Barefoot in the Sand

jeffreaux2 · June 3, 2009

Well we have begun what will be a year long project in capturing Bre's senior portfolio. These were taken last week in Destin, Florida where we have vacationed for the last three years.

One lesson learned....confirmed...
- Paying clients respond much better to direction than my own daughter.

Oh well!!!:dunno

1-

2-

3-

4-

5-

6-

7-

8-

9-

10-

11-...and big sis....assisting?....guarding the gear?.....or maybe just reading and oblivious?

divamum · June 3, 2009

5, 7, 9, 10 :jawdrop

And this is the daughter who's camera shy?!!??

Elaine · June 3, 2009

Well, these are just beautiful. Great variety, just within this set, so by the end of the year, you'll have a wowzer of a book to put together. I'm so struck by the white sand beach and the way it gives an almost high-key effect to some images. I think my faves are 1, 2, 3, 8, 10. Inspiring to me, as always, Jeff!

sweet caroline · June 3, 2009

These are great, Jeff!

Ed911 · June 3, 2009

I had to laugh at your comment about paying clients responding better than your daughter...

Yep...been there...still going there...sometimes an exercise in futility. My children...now adults...not only don't like taking direction, they don't like being photographed too much, or they get uppity...lol.

Nice shots.

JulieLawsonPhotography · June 3, 2009

My daughters don't respond very well to direction either. Emmy does better than the older one. This is such a beautiful set....:D

picturegirl · June 3, 2009

Very nice!!! My favs 3, 6, 8.

CA_Photography · June 3, 2009

Love 5

heatherfeather · June 3, 2009

Oh good! You didn't make us wait for months and months to see these. LOVE them!

#2, #6, #7 & #9...

Gushing Gushing! Good stuff!

Tim Kamppinen · June 4, 2009

Beautiful! Care to share your lighting info? Flash, reflectors? Inquiring minds must know...

Elaine · June 4, 2009

Yes, I was going to ask for some details...lenses and light, please!

rhondavid · June 4, 2009

Great shots of your gorgeous daughter in one of my favorite places in the world. Will be heading that way in about a month. Formal dress in the surr. Way that is a first for me but like the look particularly the one of her sitting on the beach and they way the water has pulled the hem out with a fluid look.

FYI, you may already know about this but thought I would pass it along anyway. About three miles east of SanDestin Resort is a state park named Topsail Hill Preserve. There is several miles of beautiful dunes, sea oaks and unpopulated beaches. Great place for shooting but. You will have to tote your gear a little ways from the tram stop to the beach but certainly worth the effort in my opinion.

Thanks for sharing.

cj99si · June 4, 2009

Wow really nice! , her friends are going to be pretty jelous

My girls dont take direction either, I'll give them some time though their only 2 and 4. The lighting looks great!

D'Buggs · June 4, 2009

Winners.
Each and every one.

jeffreaux2 · June 4, 2009

divamum wrote:

5, 7, 9, 10 :jawdrop

And this is the daughter who's camera shy?!!??

Yes...well...not exactly camera "shy", but rather really has little patience for having photographs taken of her. If you can't get it done in 5 minutes....you've lost her as a subject!

Elaine wrote:

Well, these are just beautiful. Great variety, just within this set, so by the end of the year, you'll have a wowzer of a book to put together. I'm so struck by the white sand beach and the way it gives an almost high-key effect to some images. I think my faves are 1, 2, 3, 8, 10. Inspiring to me, as always, Jeff!

Thanks Elaine. Whereas I am usually shooting for prints....with clients...I am indeed planning to build a book with these and others from her senior year. The sand on the gulf coast is mostly the type that is generated by the breaking down of coral. It is much lighter in color than the sand in Washington (and I suppose Oregon as well) and also much finer than the East coast of Florida. Its sugary for sure.

Sweet Caroline wrote:

These are great, Jeff!

Thank you!

Ed911 wrote:

I had to laugh at your comment about paying clients responding better than your daughter...

Yep...been there...still going there...sometimes an exercise in futility. My children...now adults...not only don't like taking direction, they don't like being photographed too much, or they get uppity...lol.

Nice shots.

Mine dont mind the photos too much....well except my son. The girls are okay with pictures, but this one...our youngest will definately put you on a short schedule!

Thanks for looking.

JulieLawsonPhotography wrote:

My daughters don't respond very well to direction either. Emmy does better than the older one. This is such a beautiful set....:D

Picturgirl wrote:

Very nice!!! My favs 3, 6, 8.

Thanks Julie and Angie. I appreciate the kind remarks.

CA Photography wrote:

Love 5

Thanks! and welcome to Dgrin!!!:D

jeffreaux2 · June 4, 2009

heatherfeather wrote:

Oh good! You didn't make us wait for months and months to see these. LOVE them!

