Marilyn
Aug, 2016Views
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Peer Award
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Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a loft apt. in the lower East side of NYC. that I had rented for the day. I hired three models and signed up 6 photographers for a figure photog. shoot. The loft had many floor to ceiling windows so natural light worked very well for our shoot.Time
The photo shoot got started at 8am but the light was best around 10 o'clock in the apt. when the sunlight was strong.Lighting
Everything was done that day with window light, my favorite lighting. The model was next to a very large mirror that was leaning against a wall so that helped in creating fill light as well.Equipment
Equipment was my go-to camera: a Nikon D2x, a veritable workhorse. My favorite lens for photographing models, esp. weddings, is my nikkor 18-70mm lens which lends such versatility to any situation. Although I'm a firm believer in using a tripod, I may not have used it this time, preferring to work fairly quickly as opportunities develop. Definitely no flash. Except for weddings, I almost never use my dedicated Nikon Speedlight SB-600 which is wonderful to work with. We did have a few reflectors but not many photographers used them that day.Inspiration
Inspiration; let's see. This particular model hailed from Upstate NY and would venture into the city with her boyfriend to model about every two months or so. She was very refreshing to work, very motivated, with a great smile and a very natural with her poses. I guess I gravitated to her because of her joie de vivre.Editing
Although I firmly believe in post-processing in Photoshop, this time it wasn't necessary. The lighting was spot-on and there wasn't anything extraneous stuff to deal with, so I left it as is, SOOC.In my camera bag
The trunk in my car is filled with all sorts of goodies when I go out, a Gitzo tripod, a portable folding seat for shooting flowers so I don't have to kill myself leaning over; a 500 mm Nikkor lens, fixed at f8; a fast 70-200 f2.1 Nikkor lens that allows me to shoot in low light situations; a micro Nikkor 70-180 f4.5 to 5.6, which is incredibly sharp. The 18-70 Nikkor is already on the camera and I carry my Gitzo tripod. My camera bag has the 70-180, lens tissues & cleaning fluid, my Speedlight SB-600 with extra batteries and a gray card.Feedback
I've hired many models in NYC, Chicago and San Francisco when I'm hosting a photoshoot through One Model Place including a Playboy model who I had flown in from Florida. She said the hotel accommodations in Manhattan that I set her up in were better than what Playboy provided! Treating the models with the utmost respect is paramount, especially if you want to work with them again. In NYC, one of the regular photographers was also a retired cop, so if things got out of hand, (they never did) I felt confident we could contain it. I also had the photoshoot catered which keeps the shoot's rhythm going so we don't have to break for food. Although, I've hired many a model, I've also talked many a good looking gal into posing by stressing that we can meet in a public place to review my work so she feels confident and she could bring along anybody to join us, including a boyfriend. That always makes them feel a lot safer.
