I got a call from my fashion photography agent last week for an interesting multi-designer photo shoot at a Bel Air mansion.
The location was only available for 3.5 hours and the 5’11” Russian supermodel for 2.5 hours, so this was not going to be my typical full-day fashion photographer routine where I am in my methodical mode with everything double and triple checked. For rush assignments I rely on experience and go auto-pilot, its more important to have a lot of shots and choose later than being a choosy fashion photographer.
So while makeup and hair was in progress I was busy scouting the mansion for the 3 shots I was assigned to put in the can, I wasn’t going to rely on time of day and optimal daylight since there was no time to ponder such perfection. Instead I was going to force the lighting with six 600 class speedlites which pack a punch in a tiny form factor, as a fashion photographer I have never looked back to carrying large studio strobes after using the speedlites. My assistants were prepping the outdoor shot while I was busy setting up the seven foot parabolic deep dish lighting umbrellas for the indoor bikini shot.
[pullquote]Fashion designer Karina Copado “Poolside Collection” is meant to never get wet![/pullquote] so shooting indoors was my way of staying far from the cliche pool shot and putting some class into the mix, I had time to get one setup with supermodel Nadya Lavernova and that meant one perfect pose, I opted for a high angle shot to frame everything out except her on the white leather chair…once I was satisfied with the last set of bikini shots I moved to setup the lighting for LA fashion designer Ani Hovsepyan session.
[pullquote]Ani’s haute couture red dress was so perfectly fitting Nadya that she could not even sit[/pullquote], it was just painted on her body. I went for a cooler color temperature to create even more contrast with the striking red dress and it worked. To isolate Nadya I shot with Canon’s 100mm f2.8 IS L glass handheld from the back of the next room, Nadya was posing perfectly shot after shot as expected and in 15 minutes I got the look I was after.
The last shot of the day was outside the mansion in the expansive Bel Air garden, the wood deck was lined with glass panels for an interesting indoor-outdoor look which was perfect for LA fashion designer Ani’s lime green dress, this was a fun and flirty fashion shot and Nadya was in the mood, I was done with all 3 setups in about 3 hours and while wrapping thought to myself… some days everything which could go wrong, doesn’t.
