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Model Shoot: Angela
The day after July 4th [and the night before I left to come back to Kentucky], we arranged to do another photoshoot up in Michigan. Unlike all of my other shoots, this was not a model that could be found on Model Mayhem. The gorgeous Angela was a friend of Josh, Sarah’s (the MUA) boyfriend. He knew that we were interested in doing as many shoots as we could and knew she had previously done some modeling and was nice enough to work out a shoot for us on Sunday evening. There were a variety of themes that I had been wanting to try, but one that stuck out like a sore thumb was a pinup shoot, which I always found to be very fun and vintage. To our luck, Angela loved the idea and between her closet and a shopping trip brought a suitcase of outfits with her for us to choose from. A guest room in Sarah’s house worked out as a perfect location for the shoot since the walls were a solid color and the room was fairly empty and simple. Sarah began working on Angela’s makeup and hair [which looked absolutely AMAZING!], and I moved some things around in the room and got everything set up for the shoot. After a quick change, we kicked off the shoot with outfit number 1…
Red & Black
This first outfit was all red and black and heavy on the lace. We decided for her to wear fishnet stockings and red ruffle bottoms. I think we did an awesome job with coordinating the various parts of the outfit to match each other and balance both colors. I could tell we were both pretty nervous and a little stiff since it was the first pinup shoot either of us had done so we were racking our brains thinking of ‘the usual’ poses, while trying to make our own mark with some more original poses and angles. Below are three of the photos from the Red & Black set that can be found on my Flickr. Click the photo to check out it’s corresponding photo page.
Flower
After we exhausted most of the options for that outfit, we moved onto the second outfit, which is probably my favorite from the entire shoot. Much more simple that the first outfit, this one was just a simple black top with pink accents. Coupled with black ruffle bottoms and an orange lily behind the ear, the outfit turned out perfectly. For this outfit, I wanted to take a lot of the shots with Angela laying flat on the bed and me shooting down toward her. This became a bit of a challenge because I had to use a step ladder to get the height I wanted, and then lean over her. Since I couldn’t use my hands to hold onto anything but the camera, I found myself at the teetering point about to fall over on top of her, which is the last thing I wanted. To counter balance me some, and fix the problem, I had Sarah stand on the ladder, grab my pants, and lean the opposite direction. See the below photo snapped with my cell phone by Angela’s sister Mandy, who stopped by for part of the shoot.
Although the setup was a bit out-of-the-ordinary, and the ladder, Sarah, and myself were tangled into a balance machine, the shots turned out EXACTLY how I wanted them. In the end it was definitely all worth the hassle. Below are three photos from the Flower set that can be found on my Flickr. Click the photo to check out it’s corresponding photo page.
Heels
After some cool poses and interested acrobatics, outfit two was a wrap! The next outfit was one we set aside for the infamous leg poses that most pinups feature. It was one piece, lacy, and cut high, which emphasized her legs even more. We used the red comforter for some of the shots, but ultimately switched to a white rug which we laid over the bed. It created a lot more contrast between Angela and the background, making her stand out more, and really punctuating her poses. Although not quite as complicated as the last outfit, this one wasn’t without it’s challenges. I had to get at the top of the step ladder to get the angle I wanted and show her whole body. That conveniently placed my head at the ceiling and right in the rotation arc of the only fan that was cooling down a humid room. I would turn the fan off, stop it, take some photos, then turn it back on while I was deciding my next shot. Below are three of the photos from the Heels set on my Flickr. Click the photo to visit the corresponding photo page.
Fedora
By this point we were pretty tired, and the room was not getting any cooler, but we decided to do one last outfit, that had a totally different look than the rest. Angela wore a white skirt, a polka dot top and a fedora she brought with her. The whole outfit was very fun, cute and and a change of pace from what we had been shooting. We changed it up and took some photos of her standing up, sitting on the side of the bed and in a variety of poses that we really couldn’t do with the other outfits. Most of all, at this point we were both tired, so all the shots were really fun and casual, since we probably didn’t have it in us to take any more serious shots. Below are three photos from the Fedora set that can be found on my Flickr. Click on the photo to check out the corresponding photo page.
After this outfit we were all exhausted and ready to call it a night. From when she arrived till when she left, the makeup and shoot had taken around five hours total, which is by far the longest shoot I have ever done. The best thing was that we were all pleased with the results, and there was such a wide variety in all the photos since there were four different outfits and a ton of different poses and angles of the shots. First off, thanks to Josh, who put a lot into arranging the shoot and scheduling it for us. Also thanks to Sarah, who as always did an amazing job with the makeup and hair, and was the best counter-balance anyone could ask for. Last but certainly not least, thanks to Angela for not only bringing a ton of outfits and ideas to the shoot, but for volunteering her time and sticking around for five hours in a stuffy room. She was a ton of fun to work with and did an amazing job at modeling.
Model Shoot: Angela: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmhooper/collections/72157621236035503/
Email: paulmhooper [at] gmail [dot] com