Taylor - 1920's Inspired Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago I got a message from Dana telling me that she was putting together a 1920's inspired look and was looking to shoot within a few days. She had a model and makeup artist all ready to go and just needed a photographer to complete the team. Working with Dana recently I knew her concept and idea would be a fun experience. We worked with Taylor Edwardson who was our model and Dorothy Alexis Prince for makeup. For the finished look on the images the post processing was meant to give it a slight vintage look and feel, sort of like an old advertisement. Here are a few of the finished images.

Above from left to right are Dorothy Alexis Prince (makeup), Taylor Edwardson (model), Dana Demure (hair and styling) and me.

Sierra - Bright Colours Photo Shoot

Warmer weather seems to finally have arrived in Vancouver and with that away goes the dull winter colours and out comes the bright bold colours for spring and summer. Here is some recent studio work with model Sierra Kuckein along with the great team of styling, makeup and hair that she put together. Come and see these recent shots plus more at my website bernardngphotography.com

From left to right are me, Amy Podrasky (styling), Sierra Kuckein (model), Dana Demure (hair) and Bee Samoil-Selk (makeup)

Flowing Fabric Photo Shoot

This past weekend I had a creative photo shoot that I had been planning for a little while now. Finally got the team together for the shoot and despite a cold and windy day down by Iona Beach Park where this was shot the final results were great. A big thank you to the team of Jaime Halliday and Rebecca Chan who braved the cold in next to nothing but the flowing fabric that they wore that was put together by stylist Mimi Khounpilom. Makeup and hair was done by Mary Mims and Elaina Ismail. Last but not least was the help I received from fellow photographer Roger Hur who helped me wrangle the Paul C Buff parabolic in the windy conditions. Here are some of the shots from that day. 

To see these and more in full screen please visit my website at http://bernardngphotography.com

Model Shoot - Maryna

Wow its 2012 and this is my first photo shoot of the year with Maryna. This was by far one of the most efficient and no fuss shoots I have done. From setup to tear down was less than two hours and we accomplished all the looks that Maryna was after in that time. Maryna arrived with her makeup already done and sported a fresh natural look that fit well with her perfect complexion and blond hair. My favourites out of the session were some natural light head shots by the window with just a silver reflector using an 85mm f/1.8

Hats don't always work well with everyone but she was able to rock it with style.

We had some fun and of course got in one or two obligatory "jump' shots.

Final look of the day was nice soft light from camera left and right against a black background.

Airbrush Bodypaint Photo Shoot

I met makeup artist Joanne a few months ago and she had a bodypainting project that she was working on that she wanted to shoot. We met a few days before the shoot and discussed some of the designs and colours that she would be using but I had no idea it was going to look so great on model Karmiel until I went to meet them after the airbrushing was all done. I had a few locations in mind for the shoot and one of them was in an alley with a large graffiti mural on it. The weather was starting to change and I could feel the rain about to start so we had to hurry. This location ended up working really well and we did attract a bit of attention from the onlookers. It was almost uncanny how well the colours that Joanne used matched the graffiti on the wall and she hadn't seen it before so it was really a complete stroke of luck. Karmiel not only endured the long make up session but when it came time for the shoot she was a total professional and threw down some awesome poses.

These last two shots were done in the studio using a ring light and two Speedlites behind Karmiel to provide a little bit of accent and separation from the background. We were really crunched for time so these studio shots were set up and done in less than half an hour.

Model Shoot - Renata

Just getting around to posting some work that I did a few weeks ago. I got the opportunity to work with Brazilian beauty Renata who is represented by Liz Bell Agency. She was an absolute joy to work with! It turned out that she brought along makeup artist extraordinaire Jennifer Schulz who I have worked with before so it was a perfect match. We managed to shoot about five different looks and the lighting setups ran from just using a ring light for the close up vibrant eyeshadow makeup look to available light and a reflector for the soft natural headshots. Finally for the full body shots I used a pair of gridded Speedlites and third in a big reflective umbrella.

Model Shoot - Natalie R

Kicked off 2011 with my first photo shoot of the year with model Natalie from Charles Stuart International. Makeup was done by Jennifer Schulz and styling by Cyndy. My hat goes off to the incredible team and especially Natalie for braving the cold and being a true professional. I think it was just above freezing that day and as the sun started setting it got even colder. For this shoot I used a Profoto 7b with a five foot octabank and a bare head with a reflector. Working with portable packs and a big light source outdoors is a lot of fun and when it's almost pitch dark nothing lights up the scene better. Here are some shots from that photo shoot.

These last two shots were done when the sun had already set and it was so cold that in between takes Jennifer and Cyndy would come and wrap Natalie up in a blanket to keep her warm.

Zuka Shoot with Ali and Samantha

As promised here are some more final edits from the shoot that I did a few weeks ago with Ali from Lexington Models and Samantha from JK Models. The makeup and hair was done by Natalie Jean who happens to also be a fantastic model with John Casablancas and the jewelry was from Kari Staten of Zuka Artful Accessories. This was shot in a park near Kari's studio where she designs and makes all of her wonderful creations. The photo shoot started around the mid afternoon and the sun was perfect. Not too high in the sky to create unflattering shadows and not too blindingly low for the models. I stuck with pretty much just a big reflector for these and used it as either a fill or as a blocker. Here are some shots from that day starting with Samantha.

In the shot below where Ali is lying on the grass I actually took off the reflector cover and just used the translucent fabric as a shade. Open shade created this way is actually a very beautiful light and is very soft. I shot that one wide open with a 50mm at 1.4 so you can see the shallow depth of field. It was actually kind of tricky because I was standing over her and the minimum focus distance at that range meant I had to do some balancing on my toes. Note to self is to bring along a small step ladder for shoots like these in the future.