Shooting Fashion (Again)

Asia - Fashion Editorial Shoot
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

A little known fact about me is that when I was in college, one of my dreams was shooting fashion in New York. Looking back, I have no idea how I came up with this idea and how I intended to make it happen. I did, however, work at a portrait studio part time and shot for a high school yearbook photography studio after that, so I had access to the equipment I needed and put together a modest portfolio that was never going to get me to New York.

Fast-forward to today and I have realized that if there is money to be made in the portraiture business, you must also gain an edge in your presentation. And no style of photography is quite as edgy as fashion.

To me, fashion is about wardrobe, styling and location all coming together to create a theme. The best fashion photographers know instinctively what a model should wear, how a model should be made up and what location to shoot in. A mistake can be as tragic as wearing a polka dot tie with a striped suit.

Recently, I shot my first fashion shoot in, well, let’s just say a very long time. The model is a friend, so she was easy-going and generally went along with whatever I wanted to do. I had her pick wardrobe and she selected a very elegant gray dress.

I selected a location that would work with the elegant, classic style of the dress. At our local college, I found a couple of newer buildings which combine a modern architecture style while embracing the historic style of the rest of the college which was built in the late 1960’s. I picked specific locations with a lot of glass, concrete and steel, which I felt complimented the wardrobe style.

Finally, once I got the images home, I chose treatments that were cool (as in blue hued) with muted tones, that gave the pictures an even more retro-modern feel. A couple of the close-up images I decided to do in B&W as I felt the dress had a classic style that would work well in B&W.

Being able to shoot fashion is another tool a photographer can use to add to the style of images he/she can deliver to a client. As I found out, it takes practice and experimentation to come up with great fashion images, but in the end, it was a lot of fun and I’d like to be able to do more in the future.

Here are a few of the other images we captured on that day.

Shooting Fish

Shinn Pond - Morning Pier
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

No, not really. My sudden onset of unemployment has freed up a lot of my mornings though I spend many evenings browsing the career sites, writing cover letters and connecting with my network. But mornings are generally free, so I have taken some time to learn a new hobby, fishing.

I fished fairly often as a child when my parents along with my extended family would go camping in the summer together. Our destination was nearly always somewhere in Northern California, near a lake. My cousins and I would spend hours catching little bluegill and bass, roasting ourselves to a ruddy brown in the summer sun. The rewards of fishing were, well, catching fish, and a tasty albeit bony dinner of whatever we caught that morning.

As I grew older, however, my patience for fishing disappeared and my desire to fish didn’t resurface again until our trip this past summer with my family to the Eastern Sierras. As we stood along the shore of beautiful Silver Lake, I noticed a family next to us relaxing in their beach chairs, poles in the water. In the water in front of them was a string of healthy sized trout that they had caught just sitting in that spot.

My feelings about fishing were confirmed when my mom came up to visit from Arizona, bearing gifts of new fishing rods for my two children. I thought we would go to the local lake, spend a couple hours catching a some fish and go home, disappointed but experienced.

Six hours later, we had not caught a single fish but I practically had to pry my kids away from the dock. They were so intent on catching something, I felt guilty for depriving them of the fishing experience for so long.

A couple weeks later we discovered Shinn Pond, where we met a local man who was friendly and helpful enough to help us catch some fish. Since then, I’ve been hooked, no pun intended.

On a morning I need a recharge, I head over to the pond, catch and release a few fish (they are too small to keep and eat), and enjoy the silence and solitude.

I can’t help but think in my previous life as an employed person, I would have seen fishing as a waste of time. Now I see it as it is: a time to think, relax, and gain some separation from the troubles of the world.

I’ve been using my wife’s four-thirds camera more and more often for casual outings. I love the 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens and the tremendous flexibility you can achieve through it. Fishing and taking pictures alone presents certain challenges, so a small camera is better for these circumstances.

But the theme of this blog entry is relaxing. If it has been a while since you’ve escaped the crazy world that is your life, try fishing. It could change your perspective.

Disneyland - World of Color

Disneyland - World of Color
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

Love it or hate it, Disneyland is full of interesting things to shoot, but the greatest things to shoot have to be after the lights go out. Disney California Adventure is a feast of carnival colors after dark, but what trumps everything is the new World of Color light and water show.

A combination of water fountains, misters, lasers and flamethrowers (yes I said flamethrowers), World of Color is so over the top it makes the Bellagio fountains look like your lawn sprinkler.

