Lessons

Lesson Info

Shoot: Senior Girl

How are you? Good, good, good, good we met in hair makeup so we're practically best friends already like we practiced almost cousins that's how close we are so we're going to start we're going to start with just getting some stuff some stuff set up so first thing we do is I'm just gonna have her take her place and I will set the lights up around her so I might have it coming soon right here from and then we have these two reflectors and actually think we're only going to use one right now these are from j g professional lighting so the company that we used to use for these went out of business and these are the first times I seen these and I could tell you right now that there are some things that this company is doing that is just better on the other ones that we had the other ones that we had used to be kind of a trick to get him to stand up right? And he said it's just a really easy big reflector this is the whole concept is that it's this massive thing that's just gonna push light ...

across her whole body? Okay, so we're gonna bring our light in right there, which tells that way perfect all right and is even fired on so the lights on and as we're talking about this light is going to come out and we can see what this modeling light that we have light falling across her body right but we can also see that we aren't gonna get it good on this side so we need to bring in this reflector I like to bring my light as close to my subject as I can without being in the photo and I like to bring my reflector is close to my subjects I can without being in the photo so we're going to go and and hit this reflector at this angle bringing in close close close cool now I always take a lighting test shots just to make sure it looks good and I will usually say something like don't worry this one doesn't count and oh I got turned on uh it's awesome all right, so what I'm gonna have you do caroline is I want you to point your toes a little bit more that way perfect. All right so just remember honey, that things that are close to the camera always looked bigger than things that are further away yes, she went the right leg that's perfect. Is that a hair tires that like bracelet? Okay, cool can take it offers that on there for life let's take it off, give it back I'll give you have that on for like since third grade I love it yeah, I'm giving it I'm giving it to my uncle he's got it now I so ben that leg for me perfect right now I want you to just do you have a key hook your thumbs in your front pockets for me you have fake pockets okay? Do you have about pockets? All right? Just get your hands in pockets from keep the other one in there too awesome all right, really good posture and when in return your shoulders towards with just a little bit perfect. All right, so this is your head I want you to tell just a little that way. Perfect. All right, hold it right there. All right, so, senior picture you've got to look angry you're allowed to smile on him, but one thing actually I take that picture you got some crazy hair going across her neck. Perfect. Awesome. Perfect. So we got one shot it's good and I don't know is it popping up ladies good, totally sellable image. We have one little floop to do hair on the side but I can take care of that and we cleaned all that stuff on her neck, which is going to give it I'm not going to spend any time in photo shop working on our neck line got it all right, he separate your feet just a little bit for me azem so both of them yes all right all right so I want you to cross your arms high across the chest for me awesome can kind of tuck those fingers in in the back there I don't want to see them signal yes yes it's all right perfect right here big smile fake it beautiful got it. All right, awesome. All right let's bring in that chair the big goofy chair all right, so we're gonna bring in a chair and use some of this for the posey I really like to make sure that I'm mixing it up I like to do some standing I like to do some city and I like to do some laying down on the ground all right, well, uh come far, far forward both of you for right there all right someone have you sit on this chair and I'm going what was that? Yes, please. Perfect. So I'm going to actually break one of the rules that I told you guys because I told you when you have someone down in chair you want to make sure that they're sitting on the edge in this case I'm not going to do that because I want supposed to be a little bit different so I want you to get your butt in the back back corner of that and then this isn't your mom's house feel free to put your feet on the furniture both of them I'm gonna have you have you hug around your your yes perfect cute now point your toes that way like pivot on your butt turn turn, turn, turn, turn, turn turn turn tricks you got it you got it if it hurts it's working if it's awkward it looks good perfect right here. Beautiful so I'm just checking my it's awesome that's tack chart it's good. All right when I have you, um bring your butt to the edge of the chair can you just kind of lean on that arm rest for me? Awesome. Can you hook your ankles formy awesome, really good posture for me and that would take that other hand just put any thought for me. Beautiful. All right, so I brought her forward, so I gotta move my reflector and I gotta move my light. Well, lights actually gonna be all right. Yeah, but we're just going to move the reflector to make sure that we're bringing that light into her face still all right, you got this one rogue hair that side I'm going to go ahead and get it for you it's right here where