Male Model Shoot

Nikolai · November 5, 2007

Few from tonight...
Just initial culling and cleanup, nothing major done yet.

1: IMG_3959:

2: IMG_3977:

3: IMG_4014:

4: IMG_4024:

5: IMG_4029:

6: IMG_3830:

7: IMG_4105:

8: IMG_4109:

9: IMG_4111:

10: IMG_4123:

dogwood · November 5, 2007

couple comments

Nikolai wrote:

I think a gray paper backdrop would improve this one. I'm finding the shadows on the floor and the folds in the cloth backdrop a bit distracting.

Nikolai wrote:

Nice eye contact though I'd probably crop the chair out of the bottom of the frame. Also, maybe a little bit higher camera position? Your rim light is sort of showing the vein in his head. I personally like strip domes for rim lights since they're a bit softer and also cover the shoulder area.

Nikolai wrote:

I love this idea but the composition is a bit off for me. He looks a bit fuzzy in the face.

Nikolai wrote:

This is strong shot. The background and pose are nice, and the rim light/kicker seems to work well.

Nikolai wrote:

Starting to get a bit more moody here which is great. Personally, I'd pull your light a bit closer to the camera (or turn the subject) to get a more defined triangle of light on his cheek/eye. Should be easy to use a modeling light when it's that dark out to get this down before shooting.

Nikolai wrote:

This is my favorite one in this series-- I love the lighting and the background and the pose. Nicely done.

Nikolai wrote:

I know these are rough edits, but just an idea. Add a catchlight in his left eye for the final product to give it more life.

Nik, guys are HARD to shoot well (I'm pretty terrible at it myself) and you did a nice job here. So take all my comments with a grain of salt. Thanks for posting!

Nikolai · November 5, 2007

Pete,
Wow, thanks, man!

Great feedback!

I agree with most of it. However, most of it is purely gear-limited.

The thing is, this is all done with one or two portable SunPak flash units. No modeling lights whatsoever, I had to "visualize" how the light would go, which is not a trivial thing, especially out in the hills, when the sun has set and the light is falling down every minute.

Also, I know my 4 year old collapsible backdrop sucks, I need to upgrade it to a nice new paper/muslin, but for that I need more $$ from the shoots, so it's kinda vicious circle...

Oh well...Once I make enough dough with these shoots, hopefully I'll be able to build a nice home studio with the multiple backdrops, a really good set of lights, modifiers, etc..
In the mean time - we work with what we have, right.

Cheers!

Ann McRae · November 5, 2007

So, Nik, here is my feedback - from someone that has absolutely no tehcnical knowledge or gear knowledge, but does like to look at a good looking guy every once in a while

I find that, other than the first two photos, his expression is exactly the same in all images. He has a great, chesire-cat like smile, I would try to capitalize on that.

And my other point is that, in the shirt off shot, which could be REALLY sexy, the sweat/track pants just ruin it!!!

ann

Nikolai · November 5, 2007

Ann,

Ann McRae wrote:

So, Nik, here is my feedback - from someone that has absolutely no technical knowledge or gear knowledge, but does like to look at a good looking guy every once in a while

I find that, other than the first two photos, his expression is exactly the same in all images. He has a great, chesire-cat like smile, I would try to capitalize on that.

And my other point is that, in the shirt off shot, which could be REALLY sexy, the sweat/track pants just ruin it!!!

ann

Thank you!

Smile... yeah, tell me about it. He knows about it and he honestly warned me that he can't smile and he doesn't change his facial expression much. I was lucky enough to catch a couple out of 10 that were available during the whole shoot.

So, you're saying he should've kept his slacks/dress pants in the torso shot? Yeah, I guess.. That, in fact, was my original idea, but when I asked him to take off the shirt he decided it's time to change for the whole B-court thingie (which we shot, but I haven't post processed yet), we were already late, time was running out, so I went with what we had.
I'm glad we have the same thoughts, though.

dogwood · November 6, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

I agree with most of it. However, most of it is purely gear-limited.

The thing is, this is all done with one or two portable SunPak flash units.

