Soft fabrics and hard rocks

March 9, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

Late last week I answered a Facebook post from model Alex Hunt looking for a photographer to shoot on the weekend. I discovered that she wanted to expand on some lingerie images that she had taken previously and I suggested that we shoot at Palmer Head gun emplacement as I thought the contrast of soft fabrics and the graffiti covered walls would create dynamic looks.

We arranged the shoot for Saturday afternoon but left it until the morning to confirm as the forecast was for gale force winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms. Saturday dawned fine and while a little breezy was not anything that we could not handle. We therefore decided to the do the shoot.

I picked her and her friend Lillian up and we headed up the hill. To our shock and dismay we discovered that the whole site had been treated to a new coat of grey paint. Our urban look was therefore replaced with industrial.

Despite being inside the opening in the building and how exposed it was meant that the wind was a constant issue. We shot in two locations in the building and used a combination of a single flash in a bounce umbrella as well as natural light.

We started with the lingerie that Alex had brought with her and then we moved onto using one of my drape material. I even incorporated a fake fur that I bought sometime ago.

We even tried some of my longer drape materials out in the wind but didn’t really achieve the look that I would have liked. The strength of the wind made shooting outside quite difficult and some of the places that I may have considered just too dangerous.

At the end of the shoot I managed to get a shot of Lillian who had the most amazing eyes, but didn’t consider herself photogenic. She could not have been further from the truth.

Editing the images was an absolute breeze and I was able to deliver them to Alex the next day. We plan on doing some more shoots together.

Weddings

Blue Skies Wedding Day

February 27, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

One of the best things you can hear when you deliver images to a client (especially a wedding couple) is when the bride says that she loves all of the photo and that they were exactly what they wanted.

That was Chloe’s reaction when we delivered their wedding photos last week. The wedding happened on January 24 but with their honeymoon and then the death of grandmother the actual delivery of the images was a week later than originally planned.

As we were recording the whole day, the shoot involved my wife (Vicky) and daughter (Samantha). Samantha was officially second shooter but as she hasn’t got her licence yet needed her mum to run her between locations.

Final preparation was done the night before with chips formatted, all batteries fully charged and the clocks in each camera synched as this would make it easier to work through the shots later especially in the church.

Snapshot-1 — The Groom (in Red) with his Dad, uncle and Grandfather on the 18th

For the day I stayed with the groom and Samantha stayed with the bride. It is quite amusing when you look through the images and see how long each side takes to get ready.

We knew from the rehearsal that the church was very small and shooting angles would be tight. Having three shooters did leave us with an advantage that I could cover the front, Samantha shot from the back, and Vicky stayed outside. That way we had all of the areas covered.

The ceremony went without a hitch and we managed to capture all of the important elements (first look, kiss, rings etc.), exactly as they happened, rather than resorting to faking the shot later.

Samantha managed to capture Hayden's look as Chloe came down the aisle. — Samantha managed to capture Hayden’s look as Chloe came down the aisle.

As a guest you would not have said that the weather could not have been better as it was clear blue sky without a single cloud and warm. As a photographer I was wishing for the cloud because I knew that the moment we moved outside we were going to face issues with the light.

The family group shots had been planned to occur on a small grassed area outside of the church and we had positioned a car there to ensure that it didn’t end up being used for parking. While it normally would have been a perfect location, the light was creating such strong panda eyes and squinting that we moved everyone to the shade of a hedge.

The location of the formals offered no such shade and so I had work with using the sun at the couples back (with fill flash) or shading them in some way using a diffusion panel. During the practise shoot my wife had been very concerned about the safety of everyone shooting so close to a main road and certainly on the day in question the cars were all travelling at 60kph. As it turned out on once you put a girl in a white wedding dress and surround her with bridesmaids the cars all slow down for a closer look, and in fact at one point the traffic stopped completely to let me get the shots. Chloe was having a great time acknowledging the toots she was getting as the cars and trucks went by.

Formals under full sun are always going to create issues.

The formals ran perfectly to time and we delivered the couple to the reception at exactly the agreed time which really surprised the management there as they were used to photographers running late.

Vicky had gone straight from the church to the reception and had photographed the venue before the guests had a chance to play with it. With the reception we tried to shoot the main elements. During the speeches I concentrated on the speaker while Samantha photographed reactions.