you kind of just took that and there you go, all right, so now I feel comfortable doing this because I was on international live broadcast, but and we're family so it's a game but had that been a really client, I would move the reflector I legitimately would've moved the reflector to show you guys me touching her hair so that was a rule that I just broke, but it was done because of the environment wearing don't do that in real life. All right? We're going to do just like a little bit I don't want a big cheesy smile this time so what I want to do is just relax your face like you're breathing out of your mouth cool so this is your head I'm going to tell just little bit this way and chin down just a hair perfect. Awesome. Chin up. All right, I lied. I want you smile. Perfect, cool. Quick peek in s o all right, hop up for me. All right, let's, slide this chair out and I'm gonna have you take a seat all the way down on your butt, all right? And were dropped that light down a little bit lower not, um slide over this way we go that's good. All right, so what I want you to do is I'm gonna have you bring your left foot all the way up, I want you to hug around it, okay, cool and yes, I love it perfect right here, all right, big cheesy smile lie to me there it is perfect. And we're going to do one more kind of similar to this I want youto I'm just going to show you the pose. E I want you to kind of bring this foot up like this. Perfect. Yes love it. All right, go change six shots. We got it. So she's gonna go change outfits and we're going to change out our set real quick. Um, do we have questions? You guys kind of see? The theory behind this is that we're trying to we have a very set order. I know the poses were going to do before we start and we go with it, right? Who makes this reflector? You were saying that the company that you originally went to belle's g lighting I'm actually super excited about these, like I'm gonna order a bunch of these o j g j g professional ladies dot com and, um, the place where you see is that they're no longer around and so I haven't had to buy reflectors because it's kind of a purchase by a good reflector like and buy something that you're going to keep because reflectors don't really go out of style, you're always as a photographer going to need a reflector, and you're always going to be able to like, if you buy a good one, it stays forever you don't need to shop those out like they aren't gonna it's not like a camera where there's like a new one that's so crazy you have to get it so quick question from let's see, I forget who it was but was asking mr iowa was asking whether you have music playing in the studio or not yeah is that I don't think you need to create the mood yeah and it's important to have music playing but you also don't want to have it be like crazy like a like a rave or something so they can't hear you talk you want to still be able to communicate with your clients, but if you have some music going if there's like a little lull in the conversation it's not awkward and a lot of times what I will do is I'll ask kids when they come in I'll say what? What what's your favorite pandora radio station and I'll just put that on and sometimes a lot of times it's inappropriate for me to put that music I'm like they have stuff and it's like your mom's here, man like we might not want to listen tio rage against the machine like that might not be a good experience for mom and in those situations I just like kind of pick what I want to listen to so what's up so kind to part so those watching the settings and you're shooting it like f ten enough eleven so everything's really sharp obviously that background you nice boca look just off that background. But if you're shooting on something else, you know, like you got the corrugated tin or something, are you cranking down tow? Try toe know I have I have spider lights, the td six spider lights I don't know if you guys are familiar with those it's fluorescent constant light, which is kind of a nice lighting system because you I can see exactly what you're getting there's no guessing like you, we would have a the flash, but what? That system, what kind of stinks about the cat stinks, but I think you got to go way up on your esso and it becomes a little bit harder to work. I use that a lot with the babies because they don't have the flash and because my studios in a basement, I don't have existing night, you don't have it so that's, what we would use for that situation, caroline, come back on and we're going going to start setting some of you still ask questions, I'm just gonna start setting her of the other thing you mentioned yesterdays you're using the centre point for focus back button focus no hit it recompose okay, yeah, I like I never got into the whole back from focus thing like I tried it it and I can't do it I will use on go talk about this in segment three I do use the exposure lock okay and so I will use that and that's actually really big when I photograph outside if like a lakes in the background because I'm shooting with a lake in the background you're getting like the media rincon get weird because of the reflection in the lake so cool ready yeah all right cool um we're gonna go actually write about there's good let's go somebody's this chair alright so I faith that you can do this pose okay but I couldn't do this post so I can't show you this suppose so if you're hoping for an example you will not get it for me have a seat crisscross applesauce there it is all right all right super good posture for me tell tell tell that's all all right let me tell you what just little bit this way