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A Model's Shoot
By Gary Bernstein
I get quite a few emails every month asking for tips on shooting a model's composite or ZED card. Let's look at a shoot I did for a young model-actress recently by the name of Casey Williams. It was her very first photo-session ever, and I will take you through the entire process a step at a time-to be continued in my next column.
I rented a studio in L.A. and hired the best hair and makeup in the country (truly) in the persona of talented Jeff Jones. Jeff has made me look good for about 20 years-maybe more-but neither of us will admit it. All the shots were made in and around the studio-using the studio elements as a backdrop and as props. Let's go through the session from the start…
All the shots were made with a 6 mp camera and a short telephoto lens. I shot jpgs at E.I. 1600 and used hot lights for the
entire session. I used Lexar Professional SD cards as my media.
Most subjects are uptight before the first shot-and certainly before the first session! I don't know if that was the
situation with Casey, because she worked the camera like a pro from the onset…but I always try to loosen up the subject
by cranking some film (or whatever you call it when you're shooting digital). Why? Because not only does it relax the
subject and lets her know how easy and fun it's going to be, but also…because I'm always antsy as heck before I get off
the first shot-regardless of the kind of shoot. It was the same way in the martial arts. Until you felt that first hit
it seemed like an eternity…
So I started shooting while Jeff was still finishing Casey's makeup. I placed my light on a small straight stand to the
right of the model-maybe 4 feet away, and my assistant placed a Bernstein-Chimera Reflector (www.chimeralighting.com)
beneath Casey's face to camera left. I used a small (maybe 30") shoot-thru umbrella to soften my light. You can see it
in the mirror behind Casey.
Then I moved in for a close-up. You see the entire frame in images 1 through 3 uncropped-just the way I saw them in the finder. But after so many years of working for the magazines and commercial clients, I tend to see page layouts in my mind's eye as I shoot…so I was envisioning a cover layout. Typically I want the subject's eyes in the upper third of the frame…and when the type is placed, it effectively crops the top as needed and forces the viewer that much more to Casey's eyes.
Image 5.
Then…
I moved my light to the left; moved my camera position as well to pick up the interesting glass background…said "smile"…and oh my gosh!!
Casey's got braces!! How cute, and how cool is this!? So just watch and see the various levels of sophistication that can be achieved
photographically throughout the course of this session. YOU have that same ability through camera angles, lighting, placement of your
reflector, posing, lens length, use of contrast, etc., etc., EVERY time you shoot. That's what makes photography so darn exciting.
And with digital-you get to see your results (or your mistakes) every time you fire a frame…and it's FREE…the learning experience is FREE!
That, too, is the beauty of digital photography.
OK, let's analyze the nature of these shots so far. The main light always comes from above-at about a 45-degree angle. Does it have to? No. In fact, we'll end this column with a shot made later in the session that uses a significantly lower main light. For these shots, however, I used a slightly angular light to bring out more depth in Casey's youthful features. I went for low contrast on these first shots-the makeup was softer as well at the start of the session.
I used a 1:2 lighting ratio usually…nice and soft…achieved by bringing the light source in close to the subject…which in effect makes the light source larger relative to the subject. That's what creates lower contrast. Small light sources (relative to the subject) increase the contrast. I used short telephoto lenses-compressing distances just a bit-creating a strong facial perspective while softening the background slightly. I don't pose. I watch. And suggest.
And now, here's one of the shots made later in the session…with that lower light source…so low, that it's below the level of the eyes. Be careful-you can create "monster" lighting if you're not careful…but it's easier with when you're shooting "youth."
By the way, I make a lot of my own prints and client's prints-often up to 20 inches. I have been using the very cool HP
Photosmart 8750, and most recently the remarkable (and I mean REMARKABLE) HP B9180 that is a pigment
printer (8 separate inks) with archival permanence of 200 plus years. Awesome! HP B9180.
More on Casey's session next column…
For now, we'll finish with one of my newest renditions of a classic…from my Christmas 2007 book release called The
African American Collection. This is a shot of the one, the only, the great, the best…Mr. October…Reggie Jackson
of the New York Yankees from 1979…New York City, shot in the Park Avenue penthouse of designer Jean-Paul Germain.
It was my first shoot with the slugger…to be followed by many more over many years. I flew in on the red-eye to
do the shoot for Jean-Paul; and Reg had just had an argument with George Steinbrenner. He was not in a good
mood-which was just fine with me. I just enjoyed capturing it on film. The image was made with one light,
one reflector, on 35mm Kodachrome 25 (www.kodak.com) and a short
tele…most of which should sound familiar.
And for more tips and tricks, please check out my book for Marathon Press
(www.MarathonPress.com) entitled The
Glamorous World of People Photography Bernstein Book.
Editor's note: You can write to Gary Bernstein at info@garybernsteinstudio.com.
All Photos © 2006 Gary Bernstein . All Rights Reserved
Gary Bernstein Bio
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