Simplicity and Rock n' Roll

I consider myself on the advanced side of artificial lighting and design.  Whether it be lighting a scene for a local independent film or playing with off- camera strobes, lighting is "my thing" and I love every minute I get to experiment and work with it.  After all, Photography literally translates to "the study of light."

I finally splurged and purchased some studio lights to assist me in times when small speedlights and flashes won't get the job done.  This has been a long time in the making and I have done hours and hours of research in finding what would work with my workflow and niche.
In the near future, I'll post a blog about the strobes and went with along with a complete review and examples.  I am not gearing this post about it simply because I haven't shot with them enough yet to gauge an opinion.

For this week's blog, I going to recap one of my recent shoots in the studio with Mckenzie, a young and ambitious model with true professionalism and mutual respect.  This was our first shoot together, hence the images are clear, concise, and clean cut showcasing her natural beauty and personality. 

More images and story after the jump

It's been a long winter and I've been so busy with film projects and helping with others' productions, I hadn't really taken the time to do a shoot for myself.  I reluctantly headed over to Model Mayhem and started contacting potential models who I felt would be a good fit for some concepts I had rolling around in my head.  Model Mayhem is littered with creepy Guys With Cameras and flaky people who dare to call themselves models.   Overall, the concept of Model Mayhem is a great one, and I believe it started out in pure innocence. However, the overabundance of amateur photographers attempting to get women out of their clothes and women claiming to be models in which they treat the photoshoot as a commodity and believe all you have to do to be a model is look attractive and be the center of attention has left the site nearly useless.  My experiences have averaged over an 80% fail rate.

Fortunately, Kenzie was respectful and professional in a sense that is a rare trait in her generation.  We had a fun afternoon shooting around a sexy rock n' roll concept that involved her good friend Bryan's drums.  In between sets, we also took some test and beauty shots.  Kenzie did a wonderful job and anyone who has collaborated with me knows that I make my models work.  I would recommend Kenzie to any photogs out there reading this. 

I cannot forget to put a plug in for my multi-talented makeup and hair artist Tabi for stepping up and donating her time on this one.