Another redhead (or "the shoot that nearly wasn't")

divamum

C&C always welcome!

This was the one where it nearly came unglued....

• MUA is getting married and was impossible to get hold of. Dates kept changing to accommodate her.
• Weather has been wildly capricious with everything from severe tstorms to 100* to cold and cloudy - we all knew it was very likely we'd get weather-ed out one way or another.
• Issues with the location we wanted to use due to some ambiguity over their photo and permit policy (in the end we wound up not going there, but I still had to figure it out)
• Got to the site and realised I had forgotten to pack the CF cards after uploading the previous shoot to the computer. THANK GOODNESS I still had a few 2g cards stuffed in the corner of my bag, or the whole thing would have fallen apart.
• Got to the site and realised I had forgotten to put my flash stand in my location bag (although I had packed 2 umbrellas and a softbox ::facepalm::). This meant that all I could use was on-camera flash and natural light in the bright late-afternoon sun...

Seriously, I have NO IDEA how or why my head was stuck so far up dark places prepping this shoot, but apparently it was :smack

And then we got there. MAGIC! Weather was PERFECT and the light super-yummy. MUA, once arrived, did her usual wonderful job. Client was an amazing sport about everything we tried and we had SO much fun!



1. I am REALLY proud of that Jessica Rabbit S-curve



(NB About That Railing: I have already been taken to task for it by somebody I don't even know when I posted this as a teaser on FB lol. I like it there; to me it anchors the shot. Yes, I know she's centered - it was composed lined up between two railings, but I couldn't get the perspective square so I cropped one of them out. All that said, if my trusted colleagues *here* hate the railing I'll consider trying to clone it out again, but because of the shadows it looks really stupid , and when you take the shadows away, the shot looked flat to me....)

2. We were shooting between about 5.30-6.30. It had been cloudy earlier in the day so we backed up our times... and then the sun came out. The light was even nicer 30 minutes later, but I really enjoyed working in this pre-Golden Hour sun - since were were right on a small lake/reservoir, it really was pretty


3. What was really neat was that depending on where we were relative to the water, adjusting the WB dramatically changes the shot... As for her eyes, all I did was brighten them a bit - they are an incredible shade of bluey-green.



4 Flash bounced off white stone building to camera left.

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Mitchell

Bravo #4!!!

#3 is a close second for me.

Any thoughts on the forehead wrinkles? Quite prominent and unflattering in #3. Something about #3 has an almost masculine feel. I can't quite put my finger on it.

Gaby617

I agree w/ Mitchell. I like #4 the most. #3 Does have strong features, coul be the almost profile angle chisels out the face a bit, Her eyes are gorgeous but she's staring w/ a pierceing stare which makes it real almost agressive If that makes sense. Sometimes when jammed in tight situations you come out w/ something better then what you would have gotten if it was all planned.

divamum

These have only had nominal retouching; forehead etc can all be addressed when she's chosen her shots.

I absolutely LOVE the intensity of that look - it's why the shot was one of my first picks - but then again, strong connection is always the first thing that grabs me about an image. Interesting (to me) that you guys find it a bit off-putting.

What's the feeling on the railing in #1, yay or nay?

Mitchell

I don't like #1. That commercial type of piping/railing always bothers me. The daytime setting and that evening gown just don't work for my brain.

divamum

Fair enough. The gown-in-informal-settings is a very "in" look for singer websites at the moment*, and she specifically requested to go that route. My only regret is that we weren't just a tad later in the day; I'd actually have liked actual sundown for that, but there were a lot of reasons that wasn't practical, even if we had chosen to wait. :-/

*Although not as cliche as the ever-popular "diva in gown on fire escape" which seems to have been the NYC go-to for the last 5 years. It's a neat look, but it has become completely overdone!!

Gaby617

divamum wrote: »

Interesting (to me) that you guys find it a bit off-putting.

Personnely Im not put off from the sharp eye contact here or in general photos cause I like that. I was just trying to maybe point out on how her features may come off strong/masculine using that one specific feature. It made sense in my head! lol

Bryce Wilson

Like the set, but I do agree, she does look VERY masculine in number 3.

I hope I don't offend, but I looked for an Adam's Apple in that one.

divamum

No offense at all! It's so funny because I just don't see it - I guess because she is soooo feminine in person that I'm seeing what I know to be there in real life instead of what the image *shows*. So interesting how people respond differently

divamum

Here's another one I've been working on - this was in the woods around the lake, but by blowing out the background..... Been experimenting with some different processing for fun

StueveShots

Divamum, your #4 at top was wonderful, as was #3. I am absolutely not put-off by #3. Back during my director days, I would have responded really well to that image (I don't know if these were for professional purposes or not--but when I see your shots, I think drama!) She projects strength, intensity and confidence. (And, man, that hair...what I wouldn't give for that hair!!)

divamum

StueveShots wrote: »

Divamum, your #4 at top was wonderful, as was #3. I am absolutely not put-off by #3. Back during my director days, I would have responded really well to that image (I don't know if these were for professional purposes or not--but when I see your shots, I think drama!) She projects strength, intensity and confidence. (And, man, that hair...what I wouldn't give for that hair!!)

Absolutely for professional purposes - prime directive was website promo shots, but we for sure got some decent headshots! She's an up-and-coming Carmen-type mezzo, so that is JUST what needs to be projected. Yay!

ETA I think your comment also demonstrates what I've believed for a long time: what you need and want to project in a headshot isn't necessarily what you would expect (or even want) in a personal portrait. As a portrait, it's too intense and - as the others have said - seems masculine. As a headshots, the connection makes you want to find out more about her. Horses for course, I guess!

Qarik

I LOVE the way the light plays with her gorgeous hair!

StueveShots

Your comment about headshots vs. portraits is absolutely correct. In a headshot, I always want something compelling. In portraits...well, sometimes I want compelling and sometimes I just want beautiful or handsome or pretty (which is not automatically or even often the same as compelling, at least from a theatrical perspective).

Carmen, yes! I can see that!