EricScott

I have not been doing a lot of studio work in the last year because I have a small studio and, in my mind, I feel that I’m limited  in my creativity when the great outdoors beckon with it’s different landscapes, textures and adventures.  But I’ve been shooting more studio lately and I’ve found that I’m enjoying the control I have in the lighting and the only limitations to creativity IS in  my mind.  The latest case in point.  I recently shot with a new model, Michelle. I have an ongoing series this year shooting with Venetian carnival masks.  Low level lighting is one of my favorite schemes to do in the studio and I am thrilled with the creative results we got using some Spanish lace and the masks with that type of lighting.  It was a great collaboration as I played with some new lighting schemes and we both thought of different ways to light and use the props.  This was primarily shot with a 22 inch beauty dish using a 20 degree grid and 40 inch gridded octobox.

Some creative fashion work by Joceline that we did as part of our shooting around the jungles of Mission Beach, Australia. The one of her on the log overhanging the beach was actually an out take.  She was testing out the log for balance and  I was doing an exposure test.  However,  I love the high key look of it and colors.

Jessica was one of the first models that I shot when I started on this journey and I was one her first photographers in her pursuit of becoming a model.  We’ve collaborated several times over the years.  She was patient when I was learning studio lighting and her portraits remain some of my favorites as I experimented with different lighting schemes and equipment. We always have fun when we get together.  One of the things I enjoy the most as a photographer is when someone entrusts you to “capture” them.  I consider that a real honor – especially for models who are even more picky than the average person about their image.  So, in our latest shoot, when I asked her goal for the shoot, she said “I’m your canvas, paint me as you like.”  So, I took her to a sexier, edgier place than she has been before and I added some more shots to  my ongoing mask series.  Jessica has this beautiful innocence about her.  I love how I still captured that aspect of her in these images while bringing out a sexier side as well. 

One day, Vassanta and I wandered around our hotel complex in Mission Beach looking for places to shoot. We found a grove of palm trees, another area that the hotel was using to discard palm fronds providing a bed of leaves, and a discarded branch that looked like bizarre antlers. The ever creative V  also came up with the idea of using parts of the webbing around the palm trunk as a headdress. We got some lovely shots using the amber color of the palm fronds to accentuate her tan. I also used some new editing to get a gorgeous platinum hued split tone result.  Then we got a shot of the antlers….it reminded me of last year at Joshua Tree, CA when she created  a “Russian hat” from discarded sage brush.  We were also fortunate to benefit from one of  those rare occasions where you are at the right place at the right time.  She was posing on top of this tree that had grown around a rock when a  natural sun burst started filtering through the trees behind her.  This also provided a spot of light on her as well.  I timed the shot to coincide as the burst came through the trees. Ahhh….another day in paradise!