Shooting with Mercedez

This post is different because it's two different shoots in one; they were shot close to each other and I figured I could put them on the same blog. I actually try to shoot with different people as much as I can. I think it's too repetitive to post the same person or similar location one after another. I try my best to be as well rounded as I possibly can. 

These two photoshoots were with Mercedez. The first one ended up being a bit more difficult that I thought it would. The trees were denser than I remembered they were the last time I was there but like any photoshoot, you need to make the best of it. 

The forest is amazing to shoot in for bokeh. The little openings in the trees turn into amazing bokeh. They also allow small amounts of light in, which can be used as spotlights. 

One thing I also wasn't ready for was the editing on these photos. On a lot of photos, greens and yellows normally overlap. Because of how much green there was in this set I had to edit them separately using brushes. Now that I think of it, I wonder how they would have turned out in black and white. I do not edit in black and white anymore, mostly because I would not post. It would be pretty interesting to do a blog based off of how my photos would be if I edited them in balck and white. Some of my edits start out in black and white, I like knowing some photos will look good in both black and white and in color. It also helps with getting the lighting write.

For the one below, I was trying to get a good amount of foreground in using some branches. Looking back, I would have wanted something, like anything in the background. The light I used was from one of the openings in the trees. It made a really strong spotlight, which in the end blacked out the background. 

A week later, I think, we met up again to shoot on the beach. By the way, that wasn't the last shot from the forest shoot, there are more that I still have not been able to find the right edit for. The beach shoot was the opposite, there was so much light from the golden hour. And being opposite, not a lot of background bokeh. 

The glasses on this first outfit came out really good. Like all glasses, the reflection is only good when tilted in the right way. The timing on this photo was great, the combination of timing and her pose gave it a lot of movement.

The next set faced the sun a bit more directly. The jean outfit worked really well because of all the natural yellows and other warm colors caused by the golden hour. Contrasting colors allow photos to really pop. Some of the most common ones that I've seen lately are the greenish blue and yellowish orange. I would have used those colors for this one but it would have messed with the skin tone and hair color. 

There are a lot more photos to these shoots, a lot that I don't post. But that's why I have recap blogs, to post the ones that I find out how to edit after I edit the large bunch.

The photo above was also one of my favorites of the set. It was done using a dress thing that I don't know what it's called. I think those photos are the only ones that I got a good amount of foreground in. A reflector was also used to some light on her face since the sun was on her back. 

Could not resist this one one the way down to the beach. Light and position of the rocks was just right on this one. The rocks were actually in the shade but the light was in just the right position to add a bit of rim lighting to her. 

Last photo from the shoot.

Location:

Four Mile Beach

Model:

Mercedez

Adventure with Tiffany

Sometimes you need a bit of help to get you going. Lately, I've been out of the game. Similar things have happened in the past, with art and photos. Sometimes you need a break in to re-inspire yourself and take a breath.

This past weekend I went to San Francisco to shoot with Tiffany. To start off, I have to add this video of us riding down California Street. 

Yes that was me falling at the end, which is why the camera started to move a lot. 

The main Idea behind this shoot was a skater look. The board was one that I painted a few years ago. Tiffany really helped navigate, since I had no idea where I was going and am not good at driving in the city. We started shooting in China town in the middle of the street but moved on because of how busy it was at the time. Tiffany led us to this alley where we some photos with the graffiti as a background. Both Tiffany and the board really popped against the red on one part of the wall and the birds on the left also added some flow to the photo. 

Shooting got a bit more difficult as it got darker. There was also fog, which made it get darker faster. This was one of the last photos in the alley before we moved on. We tried to go up on a rooftop but failed and moved back to China town. 

I'm used to taking my time with photos, being able to set up, line up then take couple similar ones to choose from later. The cars passing did not make this shot easy. Tiffany had to back and forth from the parking spot while I ran to line up as fast as possible. This was definitely my favorite or tied for the night. The color in it ended up really nice. Her amazing hair color also added a lot to every photo. 

This was the shoot I needed to get re-inspire me. I think it was because it was more hanging out with some shooting rather than the shooting being the main focus. A lot of the shoots that I was doing were not boring, but had me completely focused on getting a good photo that it burned me out a bit. Even if I didn't get a good photo, this would've been a good shoot.

Last photo of the night. 

Tiffany's Account: Tiffany

H Influencer Meet

This is the 5th meet I've been to now. The first meet had me excited and nervous, I spent the night before thinking about the different people I'd meet and shoot with. Since then, I've been deterred from going to them a bit. Don't get me wrong, I still think they're a great place to meet people and take photos, but I have been to too many too fast. 

A couple of weeks ago I went to the H influencer meet in the Marin Headlands in San Francisco. I didn't spend as much time shooting as I normally do, which has actually been less and less lately. 

The first photo of Jadon. The lighting on the beach started off strong and gave off a good amount of sun flare. It looks like he's balancing on the rock, although he's actually mid-air after jumping off. In order to keep the pink color theme, I removed some of the other colors and changed the hue to match the color. 

The lighting on the beach was nice while we were there(we moved on to a different location latest). I got a good amount of rim lighting on the photo I took. The most difficult part about editing these photos was balancing the brightness between her, which was in the shadows, and the background, which was close to being backlit. 

Only a 3 photo meet post, shows how much I was shooting. The lighting on the beach slowly went away because it was blocked off by the cliffs on one side. The group moved up to Battery Mendell, which was a location I was familiar with and have shot at before. I didn't really like the lighting at the fort just because it is positioned in a way that blocks off the golden hour light. I don't know what these plants are called but they're everywhere and they look great in the light. Adding foreground was definitely a must for at least a few photos, I feel like my photos have been lacking in that lately. 

Overall this was a good meet. There are a few reasons why I haven't been starting to shoot less at them. People just grabbing models when they're trying to shoot with others or the inability to get a good original photo. But I'll still go to them, only if I know some people at them. 

Last photo of the night. 

Locations:

Black Sand Beach

Battery Mendell

Marin Headlands

Models:

Arii

Jadon

Nessa