Playa Beach, Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Couple of head shot edits from our walk on Playa Beach.

I love to tone black and white prints and I even go as far as avoiding the typical black and white photoshop conversion at all

This takes a little more time but the end result is well worth it.  

Playing with contrast and toning color allows for the creation of all types of vintage feels typically associated with film chemistry.

Even in color images I tend to look for a slight retro look by toning and contrast enhancing the digital image.

I still have a Nikon F5 film camera but I seldom use it anymore.  It is harder and harder to find good film development labs and print houses.

Never owned nor worked in a chemical darkroom so I'm limited to a digital version or Photoshop.

I'm really happy how this shoot session came out ... the focus was on the face ... no fancy wardrobe and the $10 Target glasses set the tone for an uncomplicated editorial photojournalist shoot.

The light that afternoon was too strong to do the shoot without any type of extra dark shades.  Just uncomfortable to work as I experienced first hand ... I had to leave my shades in my pocket as I was shooting and one and other is mutual exclusive.

Working with Sarah Ellis made this almost a walk in the park.  She senses the direction the photographer wants to work in ...  add to that precise directions and each shot will meet expectation.

It is crucial in my opinion to develop a good working relationship with a model and the latter includes a general direction plan for each shoot plus the ability to direct the model while posing or moving freely in space.  

I prefer the latter, it becomes a give and take ... photographer direction versus model improvisation.

Continued ...