Check out http://www.strobist.com and the wealth of material on working with hotshoe strobes.

There's always good tips on cheap gear mods and options.

Beware though, once you really get into that site, you can spend weeks reading the material.

Here's a bare hotshoe strobe fired off camera on a stand at a 45-degree angle to the sun-- a trick I learned on strobist and something I'll bet your flash units could handle too

. There's no post-production other than converting from RAW.

Mrs F · November 6, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

So, you're saying he should've kept his slacks/dress pants in the torso shot? Yeah, I guess.. That, in fact, was my original idea, but when I asked him to take off the shirt he decided it's time to change for the whole B-court thingie (which we shot, but I haven't post processed yet), we were already late, time was running out, so I went with what we had.
I'm glad we have the same thoughts, though.

The dress pants/no shirt shot would probably work, but I'm just going to throw this out there:
this guy with no shirt + jeans = sexy

(this is just my opinion of course, others may disagree...)

I like the lighting on the outside shots.

Nikolai · November 6, 2007

dogwood wrote:

Check out http://www.strobist.com and the wealth of material on working with hotshoe strobes.

There's always good tips on cheap gear mods and options. Beware though, once you really get into that site, you can spend weeks reading the material.

Here's a bare hotshoe strobe fired off camera on a stand at a 45-degree angle to the sun-- a trick I learned on strobist and something I'll bet your flash units could handle too . There's no post-production other than converting from RAW.

Well, with *your* model I think I'd have *much* better results

Cool shot, btw:-)

Nikolai · November 6, 2007

Mrs F wrote:

The dress pants/no shirt shot would probably work, but I'm just going to throw this out there:
this guy with no shirt + jeans = sexy

(this is just my opinion of course, others may disagree...)

I like the lighting on the outside shots.

Thanks, I'll pass the word (he's single and looking:-)

dogwood · November 6, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

Well, with *your* model I think I'd have *much* better results

How about this ugly dude as a model? Similar set-up-- bare hotshoe strobe off to my left, sun as a kicker. Just trying to reinforce that you can do quite a bit with the gear you already have, Nik.

Nikolai · November 6, 2007

dogwood wrote:

How about this ugly dude as a model? Similar set-up-- bare hotshoe strobe off to my left, sun as a kicker. Just trying to reinforce that you can do quite a bit with the gear you already have, Nik.

Pete,
thank you so much for your advices and the encouragement!

Funny, I was planning something similar to your last sample.

But the client arrived 30 min late, and we totally missed the sun part...

Swartzy · November 6, 2007

I really like
the lighting on the outdoor shots Nik. The inside shots have a bit too much light on the background (at least to me) and takes away from the light modeling of subject. It's close though....Looks like a great time!

Nikolai · November 6, 2007

Swartzy wrote:

the lighting on the outdoor shots Nik. The inside shots have a bit too much light on the background (at least to me) and takes away from the light modeling of subject. It's close though....Looks like a great time!

Thanks, David!

I hear ya re too much light on the drop.. The thing is, it's not a real hair light, just a plane off camera flash with no modelling light and no modifier on it, hence a lot of spilling

Glad you like the outdoor ones:-)

Miss Sharon · November 8, 2007

I do have to agree with Ann a lot. But if you switched to dress pants with no shirt I think it might convey a message not intended. The photos are really good though. My only critique would be with the first shots, more of a stronger look and pose is needed. He is a little too bent over. Needs a bit more strength, strong shoulders, no folds in the suit around the shoulders, etc. Otherwise, they do look a bit edgy...which might be what you want... correct?? Good job!!

Nikolai · November 8, 2007

Miss Sharon wrote:

I do have to agree with Ann a lot. But if you switched to dress pants with no shirt I think it might convey a message not intended. The photos are really good though. My only critique would be with the first shots, more of a stronger look and pose is needed. He is a little too bent over. Needs a bit more strength, strong shoulders, no folds in the suit around the shoulders, etc. Otherwise, they do look a bit edgy...which might be what you want... correct?? Good job!!

Thank you, Miss Sharon!

LiquidAir · November 8, 2007

I can't argue with any of the comments. Pete's comments about the light are dead on.

