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.