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Posts Tagged ‘Fashion’

Fiat Mode XXIII – VCC Fashion Arts Graduation Show

September 30th, 2010 3 comments



Let there be fashion!

The graduates of the Vancouver Community College Fashion Arts Program showed their creations last night at a fantastic show held at Rocky Mountaineer Station in Vancouver. The show featured the work of 21 graduating fashion designers, each of whom had 4 pieces in the show. The production was spectacular with great models, makeup, hair styling, music, lighting and of course catering! But the emerging designers were centre stage with some incredible work.

I took as many photos of the outfits as I could! I have previously photographed the designs of one of the graduates, Ana Jost, and I love her work. It was a pleasure to see her graduating and finishing buy tramadol this phase of her fashion design career.

All the designers' work was very impressive and I'm looking forward to seeing more from them in the future, and I hope to use their designs in my photography as well.

You can view all of the outfits in the music video below, or view the photos  here.

Congratulations to all the graduates for your amazing work!

Here's the video on YouTube if you are unable to view the flash version above:

Related links:

Beyond Robson: A Closer Look at VCC's Fashion Arts Students

YouTube: Part 1 of 2 of the Vancouver Community College (VCC) Fiat Mode XXIII 2010 Graduate Students Fashion Show

Straight: Vancouver Community College Fiat Mode XXIII

Music for the video No Return! by Romahichi

Eco Fashion Week Vancouver 2010 Part 2

September 29th, 2010 1 comment

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Yesterday I posted some information and photos from the Eco Fashion Week currently running in Vancouver. I attended runway shows featuring the spring/summer https://naturallydaily.com/tramadol-online-100-mg/ 2011 collections by designers emesha, Lara Miller, Eden, Nixxi, Lav and Kush, and Kim Cathers.

Here's an update with more images.

Here are the rest of my photos from the show:

Eco Fashion Week Vancouver 2010 – Green Fashion

September 29th, 2010 No comments



Eco Fashion Week (EFW) is taking place in Vancouver on Sept 27-30, 2010. It is being held at the Creekside Community Centre, which was part of the Olympic Village during the 2010 Winter Games.

Vancouver has a goal to become the greenest city by 2020 and EFW will help to educate the fashion industry and fashion-buying public about environmentally friendly best-practices and to promote those business that have good green practices.

A Green Advisory Board helped to evaluate the fashion designers, retailers and manufacturers using the following criteria:

  • Fair/ethical trade
  • Local
  • Custom/tailor made
  • Organic/Natural textiles and materials
  • Recycled/reborn
  • Vintage/second hand
  • Vegan/animal free/cruelty free
  • Eco printing
  • Fabric waste reduction
  • Green marketing
  • Socially responsible
  • Resource efficiency
  • Eco-certification

These practices can also apply to other industries and I will be looking carefully at my photography business to see what I can do to make sure it is green too!

On Sept 28, I attended runway shows featuring the spring/summer 2011 collections by designers emesha, Lara Miller, Eden, Nixxi, Lav and Kush, and Kim Cathers. Here is a quick look at the the collections by emesha and Lara Miller. The rest of the designers have been posted here.

Here's a slideshow with more photos from the show:

Click here to continue to Part 2

5 Tips for using a fog machine for studio photography

September 26th, 2010 4 comments

The Trouble with Ducts

Fog adds a cool look and atmosphere to a studio shoot. I bought a fog machine at a local party supply store and got an extra bottle of "fog juice". One bottle lasts for a long time so I have plenty of it left, even after using it for about a dozen shoots. This fog machine has a handy remote control that lets me fire a blast of fog when I'm ready to shoot. They are pretty popular for Halloween so you may see them for sale for a good price at this time of year.

