Did some shooting this weekend. Also did some grilling. Long summer weekends are the best for both.

I shot with GONE BY DAYLIGHT on Friday night. They needed promo photos and I shot them in an empty studio space in the building that houses my law office. I had four Profoto D1 500′s… one profoto Acute 2400 generator with a D4 head. Sid Vintage did the styling. Karrie Welch from Fortunate Face Minerals did the makeup.

GONE BY DAYLIGHT led up to their reputation. Fun, Good Times, and Great Shots filled our evening into the wee morning. I shot them using my Leica S2-P. Most of the shots featured the 70mm lens – as wide open as possible (2.5-5.6) using filters. I also used the 35mm for a few group shots as it was impossible to get them within the frame at such a narrow depth of field.

I love the Leica glass…. it’s sharp wide open. It’s calibrated to be so. No other glass I know is meant for that. So while shooting at 2.5 is crisp – it may not be enough depth to get everyone in focus. It was a problem that I solved by going wider.

Thanks go to Tricia Slate and Emily Therese for their amazing assisting of me during the shoot – including the pizza / drinks run. Thanks ladies!

Saturday, Karrie Welch came back and Emily Therese put her model hat on. Or off – in this case – as Karrie also did hair.

I used both the 70mm lens and the 180mm lens for full body and facial portraits respectively. I usually use the 70mm for everything – as I like that working distance between the model and my subject (especially if we are on location and others are around and I wanna keep my actions to a minimum.) However, in a studio setting when room is not an option – the 180 is an amazingly flattering lens. The compression on a subject’s face is probably the most flattering I have seen in a long time.

I added a second head to the 2400 generator and an Acute 1200 generator with a ringflash.

While I started shooting with my “patented” 7 light fashion setup… I didn’t do it exclusively for both looks. The second look only used 2 or 3 lights (depending upon the particular shot) and frankly, I liked that one a lot better. Sample photos will be up soon – as soon as I finish editing more than just a handful.

I guess I need to go back to school for studio lighting. Not literally… but I guess it’s time to invest in some books, some more modifiers, and some time. But it’s certainly nice to be re-inspired.