Miss Palm Springs

In my Thursday night class, we had the pleasure of working with Keeley Boess, Miss Palm Springs 2010. She will be going after the Miss California crown in November. A big thank you to Jennifer for bringing her in. It's always tough to organize and light a shoot with only 21/2 hours, and 60 people. The set-up needs to be generic enough to allow the model some space to move, but also specific enough to facilitate all the different levels of photo gear. Some people don't have ISO 100, some zooms are 5.6 at the long end, some cameras are horrible at high ISO, etc.

We went with a little different set-up this week, using the Westcott 28" softbox, and a second flash with a snoot as a hair light. Both were powered by Canon 580EXII's.

Our first set-up was in the world famous Covina Alleyway, and our 2nd set-up (it started to rain) was on the ramp in the parking structure.

This first shot was done with only available light. The hi-light on her face was provided by the flashlight we were using for focusing.

Above was the 2 light setup in the alleyway, and a fairly quick shutter speed to knock out the ambient light. Below are 2 more available light shots. The gown she was wearing, the B&W processing, and the hi-light on her face, added to a 40's Hollywood glamour feel

After this series, it started to rain, so we headed for the cover of the parking structure. Still using our 2 light set-up, I put Keeley (in her tall heels) on the ramp. this had the great effect of elongated her. I had the white balance set to flash, which left her with proper skin tones, but had the bonus of warming up the ambient.

The above image was my personal favorite of the night

And just a slightly different facial expression/Lightroom processing below

Hope you enjoyed the class as much as I did. And does anyone have a couple/model that would be willing to come in for the class? Let me know.