Lessons

Lesson Info

General Q&A

First question. Just from the last section is from katie winter flood, who asked for the most part, would you say that you use a beauty dish just for beauty shots and the south box for more fashion oriented, where you need more light coverage on the clothes? Or would you use the beauty dish for sales other than just beauty? I've used beauty dishes before for mid length photos, or I have a model sitting on the floor and having the beauty it is coming down. A reason for that is that it gives a contrast id light. So if you doing something like film noir, if you doing something where you need a harsh light, it's the perfect go to light it's. Great, because you can also defuse it and get a little bit softer. Um, but it's definitely not something you can just use for beauty dish that's, just technically in name. But for what I do, I favor, um, natural light and soft light in so that's why I go to the self bucks. Yiddish for me is great for beauty and great for concepts whyyou have harsh ligh...

t or a particular theme that you would need it for uh cosmo be notice says I noticed the models hold for the shutter and after the shop move and come back to about the same position is that a common modelling technique that freshens the pose or is that something that you would ask someone to do? I mean that when they're modeling they kind of and then come back I think that's just them kind of figuring out what works and then then expect me to guide them from it because they can't see what they're doing and this happens more with models that don't have as much sex spirits so this is a good point that you know, you've encouraged them to do that um and it also shakes them up so if something isn't working it enables them to just go okay and then reflect on what they're doing and come back to it as well. But a question from cooley photography are there any poses that you want to stay away from in particular? Um maybe if we think about one of the chutes or yeah it's it depends for this kind of shoot I would kind of references to what I've done today there's not been some but you know, I want a model sitting there with alexis out on the floor you know, just kind of there's, a lot of poses that you shouldn't really do with fashion, maybe it's, the way that knew the legs are portrayed, or the fact the hands of this way so you can have a hard time editing. And if you kind of get a model's bad points rather than the good points as well. So this I think that comes down to knowing the model in knowing the theme and how it comes together. Uh, one pink pepper. Um says then you talked a little bit about this. What is your trick to keep the energy for the whole shoot after I find myself kind of in a rush tired for the last part of the shoot? When I do editorial, do you kind of keep a schedule in a certain time? Every look, yes, I try to stick to it. Although it's hard when you've got changes in a big team onboard. Um, to keep the energy, I usually have music, usually the models. Preference of something really upbeat. I'm often taking breaks. I make sure the models have refreshed credit chamber light. You have enough water. Had something to eat. We break for lunch, um, and just yeah, making sure that everyone's comfortable on the shoe and if you're inspired by what you do and then you're gonna be excited to shoot it well, this is an interesting question from a drain far in england addie who says many fashion pictures show the model's mouth slightly open and for a new model how would you describe this look to them so that they get it right and it doesn't look awkward that's a good question, I think that give them some visual references say that he is an example of what works and that everyone does this just tell them the reason why you're doing it is because you want them till it relaxed and not forced because models sometimes when they go in front of the camera they like they're very they're standing there and the models their mouths closed and they look really un relax so it's good to kind of, you know make them chill like make sure that their shoulders a kind of you know and just let them kind of play around a little bit tell them to just relax and blow out through your mouth yeah, and it opens a little bit and then you can tell them to exaggerated or one out another one from kitty winter flood actually great questions when shooting one model you mentioned you focus on the ice with your manual focus when working with two models how do you choose your point of focus that depends on whether I'm doing a wide aptitude or not, but when I would do in this shot down the bottom with t models, actually, shelby is a little bit out of focus, but that's okay for me? Because the focus is on the scene with the shoot in the mood when I'm shooting team models beauty thing here, you could actually use a longer lens to do that, like you could have a longer lens and stand back, which is like the seventy, two hundred for me. I just try and focus, I get the girls on the same level, so when I'm doing things like beauty, I have the girl standing next to each other and I kind of focus on boys with their eyes, both eyes on each girl kind of take a lot of shots to know which ones in focus way have a question from michael tolls photography in atlanta who says, would you say that your shots tell more of a story or with a busier background rather than a solid paper background for which what's your favorite? When do you choose what mine is? Stephanie location? Sure, that's how I've learned photography, there's just something about background that adds interest and makes you inspired so many areas you can shoot, like down on the ground like this. Skyline and locations just so many different perspective as well when you shoot a seamless like you're the crater of the background, you're the one that can create what's going on often when I'm shooting on seamus, I've got really in the mood lately to use an old chair and an old vintage backgrounds, and this is what we're gonna be doing tomorrow. Something teach dresses so that's another way of making it interesting. So it isn't just a seamus is actually like, you know, a grady in like something interesting with the texture in the background, too, aneel batra says, laura, you've mentioned you shoot wide open and bring back some details from scott uh, why not use strobe lights that you can stop down and maintain that detail in camera? It's affect the visual quality of your style? Is this outside shooting? Yeah, I don't like he's in, um lighting outside because I feel that it kills the natural look at the shot I favored natural lighting, so I'm not gonna bring too much of that background back it's just a hint of blue and it's so easy for me to go in for the sheldon selected area and tone it because I tone the majority of my work anyway was like, selective, full of adjustments to uh so you've done all this editorial shoot and how do you present the images to the client is a question that is coming from mackenzie see she says how do you present your images to the client do you send them raw files and they choose which ones you process okay we're gonna be touching based more on the editorial in submission on day three but it's a good question about that I always send I was select images say I shoot like eight hundred to a thousand images of an editorial shoot I select down and I focus on say sixty eighty shots and I send small read some j pegs to the client so they could come back with feedback and then go from that do you do any of the retouching on maybe one or two of this elects to give them