A Red Couch and a Pretty Girl

Tey, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Tey and I shot at the new Magic Lantern Theater, located inside the Community Building on Main Avenue in downtown Spokane. We'd scouted the location a few days previous, and the red couch in the small lobby of the theater was irresistible. Tey wore a new dress for the occasion, and we took hundreds of shots.

The woman running the concession stand offered suggestions for poses, and the owner of the theater told us about how they came to acquire the couch, and how the daughter of the original owner wanted it back!

Tey looked glamourous and beautiful, so this shoot was easy and fun. I managed to haul one of my new Alien Bees B800 lights down to the shoot, and it's providing the light here.

There are more shots on the couch and in the building in Tey's set, which is here.

Tey

030808, originally uploaded by austinspace.

A new muse! Tey and I have really hit it off, and we've already shot three times in the last month (and might have shot more but I went to Texas and she went to Bali!). This shot is after she'd "dolled up" and we're sitting in a local bakery/coffee shop in the last sliver of sunlight left for the day. It had been somewhat overcast all day but the sun broke out just as the day ended. There are more shots of Tey here.

Kimberly

020808, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Kim and I shot 493 photos last night. This was the second shot I took, inside the men's room in the Art Building on campus. The hall outside the bathroom is a brilliant green (see this photo) so we were planning to shoot there and noticed the door was open. It was late, so how could we resist?

Lucy and Brett

Lucy and Brett, originally uploaded by austinspace.

It really is a whole 'nother beast trying to photograph a couple. I met Lucy and Brett at a local coffee shop I've shot at before that I know would provide good light (it was about 25 degrees outside and windy) so we could stay inside and they could be comfortable. This shop has nice red walls and lots of wood paneling accents. I can't speak for their coffee, as I get Pepsi when I'm there!

I used the 580ex flash a lot in these, bouncing it off to the right to get just a bit of illumination. Several of the shots were not so good as one would be nicely lit and the other...not so. Then there's always the focus issues, since I like to be up close when I shoot. More photos are here.

Nicole

122907, originally uploaded by austinspace.

This is at Manito Park, the beautiful South Hill park in the town I live in. Nicole is a Flickr user as well who I met at a Photoroll a couple of months ago. (a photoroll is a gathering of Flickr photographers at a location for shooting and socializing, a term coined by photographer Ben Delaney) Via email we agreed to meet at snowy Manito Park, and I was delighted to see she'd brought several different dresses to wear--even though it was approximately 27º with a slight breeze while we shot. In this one she's wearing a prom dress, and while she is indeed barefoot--her boots are just off camera--she is standing on her new white scarf, which I slightly Photoshopped to make less distracting. It was a totally enjoyable shoot (more viewable here) because she obviously put some thought into it and had a plan. And though she'd never modeled before, she had a great variety of gestures and poses ready--she claimed she's watched one of those TV reality model shows for inspiration.

Amber

Amber, originally uploaded by austinspace.

This photo shoot was Amber's idea, and she nearly froze to death. It was about 25° outside when we shot these, so we'd shoot a few in a row and then she'd run back inside to thaw out and warm up. This is at the university's PE complex in an inner courtyard. And yes, people would walk by gawking in the background quite often.

Amber's a runner, so her legs are long and don't have a smidge of fat on 'em.

I'm using no flash. There was a two-light stand nearby that a painter must have left that I plugged in and directed towards her, and that might have helped a bit. I'm shooting at 1600ISO so there's lots of grain. I adjusted this a lot in RAW to get the right exposure and tint.

I gave her crap later for keeping her watch on.

Studio shots

Alina, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I was lucky enough to use actual studio lights at work on Thursday. It came up because Alina needed some studio shots to turn in to an agency, and I had just been told my colleague Eric had an impromptu studio setup a couple of buildings over. So I called him and he was kind enough to meet us and set up the lighting and get my camera set to use. Otherwise I'd have had no clue whatsoever what I was doing!

There is a spot behind her left shoulder, up quite high, a reflector just off screen on her left, and a monster light with a grid-thing on it to her right. I'm standing about 10 feet back in front of her, trying not to pull the cords out of their sockets, snapping away. From start to finish we were there for just over an hour, nearly half of that setting up!

I think they came out just great--I was on a photographic high after we finished, and we were walking back to my office. I'm working on cropping them right now so she can print out a few to hand in.