Portraits...

There are many different factors involved in a Portrait Photo Session.

The goal for this session was to create a variety of 'looks'. I won't post all of the different looks we shot, but there will be enough for you to get an idea of how the session went.

This shoot would give Nikki enough different looks to walk into a Modeling Agency with a decent portfolio for the agent to view.

We of course had a little bit of an advantage to start off because she is beautiful already so we didn't have to spend a lot of time with hair and make-up to start. And there are no major edits in post production. The only edits are simple adjustments in contrast to correct my own lighting dilemmas or possibly some cropping. And you will notice that one of the photos here is in Sepia Tone.

We started out with a white backdrop to contrast two different black outfits. In the first, we also went with the big floppy hat and scarf. In her hands (but purposely out of focus) is a huge diamond. The goal here was to frame her strong facial features, while keeping the rest of the picture soft. At some point, I would like to photoshop the white backdrop to a softer tone. The white may be a little too harsh.

In the second black outfit we decided to open things up a little. No hat. No wrap. Just a little highlight around her neck.

For the next two images think in terms of days gone by when women wore fancy hats with veils. This was a little tricky because the camera wants to auto focus on the closest objects, so some of the shots came out too much about the hat and veil rather than looking through to the beautiful eyes and smile that are behind the veil.

Since we were thinking of it as a 'period piece' I decided to make one a Sepia Tone:

I was also determined to get a shot that was more severe. Something along the lines of an Old School Marm. I thought this would be the hardest look to get from her, but Nikki's dance background apparently comes complete with incredible acting ability! She totally pulled this off better than I expected.

We actually got a bunch of serious 'business' type shots as well while she was in that outfit. This next shot was among those, but with a little bit of a mischievous twist. It reminds me of the slow motion scene in the movie where the nerdy student imagines the librarian taking off her glasses and letting down her hair, just before he is awakened from his daydream by the school bell!

Next we decided to just have some fun, with a few casual shots. Again, this is where Nikki made my job very easy. Any agent or photographer would likely hire her based on these next two images, just because it appears in these shots that she is easy to work with. (Which was exactly the case!)

As you can see, modeling is a career opportunity for her!

We took several shots using props of all sorts. Here you see 'The Girl Next Door' with her Teddy Bear.

There were a few extreme close-up shots that I haven't posted here, and some of them are very interesting. This one is a close-up, but not too extreme. Could be used for many commercial purposes or even as a head shot, background shot or stock photography shot.

There were many other shots that we didn't get to take. I definitely want to experiment more with some dramatic lighting. The kind where only part of the face is showing. And I would like to get some outdoor nature shots. Maybe in the summer.

I am trying to convince Nikki to pursue a modeling career. Hopefully she will be inspired by these shots as much as I am.

Thanks for a great session, Nikki!

To see more photos from this session go to: http://gallery.me.com/nickrepoli .

Enjoy,
-------Nick

Lights In Motion...

I have always been fascinated by movement. Many of my images are of Dancers in motion. But today's post is focusing on Lights In Motion.

At one time or another everyone has been to the Carnival, Fair or Circus. Even if you don't enjoy going to the Carnival, you have seen them set up in a field somewhere around town.

One of the main attractions of the Carnival is the Ferris Wheel. Although the Ferris Wheel seems to be the center piece of the Carnival, it has been my observation that hardly anyone ever rides it anymore. Maybe people want to ride something a little more exciting. I imagine that the Carney Folk keep the Old Beast around because it is great advertising. You can see it from miles away.

As you can see, it is quite majestic, especially in the night sky.

Behind the Ferris Wheel is another ride. I can't remember the name of it, but it is very colorful. It swings and turns. When it is is motion it is a lot of fun, or so it would seem from the screaming.

If you blow up the above image, you will see some interesting things. Obviously, the ride in motion is fun, but you will also notice that there are two people in the photo. They were looking at the animals in the Feeding Corral. What is more interesting is... the people that you don't see. While I took this photo, there were a bunch of people walking around the street in the middle of this photo.

Look more closely and you will see a ghost image of some legs and feet. The two people looking at the animals (and the animals themselves) barely moved, so they may seem a little fuzzy. But the people who where walking from one ride to another hardly even register in the photo. The camera doesn't recognize that they were there.

Then I moved to the other side of the ride to get a closer view.

From this vantage point you can catch even more of the looping motion!

Another fun ride is one that spins so fast that the centrifugal force pins you to the machine while the ride uprights itself. I remember being a child and convincing my Mom to ride this one with me. I told her it was the 'best ride in the park'. She was pretty mad at me after that. Here it is just getting started:

Then it starts to upright itself:

And then it really starts to spin:

Finally someone decided to ride the Ferris Wheel, so I got to photograph that in motion, too. There is something very Romantic about the Ferris Wheel. Maybe that's the other reason the Carney Folk keep the Old Beast around... for the Hopeless Romantics!

Since I was experimenting with Lights In Motion... I decided to try one other potentially fun idea. While in a time delay shot, I manually zoomed the lens which added another dimension of movement. I had the circular motion of the Ferris Wheel and then added the 'forward' movement of the manual zoom. The effect is similar to what you might expect from Captain Kirk asking Scotty for Warp Speed:

As always, feel free to click on the images to enlarge them to get better details.

I am in experimental mode right now with the photography, so if there is anything that you would like to see... send me an e-mail and I will try to find the time to add it to my list.

Next I will add some Portrait shots from a shoot I did last week.

Enjoy!

Peace and Love,
------Nick