One of the reasons why I joined the Ottawa Photography Meetup group was to learn some photo techniques from some real professionals and to become comfortable trying new things. The model photography sub-group added an extra challenge of using all sorts of lighting and working in different environments with both professional and amateur models.
This week, I attended a model shoot that focused on different light techniques, using different lights with varying degrees of power from all angles—side, foreground, background—and a snoot, which directs light to a specific point.
The leader of our group, Mike Giovinazzo, has a basement studio with countless backdrops and lighting equipment, and has a seemingly endless amount of ideas for subjects, poses, and props. And, of course, is an expert when it comes to lighting.
Jay Ban, a Montreal model who I met at a meetup last year, was our model. She is great to work with, not only because she's a beauty but because she's charming, has a great sense of humour, and requires almost no direction. Mike would explain what he was looking for, depending on the environment he set up, and Jay would handle the rest.
We used several backdrops: a sitting room, a wheat field at sunset, a jungle, and what appeared to be a window.
I liked this setup the best, primarily for its simplicity. Mike hung a sheer white drape and set a large softbox behind it. At its lowest output, it simulated natural light coming through a window.
Mike told Jay that she was in Hawaii, had just checked into the penthouse suite of a hotel that looked out to a beach, and she was checking the view.
Jay did her thing.
I'm still going through my photos. Photo meetups take a long time to process because there are so many photos to sift through and edit. But when I looked through the viewfinder to take this shot, as Jay turned her gaze from the "window" and looked at me, I knew as I pressed the shutter release that this was going to be the best of the bunch.
Happy Friday!
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