Once all the formalities were over we gathered on the dance floor for the first dance which started out traditional and morphed into something completely different.

We ended the day around 10.00pm and headed home. Once I cleared the cards to the computer there was 1915 photos to worth through. They were taken into Lightroom and before anything else was done to them a backup was taken on a removable drive.

The next morning I did a very quick selection and chose 16 images that provided a snapshot of the day. These were given a quick edit and sent to the couple so that they could post on Facebook.

It was a really long day, but very enjoyable. With the planning that had been done everything went pretty much t

o plan and time, so everyone enjoyed themselves.

Fashion, Trash the Dress

Trash the Dress in the pool

February 17, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

The evening that I had shot the milk water set I saw a Facebook post from Megan wanting a photographer to do a trash a dress shoot with her. She had got married on January 24 and wanted to use the flowers from the wedding before they were thrown away. I thought the small pool would be perfect and so we arranged to meet after work on Tuesday 3 February at her new place in Miramar.

It wasn’t too difficult to find the place but immediately I saw two issues with the location. The major one was that the whole section was on a slope so placing the pool would be difficult. The second was that the house was on the shadow side of the afternoon sun which meant that we would lose the light fairly quickly.

We found the least amount of slope and filled up the pool the best that we could. In reality this was no where near its capacity. When the water reached the top of the side at the lower end, it had only just managed to cover the bottom at the other.

This limited how we could shoot and therefore there were very few full length shots taken. Rather they were close ups in the deeper part of the water.

As it turned out the light was an issue in that there was too much and so there was quite a difference between full sun and shade. This meant more positioning to try to mitigate the issue.

We ended up with a series of images that both of use like although I would have liked more full length shot down images but the slope really prevented those.

Models, Nudes

Milky Waters (mildly NSFW)

February 16, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

Those who have looked through this blog will realise that water tends to play a major part in my outdoor natural light shoots. The issue that you run into though is finding a place that is safe for the model as well as not too public so that you can try out options without offending people.

Now the weather in the Wellington region is not really conducive to outdoor swimming pools so it is not that easy to find one. However just before Christmas i saw an ad for a kids paddling pool that was 1.6m long, 600mm wide and 400mm deep. It sounded like it would be perfect as you could shoot full length in relative safety, and at only $20 was pretty cheap.

I had not actually planned any shoots with the pool when i was contacted me by Rebekkah (who I had shot before) who wanted to do a water shoot with Kristara (who I have shot on a number of occasions). They wanted the water to be cloudy so that it was only an implied nude as well as there being flowers in the water.

I filled the pool up two days before the shoot in the hope that the sun would have a chance to warm the water because I knew that in unheated water there is a very definite amount of time before the goosebumps start growing on top of other goosebumps.

We had had a really dry January so it was a little bit of a downer that it was planning to rain on the day of the shoot. We decided to proceed because the girls were going to get wet anyway and I knew that shooting with overcast conditions was actually better for the colours and light control than a clear blue shy day.

LR_Pool-3 Now the pool holds over 500 litres of water so I was really not sure what to add to get the desired milky effect. Google was absolutely no use as it kept bringing me to examples of using a slow shutter speed to make moving water appear milky. In the end the suggestion was that simply add milk, but how much was the question. I bought a three litre bottle of full cream milk and just before the shoot starting to add it. Just over a litre produced the desired effect.

Both girls were wearing black which when we went to fuller length showed up to well so I suggested that they be removed and replaced with Grape leaves which covered very well.

Rebekkah had also seen some shots of water running down a face so we tried that. Getting the correct amount of water flow and the angle of the head was a bit of trial and effort and it is not something you can do without an assistant.

Kristara and I had planned a nude shoot in the past which never quite timed right so before she froze I shot a full length in the water.

You may have noticed no pool edges in the images. Basically they were removed in photoshop.

I am really pleased with the way that the pool performed and the models appear happy with the finished results.

Weddings

What’s happened to the wedding

February 15, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

Regular readers will know that I was booked to shoot a wedding at the end of January and may be wondering what has happened to the images. Well I have a policy that I don’t publish any images until the bride & groom have seen them and due to family circumstances that is not scheduled until next week. In the meantime I though I would share one of the snapshot that we processed the morning after the wedding so that they could share them on Facebook.

