I did a shoot with Bailey yesterday. Hard to believe this was only her second shoot. I think she did a snazzy job!

For lighting I used 2 1000 watt Photoflex Starlites with an Octodome and medium softbox (with louvers). Sometimes I only used 1 light at a time. This was my second model shoot with off-camera lighting.... still getting the hang of it.

I used the K10D with the DA* 50-135mm 2.8, FA 31mm 1.8 Limited and FA 50mm 1.4.

The entire series is here: Hamid Shibata Bennett : photos : Bailey 2/8/2008- powered by SmugMug

[borno]

Very nice as usual Hamid! I think the black&white face shots are my favorites.

[hamidlmt]

Very nice as usual Hamid! I think the black&white face shots are my favorites.

I like the b/w's too, but I'm still working on my workflow. I'm usually not quite happy with my conversions. Always a work in progress...

[Peter Zack]

I had a look at the entire gallery. A few thoughts:
1) Green is not a good colour for her. Her skin tone is too light and the 3rd picture above is not flattering.
2) Some of the poses are awkward. She just doesn't look comfortable like the second pic above, IMGP5340 and IMGP5344 to name a couple.
3) the lighting is a little too dark on one side in some. The top picture above is an example. Is a great capture but her right eye needs to be more visible IMO. Same for IMGP5304.
4) the shots with the dark background might stand a little 'hairlight" with a rear flash/snoot. I like the disappearing background but I think some highlight would make her pop off the print.
5) watch those low angle shooting up to the chin shots. They can make a beautiful girl look pretty bad (Jay Leno effect): IMGP5229

Enough of that.

Overall she did a great job as a model.
The images where she leans into the camera a bit work very well. She has a great and expressive face. She looks like she had fun and you guys worked well together. I really like the first image here and with a little more left light, it would be a winner. IMGP5193 is damn near perfect! IMGP5194 is one of the best portraits I've seen in a long time.
IMGP5246 is very nice but I might crop some of the negative space on the left.
IMGP5272 has very good lighting and works well.

Overall these are great and the lighting is excellent. I can see a dramatic improvement from stuff you posted only a few short months ago.

great stuff!

[hamidlmt]

I had a look at the entire gallery. A few thoughts:
1) Green is not a good colour for her. Her skin tone is too light and the 3rd picture above is not flattering.
2) Some of the poses are awkward. She just doesn't look comfortable like the second pic above, IMGP5340 and IMGP5344 to name a couple.
3) the lighting is a little too dark on one side in some. The top picture above is an example. Is a great capture but her right eye needs to be more visible IMO. Same for IMGP5304.
4) the shots with the dark background might stand a little 'hairlight" with a rear flash/snoot. I like the disappearing background but I think some highlight would make her pop off the print.
5) watch those low angle shooting up to the chin shots. They can make a beautiful girl look pretty bad (Jay Leno effect): IMGP5229

Enough of that.

Overall she did a great job as a model.
The images where she leans into the camera a bit work very well. She has a great and expressive face. She looks like she had fun and you guys worked well together. I really like the first image here and with a little more left light, it would be a winner. IMGP5193 is damn near perfect! IMGP5194 is one of the best portraits I've seen in a long time.
IMGP5246 is very nice but I might crop some of the negative space on the left.
IMGP5272 has very good lighting and works well.

Overall these are great and the lighting is excellent. I can see a dramatic improvement from stuff you posted only a few short months ago.

great stuff!

Peter... really appreciate your thoughtful comments!

I agree with quite a few of your points. I started going over these last night and then started shopping around for a third light for the background. Lights are becoming like lenses! Can't stop with just one!

As for the awkward poses... it's a current fad in fashion photography... that shoulder rounded forward look. I'm not a huge fan of it. This was a TFCD project, so this was about her expression too, not just my vision.

At times, I was really trying to go for that moody, half in shadow feel. Doesn't always work, but it's fun trying!

I've also been stopping down a bit more. A few months ago, I never might have shot beyond F/2.8... now, I'm starting to play with F/4-5.

[Peter Zack]

Yeah I know what you mean LBA takes on a new meaning. I have 4 no 5 now, god I've lost count! (between flashes or lights) and I'm not done. I think I'll get 2 more and then sort through the pile to keep what works.

It's new to me as well at this level. Fun and challenging at the same time. But the results are really rewarding when it works. I did an engagement shoot last weekend with 3 portable lights/flashes (umbrellas etc) with a portable backdrop and had a blast. It's been a long while and I realized after the setup and the first few shots, that I could do this all day and enjoy it.

I can see the mistakes in some shots ( deleted of course) but the clients loved them and I got 3 referrals from that shoot. The learning curve is like Everest!!

[Ash]

Peter, your feedback is exquisitely impeccable!
Are you a photo mag editor?
You're an awesome resource to have on this forum!