The type of machine I use is a "glycol fogger" and it works by heating up a fluid called "fog juice" and then shooting the fog out of a nozzle.  Since I am a chemist as well as a photographer, I needed to know what fog juice actually is. It is mainly glycerin, propylene glycol and water and is non-toxic (note - a similar sounding chemical - ethylene glycol - is toxic and should not be used for fog machines!). However, there is always the possibility that certain people could be sensitive to the glycerin and propylene glycol so it's a good idea to make sure everyone is OK with it when the fog starts.

There are other ways to generate fog. For example, dry ice and water works, but it's expensive and difficult to use. Dry ice must be handled carefully because it is extremely cold and will burn bare skin. Because dry ice produces carbon dioxide gas when it warms up, it should be used in well-ventilated areas, and never in small enclosed spaces due to the risk of suffocation.  The fog is colder than the surrounding air and will sink to the ground, which might be an interesting effect. The fog from the glycol fogger doesn't sink - it tends to float at the level where it was generated.

Here are some tips based on my experience with using the fog machine.

A Force to Reckon With

Fog machine with back lighting. Model: BabieAngie, Makeup: Krystal Leong

Lighting

The fog needs lighting to make it visible. Back lighting with the strobe out-of-frame or hidden behind the model looks great. Also, side lighting works well as shown in the shot of Kaitlin V. I use a hard light - usually a strobe with a tight grid or snoot to give a beam of light https://www.glenerinpharmacy.com/buy-clomid-online/ through the fog. Use the same precautions that you would normally use when potentially shooting into the light - use flags to shield the lens and avoid lens flare. Sometimes a bit of flare looks cool with the fog so you may want to experiment!

Fashion Doll

Fog machine using a black background and strobes with blue gels. Model: Charity, Makeup: Jennifer Ruth, Fashion Stylist: Celina Prado

Use a dark background

The fog is white and does not show up against light backgrounds. Use a dark background such as black seamless paper or black fabric for the most dramatic look. I learned that the hard way when I tried shooting against a white background and the fog was hardly visible!

Use gels

You can change the colour of the fog by putting a gel on the strobe that's lighting the fog. You can also light the fog with two strobes, using gels with harmonizing colours to create a dramatic look.

Tribal Belly Dancer

Fog machine and strobe with red gel. Model: Stephanie Peregrinus, Makeup and hair stylist: Catriona Amour

Have an assistant

It helps a lot to have an assistant (for me it's usually the makeup artist!) to direct the fog by pointing the machine in the right place - usually in front of the lights or behind the model. I use a light weight fog machine so it is not too difficult to hold for a while. Some of the more industrial grade machines are heavier so you need a strong "fog wrangler" for the job! Make sure the assistant knows that the nozzle of the fog machine can get quite hot! I get my assistant to move the fog machine in the right place, then let her know when I'm going to blast some fog with the remote control.

Use sparingly

The best looking fog is usually very soon after it comes out of the machine. This is when you get lots of swirling, smoky fog. It quickly diffuses and after a while it dissipates through the studio, creating a haze that doesn't look so great. When there's too much fog between the camera and the model, it just reduces the contrast. If I'm doing several sets, I usually wait until the end for the fog, or open up the studio after a while and blow it out with an electric fan!

Have fun

Don't forget to have fun and experiment with it! If you have some tips for using fog in photography, please share them in the comment section.

Credits

Catriona Armour

Krystal Leong

Jennifer Ruth

Charity

BabieAngie

Stephanie Peregrinus

Kaitlin V

Celina Prado

Studio Lighting Setup for Beauty Photography

September 8th, 2010 No comments


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Here's a video slideshow with images from a glamour portrait photography session with Jennifer Ruth and Kaitlin Sullivan. (Click here to see the video if you are using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad). I met Jennifer at the Twisted Fairytale fashion show in March 2010 and loved her makeup work. Since we were both building our portfolios, we collaborated on a project with the beautiful and talented Vancouver model Kaitlin Sullivan. Jennifer did amazing work with the makeup, hair and styling for six different looks during the session. I did the shoot in the studio using basic portrait lighting setups to showcase the makeup and hairstyling.

Pink Feathers

"Pink Feathers" 50-200mm Olympus f/2.8-3.5 lens, 1/160 sec f/14

For the first set Jennifer gave Kaitlin big pink feathered lashes, wet glittery pink lips and curly hair, with a pink feather boa and a chunky jeweled bracelet. Quite a glamourous look!

I used White Lightning strobes - the main light was an X800 equipped with a beauty dish. I love the light from the beauty dish - it is largish white reflector so the light is pretty soft, but it has some shadow definition that helps give more shape to the face. I used a white foam core reflector panel, as well as a reflector disk to fill in the shadows.

I normally use a lower power main light for portraits so that it does not interfere with the background lighting. I meter everything using a Sekonic Flash Master L-358, starting with the main light. The White Lightnings are great to use because I can easily fine tune the output. I used an X3200 with softbox for the hair light, located camera right, behind Kaitlin. I use a more powerful strobe mainly because the distance is further, but also it gives me the opportunity to increase the brightness of the side light or hair light to give more intense highlights. For a  natural look, the hair light was adjusted to about a stop or so brighter than the beauty dish. The background was storm grey seamless paper (medium grey), with a gridded X1600 for a back burst. To meter the background, I used the reflected light attachment for the Sekonic and adjusted the light to give a gradient with the brightest part about a stop to a stop-and-half brighter than the main light. I used barndoors on the X1600 to control the light spill away from Kaitlin. I also used a hair fan for some of the shots, which you can see in the video.

One of the difficulties with large feathered lashes is the shadows that they cast over the eyes. Usually I like to get sparkling highlights on the eyes to give the portrait more life. With large lashes, I watch the highlights very carefully to make sure the eyes are not too dark. Another option is to have the model look down to show off the lashes.

The strobes were triggered using CyberSyncs. My camera is an Olympus E-510, and I used Olympus Studio 2 to tether the camera to my MacBook, I used Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS4 for the post-processing. I will be posting more information on post-processing in future blog posts.

Here's a diagram of the basic set-up. Thanks to Kevin Kertz Photography for creating the template. It's awesome and free!

Portrait Lighting

Glamour portrait studio lighting

In the second set, Jennifer used silver feathered lashes, silver lipstick and a hot pink bob wig for Kaitlin. For accessories, we had a black feather boa, diamond costume jewelry and huge ring with black beads. Kaitlin was lying down on a white faux fur for these shots. Other than lowering the lights, the setup was the same as the first buy viagra buy seroquel baikal-pharmacy.com cheaper set. I also took some of the shots from above using a ladder.

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" Olympus 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, 1/160 sec at f/11

Jennifer totally switched up the look this time, with a long black wig, metallic blue lips, and copper eye shadow. We had a blue ostrich feather, a rhinestone owl ring with blue and amber gems to match the makeup. This set was shot using natural light against the grey seamless background paper, which was lit with a gridded X800 and blue gel to complement the lips. The studio has loading bay door, so we opened it up and shot using the daylight. The light was not super bright, so I used ISO 200 and a fast prime lens -  Sigma 30 mm f/1.4.  I love the shallow depth of field of the wide aperture, but was careful to make sure that Kaitlin's eyes were in focus. The large light source coming from the open garage door was beautiful and soft. We did have quite an audience gathered at the loading bay watching with great interest!

Like a Feather

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens, 1/125 sec, f/2.2 ISO 200

For the next set, Jennifer created a beautiful look with gold lips with blue eyes gradually shaded to gold, perfectly matching the colourful gems in Kaitlin's earrings. I used a large softbox for the main light, and another large softbox behind Kaitlin, camera right. The background was lit with a gridded strobe to give soft gradient effect. I often use my 50-200mm zoom lens for portraits because it doesn't distort the face as much as a wider angle lens does. The Olympus Zuiko 50-200mm zoom is awesome - tack sharp with a wonderful depth of field at wider apertures. The only drawback for using it in the studio is I have to go quite far away from the model. On the other hand, not being right in her face gives an opportunity for different expressions, depending on the model. I like to mix it up and I'm always switching the lenses during the shoot!

