another editorial story

Occasionally I end up on a photographic lucky streak where I get to shoot all kinds of interesting people. This photo was part of that streak. It’s from a profile I produced about an arborist/urban forester at the local electrical utility. To see the whole story, click here (and make sure to click on the audio slideshow link).

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

Going for a Naomi Campbell look here. Model Junia, mua Terri Lodge.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

turning the camera on myself

I’ve been meaning to shoot a decent portrait of myself where I’m dressed nicely and not running around outdoors. Came up with this today. It’s a little school portrait-y– but you should see the original! I definitely need to check out some male fashion mags for ideas before trying this again.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, OR

cool hair

Finally getting caught up from this past week. Did a quickie edit on this shot– I absolutely love her hair here! Hair and mua Anna Webber, model Valorie.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

the reality of fashion and beauty photography

So I hear this sarcastic comment from people quite a bit, “Gee, it must be tough shooting all those beautiful models!”

What I don’t think the people making those comments realize is that it really is a lot of work. They see the finished product and it all looks so easy and simple. But take the shoot in this post. There was a half hour loading gear into my car, then another hour setting up the background and five lights and metering everything– all before the model even arrived.

During the shoot, you have to keep an eye on everything– poses, the way the garment fits, how the lighting is working, what the client wants, etc. Yeah, it’s fun, but it’s not just a matter of pushing the shutter and hoping you get the shot.

Afterwards, there’s another half hour involved in tearing down the set and packing up. Gear then has to be unloaded and stored for the next shoot. Then there’s the time involved in downloading and backing everything up. Then you have to go through everything and delete or sort out anything that might not work for the client– shots where the garment wasn’t right or the model may have been turned away from the light– that kind of thing. Then the raw files have to be processed, and everything saved and backed up again. Files get uploaded to the web and burned to CD for the client– and then you have to send all that (links and CD) to the client.

So again, it seems simple, but there is A LOT of work involved even in a fairly straight-forward catalog shoot like this.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

pinup

Here’s my attempt at a Robert Alvarado type image. Of course, he is the master of this genre and my image isn’t even close to the perfection of an Alvarado image (or edge– if you’ve seen his work you know what I mean). But hey– never too late to learn a thing or two about both photography and post production, right?

Model is the fabulous Kristina with Q6.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, OR

swimwear photo

This image shot for Popina, Portland’s Swimwear Boutique and I have to say– the model, Kristina, is absolutely fabulous. She’s with Q6 and one of the coolest models I’ve ever shot. She brings so much personality to a shoot it’s just awesome.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, OR

more from the weekend

Very busy weekend– and yet another shoot scheduled tonight! Woo-hoo! It’s nice to be busy.

Model Junia, mua Terri Lodge

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

beauty photos

Had an incredible opportunity today to do a whole bunch of shoot experimenting with model/actress/dancer Valorie. MUA/hair Anna Webber. Here are two of many, many shots we came up with. The top image is lit with the bare reflectors on strobes– no lighting modifiers! That’s something I almost never do in the studio.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

raw

No retouching on this image and I love it’s raw look. I’ll retouch another version, for sure, but I actually like the portrait quality of this image more than I think I’ll like the retouched version. MUA/hair Terri Lodge.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland Oregon