#2, #6, #7 & #9...

Gushing Gushing! Good stuff!

Funny that you picked out 2, 6, and 9. All three used an approach to lighting that is very similar to something you often do.

Thanks for having a look....There will be more in the months and months ahead I am sure!

jeffreaux2 · June 4, 2009

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

Beautiful! Care to share your lighting info? Flash, reflectors? Inquiring minds must know...

Well lets see...

-All were shot in Manual mode. In those that used flash I used a single speedlight in ETTL fired via Canons STE2 transmitter. In those using an umbrella, I used a white umbrella in a shoot through configuration.

1- Taken in existing light.

2- Stand mounted bare speedlight at camera left plus a CTO gel.

3- Existing Light.

4- Stand mounted bare speedlight plus a CTO gel.

5- Existing light.

6- Stand mounted speedlight plus 45inch umbrella.

7- Sidelit with a bare speedlight. My wife held the flash.

8- Standmounted speedlight with a 45inch umbrella and CTO gel.

9- Standmounted speedlight, 45inch umbrella, cto gel

10- Standmounted speedlight, 45 inch umbrella, cto gel - not sure how much the flash contributed here as she had stepped a good bit away from it.

11- Existing light.

jeffreaux2 · June 4, 2009

Elaine wrote:

Yes, I was going to ask for some details...lenses and light, please!

Well....I got to the lighting in a separate post.....lenses...

1,5,6,7 with the 17-55mm

The rest with the 70-200mm

That help?

jeffreaux2 · June 4, 2009

rhondavid wrote:

Great shots of your gorgeous daughter in one of my favorite places in the world. Will be heading that way in about a month. Formal dress in the surr. Way that is a first for me but like the look particularly the one of her sitting on the beach and they way the water has pulled the hem out with a fluid look.

FYI, you may already know about this but thought I would pass it along anyway. About three miles east of SanDestin Resort is a state park named Topsail Hill Preserve. There is several miles of beautiful dunes, sea oaks and unpopulated beaches. Great place for shooting but. You will have to tote your gear a little ways from the tram stop to the beach but certainly worth the effort in my opinion.

Thanks for sharing.

I was unaware of the park, but THAT is great to know. A local had pointed me to a stretch of beach between Ft Walton and Destin with grass and dunes, but it was much farther from where we usually stay than the park you describe. They didnt want to take the ride, and were instead content with shooting around other people and the tall buildings at the beach that fronted our condo. These were shot over two seperate afternoons. While we were shooting the shots in the prom dress, a wedding was finishing up and the were shooting formals probably less than a hundred yards away. It probably looked funny...me and my wife knee deep in water with camera and lightstand....daughter posing...umbrella and all....whilst the wedding photog up the beach was shooting everything with a bare shoe mounted flash. We had fun.

We did some shopping at the Sandestin Resort(and everywhere else within an hour drive!

) and the archetecture and landscaping at the shops inside the resort would lend themselves very well to outdoor portraits. We talked about returning there for photos, but never had the time. Im not sure what would be the best time of day, but I had pegged early Sunday morning as a time when there would be few people there that might interfere.

Prom dresses in senior portraits is a bit new to me as well, but it is something that I have had enough opportunities to do to know that I like the look. Most of the dresses only are worn once anyway. For these, I asked her to look through the collection that resides in a closet at home and choose one that she wouldnt be upset about throwing away. Formal attire is usually eye grabbing regardless of the environment.

Thanks for looking...and commenting.

divamum · June 4, 2009

One of the most extraordinary things I find about this set is being able to make a honey blonde in a yellow dress on a golden beach look not only gorgeous, but defined and present - in theory, it should look washed out. But in your hands, with your eye... it's simply gorgeous

bow

roygrady · June 4, 2009

#6 is my favorite, great work!

Kinkajou · June 4, 2009

super-tiny nitpicky thing... any idea why she decided to put a capo on the guitar? kind of breaks up the nice line of the neck... and it's not like we need to hear her play in another key.... since... it's a photograph....

beyond that, they're really nice shots.

I'm also in FLA (Gainesville) and when i talk with friends about shooting their kids, the beach is always the first location they mention, but i'm afraid of it due to the intense light, but you give me hope that it can be done well!

thanks for sharing

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

roygrady wrote:

#6 is my favorite, great work!

Thanks! and welcome to Dgrin!

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

Kinkajou wrote:

super-tiny nitpicky thing... any idea why she decided to put a capo on the guitar? kind of breaks up the nice line of the neck... and it's not like we need to hear her play in another key.... since... it's a photograph....

beyond that, they're really nice shots. I'm also in FLA (Gainesville) and when i talk with friends about shooting their kids, the beach is always the first location they mention, but i'm afraid of it due to the intense light, but you give me hope that it can be done well!

thanks for sharing

The capo was her idea....she brought it, and I didnt think it was THAT big of a deal. To me, if something so minor gives someone a little "security" in front of the camera.....I go with the flow.

