My first fashion shoot - a day in the city with Bethany

[Omaroo]

I had a great day on Friday. A lady I met on Facebook liked my street and stage photography, and asked me to shoot her in the city so that she could use any photos she liked for her portfolio. It's a win/win scenario as far as I'm concerned, as she gets her photos and I gain experience. A genuinely lovely girl, she's a part-time burlesque performer, competitive dancer, and marathon athlete - and her name is Bethany. She has a great sense of dress style, and regularly wears rockabilly-style gear everywhere she goes. She is heavily tattooed, and while I don't care for them normally, hers are really feminine and reflect her life choice as a vegan vegetarian. I won't say that I'm converted, but they really work for her in a very positive way.

The Olympus OM-D got to wear just one lens for the whole day - the standard Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5 kit lens. For a kit lens it is quite exceptional.

Here are a few sets from those of the 948 shots I took which have been processed so far.

I must say that her look is so classically Audrey Hepburn, that she must have strained around seventy thousand bloke's necks as they walked past on Friday. And girls. Photographing in front of a small crowd is a new experience. LOL :)

[erick]

Quite striking shots, Chris. All elements coming together beautifully! :thumbsup:

[iceman]

Great shots Chris, have enjoyed seeing this on FB too!

A new career? ;)

[Omaroo]

Eight more...

[Omaroo]

Thank you Eric and Mike! :) Golly Mike, that'd be nice! LOL Some of my stage stuff has attracted a number of requests on Facebook too. You never know I guess. I'm sure the same has happened for both you and Humayun because of the exposure as well. :thumbsup:

[Kunama]

Really good work Chris, (only one I don't really like is 'Lounging') love some of the compositions and poses. The monochromes look fantastic, especially 'resplendent'.

[Omaroo]

Thanks Matt, I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment! :)

[Kunama]

Just another thought Chris, have you considered cropping some of the images so they are square. With several of my wedding clients I was asked if I could supply square images 'just like the Hasselblad photos' .
I shot most weddings with my Nikon F5, F4 and seen as I didn't have a 'Blad', I used my Mamiya 645Pro and then cropped the images to 4.5x4.5cm.

The square image would add to the 'period look' of some of your pics.

[Omaroo]

Yep, I've done a few this way in the past, but I'm generally not a fan of the square photograph. I'm a stickler for adhering to Pythagorean thirds, and very few of my images have the subject centred, excepting a few here - a rare occasion. Given that, it's difficult to adapt a square aspect ratio to satisfy it. 4:3 is far better for most of what I produce. I have done a few square prints for comp work and always thought there was something wrong with them. LOL

This isn't to say that some work either way, and given my penchant for black and while grain, I agree that some would look cool.

[Larryp]

Great photos, Chris!

[Omaroo]

Thank you Larry! :)

[DavidU]

Oh yes !:thumbsup:Well done Chris

[Omaroo]

LOL... :) Thanks very much David! It was great fun, and we'll be doing it again soon I hope.

[Visionoz]

+1 :thumbsup: Chris

Very eye-catching and creative indeed! (though the one with her coming down the steps reminds me of Linda Chamberlain somehow)

You know for sure you've got a second career to fall back to if you get PO with IT work!

Cheers
Bill

[Ric]

Great images Chris

You've captured some very natural and relaxed shots.

Well done

[Deeno]

What a great subject!
You guys look like you were having fun....

Really enjoyed your shots

[Omaroo]

Thank you Bill, Ric and Deeno for your kind words of encouragement. :) It looks as though I could be doing another session with Bethany, but in a studio setting, and with Humayun as well. That should be a fun day!

[Octane]

Top class, Chris. :)

Sorry, I haven't looked in this forum for a while!

When can we do a studio shoot? Might be easier to come down here as I've got everything set up... beauty dish, reflectors, etc., and I have ceiling height.

H

[Omaroo]

LOL... neither had I Humayun. Glad its still here though, and thanks for the kind words! :)

Canberra might be an option - I'll find out. :thumbsup: At least you have a studio area that's not now full of synthesisers... :lol:

[Poita]

I really like these. Especially the first one. Except I'd maybe lighten up the shadow on her face a bit,drop the contrast or work with the texture. It could just be the low-res and compression on this forum though, but that shadow area looks a bit un-feminine in an otherwise striking image.

The reds are really saturated on my screen in the other images, is that part of the look she is after? Looks like a really fun shoot.

[Omaroo]

Cheers Peter, and thanks.

Yep, the quality on my monitor here is excellent, and any that I've uploaded to websites (here, FB, etc) have lost a fair amount of definition and the red has blown out. The originals are wonderful, and I'll be sending these off to our magazine-calibrated (3DAP-spec) proofer shortly to see how they'll handle separation. :thumbsup: