog immediately sprayed with concrete so I couldn't change it.  Friends do not let friends pose with princess hair but I was outvoted~

Here's how my lighting was set-up...I had 1 softbox aimed at the left side of the models for side lighting and a reflector in front of it to soften the light a little bit more.  My room is huge and I had other lighting coming in from all different areas so it was really really hard for me to get the lighting just right.

I was hoping to get a really dramatic, intimate portrait of the 3 of us together {inspired by the awesome Sue Bryce} but after about 53 attempts of me setting the self timer....then running to pose....then running back to check it....then realizing we're way too dorky to model dramatically...then trying again....I gave up!

But, the day wasn't an entire waste.  After all, when you spend a day with great friends, laughing loudly and playing with make-up, we ended up with memories that are priceless~  And I learned that lighting 3 people is a skill that I just haven't mastered yet.  But it's coming....


Here's a few shots from the day...

And here's an awesome little video that Raindog whipped up from our memorable afternoon:)

WARNING:
This video contains Princess Hair, Backfat and Women Over 40 Dancing.
View at your own risk:



And just for the other record - I AIN'T 40!!!  ....yet