I will post the full story of the day once the happy couple have seen the rest.

Awards, Concept Images, Exhibitions

In Print

February 9, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

I was super stoked over the weekend to learn that my image “The role of the model” had been accepted for inclusion on the 2015 issue of “New Zealand Camera” which is the annual publication of the Photographic Society of New Zealand (PSNZ).

I understand that over 900 images were submitted and only 175 were accepted so having one in at my first attempt was very pleasing.

The whole story behind the image can be found in this blog post.

Weddings

At the Rehearsal

February 4, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

I am always amazed when I hear about wedding photographers who simply show up on the day and are very inflexible in the timeframe that they will cover.

Now I will admit that we do not photograph that many weddings a year and we certainly don’t shoot the ones we do solely for the money. As such I am willing to give as much effort in order to ensure the couple get the best service on the day. And for a wedding that starts with attending the rehearsal.

For the wedding of Hayden & Chloe the rehearsal happened on February 22 and as with most rehearsals I have attended it was a fun and happy event. Unlike the nerves that will kick in on the big day the rehearsal is often very relaxed. For me these are the main reasons why it is important to attend the rehearsal:

It give you an opportunity to meet and discuss your requirements with the person performing the service, and to get agreement on such things as the use of flash, where you can and can’t go. Better to find this out two days before the event than 20 minutes before.
If they are present it also lets you talk with the videographer so that you can determine the best angles for both of you.
It gives you a real opportunity to view the venue and work out the best angles for shooting that will both give you the images you want but at the same time not block key people from seeing the events. It also lets you work out where you and your second shooter will stand.
From the previous visit to the church I knew that the angles were tight. When you got the couple , minister and 8 attendants at the alter it got really crowded.
It give you the opportunity to see what the plan of the service will be so that you can ensure adequate coverage.
It lets you play with settings in the camera when if you fail to get a clear shot it really does not matter.

From this rehearsal I realised that it was going to be very tight at the alter and realistically the best angles for many of the activities would be from the rear which meant that my second shooter would take care of those. The Minister made no unreasonable demands, and video guys were very co-operative. We did have an issue with one camera not giving us the best results so that ended up being used outside the church only.

Models, Nudes

Waterfall shoot with Sian (NSFW)

January 16, 2015 whittyp 1 Comment

The second shoot at the waterfall for 2015 involved Sian as the model. I have shot Sian twice before and so I knew she was very comfortable in front of the camera. The shoot happened earlier than the previous one as she wanted to go house hunting in the afternoon.

While these waterfall shoot are intended to incorporate drapes or nudes we actually started with Sian fully clothed as I have had this dress in the cupboard for a while and I wanted to test out shots closer to the top fall. As this part of the location is fully visible from the track I tend the ensure that not to much skin is on display from this point.

I have wanted to use this dress in a water shot for a while and given that this part of the fall is fully visible from the path made perfect sense.

We then moved onto using a length of a satin type material on the large rock and around the top of the second falls. This material is nearly 5 metres in length and when it gets wet becomes fairly heavy. As such I impressed to Sian that she was in a secure position on the rock before she let the material go anywhere near the water.

This length of satin is about 5 meters so it was able to stretch a long way. We had to be careful though because when it got wet it became very heavy.

We then moved down to the pool at the bottom of the lower fall. Sian was willing to go into it and so we used my monopod as a gauge to work out how deep it was. Once it was determined that the pool was not too deep Sian took a position by the falls. I wanted to try a longer exposure but there was no place to mount a tripod so I attached the monopod to the camera instead. The shot is not completely sharp but close enough for essentially a hand hold at 1/6 of a second at f13.

SIan was willing to go into the pool and go without the drapes. Her we tried a slower shutter. — Sian was willing to go into the pool and go without the drapes. Here we tried a slower shutter.

We then moved out of the pool and Sian wrapped a length of red organza around her. The shot is nice however the material in the water does not have a lot of live to it unlike the blue organza used in the previous shoot. This was totally due to the angle of the sun not directly lighting up the material.

This red organza spread out great, however where it went into the water falls a little flat.

Sian then agreed to lose the drape and we would slow the shutter down. This image was essentially hand held at 1/13 second at f22. The shot is virtually straight out of camera. I would have to say that it is my favourite image of the shoot. It has a very classical look to it.

