Light is Everything and Directing Your Model

There's a heavy rain and thunderous sky every night in the Florida summer. Noelle was ready to shoot if rained or not. I suggested sunset in hopes that black sky would clear for a moment and give me some golden light. I met her during sunset at the Casino in Gulfport there was river in the street and it was pouring down; I was late getting there and I knew the sun would dip past the horizon any moment. I remembered there's a small yacht club tucked behind some mangroves...if there was an opening in the clouds that would be my shot. Sometimes a 10 minute shoot is all you need.

Armed with an 85mm 1.2 and a Canon 5DSR we went onto the docks of the Boca Ciega Yacht club. The heavy rain had just stopped and it was sprinkling. The humidity in the air was heavy and my lens fogged as I stepped out of the car. I scouted briefly while Noelle changed into one of her outfits she said he got in LA.

This was my first time hanging with Noelle. We really didn't have time for small talk, it was all about finding the location to shoot before the sun went down. I made the decision to shoot at the yacht club; we got lucky because no one was on the docks. That nasty storm cleared everyone out. I immediately gave a few directions with posing and started blazing out a few shots. I should re-phrase "posing." See, I don't pose my models...I "move" them into positions I see interesting and then capture the shot.

A small opening in the sky let the orange light through the grey skies giving this magical orange glow. It almost looked like Noelle had a bad Trump spray tan.

You can see that spray tan color in the sky with the image above. I made a joke about her "fake tan" and nailed some of the expressions. If you get a laugh, you know you got 'em. Then I take them into a serious look after a look, you get something different when you say, "okay, now get serious ... stop smiling" Boom...nail whatever expression comes out.

The silly laugh.

The serious look which she wasn't expecting from my direction. I constantly direct when I am shooting someone, there's no time to fuck around with your camera settings. If you need a moment to get your shit together, give the model something to do for a few seconds while you figure it out. But never just sit staring at the back of your camera while your model stares at you...waiting...and waiting...getting bored. Yeah, bored...don't be boring.

If you can take a subject through a range of emotions, you got it under control. After I have nailed what my gut says is a couple of good shots, I move on. I typically have my subjects bring 2-3 different things to wear. If gives a break between shots and a chance for everyone to relax.

Taking a break is crucial, it gets intense moving around like a mad man. Here's the thing, shoot with confidence and fake it if you're camera settings are sucking. Keep moving and give clear direction. Tell the model to move every second, they want direction. I see most photographers just staying quiet and snapping away not knowing what to do. Visualize what you want and move until you get it.

Light is everything gets thrown out the window if you can't direct your model. If the model is bored, you'll get boring shots in the best light.