Dreaming in Colour

"Dreaming in Colour" Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 lens zoomed to 108mm, 1/160 sec at f/10

For the next set, Kaitlin's makeup featured pink and purple with a hint of gold. I used the same lighting setup as the previous set, except with two gels on the background light - blue and red - to get a purple to match the makeup and necklace. I used o have a purple gel but it melted down a few months ago in an unfortunate accident! Kaitlin was sitting in a large circular chair with a black cushion for these photos. I like to have the model stand, sit, lie down, or move around, even when just doing headshots, to get a variety of looks.

She's Got the Look

"She's Got the Look" Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 at 50mm, 1/160 sec at f/9.0

The final set was done with the Kaitlin's hair in an updo and I used the same lighting setup.

Beautiful Eyes

"Beautiful Eyes" Olympus Zuiko 50-200mm f/3.5-2.8 lens at 54mm, 1/160 sec at f/9.0

The photography session was very successful - we all got some great images for our portfolios, and it was a pleasure to work with both Jennifer and Kaitlin. Jennifer is amazingly creative and super-organized, which allowed us to get six different awesome beauty looks. Kaitlin was also amazing and I expect to see more of her in the future! She is perfect in front of the camera - easy to direct with lots of creative posing ideas.  I hope to have the opportunity to work with them both again in the future.

Sugar Skull Photoshoot

May 31st, 2010 1 comment



Here are some photos from a recent shoot with model Kyla Lee and makeup artist/hairstylist Catriona Armour. Catriona did an amazing job with the makeup, which was inspired by the sugar skulls used in connection with the Day of the Dead holiday in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Kyla is an agency model represented by John Casablancas. She was great to work buy cialis with and was quick to take direction and enthusiastically worked with me to get the poses for the shots.

For more on this shoot check out Kyla's blog.

If you are using and iPhone, IPod Touch or iPad - here's a link to the Día de los Muertos video on YouTube.

I love the images from this shoot and would like to thank Kyla and Catriona for a great collaboration!

Day of the Dead Kyla Sugar Skull Día de los Muertos

East Indian Bridal Shoot with Model Amisha Sampat

May 23rd, 2010 2 comments

Dance Away the Blues Digital

Almost everyone has a digital camera – at least a “point and shoot” compact camera or a camera https://www.thecourtyardclinic.co.uk/buy-viagra-sildenafil-online-uk/ phone. When I got my first Olympus 1.3 MP camera in 1999, not very many people had them. I immediately saw the benefits and have been keeping current with the latest developments. Even the entry level cameras today are amazing compared with the most advanced digital cameras of a few years ago. High quality professional level DSLR's are now affordably priced for most serious hobbyists. How has this impacted photography?

Better photographers

Digital makes it faster for good photographers to become much better photographers. Simply by reviewing the photos on the LCD screen, you get instant feedback. You don't need to know a lot of technical stuff to get great photos. Trial and error is easy. You can take lots of shots without the additional expense of film and developing. As long as you have enough memory and battery power, you can shoot hundreds of shots (or thousands!) in a day.

Sharing Photos

Digital photos are easy to share. You can share film too by having it scanned, but most people are not going to spend the time and money to scan their old photos. I was inspired by Flickr, a website with huge numbers of photos and tons of useful information. The photography on Flickr, from both pros and amateurs, is amazing.  Flickr, photography blogs, and other photography sites are great resources that help enthusiastic photographers improve their skills. By participating in online communities, photographers can get great feedback, finding what people like or don't like.

Increased Interest in Photography

The combination of digital cameras and online resources have increased the popularity of photography - it is now more popular than ever before.  And now you have great tools to improve your results. The overall quality of photography has increased in the last 10 years due to digital photography.