A few comments:

When shooting guys, I prefer to use split lighting. Bring the light down to eye level so that just a bit peeks across the bridge of the nose into the opposite eye. Its easy to set up even if you don't have a modelling light. When you set up the light look make sure you can see both eyes from the point of view of the strobe. I look for the opposite side eye to be perfectly centered between the forehead and the nose.

As for shooting against muslin, you'll get much better results if you put some space between your subject and the backdrop. If I have room I'll put the backdrop at least 6 feet behind my subject.

As for rim lights, I usually put them on the opposite side from the main light to give separation on the dark side of the face and I usually place them so they are coming in from a lower angle. Again, this is easier if you have more space between the model and the backdrop.

Dizzle · November 8, 2007

Definitely jeans and no shirt

I would love to see his smile a little more...but that may be the single girl in me talking.

I really like the pics though, I hope to one day be able to take such great shots. Thanks for the inspiration!

Nikolai · November 9, 2007

LiquidAir wrote:

I can't argue with any of the comments. Pete's comments about the light are dead on.

A few comments:

When shooting guys, I prefer to use split lighting. Bring the light down to eye level so that just a bit peeks across the bridge of the nose into the opposite eye. Its easy to set up even if you don't have a modelling light. When you set up the light look make sure you can see both eyes from the point of view of the strobe. I look for the opposite side eye to be perfectly centered between the forehead and the nose.

As for shooting against muslin, you'll get much better results if you put some space between your subject and the backdrop. If I have room I'll put the backdrop at least 6 feet behind my subject.

As for rim lights, I usually put them on the opposite side from the main light to give separation on the dark side of the face and I usually place them so they are coming in from a lower angle. Again, this is easier if you have more space between the model and the backdrop.

Ken, thank you!

I hear you on all accounts. My main problem seem to be the available space: the whole room is rather square, and even though I tried to shoot from as far back as i could, it was not enough.

Oh well, one day I get myself a nice roomy studio, so I'll be able to shoot full height at 200mm and have the backdrop purrrrrfectly blurred:-)

Nikolai · November 9, 2007

TNicole wrote:

Definitely jeans and no shirt I would love to see his smile a little more...but that may be the single girl in me talking.

I really like the pics though, I hope to one day be able to take such great shots. Thanks for the inspiration!

Thanks, Tiffany:-)

As I mentioned, he's single and looking

LiquidAir · November 9, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

Ken, thank you!

I hear you on all accounts. My main problem seem to be the available space: the whole room is rather square, and even though I tried to shoot from as far back as i could, it was not enough.

Oh well, one day I get myself a nice roomy studio, so I'll be able to shoot full height at 200mm and have the backdrop purrrrrfectly blurred:-)

Heh. Using paper or drywall is much more practical...

saurora · November 9, 2007

Ok, count me in with Kari and Nicole! It's definitely jeans and no shirt for your model's next shoot!!!!

When someone says they "can't smile" ask them if they can at least "smirk". Works everytime! Guys quite often don't want to break into a full grin, but even just a subtle hint of a smile (smirk) is very appealing. Tell him the girls like it , that will get him going! He really does look nicer with even the slight smile than the blank stare. I can't advise you on lighting....I need to work on that more myself, but I think you did a pretty good job! Keep at it!

Dizzle · November 9, 2007

Nikolai wrote:

Thanks, Tiffany:-)

As I mentioned, he's single and looking

Funny, so am I

Nikolai · November 9, 2007

saurora wrote:

Ok, count me in with Kari and Nicole! It's definitely jeans and no shirt for your model's next shoot!!!! When someone says they "can't smile" ask them if they can at least "smirk". Works everytime! Guys quite often don't want to break into a full grin, but even just a subtle hint of a smile (smirk) is very appealing. Tell him the girls like it , that will get him going! He really does look nicer with even the slight smile than the blank stare. I can't advise you on lighting....I need to work on that more myself, but I think you did a pretty good job! Keep at it!

Thank you, Susan, I'll remember that "smirk" thing:-)

Male Model Shoot

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