I change my style of photography rather frequently to keep things interesting. At the beginning of the year, I assessed my portfolio and determined I need more location shots. I started getting too many requests for beauty shoots, and while I absolutely love shooting pretty faces, I knew I had to mix things up a bit. My New Year’s Resolutions had to incorporate that goal, and ever since warmer weather graced New York, I have viewed the city with a fresh set of eyes.
During my exploration of NYC, I stumbled across the most unique locations. When I think of New York City, I conjure up landmarks like the Empire State Building or graffiti, gritty parts of the East Village and bustling streets. I never imagined I could find a pristine and isolated beach, something resembling a wheat field, or an abandoned airport (shown here).
Location shoots are arguably tougher to photograph than studio shoots where the photographer controls the lighting. Here, we had an enormously cloudy sky which served as a big, giant softbox. Perhaps I should have tried more dramatic lighting with external flashes, but I only had a few minutes to get the shots and did not have time for anything elaborate. I ended up liking the softness of the light.
The images below are a few samples from the day featuring one of my favorite models, Amber. She just had LASIK a few days before the shoot, so I asked her to close her eyes and look down a lot. That, coupled with the soft light in the sky, taught me to work with what I have.
If anyone has access to a sweet location, please let me know!
Photographer: Amy Dunn
Location scout: Nikolai Pozdniakov
Makeup artist: Diana Manzanares
Hair stylist: Mirna
Model: Amber
Gear: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
7 Comments
I know it’s such a cliché, but I’m always a sucker for the abandoned looking buildings around NYC. There may be rats, mice, pigeon poop, and squatters, but you’re supposed to make it all look glam right?
Grosssss! LOL Luckily, we didn’t have any dookie or rats around this place.
So where’d you do this shoot with this cool old plane? The soft light works great and helps provide a nice mood with the images. And I think Amber really fits as the model. It would be cool to see the results of adding some flash to the mix. Think you’ll do that at some point?
these are awesome ..
that plane is a great prop. It’s quite common for me to bring a flash outside but the lighting looks very soft and it looks like you were going for a softer style, the whole thing looks cool and subdued
This is such a beautiful set. So much of your recent work has been bright and colorful and this is a very interesting change. The muted colors and soft light really establish a distinct feel to the images. Seems like something that could have been used in the 30s or 40s.
The second and third images are very powerful. She looks like she’s missing whoever it was that used to pilot that plane or like she’s mentally preparing herself to leave on a journey of her own.
Nice work.
Wow! Such rich comments, thank you.
Cristina, I’ll bet you got straight A’s in school. What an eloquent analysis. You’re a talented writer! I wish I could claim that I spent a lot of time planning this set, but my crew and I stumbled upon so many obstacles that day: weather, permit issues, and Amber’s sore eyes from LASIK. (She totally rocked it, though, didn’t she?)
Mark, I brought an external flash but didn’t like the feel. I did, however, try it at my subsequent location shoot and LOVED It.
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