Desert Genies...two this time...

zoomer

Finished up the shots from the midday desert shoot in Idaho. Tough light, great models. That midday light is a lot of work in processing...I won't do that again.
All natural light, D700 24-70.

The gallery is here: http://alloutdoor.smugmug.com/Other/Katie-n-Kristen/17864348_2Cjn6H#1366333540_7B35HZc

Bruche

What a wonderful picture, well done...

R/
Bruce

VayCayMom

Wonderful gallery, the blonde in particular was a real stand out to me with the lightness of her hair, her wardrobe and her grace. It looked like a lot of work for them !!!! What was the temperature?

zoomer

Thanks, appreciate the comments.
Yes Kristen was a real surprise. She is a fitness model who turned out to be a good jumper and quite graceful in her posing....and generally a sweetheart to work with.
Yes I think their feet were pretty toasty by the end of the shoot.
And we were in the Idaho desert so the mesquitos were murder early in the morning in the shaded areas while they were getting ready. I hope the pictures they got were worth it .

divamum

Some extraordinary shots in that gallery Mike - really terrific stuff.

The only comment I might make - and this shot above is a good example - is that if you're going for the "dancer" feel and you have two.... their body lines need to match (or completely not match, if you know what I mean). With a shot like the one above for me personally I find their upper body positions are neither matched, nor completely different - I either want to see their arms/body lines completely in synch, or go further with different poses so I'm *not* looking for a "perfect" match, if that makes sense. They're very different body types, too, which kind of emphasises that.

I'm not sure how much posing and setting up you're doing and how much you're leaving to them, so that may also affect how that works. I can only imagine how challenging this kind of shooting is to begin with so I can well imagine how hard it would be to add yet another layer of detail, but these are SO good that the nits are REALLY nit-y.......

Very nice stuff indeed - bravo!

Albert Dickson

In deed Mike, the harsh light was a bugger. None the less, I think your photographs are exceptional. It still amazes me how unique the perspectives can be when two photographers are shoulder to shoulder shooting the same models in the same light.

I also think it would be informative to post like photos side by side, yours and mine. Just to better explore the differences and for me at least, to learn from a more seasoned photographer. If you are agreeable, We could start a thread here to compare and get feed back. No competition, just informative discussion. What do ya say?
Albert

zoomer

Hey thanks Divamum.
Appreciate your feedback and point taken. We were going for contrast with the outfits and body types and in the poses...in the gallery you will some mirror poses and this one is also...they have their opposite arms up. This is my favorite shot from the entire shoot...I think...mainly because of the way the light works in it. I actually cropped this into two photos, you can see in the gallery, the one of Kristen cropped out alone in this pose looks Amazing...to me anyway .
Actually I did very little posing. I most put them in the frame and let them free style, they were feeding off each other and Albert and I were shooting it.
The contrasts were a happy accident....wish we could take credit for it . Katie is brunette and buffed, and brought a dark genie suit with her. Kristen is blonde and slim (and buffed) and brought a white outfit. So seeing the natural contrast Albert and I just had to get them in some frames together.

Albert Dickson set this entire shoot up and I was just along for the ride...thanks again Albert!! Albert I think that would be a lot of fun....do you want to pick one to start with? ....probably start a separate thread maybe??

divamum

Totally understood, Mike - that was kind of my feeling from what I saw in the shots with both of them. I think with dancers - especially where they don't have any mirrors to check for themselves - it may be you can afford to let them know what you're seeing and help them tweak; most of the dancers I know would probably appreciate that feedback (ymmv, of course!). Of course, when you're in the groove and shooting fast, sometimes you just want to grab the moment! I can totally imagine what it was like when they got into high gear, and I suspect I also would have just let them get on with it without interfering!!

Again, I can only reiterate these are SO bloody good that it seems worth pushing them all the way - you're really onto something super-special with these

ETA: PS just and went through the gallery again - they are SO good. And I like your toned processing choices, too - losing the line between blue sky and dunes was a really good call and in several cases absolutely makes the shot.

Albert Dickson

Divamum, One other thing that lends itself to what you are talking about. We wanted to keep the sand as pristine as possible around the models so all directing was from afar. It was quite difficult to approach the models because you had to walk some distance in the sand and up a dune to get to them. This also kept the MUA from doing frequent touch ups. It would take such time out of the shoot as to ruin the mojo once things were rolling. I know it seems like a small thing but this barrier between model and photographer did lend itself to letting the models freestyle pose and minimize directions. One of us would generally throw out a concept and let the models make of it what they would.

Mike here goes. I'll post one first Post title "Dunes Shoot Comparisons"

Agnieszka

Stunning, just stunning! Awesome work on both parts!

zoomer

Thanks everyone, sometimes the light can work for you. If the makeup artist is there (Amber) to see the potential ha. I can't take any credit for this one, the outfit is Kristen and Amber, the pose is Kristen and Amber. The beauty is Kristen and Amber...well I guess all I did is click the shutter .

Swartzy

Love em Zoomer! Sweet poses and great conversion!

MLangton

Once again, AWESOME.

You and Swartzy are tow people on here that I really to follow. I love your work.

Feel free to post some pullbacks sometime. I would love to learn.

zoomer

Thanks Swartzy and Mlangton. Glad you enjoyed the photos!