Ben and Faye

This is Ben and Faye, a wonderful (and very good looking) model partnership to work with.
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Ben + Faye #1

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Taken at the fantastic Ashton Court Mansion in Bristol, these two shots were with a simple set-up that gives good results every time.
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In the first shot I used my favourite linear set-up; an SB800 in a shoot-through umbrella top camera left and a Vivitar 285, gridded to camera right. Firstly, I all but killed the ambient light. Then I added in the SB800 which 'became' the ambient. Next I added the 285 which gave the rim light to Ben, because it was gridded, its effect had diminished by the time it reached Faye, because I didn't want a hard rim light on her softer features.

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Ben + Faye #2

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The second shot was even easier; one SB800 in a shoot through umbrella to camera right. Here I did want the ambient light to be evident; to show part of the grounds outside. The umbrella was positioned to give just enough bounce back to fill in the shadows on Ben and Fayes to the left side. The ornate stonework to the window and the beautiful timber joinery frame a wonderful couple.

The flashguns were set at 1/2 and 1/4 power and the aperture tweaked as I needed to. my camera, a D200, was set to 1/250, the max sync speed. I usually start at 1/250 at f5.6, ISO 100 and go from there.

A big thanks to Ben and Faye for being fantastic models and good luck in the future.

Sherie, Miss Swindon 2009

I had the wonderful opportunity of photographing Sherie, Miss Swindon 2009, last Autumn and what a shoot that was. We had two sessions, an indoor one in the morning (while it was raining) and an outdoor one later one in the afternoon, when it was colder, but not raining.
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Sherie at Ashton Court, Bristol, #1

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Sherie at Ashton Court, Bristol, #2

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The outdoor shots were taken with the camera, a Nikon D200 set to manual, 1/200th and the aperture at about f5.6. The lighting was by two SB900's set to half and quarter power to give a bit of definition; a classic lighting ratio and it worked really well with Sherie, accentuating her natural beauty.
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The shots could have been done with one light, but given that Sherie was halfway up the steps, (sios, ag dul anios - if your Irish) getting the light elevated high enough would have been difficult. My good friend Glyn Dewis, you can see his blog here, is giving a series of photographic workshops on using one light this year, be sure to check it out.
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Sherie at Ashton Court, Bristol, #3

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The session went really well and the blue dress and purple tights were perfect for the time of year and the shoot. Sherie really had her eye on the ball and chose the perfect outfit for the day.

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Sherie at Ashton Court, Bristol, #4

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Sherie was shot with Pat and Adam, two other 'Bristol Strobist's' I teamed up with last year. A great day was had by all. We are at the moment trying to set up a 'January' shot and hope to shoot it early next month... yeah, I know it'll be February then, but the snow and holidays stopped play! But we have a few good ideas, so watch this space.

I especially want to thank Sherie for being a great model and having patience in the cold Autumn afternoon, next time I'll bring a warm coat for you!

Playing With The Darkness

Charlotte, Laika and Sofia; three incredible Gothic models.
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These girls gelled really well together. It was as if they had known each other for a thousand years; instinctively they knew how to pose, how to relax and how to give all of themselves to the moment. These are some of my favourite shots from the day.
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All the shots were taken on the D200 with a Tamron 17-50 f2.8, set at 1/200 and about f5.6 at ISO 100. We had an SB800 in a shoot through umbrella to the front of the girls and high and a couple of gridded flashes to either side to the rear. Space was a little tight and we had somewhat limited shooting time, but I am more than pleased with the shots.

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The relaxed harmony between them was amazing; it was as if they had memorized their scripts the night before (maybe they had!) but their movement, poise and rapport was second to none and seemed to be second nature. For me, its the darkness in these shots that I like; its the unknowing; it makes me uneasy, on edge, unsure; it tells tales and lets the imagination wander.

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I have no doubt these girls have a future in the modelling world. Good luck Charlotte, Laika and Sofia, I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of you!

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Another big thank you to Ashton Court and Bristol Strobists for organizing a wonderful event!

Miss Scarlett... Celebrating Cluedo's 60th Anniversary

Cluedo has been around for 60 years! The game has inspired many a 'whodunnit' on the big and small screen throughout those sixty years. I remember many a day spent chasing the murderer from the library to the kitchen and through the secret passage ways!

D200, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, SB80 in shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

At  recent shoot in Ashton Court, the theme was loosely based around the great board game. I had been shooting with the Nikon CLS system and decided to switch back to manual triggers, I set up my two light linear system and waited. I turned around and there was Miss Scarlett, or I should say Jess.

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D200, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, SB80 in shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

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We had about five minutes to complete a handful of shots ( I think Jess was looking for Colonel Mustard in the library...)
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D200, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, SB80 in shoot thro' camera left,
Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

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The lighting set up was a simple linear one; the two lights in a line and Jess in the middle and then I just varied the lights to give the effect I wanted. I was shooting at around 1/200th at ISO 100 at f5.6 or so. Jess was a great model to work with and just got it right first time! Thanks Jess and thank you Cluedo!
 
Oh, and Hanleyman did it, in the Music Room, with a D200!

Hannah

This is Hannah.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB900 camera left bare flash, zoomed,

SB800 camera right in shoot thro'

I shot Hannah with two other photographers, Pat and Adam at a recent 'Bristol Strobist' shoot in the magnificent Ashton Court Mansion in Bristol. We had a great day's shooting. Hannah was no stranger to modelling! She was fantastic throughout the day. We only had a short time shooting her but it was great fun. Thanks again, Hannah.

This shot was taken using the Nikon CLS system for controlling the flashguns. Both Pat and Adam had used it in the past, and as we were all Nikon users, that was how we started. Being used to manually controlling the flashguns at source - not the menus back of camera, I could not get to grips with it and found it taxing. But we got some good shots - I was, however, glad we switched to manual triggers later on

This was the best shot I took of Hannah, here are some more...
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Ashton Court Bristol Strobist Meet

More shoes... rather a lot of them actually...

I recently had the good fortune to be part of an incredible meet at Ashton Court in Bristol with a group of about 40 like-minded photographers, 20 amazing models and a handful of very talented make up artists.
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Sherie's Shoes

D200, SB900 1/2 power camera right,

SB900 1/4 power camera left

I am at present editing the selection but I will be posting the best shots here over the next few weeks. Keep watching.