Fashion Photography School - Part 2

The first half of my assignments are here.

For the next assignment, each group had to style and photograph a look together.
I don't know if you've ever had to have 3 stylists/photographers agree on one look, but it's not great.  Our group was going for an actress backstage kind of look.  I brought the hat (I'm no stylist) and we tried to put something together based on that.  In the end, I think it wasn't something that 2 out of 3 of us were happy with, and the set too. Oh well.

I've put my before and after shots together.   One out of the camera and one after I edited, smoothing hair and getting some of the black back that was stolen by the lens flare. 

I was frustrated with the clutter in the shot, and eventually changed the light and direction and shot this. 

I was much happier with this look.  Again, the shot out of camera and the one after I got rid of the fuzzball behind her head. 

The other groups made their own looks and shot them around the studio too, the rest of the class could snap a few frames if they wanted.  I loved this 'dress' from Zara that one group used. 

And the last group had everyone crammed into the ladies room. 

This was my fave one to sneak shot of, I liked the vibe they had. 

And after the group was done, I stole the model for a second because they didn't use the great light near the mirrors.  

There you have it! My short semester shortened into 2 posts.
Have a great weekend!

Fashion Photography School - Part 1

I'm a little late in mentioning that I started another course, Fashion Photography, in the first week of May.  Now we are finished.   It was a shortened summer semester with class 2 nights a week for 3 hours.  Also of note is that it wasn't in the photography department, but in the fashion one.   Thus, all of my classmates were aspiring stylists and designers, which is pretty cool.

We spent a lot of time tearing up magazines and discussing the photographs.  What type of lens was used?  How did they light the shot? What about this shot makes you like it so much?

We also had some mini shoots in studio, creating images of our own. 

For the first assignment we had to photograph our group members.  This is group 4!
L, me, A

I took this photo of A, feeling the newly warm weather.

Then I got sick of this look and changed everything up - I took this, which I still haven't touched up in Photoshop to get rid of the frizzies.

A took this photo of me, inspired by Lilo's ads for Miu Miu. 

And then I modeled for L as well.  These shots are a little more interesting...
Let's just say there is a huge sense of trust here blog readers, that you will not use this photo to embarrass me in any future circumstance.   I am not sure what was happening.  There were no mirrors in the studio.

For our 2nd studio assignment we had to style and photograph a model with a look we wanted to achieve.  My lovely friend K modeled for all 3 of us in the group.  A photographed her in a green, Audrey kind of mood.  

I went with an On-set-while-filming-the-movie-Cleopatra-with-Elizabeth-Taylor vibe.  I think she looks awesome. 

That's a quick summary of the first half of the course.  I do have more photos to share with you later this week, and I know you'll be so heartbroken that I'm not the model.  Haha.  Happy Thursday and talk soon,
Mel

School Assignment Photos - the Last of Last Semester

I just realized that I never did show you these shots. 
I miss school this semester.  Having a class is more fun.  Hopefully I can take one in the spring semester.
Anywho - this was my final assignment for Product Photography Part 1.   We were to create a small collection of images that were thematically cohesive.  

I asked my prof about either shooting beauty products or doing a mini editorial about accessories.   He said "Why not both?" Ok then. 
Imagine these images in a magazine - with titles and copy.   A future class of mine will be design based ;)

This is my take on a Covergirl style ad.  Clean, bright, and possibly an ad for lip gloss or foundation. 

We tried shooting some images with her holding the lip gloss tube, and wow - new respect for hand models who know how to not look awkward!

These next 3 are my accessory story.  The Golden Era or something of the like - about wearing grandma's vintage jewelry/thrifting/vintage inspired accessories for this holiday season. 

 Which brush is best?  Intro to make-up brushes and how to use them.

Winterlicious.  This season's hottest lip colours will keep the chill away. 

It was tricky to shoot, but a lot of fun to smash old lipsticks and use paintbrushes with them to do this. 

Lastly,  The Daily Dozen.   The top 12 everyday beauty products.    Imagine a full magazine page - the white area filled with the article text.  I wear most of these everyday.

Hope you enjoyed the peek! 
When was the last time you took a class?  Do you miss it?

Another school assignment: Glass.

I can't believe how fast November flew.   I've only got 2 weeks left of class and am shooting my final assignment pieces.  Here's the most recent one we've critiqued.  The assignment: photograph something glass.

I chose this Paris Amour perfume from Bath & Body works for a few reasons, none of which were that I wear perfume.  