More Photographers

Professional photographers are feeling the impact. People and businesses may choose to do the photography themselves with their new high quality digital cameras. Or, they can hire a part-time photographer who can do a quality job, but charges very little or nothing. Why pay for a pro when you can get good results for less cost? There's pressure on professionals to reduce prices to compete. Another option for pros is to compete on other factors than price - quality, customer service, creativity and other value-added services. The bar has been raised and people now expect more from a pro photographer than ever before.

Value

As a freelance photographer, my goal is to be the best I can be. I'm comparing myself to the best photographers in the world, today and in the past, and I'm aiming to be in the same category. I know I have a long way to go! The best photographers have created images that I love and would be thrilled to have done myself.  When a client hires me, it's because of my photographic style, vision and knowledge - not the camera that I use, which is not very important.

In the book "Outliers: The Story of Success," author Michael Gladwell identifies factors contributing to high achievement and success. One of the factors is "The 10,000 hour rule" - it generally takes about 10,000 hours of training, practice and hands-on work in any profession to become great at it. That works out to around 5 years working full time. That's how long it takes to master a subject and become world class.  And it's one of the reasons I love to shoot as much as possible. I also take courses, read and try new techniques. I want to get to 10,000 hours!

The technical challenges for a photographer are enough for a lifetime of learning. The creative challenges are even greater! New technologies have opened up new possibilities for photographers who are willing to pursue them. The role of the professional photographer has not changed too much, but it's now more important for photographers to market themselves to demonstrate the value that they provide. It takes a lot more than a good camera and Photoshop. In-depth technical knowledge of lighting and cameras is important, but when it's combined with great people skills, creativity, passion and vision, the photographer becomes a rare resource who is valued for their unique style.

Future

Will the demand for professional photographers decrease in the future? It is very likely that it will. More people will be doing good work for a low price, driving out the professionals from the lower end of the photography market. Magazines, one of the traditional markets for freelance photographers, are reducing their budgets as fewer people subscribe and access online information, most of it for free. There will be more demand for photography for online use instead of print, and much of this can be sourced from amateur photographers or stock agencies. People will still pay for high quality prints, which will support the market for some photographers, for example fine art, wedding and commercial photographers. And the best photographers will always be in demand.

The challenges for photographers in adapting to digital are not much different than those facing people in other fields. Music and movies are a couple examples. The old business models need to change. In the allegorical book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, the characters are mice in a maze who suddenly find that the cheese is not in the same place as it used to be. They need to change and adapt if they want to find more cheese. Going back to the same spot is not going to work!

I'm excited by the challenges, the opportunities and rewards. I want to be the best, and appreciate having the opportunity to pursue it with a passion!

Dance Away the Blues Digital

Almost everyone has a digital camera - at least a "point and shoot" compact camera or a camera https://medimagery.com/buy-soma-online/ phone. When I got my first Olympus 1.3 MP camera in 1999, not very many people had them. I immediately saw the benefits and have been keeping current with the latest developments. Even the entry level cameras today are amazing compared with the most advanced digital cameras of a few years ago. High quality professional level DSLR's are now affordably priced for most serious hobbyists. How has this impacted photography?

Better photographers

Digital makes it faster for good photographers to become much better photographers. Simply by reviewing the photos on the LCD screen, you get instant feedback. You don't need to know a lot of technical stuff to get great photos. Trial and error is easy. You can take lots of shots without the additional expense of film and developing. As long as you have enough memory and battery power, you can shoot hundreds of shots (or thousands!) in a day.

Sharing Photos

Digital photos are easy to share. You can share film too by having it scanned, but most people are not going to spend the time and money to scan their old photos. I was inspired by Flickr, a website with huge numbers of photos and tons of useful information. The photography on Flickr, from both pros and amateurs, is amazing.  Flickr, photography blogs, and other photography sites are great resources that help enthusiastic photographers improve their skills. By participating in online communities, photographers can get great feedback, finding what people like or don't like.

