One thing I can always be thankful for is my family. Partially because a big family means infinite free models for am art student that loves photography! I asked my little sister Emma to do a photo shoot with me REALLY last-minute a few days go. I had an unexpected day off, and needed to make use of it! So, we went tromping around in the woods by my house and started taking some photos!
- Miss leggy
We started out around the woodline in a small town (near our own small town) and got a few good shots on this nifty little rickety bridge. This one was my favorite.
- On our way up…
What’s really nice about using family and friends as models is that they’re comfortable with you. They can look right at you without feeling weird. You can boss em’ around a little bit 
(“turn your head to the right. No, the left. Now look down. Look down with just your eyeballs”…) I felt a little bad, but at this point, Emma’s probably used to getting bossed around by older sis. It’s all in good fun, and good photo shoots!
- “let’s have a holy moment…”
This one is another favorite. I was searching for non-traditional natural lighting in the forest. What I mean by that is just finding abstract patterns on the ground from the light shining through the trees, rays of sun cutting through the forest, and other natural and slightly “holy” lighting situations, haha! Actually, the Holy Moment came from watching the film Waking Life with my boyfriend.
Guy1: “Well let’s do it right now. let’s have a holy moment”
Guy2: “OK”
*long moment of silence*
Guy2: Everything is in layers isn’t it?
Guy1: “Yeah”
That movie has been stuck in the back of my head since I’ve seen it. But Anyways!
I wanted to use these properties to play them off of Emma’s pretty hair and white dress. Seeing that I don’t have an indoor photography studio *yearns*, I have to be as creative as I can with what I have, the good ol’ outdoors!
- A Portrait of a Pretty Face
Originally this was intended to be a fashion shoot, but after looking at the photos, I thought it would be more fitting to call it a portrait shoot. I feel like these photos focus on the subject and the environment she’s in, which I ended up digging WAY more than the intended “fashion shoot in the woods”
- Last but not Least!
Last but not least. I love this shot. On our way up the overgrown staircase we found this little spot. I was attracted to the different lines that take your eye everywhere.
This was a fun little adventure! The original photos were shot in color, but in the end, I prefered black and white. I felt that by choosing black and white in this specific situation put a little more emphasis on the subject, but still didn’t neglect the beauty of the environment Emma was surrounded by. I thought that the full color photos were too compositionally overwhelming. But who knows? Tis a learning experience…
Resizing photos in wordpress can cause some distortion. I tried to limit this as much as possible, but as with anything, it can’t be perfect! To see full resolution, undistorted images, you can check out my DA account here.
<3
good shit meg!!
The image of your sister’s legs says one thing in the upper reaches down to the knee and then something more pop and less interesting in the angles of the lower legs and the camera consciousness of the foot position. I suggest cropping out the lower for the sake of the upper. It’s a more complex, vulnerable and engrossing image.
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LOVE “On Our Way Up”! I am quite a fan of b/w shots and this one is pretty good…
Might have needed an ever so slight tilt of the camera to the left, though (so that the steps are completely vertical in the frame). Or, this might just be the Monk in me, speaking..:P
Ps. Love what I’ve seen of the blog thus far -very artistic
Thanks for the feedback! And for stopping by
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