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Model Shoot: Ericka
Last Saturday, I had another photoshoot set up while down in Florida for a charity fundraiser event. As with the one the day before, it was Matt Crim, Michael Cardwell, and myself photographing, and Sarah McCarthy doing the makeup. We met up with Ericka Wright at a local breakfast place down the street from our hotel, called the Blueberry Muffin Restaurant. I had been there before the last year and knew they had some good breakfast food and amazing muffins. After a great breakfast, we headed back down the road to our hotel, so that Sarah McCarthy, our makeup artist for both shoots, could do the hair and makeup.
We decided on a rocker theme for this shoot, so Ericka brought some rock attire, and Sarah matched that with some really cool hair and makeup. After everyone got ready, Ericka and her friend made some great suggestions for possible locations, so we headed to downtown Melbourne. Shortly after arriving and parking we found a cool building with a nice atrium and decided to take some photos there to kick off the shoot. Below are some select photos from that location. To view them all, you can check out the Atrium Set on my Flickr.
After getting our fix of that building (and the rather rude lady on a ego trip in it), we decided to continue walking down the alley behind it. Before long we saw this great rusty [and likely tetanus infested] staircase that screamed urban decay. We took turns taking photos and assisting each other with lighting, as Ericka posed on the stairs. The lighting was a lot more intense outside since the sun was out in full force at this point. Even the flash at it’s highest power was still only adding some low intensity fill light. The stairs looked great though and were perfect for the theme. Below are some select photos I shot on the stairs. To view them all, check out the Stairs Set on my Flickr.
Before anyone tripped on any rusty steps, we moved on to find one last location to shoot from. Luckily, Ericka’s friend who was with us suggested using the back patio of the bar she worked at down the street. We walked down there and found this great brick wall in the back which was a good backdrop. Sarah did some quick fixes to the makeup and hair, which was starting to be effected by the sun and humidity.
This was actually my favorite of all three locations. As far as lighting went, the atrium had too little, and the stairs had too much. This back patio provided a good amount of natural light, but allowed for us to control the lighting with the flash since it wasn’t directly under the sun. We incorporated a bar stool in some of the photos, and worked to create some dynamic lighting with the flash. Below are some photos from the back patio. If you want to check them all out, visit the Brick Wall Set on my Flickr.
After finishing the shoot we said our goodbyes to Ericka and her friend, then headed back into the bar for some excellent pizza and beer. It was a great ended to an amazing shoot. My thanks to Matt Crim and Michael Cardwell for being light grips when I was shooting, and helping brainstorm with me about lighting placement. Also, thanks to Sarah McCarthy for doing an amazing job with the makeup and hair. It was exactly what I had hoped for it to look like, and looked flawless. Lastly, lots of thanks and appreciation goes to Ericka Wright for doing an amazing job at model throughout the shoot, being fun to work with, and giving us advice (and a ride) to the shoot locations.
Model Shoot: Ericka - http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmhooper/collections/72157619581812048/
Email: paulmhooper [at] gmail [dot] com