Posts Tagged ‘Beauty’
Cropping in post-production
I typically prefer to crop or compose the photograph while shooting. However there are instances, such as the example below, where cropping in post-production can add a completely different dimension to the photograph. Furthermore, shooting with a 24mp camera allows me to make such crops without concern for image degradation.
Today’s retouching…
The first image of Paul is the original and the second is the retouched version. The best retouching, in my opinion, is retouching that isn’t noticed. Although extensive retouching was done to the hands, nails, skin, and forehead, it still maintains the realism and integrity of the original image.
Side note: In case you were wondering, I used a forehead from another photo that wasn’t covered by Paul’s hair.
Photos from shoot with Paul Francis
Here are a few selects from my shoot with Paul Francis from Q Models. The shots of him with Maree are still being retouched. They should be up soon!
Models for Upcoming Shoot
For this upcoming shoot, I’m working with Maree from Marilyn Agency and Paul from Q Models. I’m looking forward to working with two models on set and seeing how they interact with each other.
Nathalie Edenburg Photo Selects and Video
Nathalie Edenburg, from Marilyn Agency, just booked a contract with Victoria’s Secret and is also featured a number of times in the current issue of V Magazine. This photoshoot with her went very well and I couldn’t be happier with how the video and images turned out. Enjoy!
Production Stills from shoot with Nathalie Edenburg
Here are a few production stills from my most recent photoshoot. Behind-the-scenes video and final selects coming soon…
Models for Tomorrow’s Photoshoot
Tomorrow, I’ll be shooting Nathalie from Marilyn and Gona from Trump. I’m working with my favorite makeup artist and hair stylist. I also have my good friend Christopher, helping out with a behind-the-scenes video. Should be a good shoot! 
Paul Taylor Dance Company Photography
When shooting this ballet company’s dance rehearsal, I initially used fast shutter speeds to freeze the action on stage. However, I soon realized that this wasn’t achieving anything expressive or creative. The images were static and dull. So, I did the exact opposite and used very slow shutter speeds. This, in combination with a panning technique, yielded exactly what I was looking to achieve: artistic impressions of ballet movement. I particularly like how a few of the shots have a floral characteristic.
Hair Story with Chantal
One aspect I enjoy most about Beauty test shoots is the freedom to experiment and try something less conventional. This shoot with Chantal Stafford-Abbott from Marilyn is a perfect example.
We had just finished the shoot with Ieva and had already exceeded our allotted time in the studio space (every additional 15 minutes increased the studio overtime fee). So, time was most definitely of the essence.
We started shooting at 6:10 and finished at 6:50. That’s 4 different looks in 40 minutes! We had to work fast, problem solve quickly, and shoot quickly. I’m very pleased with how well everything came together and plan to submit the story to various online and print magazines. I’ll keep you posted with how those submissions go.
Hair by: Elsa Canedo
Makeup by: Georgi Sandev
Side note: Congratulations to Chantal for just finishing the Marc Jacobs show for NYC fashion week!
Photoshoot with Ieva
This behind-the-scene video has been in the works for the last few weeks. After learning Final Cut Pro, I was able to edit and mix the clips with music. I enjoyed the production process immensely and look forward to bringing you more videos in the future! Below is a gallery of still images from the shoot. Enjoy!
Skin Beauty Shoot
For this shoot, I wanted to focus on body and skin images. Numerous beauty products are skin-care related. So, being able to shoot skin aesthetically is essential to being a well-rounded beauty photographer.
We booked Ali from MC2 for this shoot and it went just as I’d hoped. We started with a very diffused white background. This lighting tends to wrap around the model, which works nicely for body shots. Photo 1 is the best from that series. Next, we moved in a black background and did a series of shots with water falling. I always enjoy shooting water because each model reacts to it differently and the compositions are spontaneous. Ali’s enthusiasm was excellent and like the shoot with Masha, we ended up with a number of quality images to choose from.
