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

Behind The Scenes Part 1

NO ~ I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.
YES ~ I've been busy.

Something you may not know about me is that I absolutely love anything that shows Behind The Scenes.
Anything that shows how something was made or created, I'm drawn to it.
I watched all 32 hours of The Making of Star Wars on dvd.  {not the old ones, the new ones}
It was fascinating and I'd highly recommend it if you have an extra 32 hours with nothing to do~

Which brings me to today's post...kind of...
My favorite behind the scenes is seeing how photographers have set up their lighting, props, and all the other stuff that goes along with getting that perfect shot.  Moms with Cameras has a great series on lighting that shows various set ups each week with different photographers.  I love peeking into their world and you should check it out if you like that kind of stuff too~

So a few weeks ago when I decided to do the bravest thing any mom can do {a photo shoot with my own punks!}  I asked my aunt to take a few shots...of me taking a few shots...!  It was fun to see them and I thought I'd share them with you...

Here's what my kiddos looked like most of the time...

Kinda reminds me of those famous Dwarfs...you've heard of Ticked, Sneezy, Neglected and Whiny haven't you?

I eventually threatened enough and got them together for some posing...
This angle...

...gave me this shot...

And speaking of angles...it was really interesting to see what a difference just walking a few steps over 

could make in my image.  Here's a head-on shot of the crew....

Yeah, they look cute enough but that jungle back there is pretty scary!  I walked just a few steps to my right and took the photo from a new angle to get this...

The kids never moved but it looks a little less scary now~
That just reinforced the notion for me to take shots from several angles even if I think the first is good enough.

Here's a few I took of Princess...who has never seen America's Top Model but I do believe she could teach the contestants a thing or two about rockin' the attitude...

Ya think?

I did manage to catch a moment of sweetness and got one that I'm just lovin'~

This shows my fancy stuff...I had my "assistant" holding my new toy, the reflector.  It works wonders when you use it right...which I'm still working on!

{disclaimer:  I have no idea what Alexis' Mum is doing!  Sorry Alexis' Mum, I couldn't resist!}

These are the shots I got from that angle using the reflector to even out the light.  Notice how there's no harsh shadows on the faces even though it was waaaay sunny out with no clouds?  That's the magic of a reflector!

I hope you've enjoyed my little installment of Behind The Scenes Part 1.  And in case you didn't guess, I named it Part 1 because I have more to share later!  

Seriously....I've got lots more coming and so much to tell....I've been busy creating some new marketing products....trying new props and I can't wait to share all about my really fun shopping trip to Dodds Camera~ 

Stay Tuned!