I was contacted by Demari Vi Syth on ModelMayhem a few weeks ago, she was coming to Winterthur to do some shoots with photographers around Zurich and was wondering if I wanted to book some time with her. Up to this point I’d only done TFCD type shoots. The Time For CD or Prints is a cool concept, but it’s a compromise, and both the model and photographer generally work out concepts for the shoot. But if you’re paying the model, then you feel you have more control over what the shoot content will be.
I set up some shots with the Barbie Hunter concept and also did some promo shots for Revolt from the Singles Table, but Demari had brought along a latex outfit from a designer friend in London, so at the end we shot with this look as well. This was new for me, latex shots can be incredibly cliche and should be avoided unless you have a good eye or idea. Still, I’m always up for experimenting with new looks and ideas.
I shot Demari with two Elinchrom BxRi units in medium softboxes from either side of her, perpendicular to her and angled a bit towards the camera. Additionally there was a big silver reflector below her torso and angled upwards and I had a Sunpak 383 in a Kacey Beauty Reflector angled down and feathering her with a touch of light.
This lighting combination gave me some cool shadows and skin texture, and I focused on getting portraits of her, as opposed to of her body (to avoid the latex and sex cliche). I shot with my Sony A900 and Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 HSM lens, when focused exactly the images gave me the tones and sharpness and overall dynamic range I like to have when processing a portrait.
