Cemetery Shoot w/ Bianca!

[DGMPhotography]

Hello there,

As promised, here are some more shots from my shoot with Bianca. C&C appreciated!

1. This one really shows off the cemetery. The tombstone to the right I know is a little distracting because of the dark lettering, but otherwise..


2. This is one of my favorites. Simple, yet elegant.


3. Shot this in daylight!


4. Another of my favorites. Brooding


5. Another brooder



6. And another simple one.

 

[limr]

I'm wondering what these shoots are for. The reason I ask is that I've seen a few different shoots that you've posted and all the girls are wearing very casual street clothes. Are these practice shoots? Are they senior picture shoots? Are these girls aspiring models and they want something for a portfolio?

The clothing choice just seems odd. It contributes to that first picture feeling more like a snapshot than part of a photo shoot. The rest of them are better in composition and posing, but it seems a bit incongruous that she's in a dramatic setting and in a more dramatic pose, but she's wearing leggings and flannel. You'd expect a long flowy dress or something.

I'm sure others can comment on the lighting or processing. I think there's potential in all these shots, but it's not just about lighting and composition. You've got to remember to style the model as well.

 

[DGMPhotography]

I'm wondering what these shoots are for. The reason I ask is that I've seen a few different shoots that you've posted and all the girls are wearing very casual street clothes. Are these practice shoots? Are they senior picture shoots? Are these girls aspiring models and they want something for a portfolio?

The clothing choice just seems odd. It contributes to that first picture feeling more like a snapshot than part of a photo shoot. The rest of them are better in composition and posing, but it seems a bit incongruous that she's in a dramatic setting and in a more dramatic pose, but she's wearing leggings and flannel. You'd expect a long flowy dress or something.

I'm sure others can comment on the lighting or processing. I think there's potential in all these shots, but it's not just about lighting and composition. You've got to remember to style the model as well.

You are correct, that is one thing I've been concerned about as well. Most of the models I talk to aren't as equipped as I'd like, and I don't have the money currently to build my own inventory. We wanted to go with a grunge look so I sent her some pictures of what I wanted... She didn't exactly meet my expectations, but I wasn't going to cancel the shoot because of that. :/

 

[DGMPhotography]

Bump

 

[manaheim]

Just not feeling it.

Through all these shots I'm like "Ok, and why are we in a cemetery exactly?"

 

[Derrel]

I'm actually at odds with the other two respondents. I think her wardrobe and look are absolutely PERFECT...skinny black jeans, T, and flannel, with boots. Perfect!

I LIKE the sort of pale, blue, brooding "Twilight" look....reminds me of a LR Preset I have called...Twilight (Heavy). My thought is that these look good as a series, processed this way, dark, desaturated, coooool coloring, with the grunge clothing and the brooding-girl look. She can carry off the look very well. This is a definite "look", and if yuo do a few more shoots this way, you'll get better and better. I like the first shot, and also think the last one is good too. The second one is good, and I can see why you like it, although I think she needs more space above her head in that second shot, as well as in shots #1,#3, and also #5--those feel a bit constrained in terms of space above the head. These are also shots of a model located within a space...a cemetery space...and so to me, the look of the processing, and the brooding, melancholy expressions play right into that.

On the technical, I saw some shutter speed blur, very slight, on a couple of these seen large; gotta' keep that camera ROCK-steady D! Overall, not bad. I would do another three or four shoots, just like this, see how well you can get this look refined.

 

[limr]

Just to be clear, I have no problem with the 'grunge' look, but I just think what she came up with was kind of half-assed.

 

[Derrel]

Just to be clear, I have no problem with the 'grunge' look, but I just think what she came up with was kind of half-assed.

Ummm...skinny jeans, lace-up combat-inspired boots, and a flannel T-shirt are at the very core of "the grunge look". I know...I lived in Seattle when the grunge look was the norm...I now live in Portland, where this look is very current.

If she REALLY wanted to be old-school grunge, she would have ripped the sleeves off of the flannel, and worn a long-sleeved, thermal undershirt, or a rock T-shirt, but that would be grunge 1988, not grunge 2013...

 

[limr]

Well then, today's grunge look is half-assed I am of an age to remember the original grunge look - not West coast, but not sure that made a big difference. It was much...well, grungier! I just feel that this girl had to go more grunge for the look to come across as intentional and not just careless. Like you said - ripped sleeves, thermal, and much more ill-fitting. Jeans weren't skinny anymore by 1991 when grunge went mainstream, and people tended to go oversized, at least with their tops.

Edited: The pictures were going after a certain mood, and the processing and setting seemed more in keeping, but the clothes weren't quite there, and I'm not sure the poses were. They just didn't match the drama of the other elements.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Thanks for the feedback, y'all!

I will try adding some space above her head in some of these and see if I can't get something better.

As for the clothing, I also agree that it could have been better, but I don't think it's too terrible either. Heh, I even specifically asked if she had any band shirts and it was an unfortunate no. Anywho, I will perhaps try something like this again. Thanks!

 

[SnappingShark]

It'd be better if she was smoking a cigarette in #6

That's the one I kinda like the composition of most.

 

[limr]

Just tell her to borrow a bigger flannel shirt, put more black eye eyeliner on, and mess up her hair more She just didn't seem styled as dramatically as she needed to be to match the setting and the mood of the processing.

 

[cmhbob]

She's pretty, and I like the venue and the clothes. She looks a little out-of-place, but just enough so that it works for me.

I'd be curious to see #1 and #6 in single-color, to make the shirt pop just a little more.

Here's another thought I just had. I'd be curious to see if you can make her transparent in either one I like, make her ghost-like.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Just tell her to borrow a bigger flannel shirt, put more black eye eyeliner on, and mess up her hair more She just didn't seem styled as dramatically as she needed to be to match the setting and the mood of the processing.

Yep, you're totally right, and I actually did tell her to make sure she put a lot of eyeliner on, and to mess her hair up. Oh well. I think maybe she was just afraid of looking like that in the streets on the way to our location. Haha

 

[90foxbox]

I like number three.