Birmingham Michigan Model Photographers
These images bring me back to early in my career. I had only shot outside perhaps once or twice before this. I knew nothing about how to light outside, I would just have the model tip her head up to fill in her eyes. I thought it was quantity of light back then not quality.
Carrying large objects always reminds me of New York because you never know what you’ll see there. I’m a couple of blocks from a downtown which is fairly empty and easy to shoot in.
The model is Sara who is one of my all time faves, loved her short hair which is very difficult to find in a young model. I just asked to to walk back and forth through the intersection. I don’t mind blocking tracking and people don’t see to mind, it gives them an excuse to watch. The man in the Mercedes was driving by and I yelled at him to stop, he gladly backed up and maneuvered his car on an angle for this shot. I asked the two of them to just start chatting and low and behold the bus drives into the shot, loved that, just what the image needed.
Sara could throw her head back and open up her mouth in that great “alligator” smile which I just love. I wouldn’t have to ask her to do it, she seemed to love to do it and would just make herself crack up. Her body language always matched the smile, it’s not enough just to smile, the body has to follow through. Sara and I tested a lot during the years until she moved away, my mom stills asks about her to this day. She was sweet and sexy in one great package.
The frame is one of my 4×8 2 lb Styrofoam panels (fairly dense) that I cut. I had a small stamp that I stamped onto a piece of clear acetate, put that on my overhead projector and traced it out. To cut this Styrofoam you need a heat knife. Because you can’t really cut it perfectly it lends itself to more whimsical designs like this. I cut the edges on an angle to give it more of a dimensional look. I sprayed directly on it with gloss spray paint, it doesn’t need primer.
Studio dress, Salvation Army, under $10
Studio vintage earrings, SA
Studio shoes, a good size for commercial models seems to be a size 8
For studio wardrobe size 6 seems to work best overall
As photographers once in a while you’re able to find a model who just seems to get you and your style, that’s when work is fun…just sayin‘.
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Awesome shots Mary!