Lauren Marini

I really ought to have a better habit of posting updates and thoughts after my shoots but I don't. In my defense, it was only yesterday that we shot Lauren in her "portrayal of magenta" and "airy/dreamy in blue" (can't think of a better way to describe the theme/style of the shoot). Furthermore after shooting yesterday, I was out of the house the entire day and much of today as well.

In any event, I sat down in front of the computer earlier today to look through some of the files that were importing into the Macbook. Liking what I was seeing early on in the import, I chose to process two of her pictures. I suppose I should really wait until I finish processing the rest of the pictures before I draw any conclusions but since I've been exporting the finished product to flickr and directing some traffic to this blog, I guess I ought to provide some content to the audience.

It's been a couple weeks since I've shot in studio and several things have changed. Firs off, this is the first time I've shot with my second and third AB800. Barn doors and grids on the AB800's make for an easier time controlling light. That said, as kicker/rim lights it's still hard not to get flare into the lens with the angles that I'm using. Anyway, as this particular shoot did not require the full-length body shot, I had the luxury of placing an SB-800 on a stand behind Lauren (out of view) to provide a good blob of magenta (gelled) light. Thirdly my taste in post-processing has changed a little as I'm moving away from the hyper-realism and punchy look that most of my pictures have had in the past and moving towards something a little more organic and natural. This is reflected in my use of B&W and less colors during post-processing. You can also see that the ratio of stops between main light and fill light, isn't as big as it used to be. That is to say that even though the main light is coming from a different angle as the fill light, they are closer in exposure thus providing more even lighting. Oh and did I mention I got a wind machine? It's actually a Lasko Pro Performance fan that doubles as a paint-dryer and a photographer-cooler. Lastly there have been other subtle changes in my photography such as wanting to do something a little different with every shoot and making variations to existing set setups.

Working with Lauren was a breeze because she's used to being in front of an audience (theater). In fact she was giving me enough different looks where I didn't have to provide much direction; which is probably my biggest weakness to begin with. The shoot went by in the blink of an eye and we shot two completely different looks as you will see here... as soon as I finish processing the rest of her pictures ;)