Masha! Masha! Masha!
This shoot with Masha from Next was absolutely incredible. When her booker sent me her online portfolio, I immediately liked her unique look and striking features.
We started shooting at 5:40PM. We had a few different tops we were going to try with her and everything started out nicely. After a few minutes of shooting, Masha asked if we could play her ipod. I of course agreed and before long, she was dancing on set to David Vendetta’s electronic music. She would strike pose after pose in between her dancing. She started running from one end of the set to the next, jumping all over, and throwing her dress in different directions. My team and I were stunned and amazed by her energy. Every frame I shot was unique and full of energy. This variety of movement and expression is exactly what a photographer hopes for from a model. I had booked the studio till 7PM, but had no problem paying double-time for another hour. These opportunities don’t come often. In the span of about 2 hours, we came away with dozens of great shots. The only problem with this is trying to decide which ones are best…an excellent dilemma nevertheless.
An interesting side note: Numerous serious technical difficulties arose during this photoshoot. I’ve had to work through technical difficulties before, but never to this extent. My primary camera wasn’t focusing, a strobe was bumped and crashed to the ground, my flashes weren’t firing at the same time as the camera, the camera batteries weren’t working consistently, and my memory cards were locking up the camera. All of these hiccups were extremely frustrating. I had to remind myself to not let this influence my shooting. I eventually switched to my back up camera to finish the shoot. I find it fascinating to look back on those problems because they helped keep me extremely attentive for the entire shoot.
Beauty Retouching
Sometimes retouching is pretty straightforward. At other times, it requires a little more imagination and finessing. This first beauty shot of Ieva Aniulyte came out very well, but the left hand is visually distracting. So, I found another image that I could use to “copy and paste”(see photo 2).
Here’s the basic process I went through:
First, I copied the knuckle edge from the right hand of photo one. I flipped this and positioned it appropriately (if you look closely, you can see that the edges of the knuckles are the same on the left and right hand).
Second, I copied the finger from photo 2, rotated it slightly, made it a bit smaller, and then positioned that accordingly. Finally, I blended everything together with the original image till it became what you see in photo 3, the finished version.
Ieva Aniulyte and her sister, Aida, just finished doing a show for Donna Karan. There are more photos of Ieva to follow plus a behind the scenes video, which is still in the editing process. Stay tuned!
Beauty Photoshoot
I love when ideas of mine come to life on set. This is always very enjoyable to witness and photograph. What I love even more is when new ideas suddenly arise. This spontaneity is exhilarating and impossible to predict.
I was doing a rather simple beauty shoot with Linda from Major Models when one of these special opportunities arose. I had her lying down with makeup powder sprinkled on her face. I had seen this done by another beauty photographer and wanted to try it myself. Photo 1 illustrates the original idea, which is nothing special. As I stood up from the ground I saw this second composition. I immediately told Linda to freeze and started shooting again. I love how her face resembles a snow-covered mountainous landscape.
Beauty Photoshoot with Elisandra
Elisandra Tomacheski, from Next Models, was perfect for this last beauty shoot. When shooting clean beauty, having a model with excellent skin is essential. Slight retouching can always be done in post, but major changes to the skin leads to very artificial results.
For these first two shots, I used very soft lighting and kept the hair and makeup simple. The challenge with this type of clean beauty is getting energy from the model to match the simplicity of the concept. You don’t want too much energy, but you also don’t want her looking unengaged. I’m very pleased with how these two shots came out.
For the next shot, I wanted something much more dramatic. I brought in a fan to bring energy and movement. Adding wind is tricky because it can easily overwhelm the composition (refer to photo 3). Although photo 3 wasn’t a success, it did strike my interest when I was reviewing it moments later. I liked the direction of her hair and the angle of her face. I showed her and my team the photo, and mentioned how this was a good start. It was then a matter of working this angle again and again till everything came together. It eventually did in this fourth shot.
