Model Shoot - Portraiture, facial

[wendellt]

My friend Laura is a dancer and she wanted some portrait shots for her new agent, you may recognise her form my first urban model shoot, those shots were too art directed for what she wanted so five months later we re-visited - yeah we got busy so it took that long to revisit.
I wanted to do the whole studio setup with several point lights and a soft box but there was no budget for this shoot so we just shot in a white room with the morning sun through the window providing the main light, i also used the sb800 positioned at 10 '0' clock

this was a last minute non planned shoot so in some pics i know some of her facial features are lost due to bad positioning of the sb800

all shot with the 85 f1.4 at f2 but some at f4 f2 DOF being too shallow
ISO400 1/250 constant

first off some candids in preperation

the last one looks fashionable, but still can't decide which one is the winner

100% crop sorry got to wank on about the 85mm f1.4 it's sharp - woohoo!


Laura has so many looks she just has that kind of face it's hard to find the most photogenic pose, in some she looks adorable, in others young like girlie young and in some much older - older being desirable for the kind of work she wants to get through her new agent


tried to get a more sophisticated look


this one is very lancome Paris


the Nivea look? i love the serenity in closed eyes one


this one is very Marie Clare

[Geoff]

Sheish Wendell - do u ever do any less than ordinary work? You're right - Laura has a zillion wonderful poses and you've done amazingly well considering you used only natural light and the wonders of the SB-800!! Great for your portfolio too my friend - well done!

Oh yeah - the 85mm 1.4 shines in your hands!!!

[jben_net]

great work! love the expressions

[xerubus]

wow.. nicely done! i'd say your client is going to be very very happy.

the shot of the eye is brilliant!

cheers

[Alpha_7]

Wendell - It must be a joy to do work like yours, you make the 85mm sing, and get to mix with beautiful people and capture them for your camera.

[Manta]

Beautiful work Wendell. A masterful set of images. Pleased I don't have to choose...

[marcotrov]

Beautiful Wendell, as always. Bloody hell you are right to gloat my friend that is one hell of a sharp lens You have that lens and D2X combo singing a sweet tune. Fantastic to see Wendell and I look forward to more and thank you for sharing your settings and little technique hints you give us all each time
cheers
marco

[PiroStitch]

Marvellous work Wendell! You're making my mouth water with the 85mm 1.4 did you use the sb800 wireless or strapped to the camera?

[Alex]

Another great shoot from Wendell. I remember this model from your hip-hop model work you posted several months back. What an improvement!

Alex

[wendellt]

thankyou everyone

I have got so much from this forum, like a contact to aquire my first pro body a heap of other equipment, a wealth of invaluable technical information, and a lot of support
I hope some of my techniques help others produce an image their are happy with, you would be surprised what you can do with a white room, a flash and no studio equipment whatsoever

Wayne this time i had no assistant as Chi was out on hiatus
so i settled the camera to my monopod held that with one hand which you can do and since i usually shot at my sweetspot f2 and 1/250 I didn't have to fiddle, with the other hand i held the flash of shoe at various positions mostly at 10 '0' clock
the flash was attached to the d2x via the sc28 remote cord off shoe flash works like a positionable studio strobe
the hi highlights is because the light from the window low aperture and flash combined I wanted that blown look as it was hot in the room and laura was sweating it out, the blown highlights don't show most of her sweat well in some pics anyway.

[ABG]

Another great series Wendell. You're work is so consistently good - it's always a pleasure to look at. Thanks for sharing

[rokkstar]

Man, am I pissed that I missed this.

Wendell, I think the large ones where you've got sophisticated look, lancome paris. and marie claire are just superb. Nice one.

[Glen]

Wendell, very nice shots! I like them a lot, would probably dump the first in row 1&2 as these shots don't show Laura as attractively as she obviously is. In row 1 I think the expression doesn't suit, the row 2 shot has the chin being too prominent. Love the rest, I am envious of your talent

[wendellt]

Wendell, very nice shots! I like them a lot, would probably dump the first in row 1&2 as these shots don't show Laura as attractively as she obviously is. In row 1 I think the expression doesn't suit, the row 2 shot has the chin being too prominent. Love the rest, I am envious of your talent

thanks glen

laura has long face with a killer eyebrow ridge and the best bit that rolled up flick of hair just above the forehead is star quality, that's why i included pic 3 in row 1 - 1st set, expression ain't that good as it's kind of in mid pose but that pic shows her long face nicely

regarding dumping 1 and 2 in those are just candids to show how she can look like and what the difference is when she poses and when i use the sb800 to model her facial features

as said before she has a 100 different looks very different to other models who only have 1 look

[Hlop]

Wendell,

Very good light and awesome series of expressions

[jdear]

wendellt,

some brilliant images!
you have come along way since your urban shoot!
I hope she is happy with the results! you have done a fantastic job.

the more and more i see of your photos i want the 'cream machine' (85mm)

J

[paulvdb1]

Hi Wendell - purely personal comments (not criticism BTW). Your shots all look fairly fantastic and your model has some really excellent poses that work well for her. There's just a couple of nitpicking comments from me...

1. Your model has a rather pointy chin which works well in some shots but is distracting in others. You seem to have a better POV in 04 (colour shot) in which her face shape works better.

2. The smile shots work better than the serious shots. The dimples add lots more interest to her face and add some width.

3. The missing earings are a bit distracting.

4. 05,06,07 don't do anything for me. The other shots show your model as she really as and seem more realistic.

[drifter]

Terrific shots .She is a beautiful model too .

[Poon]

Wendell,
Very nice shot.
You are the best fashion photographer in Australia.
Lucky to have you as fourm member.
Good selection, Glen.
--------
Regards
Poon

[elffinarts]

Bloody gorgeous pics mate. You get that lens to sing so well