Gemini, Chaired, June 2008

Some photographers are "shoot from the hip" people -- they get the model to a location, and they just react to what's there. Other photographers do a lot of planning, coming up with concepts & working to execute those ideas. In particular, those photographers who use artificial light tend to be "planners", because good artificial light doesn't just happen, it is crafted.

So, when I'm planning a sitting, I like to do a good deal of pre-planning. I usually plan certain lighting setups, and then we make fine tuning adjustments as we go along. Most often, however, I like to create these setups based on my understanding of how the model moves & reacts. This is difficult when it comes to new-to-me models. I don't know how they move; I don't know what our chemistry is going to be like. So, I use a generic & simple setup, and we'll see what happens.

Another advantage to experienced models: they don't get tired (or if they do, they can hide it). Although this was a short session, I think that Gemini ran out of energy every now & then, once we got the strobe lights & big comfy chair set up.
But she recovers quickly, and her laughing playfulness comes back.

We made this picture especially for her fiancé, who is a fan of, umm, what you see here.

What do I mean when I say that Gemini is a bit tired? Her eyes often wander away from the camera, and she blinks a little more. But that's okay -- if I wait, her good humor & enthusiasm comes back. I really don't mind -- every image you see is a product of all the images that came before. It's a process.

See? A "tired" picture, but a charming one, nonetheless.

Okay -- I felt that I needed to shake things up a bit. So, I change the lighting. Previously, the main light came from a large soft box, off to the left of the camera. I move the main light, using a small-ish reflector placed above & slightly in front of Gemini, above her head.

I like this lighting. It's a good change of pace for us.

These "lit from above" setups can be very dramatic, but if the model holds her head straight, her face is often in shadow. This can be countered by asking the model to tilt her head back. While that will allow her face to be lit, the shape/pose often looks awkward. What are you going to do?

Just to see what it would look like, I ask Gemini to get up on her knees, and I like the effect.
My living room is fairly big, but even so, it's not really big enough to be a good studio. Although the ceilings are 9.5 feet high, and maybe 20 feet wide, that still means that the strobe light heads are fairly close to the model. That means that minor changes in position can translate into major changes in the lighting. This is a case in point -- Gemini's torso is only inches closer to the camera than where it was when she was sitting, but the changes in the shadows is significant.

Another advantage -- Gemini is more comfortable moving around when she's up kneeling.

I ask Gemini to move around a bit. It's a big challenge for any model -- she's got to find graceful shapes, maintain a reasonable amount of comfort, and remember to cheat her face up towards the light. Gemini does well.

Gemini was a great amount of fun. She was always laughing. For a first modeling experience, she did great.