Introducing Dominque, December 2008

I'm a big believer in building a local artistic community. I also appreciate that, when I was starting out, there were plenty of more experienced & talented photographers & models who helped me out, spending time with me. In particular, there were plenty of well known models who agreed to pose for me, despite my lack of experience.

I can't pay them back, but I can pay it forward. On occasion, I gladly agree to work with a young, less experienced model. Like Dominique, here. She contacted me & asked me to create some photos for her portfolio. I agreed.

We start with me "Getting Started" setup -- I really like doing this. Heck, I would love to do this every time.
I like Dominique -- she has "attitude".

I was Dominique's idea to save the scarf for last. I approve. I'm glad she's bring her ideas to the sitting.

Heretofore, Dominique & I were using the strobe lights, but this day was a rare sunny winter day. When the sun shone especially bright, we raised the shade on the window & shut off the strobes. I like how the hard angle light looks on the background.

This being the Pacific Northwest in winter, bright sunshine is rare, and it never lasts. Still, Mother Nature makes good light. Hard or soft shadows -- I do like this light.

The light changes rapidly. The image below was made just a split second after this image to the left. Check out the shadows.

As is the tradition with winder Pacific Northwest sunlight, it goes away without notice. So, I fire up the strobes again.
I'm using the large softbox, which creates soft light. It provides an interesting contrast with the images that immediately preceded this one.

I like the "unguarded moment" of the expression on Dominique's face. For the record -- I don't have an assistant, so all the work falls on my shoulders:

	Half my attention is devoted to the aesthetics -- what is it that I want to photograph; what should the photograph look like?
	Half my attention is devote to the technical aspects of the photograph -- what exposure should I use; what do I need to record in order to achieve the final photograph?
	The final half of my attention is devoted to communicating with the model; I like natural reactions on the model's face -- what should I say to get the appropriate reaction from the model?

Yes, that adds up to 1½ or 150% -- that's how it feels sometimes. So, I devote my attention to these topics in turns -- so when I'm setting up the lights, for example, I might not be communicating with the model. Hence, expressions like this.

It'll be interesting to compare this picture to the left with the one directly below.

The image to the left was lit only with the big honkin' softbox -- sure, Dominique's far side is catching a bit of the reflected light that's bouncing off the wall.

I added a back light off the right side of the image to fill in some of the shadows.

At the time, I thought I was improving the lighting by adding the second light, but in retrospect, I think I like the original light a lot more.

Artful Dominique