Autumn Halloween

For those who have followed my blog, I last wrote about how Autumn is not just about leaves and conkers, but that a photographer should make the most of all times of year and test their skills. For this blog I had to do just that in order to create these images for a theme that I've called Autumn Halloween. It's not a defined term but the theme was to create a shoot that incorporated Autumn colours and locations, models in pose and to show images that feature coloured background, off camera lighting and monochrome or darker clothing. It's a slightly darker feel to Autumn as we get towards all hallows eve.

The use of dark colours with a large depth of field and off camera flash can create a different look

The use of dark colours with a large depth of field and off camera flash can create a different look

 

For this shoot, I worked with two models and Lyndsey Samuels (Make Up artist) for Maya Wolff's make up and gave the brief that the clothing should be darker in nature, that footwear should be incorporated and that hair and make up should support low light and shadows. The tone of the shots was to produce a warm and selectively lit shot that drew the eye into the picture and create a slightly edgy look.  

Using natural light and a creative use of trees and leaves can create a dramatic frame

Using natural light and a creative use of trees and leaves can create a dramatic frame

In my last blog, I talked about heading out when it was raining and testing skills. I wasn't expecting to test is quite so quickly and it's always a gamble to book a model and Make Up and hope the weather holds. With Maya that's exactly what happened as I was greeted with drizzle, wind and cold which doesn't usually make for a fun shoot and leads to even less time shooting.  I have to thank both models for their patience and learning how to keep warm between shots and to remain motivated throughout.

By increasing the light on the model and lightening the photo, creates further depth

By increasing the light on the model and lightening the photo, creates further depth

its important for a photographer to think not just of multiple things, but to plan for multiple things to maintain control and keep the tempo in a shoot to avoid stasis. Think of a spinning plate and if you don't attend to it, it falls and sometimes to get it spinning again, it either takes to too much effort or the moment is lost. Photography is like that.

Sometimes it's the little details like the contrast of pristine shoes framed against leaves of a country lane

Sometimes it's the little details like the contrast of pristine shoes framed against leaves of a country lane

For the last of these images, I had to do just that. I had realised that the image quality and pose wasn't correct and I had to ask them both to recreate the pose again. Yes, I hear you say, get it right first time, but it doesn't always work like that. The hardest thing is to anniunce to a model that they need to do the shot again but the worst thing is to walk away knowing you haven't got the shot you need and with every step, it gets harder to put right. The correct thing is to admit the mistake, retake the shot,meet it right and learn from it so that it doesn't happen again. In this case both models were professional, took a deep breath and posed again meaning that the images I needed were captured and ultimately, they were as happy as I was. 

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Every blog needs a final message I feel and for this one, I would say that I have learned a number of things about myself and this type of shoot. These are: 

- plan for multiple types of weather and locations but don't give up

- if you haven't got the shot you needed and you know it, admit you haven't and take it again.  

- speak to your models and let them know what's happening. They can't read your mind

- learn from mistakes

Did I make some mistakes?  Definitely but they're mistakes I won't make again and I know that these images I've captured here are better than those I could have taken a month ago through this experience .

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