Hi Bruce,
I also like the low-key shots better.
If you are interested in some more detailed comments, their a below.
Please excuse the amount of text and the critical component of these
comments.
There are two main reasons why I like the low-key images better.
First, in the high-key, the "paper-white" (pun intended)
background makes the entire composition sort of "hanging in the air".
(And, in a more subtle way, if I realize (from seeing the floor) that
they are actually against the wall, that gives a strange impression
of them being pressed against the wall.)
That's why the shadows in the low-key shots do their job well.
The second reason is that the low-key shots do not contain the problem
discussed in the second part of this message.
As for other minor comments:
I would consider bringing the shadows up a bit on the second image, as
it appears a bit darker (especially with the darke skin tone).
To be very nit-picking (and I don't have much of personal experience of
setting up the studio lights this way), - in the image 3 (2b),
I would have the model turining her head just a few degrees to her right
(or widen the lights on the photographer's right), to reveal a bit more
of her shadow-side [left for her] eye.
That's about the purely photographic side of this gallery.
Now, I would comment on what has been increasingly bothering me recently
(my pet peeve, if you wish).
Usually this is not much about the photographer, but the subject of
the photos (models in this case).
Typically it happens in the shots that do not include much of "dynamic"
motion. Those are either posed shots (studio), i.e.
the shots where the motion is completely frozen, or on-stage shots (e.g.
not-the-top-level-show musicians on stage, not-the-top-trained fashion shows),
where the motion is not considered to be the 1st priority for the
main action (as in musicians on stage).
The reason for this is that the subjects are not properly trained for the
positions of their body, and especially limbs.
AFAIK, the top-level fashion models have at least some dance/ballet,
... training as a part of their walking technique training.
The same is applicable to many top-level music performers, especially in
pop, pop-rock, musical, etc. -- Those genres that give a lot of attention
to the on-stage action, and the musicians (especially the soloists)
get trained how to move on stage.
I think this is the first time I noticed this in your photos.
In this GESO, it is especially noticeable in the last two photos.
Those poses are rather awkward and non-ergonomic as seen in several
aspects (to various extent).
The first thing that struck me is how the feet are turned in.
This is most noticeable in the last two shots. The models appear
as they can barely walk in high-heels.
(My wife tells me that there is some niche of mid-level fashion shots, -
such as Macy's, J.C.Penny's, etc. sales advertisements, - that suffers
this problem. She says that apparently some consider it to be fine and
even beautiful.) The knees are also turned in (that's a concequence of
the feet position).
The right hand of the light-skinned model in the last shot also has
a bit awkward position. (The photographer can be partially blamed for
this, but I would argue if the model were well trained for this,
and the rest of the pose were less frozen, she wouldn't have had this
awkward hand position).
In the second to the last photo, even though the hand positions are
less unnatural, they still seem to be somewhat like those of a barbie-doll.
I actually discuss some related concerns in my "dancers and photography"
workshops, - primarily for the benefits of dancers, but also for
photographers to know what to watch for. There, it is even more important,
as most of the time the dance is the transition between poses, not
a frozen ("struck") pose.
Last December, I was shooting at the jazz concert of the daughter
of our friend, a prominent professional photographer. At that concert,
I saw exactly the same situation: the poses the singer held
(and the moves) where at times very awkward.
I discussed that situation with my wife, who had exactly the same
impression. But the situation was such that we were not in position to
offer our advice. We both thought that it's possible that nobody ever
pointed it out to the young lady.
As a result, I scrapped a bunch of shots that contained an awkard pose,
and, in some cases, had to go with a somewhat technically inferior shots
(the ambient stage light was harsh, and I was shooting from a
fixed point in the middle of the audience, 4th or 5th row, frequently
pulled by my little daughter).
So, in most of the shots posted, the awkwardness of poses/motion is not
noticeable: http://42graphy.org/music/olivia_harris/
Igor
PS. Apparently, I am not the only one concerned about this "trend".
Here is a fashion blog (in Russian):
http://fashiony.ru/page.php?id_n=33076
that featurs a bunch of fashion photos that suffer the "clubfootness".
Google translation: http://goo.gl/x6if7R
Sun Jun 8 13:07:41 EDT 2014
Bruce Walker wrote:
> These are all from a creative studio shoot I was invited to by Layla
> Azer, the designer of the newspaper dresses. I was the only one
> shooting with lights and I managed to produce two completely different
> moods with the models.
>
> http://off-axis.brucemwalker.com/post/87702525657/newspaper-dresses-designer-layla-azer-model
>
> Designer: Layla Azer
> Origami lily: FoldIT Creations
> Model: Samantha Liana
> Model: Krista Adler
> Makeup: Chantelle Krupka
> Hair: Nadia Amir
> Photo, retouch: Bruce Walker
> Location: Studio On Carlaw (Toronto)
>
> K-3, DA* 16-50/2.8 SDM, ISO 200.
> Lr, Ps, Nik Suite, Imagenomic Portraiture
> High-key: three Apollo softboxes forming a huge ring flash around me.
> Low-key: one Apollo Strip with 40 degree grid.
>
> Comments welcome!
>
> --
> -bmw
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