Who knew fabric could do and be so many things?

Stylized shoots make me happy. They are glitzy, exotic, mysterious with a blend of beauty, fashion and femme fatale and mixed together. Sometimes they don't cost as much as they look.

Here we are playing with shadows using fabric. But this can be done with anything.

Fabrics with laced patterns, beads and fringe are always high on my list.

I have a trunk of cool fabric that can be draped to appear like an evening gown, a brimmed hat, a forest, a night club. Actually there is an endless array of imagery that can be accomplished with fabric and wide open lenses.

Most of these looks are shot at F 1.8 - F 2.8. Why?

Because now, after a lifetime of shooting with only the lens the camera came with I have optical choices I never had before. I love that my lenses have a very specific focal point and beyond that everything falls off and out of focus.

And to think I promised myself that this blog would have more pictures than words....I'll have to work on that.

Short & Sweet

Here is Ashley with a different video version.

I like the videos with a script and storyline better than the others. Right?  Kinda cute?

And, Ashley Sania Chandy, you rocked this shoot!

Sometimes it's not all glam and goregousness

Look close. Right about eye level.

 Do you see the little bug that insisted on kissing her?

Well, they, Mariah and bug, fought a few rounds.  Finally, a full-handed slap between the eyes ended the frustration for both of them.  LOUDLY. 

And, as if choreographed, she fell back into her modeling motions and kept going.  Shift the weight to the other hip, move arms and legs to extend the pose, then tilt the head to punctuate it.  Remember that.

Shift weight to other hip

Move arms and legs 

Tilt the head and 

Hold.

That little tidbit is what I call a pearl. So a message to any would-be models, despite any distraction remember to fall back into the modeling mode ASAP.  

From the rejected pile I couldn't resist adding this one. 

Please note the 'discrete' bug repellant contraption folded into the fabric.

Being photographed can be quite a thrill. Being the photographer is love.

Many blessings in your life.

Look? What's a Look?

'What's a Look?'

This is where I start my shoot.  Planning the Look.  We figure out what kind of character we want.

On this shoot with Mariah, we went for a glammy beach shoot with a nod to fashion.
But planning can make or break a shoot. Get it wrong and it'll kill the best outfit or most gorgeous model and killer venue.  It's vital.

Most people say, well of course the pictures are great, look at these unbelieveable models.  Not so fast I say. So how do we get to this look from the one below?

This is Mariah with a typical day look. (In this photo she's actually acting as makeup artist on this shoot with Ashley. 

This is her just before our beach shoot.  Makeup done.  Her hair came out looking like a fancy updo but was really just a ponytail with the ends tucked in.

Building a look involves all the details. It's not just an outfit. It must be as complete as possible.  Here we added an edgy flair with these nails.  $5.00 at Walgreens.  They are silver metallic with a zebra stripped finish.

The earrings are just glue on beads from Joanne Fabrics adhered with body adhesive (don't try using regular glue). And, yes. Glued directly to her ear. The same beads are glued to the large breast plate of beads. Whole package of beads $3.99)

Running late into the day, sun setting with only minutes left we scrambled into the car and dashed over the bridge and drove up to this beach. (Sewell's Point, Florida)

Mariah is very good with many things. She's artistically minded so much of this comes naturally to her, but the most important thing she does is Act. Yep. Like an actress.  She knows the 'Look' we are after and completely embodies that character.

As photographer and directors, we simply call out poses and expressions we want her to move into, that's if she isn't already doing them.  This is what we do with people who have NEVER modeled before.  We walk them through everything. EVERYONE can look extra EXTRA gorgeous!  Everyone call feel gloriously beautiful.

As for editing and Photoshop, these photos have been touched up in Aperture 3. Lighting, skin smoothing and sharpening. (Still learning PS.)

The fancy dress?  It's just 4 yards of jersey knit fabric draped over a flesh toned slip.  The slip fabric is what they use under bathing suits or what they make spanx with, just one long seam, no hem or elastic. Snug and body holding.  The cost of fabric for both pieces approx. $15.00.

So this look cost very little to pull together, especially considering we wanted a glammy look without having a glammy evening gown. Pulling a Look off means paying attention to ALL aspects of the shoot.

If you pay attention to the credits on professional shoots you'll be amazed at the number of people involved. Often it's a whole team of people and extremely expensive.

Hair & Makeup Artist
Set Stylist
Designer
Nail Tech
Photographers and assistants
Venue

I can't tell you how hard this is. When a look comes together it looks completely effortless and simple. But you gotta go through a lot of bad and not so good ideas in order to get there. Especially when you want a wide variety of looks.

Graffiti as a backdrop is swoon-worthy!

Miami - Wynwood Art District. A MUST!  It's about a square mile of art-ness!

Many photographers are afraid of color.  Me?  Never!

Bring it. I love saturation. I love tweaking the colors. Bending reality doesn't make it less than in my book, bending reality is what art is all about. 

Wynwood Art District is jam packed with more inspiration than most people can handle in one day. You'll be drooling.