Increased Interest in Photography

The combination of digital cameras and online resources have increased the popularity of photography - it is now more popular than ever before.  And now you have great tools to improve your results. The overall quality of photography has increased in the last 10 years due to digital photography.

More Photographers

Professional photographers are feeling the impact. People and businesses may choose to do the photography themselves with their new high quality digital cameras. Or, they can hire a part-time photographer who can do a quality job, but charges very little or nothing. Why pay for a pro when you can get good results for less cost? There's pressure on professionals to reduce prices to compete. Another option for pros is to compete on other factors than price - quality, customer service, creativity and other value-added services. The bar has been raised and people now expect more from a pro photographer than ever before.

Value

As a freelance photographer, my goal is to be the best I can be. I'm comparing myself to the best photographers in the world, today and in the past, and I'm aiming to be in the same category. I know I have a long way to go! The best photographers have created images that I love and would be thrilled to have done myself.  When a client hires me, it's because of my photographic style, vision and knowledge - not the camera that I use, which is not very important.

In the book "Outliers: The Story of Success," author Michael Gladwell identifies factors contributing to high achievement and success. One of the factors is "The 10,000 hour rule" - it generally takes about 10,000 hours of training, practice and hands-on work in any profession to become great at it. That works out to around 5 years working full time. That's how long it takes to master a subject and become world class.  And it's one of the reasons I love to shoot as much as possible. I also take courses, read and try new techniques. I want to get to 10,000 hours!

The technical challenges for a photographer are enough for a lifetime of learning. The creative challenges are even greater! New technologies have opened up new possibilities for photographers who are willing to pursue them. The role of the professional photographer has not changed too much, but it's now more important for photographers to market themselves to demonstrate the value that they provide. It takes a lot more than a good camera and Photoshop. In-depth technical knowledge of lighting and cameras is important, but when it's combined with great people skills, creativity, passion and vision, the photographer becomes a rare resource who is valued for their unique style.

Future

Will the demand for professional photographers decrease in the future? It is very likely that it will. More people will be doing good work for a low price, driving out the professionals from the lower end of the photography market. Magazines, one of the traditional markets for freelance photographers, are reducing their budgets as fewer people subscribe and access online information, most of it for free. There will be more demand for photography for online use instead of print, and much of this can be sourced from amateur photographers or stock agencies. People will still pay for high quality prints, which will support the market for some photographers, for example fine art, wedding and commercial photographers. And the best photographers will always be in demand.

The challenges for photographers in adapting to digital are not much different than those facing people in other fields. Music and movies are a couple examples. The old business models need to change. In the allegorical book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, the characters are mice in a maze who suddenly find that the cheese is not in the same place as it used to be. They need to change and adapt if they want to find more cheese. Going back to the same spot is not going to work!

I'm excited by the challenges, the opportunities and rewards. I want to be the best, and appreciate having the opportunity to pursue it with a passion!

Makeup Artist and Hairstylist: Isha Paneswar. Fashion Stylist: Gurjit Parmar. Photography: Lloyd Barnes.

Here are some photos and a short music video with an East Indian bridal theme. The model, tadalafil makeup artist/hairstylist and fashion stylist were awesome!

Here are some more photos from the shoot:

Amisha Amisha
East Indian Bridal Portrait The Team

Underwater Fashion Photography

April 19th, 2010 5 comments

Afternoon in the Pool

I’m looking forward to doing another underwater fashion shoot in May. I’m still a beginner and have much to learn about doing underwater photography with models. So far I have done 4 or 5 shoots and have learned a lot from the experience!

I’m inspired by Howard Schatz who does incredible work! Doing an image search for “underwater fashion photography” using your favorite search engine will give you lots of beautiful images for more inspiration.

