Portrait Photo Session Edit - Behind the Scenes Look

I recently had the please of working with a model from Pennsylvania. We decided on a rockabilly-esque theme for our session. For our first set of images, we went with a plaid button up shirt, a red bandanna, and blue jeans. We also incorporated cigarettes and a pair of roller skates into some of the shots.

The location for the shoot was an abandoned brick factory along the Hudson River. I've shot here before during the same conditions so I knew what to expect. There are plenty of holes and gaps in the roof which created some interesting lighting to play with.
More information on this location can be found here.

We took advantage of light that was passing through a clearing in the roof. This helped bring a unique lighting style to the photos. Here are the before and after examples.


I said, "why not start smoking"? She said, "OK".

At some point it seemed like someone came in and tried to attach a tire swing from an exposed metal beam in the ceiling. Eventually the rope holding the tire had been cut in half , so we used it as a prop in one of our shots. I added my custom filter, a red lined hubcap, removed the excess rope from the back of the tire, and added a faded yellow floor pattern to make the ground a little bit more interesting.

Here's the before and after.

Here are the final two images from the set. I just wished I would had incorporated the roller skates into the images some more.

DSC_0666-Edit.jpg

In this edit, I wanted to bring the mood to the shot by emphasizing the light and shadows on the model. I did this by darkening the background and the shadows under her arms. I gave her a sense of placement in the environment by illuminating the area directly behind her. We decided to burn random pieces of discarded cardboard. I darkened the environment and took some liberties with the smoke and lighting.

Here's the before and after.

I hardly ever edit for black and white but after this past session, I think I'll go back and revisit some of my earlier images to see if that style fits my work.

Thanks for looking.

■GC

Behind the scenesgary castellibehind the scene, kathleen, portrait photography, beacon nyComment