Beaches arent a bad place for portraits. I live no where near a beach, but have had the luxury of shooting a wedding on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama prior to the shoot featured here. Yes...there is no shade really (I had shade for some of these portraits) but the sand can be as good a reflector as you can find anywhere. If I lived near a beach and did this very often, I might invest in one of those portable picnic shelters. The ones with the folding aluminum legs and open sides. White in color.....and a cheap one that is translucent. It would make for a nice diffuser I think.....for all that sunlight!

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

cj99si wrote:

Wow really nice! , her friends are going to be pretty jelous My girls dont take direction either, I'll give them some time though their only 2 and 4. The lighting looks great!

I dont shoot THAT many toddlers, but two years and up is a great time to be shooting every chance you get.

Thanks for commenting!:D

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

D'Buggs wrote:

Winners.
Each and every one.

Thank you!:D

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

divamum wrote:

One of the most extraordinary things I find about this set is being able to make a honey blonde in a yellow dress on a golden beach look not only gorgeous, but defined and present - in theory, it should look washed out. But in your hands, with your eye... it's simply gorgeous bowbowbow

Good grief Diva....

I nearly missed this reply.

You have really poured it on thick here. All I did was press a little black button. Seriously

.....

of course I do appreciate your remarks....as always.

divamum · June 5, 2009

jeffreaux2 wrote:

You have really poured it on thick here. All I did was press a little black button. Seriously .....

I was just sitting here thinking back to my dress design days (I designed and made concert dresses for my friends for extra $ when I was at conservatory) and it's almost a rule that blondes + yellow = disaster. Then I realised that the sand was gold and the light was gold and ... well, like I said - it SHOULDN"T work. But it does - which shows that you do a great deal more than just push the black button, Mr Light

rofl

Mitchell · June 5, 2009

Jeff, I've been eagerly awaiting your return from the Florida coast.

These photos do not disappoint. Wonderful series of your beautiful daughter. You got some sweet lighting and a nice variety of shots. I particularly like the last few with the dress in the water.

My only regret was that you were not closer. I would have loved to have joined you for a few hours with your great "Models"!

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

divamum wrote:

I was just sitting here thinking back to my dress design days (I designed and made concert dresses for my friends for extra $ when I was at conservatory) and it's almost a rule that blondes + yellow = disaster. Then I realised that the sand was gold and the light was gold and ... well, like I said - it SHOULDN"T work. But it does - which shows that you do a great deal more than just push the black button, Mr Light rofl

Perhaps, lighting her from a different angle than the BG was naturally lit from (even though the effect is subtle)....and also using a considerably warmer light source for that sidelighting helped to pick her out of the chaff?

I had no say in the dress...or color....but was happy she had decided to play along with my wish to use a formal dress. I was at first disappointed in the color...and wished it were at least a tad darker than her skin tones. When we reached the coast though, and I spotted the nearly emerald colored water I thought that maybe the warmth of the yellow would play nicely off the water's coloring....and it did. Unfortunately...as you say...it should be all washed out...and in my attempts to prevent that I have lost (at least in these) much of the saturation in the water. In my attempts to bring that back....it just gets to looking fakey....and unpleasant. I have several months (10?) to play with different treatments, but I am pleased with some of these. I was glad I used the flash, umbrella, and gel in those shots.....and of course I have some dupes that were shot without flash...or rather shot in rapid fire before the flash could recycle.....and in those "unlit" shots she doesn't pop off the BG nearly as well. A bit of an experiment on my part...using that orange gel....but I recalled a Dgrinner (Travis) who has shared some very nice late afternoon outdorrsy portraits that utilized a CTO gelled flash.

If I had more time, or a laptop there to review things on, I might have made a second attempt and knocked the BG exposure down a bit...AND I could kick myself for not bringing a circular polorizer filter along......THAT would have made some impact in these images as well.

I have no regrets though, and am happy to have these images.

jeffreaux2 · June 5, 2009

Mitchell wrote:

Jeff, I've been eagerly awaiting your return from the Florida coast.

These photos do not disappoint. Wonderful series of your beautiful daughter. You got some sweet lighting and a nice variety of shots. I particularly like the last few with the dress in the water.

My only regret was that you were not closer. I would have loved to have joined you for a few hours with your great "Models"!

Hey Mitchell!!

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

It would have been a blast to have gotten together for sure. Far from a "model"....she thinks each direction from me is something to make fun of and do an exaggerated opposite.....if you saw the "out takes" you would laugh your head off. She behaved for a few though!

Next year we are planning for maybe a week in Orlando and then visit family in Ft Lauderdale. I might buy a new P&S for THAT trip!:D

Barefoot in the Sand

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