Underwater fashion photography is very challenging for the photographer and the model.  I use a Canon G9 with the Canon WP-DC21 underwater housing, which protects the camera while allowing me to control it from outside the housing while I'm underwater. It's a little scary submerging my camera so I'm very careful to make sure that there are no leaks. The controls are a slightly different than they are without the housing so it takes some practice to get used to them. I'd love to get an underwater housing for my DSLR too. Underwater housings for DSLRs are more expensive, but would give me more flexibility and image quality compared to compact cameras. The G9 is a pretty flexible compact camera, so it works well for me.  Ikelite has a variety of housing systems for different cameras. Canon and Olympus have some more information on their websites.

For the model, posing underwater is challenging but fun! Models can quickly get cold in the water, so I work as quickly as possible. The model must be comfortable with opening her eyes underwater, and she should be able to relax and look natural. It's really tough to do this when you're underwater!  The makeup artist should use waterproof makeup, however, even waterproof makeup comes off quite quickly underwater. The makeup artist will need to be standing by for touch ups. I like long flowing outfits for the models because they look so great underwater. Anything goes as long as it's OK to get it wet!

I use a diving mask and snorkel to go underwater and get in position for the shot. The model then goes underwater for her pose. She must not only hold her breath and look natural with her eyes open, but also should avoid blowing bubbles. I also have fins so I can move more quickly in the water and a wetsuit for cold water. I bring lots of towels so the model can get warm and dry as quickly as possible. Once she starts buy ambien shivering, the shoot is done!

Some of the photographic issues that I have encountered include color cast, focus and lighting. Underwater, the light has a very blue color cast. Some cameras (like the G9) have an underwater mode, which corrects for the blue. I also shoot in raw format (another nice feature of the G9), so I can make adjustments to the white balance during post-processing. The G9 is a little slow processing raw files though, so I can't get many shots in before the model needs to go back to the surface for air.

Focus is a tricky because the model will appear to be much closer underwater than she actually is due to the magnification effect of the water. At first it confused me - I would prefocus above water and then submerge with the model only to find she is suddenly too close! So I learned to focus underwater and normally use autofocus. The G9 has face detection and different autofocus modes that help me to work quickly.

Lighting is challenging because light falls off quickly underwater. The water clarity will also effect the amount of light available.  All my underwater shoots have been in pools with relatively clear water. However, lakes and ocean locations may be cloudy, limiting the amount of light. Bright sunlight works the best, so I like to shoot on a sunny day. The beams of light going through the water look great! However, sunny days are not always possible, especially in Vancouver. To deal with the low light, I usually use the maximum aperture (f2/.8 for the G9). I also have the SeaLife SL961 underwater strobe. It is triggered optically by a fibre optic cable attached to the outside of the housing in front of the camera's built-in flash. It must be used fairly close to the model and the light quality is not great as it is a bare flash without modifiers, so I use it only when necessary. As a last resort, I increase the ISO. I don't like to go above 400 with my camera due to the higher noise levels. One advantage of DSLR cameras is they have less noise at higher ISOs than compact cameras.

After the shoot, the next step is post-processing. I will normally increase the contrast, adjust the white balance, filter out the noise, and remove unwanted bubbles. Since the makeup fades easily underwater, I often will touch it up in Photoshop too.

I'll be posting an update in May with the results of my next underwater shoot!

Here are some more of my underwater photos:

UBC Fashion Show 2010 – Fashion is Freedom

March 25th, 2010 7 comments

UBC Fashion Show

I attended the the UBC Fashion Show on March 20, 2010 at the UBC Aquatic Centre, which was a pretty cool venue for the show. The runway was installed above the outdoor pool, which made for some interesting shots with the reflections in the water.  The UBC International Relations Students Association presented the show, entitled "Fashion is Freedom," an exploration of the theme of fashion as art and how its expression reflects political freedom. The show featured the work of  designers from Vancouver.