I was relatively pleased with the results of the shoot, however when Sian looked at them she thought that she could improve on some of her expressions so we are planning another visit to the falls. I also still have a list of other models who want to take part so this series will run for a whole yet.

Weddings

Pre-shoot with Chloe & Hayden

January 16, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

Next weekend we are shooting the wedding of Chloe & Hayden which is being held in a small church in Pauatahanui and in planning for it I met with the bride & groom and carried out a small pre-shoot with them starting at the church and then moving onto some of the locations that i have planned to use for the formals.

Now some photographers refer to this as an engagement shoot but personally I clearly state that it is a pre-shoot, because I believe that they are fundamentally different.

To me an engagement shoot happens as soon as the contract to do the wedding has been signed which may many months before the wedding. The purpose is solely to allow the photographer and couple to get comfortable with each other. as such the location is irrelevant.

A pre-shoot has a similar goal to enable a rapport to be established between the couple and the photographer plus to plan for the actual shots on the day. When I book a pre-shoot I try to arrange it for a location close to the where we will be shooting on the day and if possible shoot at the same time. That lets me determine where the light is coming from and what issues I am likely to run into.

It is also a good opportunity to try out poses with the couple, and to see whether they like the locations your are thinking about. It is also a great opportunity to sort out transport issues on the day, rather than when you have a large wedding party in tow.

The shots below are a selection from the pre-shoot and in captions I have outlined what the situation I was looking for.

While the B&G do not want a photo of all the people at the wedding, the largest family group shot will have 25 people. We determine that this lawn area in front of the church will be fine for that. While it is in front of the graveyard the people will cover those.

The day of the pre-shoot had little cloud and that enabled me to determine that the bride's eyes are very susceptible to light. We will have to watch shot taken facing the afternoon sun. — The day of the pre-shoot had little cloud and that enabled me to determine that the bride’s eyes are very susceptible to light. We will have to watch shot taken facing the afternoon sun.

Same location but this time the couple are being shaded with a diffusion panel.

This walkway will be used in the formals. The couple loved it. The road beside it can be quite busy and those timing will be needed to ensure no cars in the shots. There is also a real estate sign on the fence that needs to be eliminated.

Finally a macro shot of the ring. Chloe wanted to see whether a clean would be in order to get the best sparkle out of it

Models, Nature

Back to the Waterfall with Grace

January 10, 2015 whittyp Leave a comment

Last year I took a series of images at a local waterfall with models in fabric drapes (which you can read here) and decided that this year I would work further on the series. So I posted a casting call on Facebook and got enough interest for a whole series of shoots. One thing that had disappointed me about the images from the previous series was that the underwear the girls was wearing showed through and disrupted the flow of the fabric. So this year I made it quite clear that no underwear was permitted.

The first shoot in the 2015 series took place last Sunday with Grace (who had been a make up artists on a number of my shoots as well as being my book queen). Her mum Caroline asked to come as well and I was only too happy to have her along as a extra pair of hands.

On the Saturday I went up the falls and checked that nothing had changed significantly since last year. It also gave me the opportunity to scout out the area and plan where each shot was to take place. The little falls are down a slope from the main track which in summer is very popular. Given the lack of clothing I wanted to work out how much of the shoot area could be seen from the track.

Sunday dawned beautiful and we went through three drapes for the shot. We started on the main rock with a multi colored silk. Then we moved slightly down and shot a white lace material and finally with a blue organza that I ordered specifically for this year.

The blue organza took on a plastic look when wet

The area is quite slippery in areas and as cameras and water don’t mix I tried to particularly careful.

Light was quite an issue in that in some areas there was not enough and in other too much. For some images a flash was used to add a bit of fill and in some cases it was bounced off a gold reflector to add a bit of warmth.

The next shoot in the series is tomorrow.

pwfotos

Soft fabrics and hard rocks

Blue Skies Wedding Day

Trash the Dress in the pool

Milky Waters (mildly NSFW)

What’s happened to the wedding

In Print

At the Rehearsal

Waterfall shoot with Sian (NSFW)

Pre-shoot with Chloe & Hayden

Back to the Waterfall with Grace

A photographic journey

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A photographic journey