Assistant on location

Having assisted Lewis in the studio and gained some excellent experience, i jumped at the chance to assist him on a location shoot.

Wiktoria again was the model for the day. The location was the beautiful setting of Chatelherault in Hamilton.

Access had already been agreed with management but for this particular shoot the building was still open to the public. Fortunately it did not cause too many problems but is something you should be aware of.

 

Once the lights, modifiers, dresses, camera bags, and bottles of water had been carried upstairs, the task of organising the room took place.

The utmost care was taken not to cause any damage to the historic furniture and fittings.

Lewis looked around the room, deciding where the model should stand for the best available background and available light, then began to place the lighting to suit.

It is a long day standing posing in high heels, so while all the settings were being adjusted, Wiktoria took the opportunity to kick off the shoes.

Taking test shots to get the lighting right can take a few minutes but is essential for the best outcome. Lewis is certainly a perfectionist and knows what he wants.  I got to see the images as he explained why he wanted lights moved or adjusted. A great learning experience.

When Lewis was happy with the position and intensity of the light, it was time for him to give Wiktoria her instructions. Getting the model to relax is a skill he has perfected.

Just a slight turn of the head can make all the difference to the outcome and using a cable release allowed Lewis to watch the angle of Wiktoria’s face and capture the image at the right moment.

Although a photoshoot like this can be quite intense, it is important that everyone enjoys themselves. this can be seen from the last images in this post.

Following the shoot in this dress Wiktoria changed to another wedding style dress which brought up another set of lighting challenges.

Unfortunately I did not take a set of images for that dress as I was so busy learning about the lighting.

At the end of the day, Lewis has captured some great images of Wiktoria. I am sure he will share them in due time.