Kate: www.instagram.com/artdecomodel
Photographer: www.instagram.com/robinburchphotographic
Late summer 2020. Kate and I were working together for the first time. Well, this shoot was our third but she was staying at my old house and about to embark on a solo kayak trip the next day. I was hosting and we clicked creatively. We had done two amazing sessions already and Kate said she would like to do a shoot for her. She wished to try some different poses and looks created from her limited selection she bought. She showed me a black and white photo she liked.
A woman sitting on a rough small bench with her back to the camera. It was lit with what looked like a single hard light strobe. The use of negative space was prominent and that emptiness created a loneliness. My dining room had wallpaper with a small floral print and I wanted to use a backdrop but Kate said she liked the wallpaper. Great choice. I set one Godox AD200 flash on a stand about 7 foot high and 6 foot away with the stock 6 inch reflector. Hard light. I wanted to aim for a high contrast black and white style and really, the job was simple. Take some shots as Kate practiced some poses in a mirror set up across the room. The Canon 70 - 200mm f2.8 would be a perfect lens but it left me a long way away sitting in the doorway. But it worked, so I shot a few test shots and dialed in the light.
(Below) I feel this caught Kate so well. Her calmness in an unknown situation, her strangely beautiful styling and it’s a great “Model before the Shoot” photograph.
These were taken in 2020 and I never edited them because they were Kate’s photos. However I have been working on a custom black and white preset in Capture One and this shoot was perfect to dial it in. Then I started to twist things and used a radiant filter to accentuate the lighting. I actually have some presets I click through that are a selection of different photo crops that I use when experimenting and I find some interesting results. Because I had no intentions of doing anything with the photos whilst dialing in my own black and white conversion, I found myself looking at images that were my style. These were images I loved. They are a bit fashion and a bit art with a twist of interest.
As Kate said “Wow they are so cool and weird!!”
“It’s awkward but styled with light and nice execution, I like that balance”
Playing with the lighting with radial filters in addition using crops and rotation along with dodging and burning can alter an image dramatically:
Another example:
Below is one of my top 5 personal best. I think it has a photojournalistic yet artistic quality with movement and the way her attention is focused:
The original straight out of camera is a shot I almost culled and ignored; almost.
However obscure some of these shots are, Kate is an accomplished professional and we got some stellar images (below)
(Below) This set of three in color are just perfect. The added light leaks and rawness of the photos give them a real low-fi cool quality. Love ‘em.
By far the longest blog post to date with lots of images. Images that make me feel like a photographer. Images that reveal a lot about my style and images that inspire me to trust my instincts and do more of. Images that have a unique quality about them.
“Dang that’s the thing about shooting with you!! Could probably make 5 posts of every shoot” (Kate Snig)
Technically; it all comes down to that really hot (bright) spot in her eye. When the whole image is made by such a tiny spark, how can it not be captivating?
I would truly love to know how you see my style? How would you describe my images to someone?
I am only halfway through this shoot and I can share that there are so many more images like this. So if you like them, subscribe and get it emailed to you. No spam ever. Support me on instagram and patreon if you want to buy me a coffee.
Thanks for reading and please like and subscribe (isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?)