awesome chin down awesome that that hair right here yep. You got it was putting out all right and then I want you burn your hands toe right where yu yes, total tall. All right right here. All right awesome all right, now that one I'm actually gonna delete in camera because I'm sure I'm one good card and I think that was kind of a bogus smile and I wasn't happy with it so we're going to redo it and we're gonna actually commit to this photo that we're gonna have a great smile and I only have like three jokes so you gotta laugh at all of them the whole time right here got it cool. All right, can you hop up for me and flip that chair around? All right, slide it back like a foot slide it back to the pull the chair back that way go cool. All right? I want you straddle the chair so I used to say I want you to sit like the fonz and in the first year that I had kids have no idea what I was talking about I felt so outrageously old but I was like yeah I guess that that works cool all right um bring yourself closer to the back of the chair. All right, you go it's perfect with jenna got it and there's actually one more pose that I want to do with that big poofy chairs we're gonna swap out the chairs real quick and I'm actually gonna have you point this chair like with the back towards the camera all right, so I want you to come on in and kneel on the chair alright come all the way forward for for it all right, so I want you to put your hap about sharia I can do this one so all right so you're gonna come on in and I want you to come on down and get one arm across like this like on this thing and I want your other hand kind of combined unit let's go look way better when you do it so hashtag truth knave you hitting the girl high school senior girl poses never sells but the viewer numbers go up like everyone look at this guy calling the body I don't want your hand like this because that's gonna kind of smash up your face so I don't want to take your fingers slide it back behind your awesome yes bring that hand closer to your elbow and then we gotta bring our fingers together so side note little photography tips something that I learned that it was really helpful your hand is like the size your face okay, this could be incredibly distracting so you always want to make sure that you don't have like this big bear claw thing and let people pose their hands and that wasn't what you were doing but you don't want to have like this big massive lighter r I think because it's huge you should bring the fingers together everything's soft and minimize that so it's not something has been another piece of flashes biggest their face awesome let's try that serious look one more time alright chin up beautiful. Alright, hop up. We're gonna pull that chair out. Wait, come stand right here for me. Awesome. So I also told you guys that it's a really bad idea to shoot high school girls straight on, right? I told you that we never, ever do that. We're gonna break that rule, too, because she is anybody teeny tiny. And we can make this look good. So I know lex I d hey, everybody good. I come forward. Go that way. Take a step. That way they got perfect. Don't move! Don't move! Don't move. All right. Question wey, aren't we're going to do symmetry this time so it doesn't matter. So what I'm gonna have you dio is separate your legs and I want you to give me some help. Awesome key. Separate your legs just a little more and then hook your thumbs in your pockets. Actually hook him in your belt loops, like, right up here, both of you attitude. Got it. Cool. All right. And I want you to do one more pose with you. So I actually want you to turn so your toes are almost all the way to that wall. Keep going. Just a little more perfect, right to separate your feet, a ridiculous amount. All right now I want you to turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn turn, turn, turn, turn turn no other way you're doing it right it's more yes perfect took your thumbs again for me actually can you put your right hand on your hip for me and the job your left one yes now turned on turned her drinking yes right there hold that you want to play a shirt down just a little bit right there I want your dad to call me ah one more got it alright cool so all right, so we'll do one more pose and I feel like we've gotten to know each other well like we're like we're buddies right? We're friends we could be cool so what I'm gonna do is I'm actually gonna make you like fake it for a pose and you're just gonna have to do a little bit of acting for me so you actually go back that was cute put your hand in here like that awesome. Awesome. I want you to relax that bring that elbow down just a little bit cool hook that thumb in your pocket turn, turn, turn, turn, turn awesome alright, get really good posture hold that for your chin down turn your shoulders towards me don't look like a deer in a headlight smile happy half you were excited to get our pictures taken. Got it. All right, cool, cool, cool, cool. All right, I want to do one more. I'm gonna have you sit down on your butt criss cross applesauce, okay? And for this picture, ah, lot of times, like, people will see my work, and they're like, oh my god, she got, like, a great expression of a kid laughing and it's. Amazing. How did you get that? Honestly, I just tell them to laugh hysterically, and it feels so stupid, evers and you're like, I don't know what I'm doing, and I'm like, just just laugh, killing way, got it so way. Got it? All right, thank you, thank you, thank you. All right, you're wonderful, I appreciate it. You made my job so easy, so thank you. So grab a coke and a smile.