Some new work from a couple weeks back. This was a unique shoot where I was contacted by an experienced and talented makeup artist (Jess Burt) to bring a theme to life - an elegant, high-end, bridal look. We had a full team for this shoot - hair, makeup, a model and a custom dress (which the model's employer, a dressmaker, very kindly supplied). The look was great and I'm really happy with how things turned out. We were hoping to publish the images in a magazine/online publication but it didn't quite work out. Oh well, try again in 2025! Below are links to all the folks involved - please check out their socials and leave a few likes!
Model: www.instagram.com/abbyhafey
Dress: www.instagram.com/sooleydesigns/
Photo Nerd Stuff
One little tidbit, that will likely only be interesting to other photographers, is that this is my first studio shoot with both my (new) Nikon Z6ii and (old) D7100. Two different cameras, with different settings and lenses can lead to some interesting troubles to deal with in post-processing. One thing, I didn't sync the clocks on both cameras before the shoot and as such the images are a little out of sync (I do know this can be adjusted in Lightroom after the fact). Beyond that, the colour rendering of my 85mm f/1.8D lens and the 50mm f/1.4G (plus the different sensors) make for a pretty big difference in terms of tones and looks (cool vs. warm) - again, something that can be fixed in post, but doesn't always come across the same way (see below for examples). And finally, just the 'feel in the hand' of a new mirrorless FX camera vs. a decade old DX DSLR is significant - size, weight, ergonomics ..etc - it doesn't affect things too much since I'm reasonably used to both now but it definitely is noticeable when switching between them.
Another item was the work needed in post processing (besides the normal adjustments). I was using the last length of grey backdrop paper that I had and it had some bumps and imperfections in it that showed up (even with the model being a few feet away). Especially since we were planning to try and get these published I had to address the background more than I normally would have. Jess forwarded me a tutorial she found that helped a ton with this and while it didn't work 100% right away, it did help mitigate a lot of the problem areas. Definitely check out the video (and the entire channel) for Photoshop tips and tutorials - The Easiest Way to Clean Backdrops in Photoshop
Bonus Content: Behind the scenes from the shoot
A glimpse behind the curtain at the (less-than-professional) setup I use for my studio shoots