1.  The bottle was cute and I liked the pink.  

2.  The name Paris Amour was a nice jumping off point for loads of ideas.  

3.  It was $15 for the set.  

4.  I needed a perfume that would look nice with the vintage lace I wanted to use.   

5.  Perfume seemed more exciting than any other glass things I own.

As usual, the first shot is a standard product shot - simple and lit with extreme attention. 

Glass is tricky because it's really easy to just make things flat.   You have to add black, reflecting in the glass, to be able to get some definition back.   I had originally propped a necklace with the bottle, but ultimately it didn't add anything.  

The second phase of the assignment was to shoot more conceptually and creatively.  I had a lot of fun playing with this.  Some times more successfully than others.

I started with the bottle lying on some fabric with a Paris map print.  I don't even think I printed this to bring to class. 

On my way home from work the next day I grabbed some roses, and tried this.

The roses and bottle are on a piece of glass, which is about a foot above a white dish with rose petals in the water. 
At the critique this one was tossed aside because "what you see through the bottle looks like crap."

Live and learn.  Next time I should have the bottle even higher than the roses and no clutter near the logo.

This next one was hugely time consuming.  I put the bottle on a sheet of sparkly black paper, turned off all the lights, put on black gloves and painted the light into the photo with a flashlight.  This one my prof just LOVED.   Everyone in class tried to guess how I did it.  I'm still not satisfied with the bottom 1/4 of the photo, but in my 200+ attempts at getting the swooshes to land in the right place, this was the best one.

My personal favourite shot is actually this one.  The bottle was on the same sparkly black paper, and I used the flashlight to illuminate the area behind the bottle to get the sparkles to shimmer. 

It reminds me of Paris at night, all twinkly and magical.

Which one do you think works best?  Would any of them make you want to try the perfume?

More school assignment photos

In case you missed my first post about it, I'm taking a class on product photography right now.  The second assignment was to photograph something we use on a regular basis. 

I chose nail polish. 
The shot I envisioned was dark and dramatic.  I also wanted something other than just the bottle in the shot, so I painted some nails from the hardware store with some nail polish from the dollar store.  I didn't want to waste my OPI, it's a little pricey.  

On a side note - dollar store nail polish seemed to have toxic fumes - I had to use it outside because it stunk so bad.   OPI is worth it for me - it's the only polish that can handle a week of work as I lift gear, handle props and tools working as a photo assistant. 

The first week at the studio at school,  I tried lighting the bottle with studio lights.   The kits available at the studio were just too big.  There was light everywhere and nothing available to narrow it down.   Why don't they have snoots?!  It's beyond me.   

I fought with the highlights on the glass of the bottle for about 2 hours.  It's amazing what gets reflected in glass.  I also wasn't really feeling the dark vibe anymore. 

So the next week, after missing class because of working late,  I just shot at home with natural light.

 The set up for this shot in the end is almost hilariously simple compared to what I had going on in studio the first night.   I had the bottle on my dining room table, its back to the window.  It's on a shiny white surface, and I reflected light back to add the highlight with pieces of white cardboard.   I needed more sparkle on the nails themselves, so I added a mirror.   That's it. 

My assignment critique went well.  My prof said it was great, that the only thing he'd change was that there needed to be a nail that was clear, standing up and looking like a nail, so that he'd get it. 
I don't I agree, I hate when ads assume you're stupid and can't pick up on it. There isn't enough subtlety in advertising.

P.s. open to suggestions if you have a great nail polish that doesn't chip.
So far MAC has miserably failed and Essie is ok :)
Have a great Tuesday!

Back to School

This post is a little late I suppose.  I did start back at school weeks ago already. 
I'm just taking one night class: Introduction to Commercial Photography.
I was enrolled in a Photoshop class, but after learning that the first 3 hour lecture would be about using the pencil and eraser tools (waaaay too simple for my skill level) I dropped it.  So I was a little late starting this new course, but it's going well so far.
The class is revolves mostly around shooting in studio and then having our work be evaluated.
I attempted to shoot a new pack of gum.

I really wanted to get the classic shot, with the reflection of the gum in the surface below and I fought with the limited supply of lights for hours.  I found out later that the reason I couldn't get it to look clean was that the white surface wasn't shiny enough.  Better knowledge for next time, when I'll shoot it completely differently.

Once I stopped trying to get the package shot, I moved on and just played a little bit.  Then I ended up taking this photo below, which I really love, and my Prof did as well - saying I "elevated the subject matter to something graceful and humorous at the same time, giving it personality."
Whoo hoo, I'll take that evaluation :)

I really do like this shot.
Have a great weekend! Are you up to anything exciting?