Some of these murals have the artist's website visible. (How amazing is this piece?) Chor Boogie, artist, fascinated me.  Chorboogie.com

This area is also, conveniently enough, a fashion district.
Inside this black and white striped building is a row of shop owners.

Mariah, my niece and muse. We love to collaborate on these photography sessions when she visits from out of state.  She is a artist extraordinaire, multi talented with photography on the top of her list.

How adorable are these creatures?  This building is actually a giant boom box. A chunk of sidwalk acts as a cassette, below.

This area is being considered for a photographers workshop with a famous photographer, Manual Librodo, with Nick Bustos, a Miami photographer.  More on that soon!  'Librodo' is a man, but also a noun in my opinion. No other photographer has impacted me so greatly.

Is there enough color in your life?

Peace out - Lini

The Legs Have It

Meet Ashley.

She's gorgeous.  She's this wonderful blend of Armenian, Indian and English (?).  The minute she lays eyes on you, you just know you gotta get those eyes in front of your camera. And so I did.

We had slated this shoot for a highly styled one, but nixed the plan when the clock hit 5:30. Since I am a natural light photographer the time of day dictates most of my decisions.

In one look we used a simple sarong, a pair of killer earrings that are like 16 inches long, a hat, the awesome makeup and styling done by Mariah Janbou, some skinny jeans and of course shoes.

Do you SEE these earrings??

Can you find the mosquito bite?

These eyes are going to open doors and break hearts.

So will these legs!

The second look was about a bathing suit cover up. Well yes, a sexy one. But the best part of shooting Ashley is the camera is intrigued by her.

 Slideshow featuring the ever-so-lovely, Ashley Sania Chandy.

 

I have a month of posts to catch up on. And lots of pics to post, and stuff to tell! 

An almost announcement:

Soon, soon. I'm almost ready to post that there is a blog in existence here. No longer under cloak and mirrors, but not just yet. Still gathering the courage. (hah, not like I fear I'll go viral...more like spiral). Oh why do I do this to myself? I mean really.  Grow up already!  Ok, I feel better now.

Peace & Love, Lini

What I'm Loving this Week - June

...my husband

Yes. Husband, is the thing I'm loving so much this week and he earned special status.
How shall I show my appreciation? Well, tonight, instead of having our regular nightly conversation, "Are you done with the reading light yet? Honey?",  I'm going to surprise him. I'll hop in bed and click off the light - Just like that. None of my monotone, "Oooh-kkay, give me 20 minutes." Followed by, "Just gonna finish this chapter." Or be grumpy as I fumble with the miner's light you got me for Christmas so I could read with the lights off.  (It's really a mini portable stage light that just gives me night blindness, but that's another story.)

Why this sudden willingness to forego my precious nightly ritual? Well, couple things, but how often does a husband just bring home a dozen of these? I never have enough fresh flowers. Ever.

And then he decided to tap my Bucket List. Yuuuup. Uhhhmmhmm. Check it out!

I never thought I'd get an 'L' lens. Especially not the 70mm - 200mm F/2.8 USM II, good Lord nobody has this lens yet and you know how it feels when you get your hands on something that is engineered to near perfection, every little feature, surface, nub, moving part, all put together to zoom in and out and auto focus so fast I grin like a fool when it chimes. Oh, Lordy, Lordy. This is SOOOO special, I don't deserve such a thing. I'm looking at it right now on the table. I haven't been able to stop touching it. Slide the zoom over to 200mm and wham!   Ooh la la la, it has the telltale redline around the lens. It may be a tiny red line but every photographer can spot that sucker instantly.

AND I GOT ME ONE! Oh, yeah.

You know earlier I had this brainstorm. I ought to try and get little 30 second audio recordings using my iphone of just our life. Like of my husband. Unknowlngly. Like during our 'Are you done with the Light yet?' thing would be good right? Or when he's informing me he's running out of clean socks. He says it so gently and politely - he really IS the model husband or after we determine I won one of our photo challenges (which I take very seriously). These bits could provide viable material for a blog about a husband and wife who are over the hill and trying to shoot professionally. Right? Little voyeur blog posts or something. Maybe they could progress (providing he doesn't divorce me) into video clips. For the blog, you know.

I pulled some pictures of a recent sunrise shoot from Tiger Beach and House of Refuge both on Hutchinson Island, Stuart, Florida.

I love to walk up and slide my hand into his large protective hand. It's strong and makes me feel safe. Surely it roots itself in my childhood memories, a little girl holding her father's hand.

Look close at his wedding band - I love that you can see me standing there (oh and so skinny!)

Our life is incredibly special, there is a poignancy at 55 that couldn't possibly have existed at a younger age. We are both just figuring this out, this new posture and viewpoint of life is wonderful.

I'm grateful. I have a wonderful spouse. Yes, today was extra special. The 'Bucket List' is made up of ultimate dreams. You, my dear husband, were a bucket list item at one time. In truth, I need never check off another item because nested in you is a world of bucket lists, checked off daily, and they need never touch our wallet. Thank you honey, I appreciate every thing you do. Today I'm reminded, again, of the blessings of marriage and a happy home.

~Lini in Florida, wife of Chay




NEXT UP?

Learning to shoot details in next post