The majority of the show is based on various Disney movies and music. The movies are projected onto huge sheets of mist in such a way that they almost appear three dimensional. The fountains, bathed in colored lights, are choreographed with the familiar music of Disney blockbusters like The Little Mermaid. And the flamethrowers? Pirates of the Carribean, of course!

You can shoot wide and get an amazing view, but most of the thousands of people in attendance will get similar shots. To get something unique, you have to pick a moment and shoot it tight. I picked a climactic moment toward the end of the show where the music was rising toward a crescendo and the fountains were going off like little volcanoes. Zooming in to get a few silhouettes, I created a background of pure color that could only be Disney magic.

A word of warning - if you get in early and get your Fastpass to get the best views of the show, you will most definitely get wet, and most likely, soaked. We were back pretty far and got a bit of a spray from the mist during parts of the show. You’d be smart to stay back and keep your camera (and yourself) dry than to brave the front row and get yourself soaked. Unless you have a change of clothes, you’ll be in for a chilly rest of the evening.

Oakland Obon Festival Dancer

Oakland Obon Festival Dancer
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

Although I admit the Japanese Obon festival is not one of my favorites, it is one of my favorites to photograph. Why? There are many elements that come together that make it a great photo opportunity.

Obon, for those who are not familiar with Japanese tradition, is a festival which derived from a buddhist tradition of honoring the ancestors who have parted from this world. The spirits of these ancestors are said to return to visit the household altars which are prevalent through many Japanese homes. There is obviously a fine line between honoring your ancestors and worshiping them at an altar, and as a christian, it makes me a bit uncomfortable to even approach that line. Still, obon is largely a fun and celebratory festival, like a giant family reunion for many people. Although most obon festivals are held at buddhist temples, much of the religious connotations of the event have long been removed.

I think what makes obon such a great photo opportunity is the fact that many people who participate in obon come dressed for the part, in their colorful summer yukatas (a lighter form of the traditional kimono), and fancy fans. If you attend the spring Cherry Blossom festival in most cities, only a small fraction of attendees dress in traditional clothing.

The dance is the other obvious attraction. Obon dance is basically a giant line dance that circles around a center stage and pit of musicians. Photographing the dancers is as easy as sitting at a sushi boat restaurant; stand in once place long enough and the photo opportunities come to you.

Lastly, obon starts at dusk, which makes it somewhat challenging to shoot but with the effect of having dusk or golden hour lighting to work with. In Oakland, we had to deal with overcast skies and an unseasonably cold evening, so it wasn’t as great as other festivals I have attended. Still, the lights of the festival and the city behind made a great backdrop for the dancers as they passed by.

Should You Insure Your Photography Equipment?

My good friend just got back from a family vacation to Washington DC and we were talking the other night, when he dropped this horror story on me. A day or two into his vacation while shooting the Lincoln Memorial at night, his brand new Canon 7D took a nose dive off of his tripod and smashed his lens and itself into oblivion. Because it was new and purchased on a high end credit card, he contacted the credit card company about a reimbursement. The limit, he was told, was $500, not even enough to cover the cost of the lens, let alone a brand new camera.

This is the kind of story that haunts me, wakes me up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. It also makes me think about camera insurance. Many of us who are enthusiasts, not professionals, don’t give much thought to insuring our equipment. Homeowners insurance will often cover the lost of a stolen camera or lens anyway, even if you are traveling. But what about accidents, like the one my friend experienced or any other of that type? I put my camera in harm’s way on a regular basis, hanging over the edge of a building, taking it out in a boat, even shooting at the beach with sand and salt.

There are several options for camera insurance and it really depends on what your comfort level for risk is, or how much you are willing to pay. If you are an enthusiast, perhaps your best bet is an enhancement, called a “rider” in insurance terms, to your homeowners insurance to cover accidental damage to your camera (or other valuables) away from home. If you aren’t satisfied with the options your insurance company offers you, there are many insurance companies specializing in insuring photo equipment. Keep in mind that many of these companies clients may be professionals, however, and require a more comprehensive type of insurance. For example, a professional photographer may need to insure himself against liability if anyone is injured during a photo shoot.

As a photographer, are you comfortable with the level of risk you are taking with your equipment? Could you replace it if it were damaged or stolen? I know I’ll be talking to my insurance company soon after the horror story my friend shared with me!