UBC Fashion Show

UBC Fashion Show 2010 "Fashion is Freedom"

Strapped

The first show, "Strapped" by designers Amanda Klassen and Neudis Abreu, Design students from Emily Carr University of Art, presented designs on the themes of consumerism and the depletion of non-renewable resources.

UBC Fashion Show

"Strapped" by Amanda Klassen and Neudis Abreu, Model Claire

UBC Style

The second show was "UBC Style" is there a generic buy clomid online form of viagra featuring campus fashions available at UBC, presented by fashion stylist Wilbur Tellez.

UBC Fashion Show

"UBC Style" - Stylist Wilbur Tellez, Model Ally

Nicole Bridger

The next show was by designer Nicole Bridger who uses natural fabrics made from renewable resources for her socially conscious designs.

UBC Fashion Show

Designer Nicole Bridger, model Roosa

Drew Williams

The fourth show was by Drew William who presented menswear and womenswear at the show.

UBC Fashion Show

Design by Drew William

Voicelessness

The next show was "Voicelessness," by designers Nicole M. Rosychuk, Lauren Mills and Mike Gouze and directed by Nicole Marie Rosychuk.

UBC Fashion Show

"Voicelessness" model Christina L.

What Are You Wearing?

The final show entitled "What Are You Wearing" was by designers Akari Izumi, Colleen Hughes-Games and Rashika Gupta

UBC Fashion Show

Model Alina wearing an outfit of disposable coffee cups from "What Are You Wearing?"

For more information and photos from the show check out UBC Fashion Shows on Facebook.

Here's a slideshow of my photos from this show:

© 2010 Lloyd K. Barnes Photography All Rights Reserved

Creepy and Beautiful Photoshoot

March 21st, 2010 No comments

Living Doll It’s great when everything comes together during a photoshoot! I’m expanding my editorial portfolio and love anything edgy, alternative and surreal. One of the jobs of a photographer is to translate creative vision to photographic images. I'm attracted to the creative possibilities in fashion editorial photography, where models, makeup artists, hairstylists, wardrobe stylists, and photographers work together in the creative process.

For this shoot, the team consisted of wardrobe stylist Laura Anne Image, model Yomee and makeup artist Sylvia Szczepanska. Laura Anne's concepts are inspired by her art work, which she brings to life in the photoshoot. She was great to work with because of her creative vision and great art direction. Also, she did an amazing job sourcing the wardrobe and accessories. Sylvia is a very talented makeup artist, graduated from John Casablancas Institute. Yomee is an alternative model from Australia who is now lives in Vancouver.  She was also wonderful to work with and responded to art direction with great poses and expression. This is the first time that I have worked with this team and hope to do more shoots in the future!

Laura Anne described her vision as "colour contradiction where innocent colours look villain-like."  The colour palette was to be pastels - light https://www.rossitchpediatricdentistry.com/buy-lasix/ pink, light blue, lilac and a white background. Unfortunately the original model broke her leg before the shoot, so Yomee was the replacement. Yomee is an alternative model with body mods - piercings and tattoos. However, Laura Anne wanted clean skin for the model. I was up to the challenge of Photoshopping the the tattoos away. I've done it before and can make it look convincing. Also, the model's eyes were to be blank - again another Photoshop challenge! I've never tried that before - I have done much Photoshopping of eyes - removing contact lens edges, clearing up small blood vessels, brightening the eyes, darkening the pupils, changing the eye-colour - but never completely removing the irises and pupils!

I  used a beauty dish for the main light because it gives a bit more edgy look with more shadow definition than with a softbox, but still gives soft light. I used a white seamless paper background, lit with another strobe and a gridded strobe behind the model as a hair light.

I think the photos have a creepy feel mainly due to the unsettling blank eyes, and the styling, model and makeup go together to make some beautiful images that brought to life Laura Anne's creative vision.

Here is a slideshow with more images from this shoot:

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