Melissa

121508, originally uploaded by austinspace.

This is one of about 400 shots taken the afternoon of Tuesday, December 15. Outside it was about 5º out, but in my little studio it was cozy warm.

The idea behind this shoot was to wrap Melissa in fabric of various sorts. We were very happy with this sequence as the fabric nearly makes her look like a mermaid and since I shot from below she's very tall and statuesque--and since she's actually 5'3 I think she liked the results very much.

More shots from this shoot--with many more to come--are here.

Sarha

Sarha, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I'm so far behind processing photoshoots that this image is from October 29, and I'm posting it here on November 25. And I'm still not done with this shoot--we've even shot again since then!

This photo and others surrounding it were taken at the local arboretum. They have such a huge variety of trees and other foliage that everywhere you turn there's a different kind of background. Makes for great photos, and it's a paradise for senior and wedding photoshoots. Every time I went there this Fall, there was at least one "professional" photographer leading couples, wedding parties or high school students around.

Sarha is easy to photograph. She's very graceful and almost sublime in almost every shot. She's attended a modeling school and does amazing makeup work as well, but it's her poise that sets her apart. I'm looking forward to our next shoot!

Alina

101608, originally uploaded by austinspace.

As the weather gets colder I find it's harder to motivate myself and a model to go outside and shoot. Thankfully, I have studio lights and a warm little room to shoot in! This shot of Alina is against a black backdrop and I believe she's sitting down. I'm using both of my Alien Bees 800s--one directly in front of her and the other high and to her left pointed down.

Alina's friend Sarha gave me two additional lights that are like mini-novas compared to my Bees, so it will be interesting to incorporate them into shoots. I did use them on this page and they're so bright they leave little shadow to play with. I prefer a little moodier than that, so we'll see how much I end up using them.

I'm pondering a remote battery power pack to haul my lights around on location. That would please Oriana!

Oriana

Oriana, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I'm lucky to have met a great model and more importantly person named Oriana, who seemingly does it all--model, actress, makeup artist and more. We shot at a nearby wildlife refuge (the only wildlife we saw were some bugs) on Columbus Day and more than two weeks later I'm still going through the 735 photos we took that day!

This shot represents more processing than I'm used to, but the effect was good enough to reach Flickr's Explore pages. It's actually two exposures combined in layers--the horizon and sky are one layer, and the rest is another layer on top of that. Since I don't have portable lighting, I had to cheat since I'm facing the sun here.

Oriana was in fact wearing underwear, too, but I cloned it out because it disrupted the lines and looks more natural without it, based on a suggestion by my wife.

Oriana's pose here is what really makes the shot for me. She gives great poses that are interesting without looking forced. We've shot again since but those pix won't see the light of day for at least another week! I'm so far behind...

More of the ever-expanding set of Oriana pix can be found here.

Crystal

Crystal, originally uploaded by austinspace.

This is part of a set on Flickr that Crystal and I did a couple of weeks ago outside of Davenport, Washington.

Because of her amazing makeup and clothing I chose to post them in black and white (I'm also going to give her a set in color) to really make her stand out. These are also more Photoshopped than I usually do in that I'm using the Black and White Image Adjustment in CS3 to intensify the yellows (her hair, the fields) and turn the blues to almost black (the sky). The cool thing is I saved these settings so basically I just have to apply them to each image--sometimes with some minor tweaking--and they're ready to go.

There is winter wheat sprouting at the bottom of those rows, by the way; just not that easy to see.

EWU Women's Track team

EWU Women's Track team, originally uploaded by austinspace.

This was a fun shoot in less than ideal conditions (cool, cloudy, rain off and on) at Manito Park in Spokane, Washington. I'm always wary of shooting groups, as it's hard to get everyone on the same page, but Amber helped wrangle everyone and we had a great time.

Alina and Nicole

Alina and Nicole, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I had a fun shoot with Alina and her friend Nicole a few days ago at Manito Park. Their friend Sarha applied the makeup and the location applied the great light. Of all the shots in their set this one is my favorite. The light is perfect, the gazes are appropriately far-off, and the crop is tight. It was a productive evening.

Lindsi

Lindsi, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Lindsi is a local clothing designer and I've agreed to help her by shooting models wearing her designs. We went out last night to find some ideal locations for our shoot and I told her I'd agree to that IF I could photograph her. I love her very unique look.

This is a car junkyard on Trent Avenue in Spokane, Washington. Its fence, as you can see, is entirely composed of wheel rims. I've shot there before and thought it would be a perfect location for her ideas, and she agreed.

More photos of Lindsi here.

Kirsten

062508, originally uploaded by austinspace.

This is possibly the best shot from a weekday shoot at Amber Lake, a small lake outside Cheney, Washington. There were two boats on the lake total, and it was sunny and warm (though not warm enough water; Kirsten sports goosebumps in many of the pix). The idea was a "lady of the lake" sort of look, and Kirsten did the best she could to keep her dress spread out around her despite the light current and the various air bubbles that would get underneath the garment.

These are shot with my new Canon 40d, which adds megapixels, better and more ISO settings and a huge LCD screen on the back. Oh, and it's quieter, too.

Nicole

Nicole, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Nicole came over in April and helped me break in my studio lights. I have two Alien Bees B800s and our room that's converted into my studio has red walls.

Nicole always comes prepared. She had several changes of clothing with her (you can count them if you want by going to her set page on Flickr and starting in row 6.

We had a blast moving the lights around and experimenting with backlighting, side lighting, one light setups and more. I've since incorporated what I quickly learned with other models and it's been a blast to shoot even with our lousy weather so far this spring.

Now that the weather is improving (well, not today, but lately) I'll be shooting outside again much more, which I prefer. Nicole and I plan a shoot downtown soon, when our schedules sync up again.

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.