Continuing in our Soaked Series, we had another fun, windy, wet and stormy session a few weeks ago and I wanted to share a few photographs while explaining our process. First, let me start by thanking our participants Sanchita, Dandie and Cassidy. The temperature dropped and the wind picked and yall were troopers to pose with cold water raining down upon you. Adrian with Revelry Beauty was a big help in doing hair and makeup, plus she held reflectors, water hoses and generally was a big help on set. Andrew with for being a second shooter/helper/inventor/part-time model thanks for your help too.
Our plan going into the day was to shoot again my big black fabric backdrop and to play with shutter speeds to get different length rain drops. The weather had other ideas as we got halfway through our first session with Sanchita and the wind became more than our sandbags could hold a 10×20 foot backdrop. The wind brought clouds and we problem solved by reversing our shooting position from shooting into my garage to shooting into the street. We also utilized my side yard to use my neighbor’s house as a wind screen. We had to shoot pretty tight and the models stood on top of a folding ladder to get enough elevation to clear the row of houses. Look at the last photo to see our setup.
Another big change for me is the use of the beauty dish. I have been shooting mostly with my paul buff long throw reflectors either bare or gridded but I wanted a wider throw and closer range and the beauty dish was a win for that solution. Need to continue exploring the edges of the beauty dish’s light, I think there is an interesting edge there. We also need to get another round of big gel sheets. I had a lumopro 180 with various Rogue Gels on it, but it doesn’t come close enough to the power of an Einstein640 on full power. Next time, I think we will gel the AB800 backlight. Looking to have more fun with color in this series and match the backlit color to the clothes/makeup of the models.
Already have the idea for the next installment of this series, leave a comment if you want to participate or if you have an idea of where a localized rainstorm would make sense.
–JB
Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.
Josh is a Texas native and long time Pflugerville resident. He started his photography business in 2009 and has never looked back. His photo business even allowed him to be daddy-day-care before his two sons reached school age. Over the years his business has expanded to include just about every type of photography including automotive, editorial portraits, corporate events, sports and food. Through it all, he has continued to love wedding photography for genuine moment, the fast pace and the diversity of subjects it offers. Josh is a co-founder of North Austin Pfoutographic Society and a resident instructor at Precision Camera & Video in Austin, Tx.