Feat. Louise Djabri
I thought I'd make this one available for everyone. I haven't posted ballet photography work in a while, so here you are. A familiar model, a familiar location, and gear you have seen countless times in previous posts. So what was I even trying to do for this one? I had that rule back in the day, to not use a location more than twice. I broke that rule several times now because I felt I was missing out on an interesting exercise. Depending on the weather (if I am shooting outdoors), the time of the day, my mood, and the model (especially if it's not a traditional portrait session) chances are, the outcome will be different from one session to another. But how much? If you missed you should watch the other photoshoot I made in that same location:
if you are not a premium member, you can still watch the short version on YouTube:
Now you can watch my latest outdoor ballerina portrait photoshoot and compare:
So I used that row of benches again for this one. My framing wasn't that different from my session with Louana, I just love how it adds depth from left to right. I did it again with Louise because initially, the ones on the bench with Louana weren't part of the final image selection.
Louise Djabri (Toulouse - France)
Fujifilm GFX100 + GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
1/125sec f/1.7 ISO 125
Something I avoided, with Louana, that I decided to try with Louise. 2 things I would do differently if I had the option, is bring a bigger light source for a softer look and better transitions with the shadows, finding a way to bring back that right hand (and arm) in the picture. You probably noticed how we struggled to find the right pose and balance in the BTS video!
Louise Djabri (Toulouse - France)
Fujifilm GFX100 + GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
1/125sec f/1.7 ISO 125
And this is where I did something different! With Louana, the idea was brushed off pretty quickly. We felt the theme and clothes wouldn't work with this backlighting approach. Too dark and too moody, I decided to keep this one for another session, and this was it! My flash was placed on the right side behind the end of the bridge. We just placed with her placement and depending on the pose decided to add or or reduce the shadows on her body.
Louise Djabri (Toulouse - France)
Fujifilm GFX100 + GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
1/125sec f/1.7 ISO 200
For a few of them, I once again would have preferred a bigger light source, but, the space we had for the flash behind was very limited and I could only place my light stand on a slanted piece of dirt. SO a bigger rig would have been impossible, unless I had at least two assistants holding the entire thing the whole time.
Louise Djabri (Toulouse - France)
Fujifilm GFX100 + GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
1/125sec f/2.0 ISO 200
Another idea that fell through with Louana. I wanted to play with that fence in different ways, but couldn't find something that worked so we moved on to the blue door. But Louise had a few ideas herself, and this was one of them. I am once again the from left to right using the fence to give depth and an obvious vanishing point.
Louise Djabri (Toulouse - France)
Fujifilm GFX100 + GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
1/125sec f/1.7 ISO 100
And finally, that blue door is back! Of course, I had to use Louise's athletic abilities to make that one different, as the framing, is similar to Louana's series.
Louise Djabri (Toulouse - France)
Fujifilm GFX100 + GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR
1/125sec f/1.7 ISO 100
I will probably use these different scenes for another session in the future. I will do my best to find another to use these different spaces as I feel I could have done better. But that's the goal, making it different each time. Finding details you missed the first time, and further improving your efficiency on location to find several framing options and new ways to compose your shots.