idea of what the before and after would look like I don't do a full edit because it takes so much time which is a little bit of a waste if you like you know using it but I do a treatment which he is no skin a detainee is just a color treatment teo give them an idea it's like cubs um you call a contrast and adding a little bit of color and say okay so here's the treatment here's the unedited j peg falls what you saw when you are looking at the back of the camera on a shoot are you using the history ram or you're just judging the general look on the lcd I know you said you're not very technical but what do you use to judge the light honey I kind of trust what I see I can tell with hot spots if it's to blowing out if it's not I try and go a little bit brighter especially when I do that quite in and I'm not scared to do that um when I shot actually the one on the wall behind you that's exactly what I did there shocked the american indian with force that's what I did that so it does look quite dull and overexposed but when you're in a photo shop to bring in that contrast back so I kind of already seen my shots we touched when I'm shooting them so it's good to get to know you you're retouching saul so familiar when you shot something you know how it's gonna look so a question from gratis and this came earlier and as a couple people asked us what are your favorite magazines for inspiration these days despite obviously all they like interesting voice like vogue italia bug russia I love those folk australia um I love things like I always say magazine like something with something a little bit different I don't like um you know that I don't like them like my silence small creative which lends itself more to the european market and there's a lot of independent european fashion magazines that amazing photographers they're involved with and it's so inspirational when you looked for them for people who are getting just getting started and still trying to figure out their own style shannon hamilton photography was wondering what are some exercises that her and others should do to further pinpoint and defined their style okay tomorrow's gonna be a day of talking about style which would talk about but it really is just about experiment in developing new side as much as possible fruit um just surprising yourself going out there and working with the concept even if you don't think it's gonna work um so this is what we're gonna be touching based on tomorrow but like I went into some underwater shooting and experimented with it and you know it wasn't technically perfect but I love the fact that it was inspired after I shot it and it really made me think about trying new ideas. And I think that's the thing, trying to seem a tissue can in the beginning, figuring out what your stylist and adding your personality to mixed way talked about magazines and dave. Dave g had asked earlier what other fashion photographers are your inspire. You are, including tio, and then I got that outside of photography. Where do you look? Okay, so photography is definitely like the masses, like abadan, um, stephen myself. All in fun and work definitely female photographer fashion because there's not many of us um they they at that kind of feminine teach they work that I really appreciate um, annie liebovitz for the way that she goes out of the way and produces beautiful concepts sally mann for intimate portrait so I love that connection she has and then for inspiration outside of photography definitely things like, you know, movies, music and itself like old are reading books. I try to keep updating on many things as possible and also researching fashion trends what's coming back in style like possibly predicting what yourself, what could come back in style to, um, keep dean is wondering when you're shooting an editorial on using various locations in lighting situations. Do you find it difficult to keep the post processing consistent that's a difficult one, but if you keep the light in consistent, whether it's you going outside and use them to few side and using too few sliding indoors, you can keep it consistent by the tone. So whenever I do something like that, if I have like a black tone, I take the black toe like a red I take the white still like yellow, so they all have that same consistency and if the clothing and the girl looked very similar, it's almost like you following her as a story um, what we shot today is definitely not as consistent because I'm showing you so many different techniques, but if I want to shoot this is an editorial eye probably focus on this background so you focus here and focus on here so I wouldn't have shot on the seamless these go together as a set and I wouldn't have shot with the beauty dish because these two top corner on the bottom right corner they're very different shots. We talked about this a little bit earlier, but we have another question from essence when working with less professional models or newer models what advice, guidance and relax ation techniques do you use? Um again the music thing is a really good technique just making them feel relaxed, getting to know them before the shoot is really important like sitting down with them before harem makeup and maybe get them to come a little bit earlier getting to know them because I think most people have preconceived concept that you know you're you're the stever and you're going to be really harsh to them on on the set, especially new models they no, they hear all these horror stories so it's great to get them ahead of time and surprise them go for you work so this is what I'm doing this is the concept and just get them to know the shoot in the team and what what's expected of them tio mentioned that you started out with friends so when was the turning point at you decide oh, I need to goto agency to look for models for agencies I would say it was when I moved to london because I felt that I was in a new market there and I needed to really push to the next level and that was the only way that I could get involved with what I wanted to do. So when I was about eighteen was the time that I did that about four years three years into my career, right? Okay, um we are getting close to the end here. Do you have any closing thoughts for the day? Um, I think just from the general feel of the shoot today that I hope that everybody has took something from this. I mean, the main thing I want people to realize is that you don't have to have all the money in the world to be fashion photographer or taking fashion kind of essence into bone work. This could be achieved on a budget. You just have to have a great buy for you casting for the props for the stylin and just going experiment and surprise yourself fantastic. Well, what an incredible day folks here in new york city when I look up at the screen and I see how many shoots we did it's really incredible that we did that all, um, and I hope that you, we're with us and learned so much from laura today. So I want to give a big thank you to several folks, teo, all of you out here who joined us and asked wonderful questions who had a discussion in the chat rooms. Thank you to canoe studios for having us here, and a big thanks to your creative team. We had such a amazing today, great crew of people. We had karen, karen and alexander and debra and cat and aaron. And then we have photos since luke and john cornyn cello. Thank you to the models, shelby in catherine, who were incredible. And, uh, thank you again, to our in studio audience and a big, big, big thank you to miss lara. Jade let's. Give laura a great liar and a fraud.