Sekhmet(Black and Gold Series)
Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at ARRC Studio located in Kingston, Jamaica. It was my first time shooting a photo like this in this studio, and I've used quite a number of times after due to the adequate size and reasonable pricing. Most of all its owned by a good friends and I love supporting their business.Time
This is one of my favorite photos from the set I captured called "Black and Gold" it was taken little after 5pm in Jamaica, right has the hot day had begun to cool down. I remember this day clearly it was a hot day, and I had a event to capture prior to the shoot. After the event I picked up my fellow photographer Bazzle and my mentee Amani who were assisting me and headed to the studio where the model; Tiffany and the Make-up Artist; Sue Gregg were already actively prepping for the shoot time. We did two looks; a simple portrait session, then we went all out with the body make up for the second look. we rapped up a little after 7pm. I had so much fun on this shoot and Tiffany and I made some great images.Lighting
I'm a sucker for dramatic or low key lighting and I successfully pulled that off with this look by using a two light set up. One Strobe to the front of the model diffused by an 47" octobox and a strobe diffused by a strip box to the left of the model. I wanted a strong side light with a soft fill. So the power of the strobe in front was at half the power of the strip light to the left.Equipment
Photo was taken with a Canon 60D, Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 VC UMD and two lights.Inspiration
The photoshoot which yielded this image came began to bud, when Sue contacted me and said she had a friend coming down who she wanted us to collaborate with. I was down for working with Sue and as such we bounced a couple ideas around, we wanted a look that would be different from most photos taken of models locally, Sue wanted to bring her make-up skills to a new level and I specifically wanted something that could be used to empower black women. After days of bouncing ideas we finally came up with this concept. "Black and Gold" which to me represent the richness of the black people and the royal heritage we as a people once had and should always strive to obtain.Editing
Yes, as most for most of my studio work, there is some amount of post production that takes place. I always start out with retouching my images and as such applied a very light Frequency Separation technique to clean up blemishes and small inconsistencies in the skin tone. I then added some maJik using dodging and burning to really bring out the mood I was trying to achieve which was one of peace and depth. After that was completed I did the final touches by isolating the gold and toddling with the vibrance and hue to get the shade of gold I envisioned.In my camera bag
I'm a simple man, so I carry the bare essentials around with me on a given day. In my bag you will find my Canon 60D, my Tamron 70-200mm 2.8, Canon 17-55mm 2.8 and a Nikon F4 kitted with a 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 along with a roll or two of black and white film.Feedback
One thing I'll leave with viewers who want to achieve a similar photo is, don't take for granted the planning stage of a conceptual/beauty shoot. Meet with everyone prior to shoot date to finalize what will take place on the day of the shoot. Have a full grasp of the space, equipment and the light set up that will be utilized on the day. Also having a mood board/style guide helps a LOT, esp. for the model, as it helps her to envision what is needed of her prior to the shoot. PS: Pinterest and Tumblr are your friends! Finally on the day remember to have fun and build a good vibe with the team, so no one, including yourself is flustered, tense or anxious.