Hamid, the shoot is beautiful - love #1, 3 and 4 but wished her face on #3 wasn't so washed out - I really like the effect your lights have, though.

Well done!

[roentarre]

4th and 5th shots are my favorite. There is a great connection between the photographer and the model. Emotion flowing through

After Peter's analysis, there is really nothing else to say. I do find the pose interesting though (just like the way we saw ballerina doing wonderful toe dance while in fact the dancers must be feeling so uncomfortable)

[codiac2600]

Looks like you've been busy as well Hamid. I agree with a lot of what Peter has said and here are some points I'd like to add.

1. Gorgeous model and yes the poses are def a lot better than many many many of the first time models I've shot with in the past.

2. #'s 1, 2, 4 & 6 show your normal style of photography which is great as is conveys a different approach than whats typically shown elsewhere.

3. Going with personal style I love yours and it continues to work and sure you'll get images that are just ok, but when you hit an image that truly shows your style and fits it's a great image.

4. Your doing great with the lighting so far and the only beef I have is in image #3 where the highlight on the face looks blown and if it isn't it's still too bight compared to the rest of the model as it tapers down and also the shadow is much too harsh at her legs (the light fall off is too abrupt) and makes her legs look very unsightly.

5. Image #4 shows an attempt at your style that I feel was lost due to the lighting. I love the expression and angle in which you shot it at, but you loose all intimacy with the model when the left eye was chopped off in the shadow. Definitely time for a reflector in that shot.

6. Going from what I said in section 5 your images always convey a feel of intimacy with the model and you'll need to train your lighting technique to reinforce that feeling for the whole image to meld properly. Don't do what I do and just bomb off a bunch of shots and play with the lighting, go from the pose and step back and think of how to build the image up, what would spice it up you know.

7. I feel the images you've shown and found a lot more I liked on your smugmug, but image number 2 is the best image in terms of lighting, mood, expression and personal style. I love the feel even though th pose may look awkward I see many a lady sitting like that when they feel intimidated and it's great that you've captured it.

Thank you for sharing this all Hamid and again great job and hope to see some more soon!

[Peter Zack]

Peter, your feedback is exquisitely impeccable!
Are you a photo mag editor?
You're an awesome resource to have on this forum!

Crap I almost choked when I read that. Thanks but to be honest I have learned more in the last year here, from guys like hamidlmt, Chris, Stu, James, Marc, Tom, Ben and a raft of others than I could ever repay. This forum has been better for my understanding than 10 years of my photo club. Problem is, it can be like LBA on a cold winter day, spending a little too much time reading.

Anyway back to the topic at hand and the great thread/ work hamidlmt posted.

I've come back to this thread several times to study the shots. It's a great series and a very good learning layout. Lighting is tougher than it looks and every once in awhile you get it right.

I'm really taken with this shot below. The eyes, hand, mouth partly open, skin. This shot is a Babe Ruth Home run. DOF is a tiny bit too shallow but it doesn't matter. There's something here that just can't be put to words. That's what it's all about.

[hamidlmt]

Looks like you've been busy as well Hamid. I agree with a lot of what Peter has said and here are some points I'd like to add.

1. Gorgeous model and yes the poses are def a lot better than many many many of the first time models I've shot with in the past.

2. #'s 1, 2, 4 & 6 show your normal style of photography which is great as is conveys a different approach than whats typically shown elsewhere.

3. Going with personal style I love yours and it continues to work and sure you'll get images that are just ok, but when you hit an image that truly shows your style and fits it's a great image.

4. Your doing great with the lighting so far and the only beef I have is in image #3 where the highlight on the face looks blown and if it isn't it's still too bight compared to the rest of the model as it tapers down and also the shadow is much too harsh at her legs (the light fall off is too abrupt) and makes her legs look very unsightly.

5. Image #4 shows an attempt at your style that I feel was lost due to the lighting. I love the expression and angle in which you shot it at, but you loose all intimacy with the model when the left eye was chopped off in the shadow. Definitely time for a reflector in that shot.

6. Going from what I said in section 5 your images always convey a feel of intimacy with the model and you'll need to train your lighting technique to reinforce that feeling for the whole image to meld properly. Don't do what I do and just bomb off a bunch of shots and play with the lighting, go from the pose and step back and think of how to build the image up, what would spice it up you know.

7. I feel the images you've shown and found a lot more I liked on your smugmug, but image number 2 is the best image in terms of lighting, mood, expression and personal style. I love the feel even though th pose may look awkward I see many a lady sitting like that when they feel intimidated and it's great that you've captured it.

Thank you for sharing this all Hamid and again great job and hope to see some more soon!

Really appreciate the feedback! I agree with so many of your points.

During the shoot, I really didn't take the time to fine tune the light setup. I wanted to keep it very spontaneous, like I shoot with natural light. That was fine for this go.... but, next time I'll slow things down.