The photo setup at a house, because you asked!

Been involved in a couple of conversations lately where lots of interest has been expressed in how I setup for a photo shoot in a home. It's always nice to have an interested person to talk to, very gratifying and I swear my hat size only expanded a little while my virtues were expounded upon. So here we go - a shoot at Rebecka's parents'-in-law, to celebrate the birth of her daughter less than a week ago and to photograph the extended family as they are today.

The first shot is natural light - I needed to balance the light coming in the window with the light that I'd add from flashes. This late in the fall, there are still some leaves on the trees - and the Christmas cactus is blooming! What a weird fall we've been having.

I decided to shoot at f/5.6, and with the Canon 5D's top sync speed at 1/125th, I only needed to figure out which ISO would match the settings. Turned out to be 320, which is a lovely place to be for low noise in the image.


With those settings, I set up a high light in the upper right of the image with a 30-degree grid. That light gives a nice depth and separation to people in the photo, and kind of acts like an imitation sun, to complement the sunlight coming in through the window behind. The main light was a 3 foot round softbox behind me to my right. I put a fill card on the right (white foamcore) to fill in some of the shadow values. That's the next shot.


Then I moved the durn softbox around until it wasn't reflecting in the window anymore. Jeez.


And then I shot the family! All of 'em! Bang! (Oy, I kill myself...)


After we were done, we all looked at the photos together and made some selections. This takes care of 2 things - even though Rebecka bought a CD of the whole shoot, she and her family narrowed down the choices so they don't have to find the time later to pick favorites. And it gives me immediate feedback. Did I do a great job? Awesome! I feel wonderful! Did we miss a shot? Then let's go get it before all the players disappear.

While they were making final choices on the computer, David headed back into the living room with the baby, and I followed to take a few quick natural-light photos of her sleeping adorableness. And the family's first baby, Mahiri the dog, re-asserted her place.


Thanks for the shoot, Rebecka!
Love,
Meghan

Save the Date - Lowell Open Studios

Lowell Open Studios will take place on Saturday October 1st and Sunday October 2nd, 2011 from 11am to 5pm.

When you sign up to open your studio, you have to write a bio. Bios are traditionally anxiety-provoking for me. So invoking the most powerful anxiety-reducing mantra I know ("Fuckit!"), I wrote the following bio, which will be published on the website and possibly, if I'm lucky, included in advance publicity:

I shoot people and I eat babies. Oo, did I really type that? I do photo shoots, and if you bring in a really cute baby, I may try to nibble on her toes. My shoots are called Painless Portraits, so you know you're in no real danger. In fact, there's a guarantee. If it hurts to have your picture taken, you can pinch me! Bruise-free since 1999.

The Mask Exhibit...

My exhibit "Transformation Play" with painter Rebekah Wetmore at the Loading Dock Gallery has been getting media coverage, and I wanted to share some of it with you before the exhibit closes on June 26th. Thank you again to all who have stopped by - and particular thanks to those who have bought artwork!

Here is the online catalog, if you already know you won't have a chance to come to Lowell: Transformation Play

Oh, okay, you can see me in the hot pink dress I wore to the art opening: Reception Photos

Gallery directions and hours: theloadingdockgallery.com

Yay!

Meghan

Meghan Moore | Super-Duper People Photographer

megpix.com | facebook.com/megpix

Here are some of the media mentions.

Arts Boston:

"Moore, an event and portrait photographer with more than 12 years of

experience was intrigued by how people would react to Wetmore’s unique
masks, which she feels ‘have personalities of their own”. "

Lowell Sun:

"She always encourages people to be playful when they
pose for her and the collaboration with Wetmore and her masks was the
perfect opportunity for play."

Boston Globe:

"Wetmore created a series of translucent masks that allow the viewer to

see both the veiled face of the wearer and the painted face of the mask
at the same time."

Encore Buzz:

"In “Transformation Play,” Moore hopes to introduce the viewer to the place where art meets play."

This weekend was another First Saturday open studios at Western Ave. I usually open up the studio and take portraits. It's a relaxing time for me, because I get to try out new lighting and meet new people.

Sometimes I reduce down to 1 light; this time, I visualized the way I wanted the photos to look, and decided it would take 4 lights to achieve the lighting I wanted.

I put one light up high behind me in a softbox, but pulled it far enough back from the seamless that it would give a harder light (rather than the soft light that the boxes are famous for). That was at about 1/4 power on an 800w/s Alien Bees monolight.

Next were 2 equal lights, one on either side of the backdrop, just bare bulb with a 7-inch reflector on each. I pointed those down, and took a few test shots until I was sure that they weren't throwing any light on the back wall of the seamless. Those were at 1/32 power, the lowest power.

Finally, also at 1/32 power, the background light had a 30-degree grid on it to make a soft spotlight on the back of the seamless.

And then - we played! Rebecca S. brought her daughter Julia in. I have a rolling garment rack near the door, because... well, because it's the easiest spot to put it. The rack has a lot of costumes on it, and even if it's covered up by a blanket, the rack acts as a magnet to some kids. Julia was one of them. She pulled on a tutu over her own dress, and went to town, jumping and running. I love it.




And then - we played! Rebecca S. brought her daughter Julia in. I have a rolling garment rack near the door, because... well, because it's the easiest spot to put it. The rack has a lot of costumes on it, and even if it's covered up by a blanket, the rack acts as a magnet to some kids. Julia was one of them. She pulled on a tutu over her own dress, and went to town, jumping and running. I love it.

This shot was at the end of a jump, as she's feeling triumphant. Julia is 4.


Justin K. let me take his picture, too. He runs culturehive.com. I thought he needed a shiny friendly picture to use on his website.


And Denise E. brought her daughters in - I didn't even catch their names! The youngest went straight for a black cloak, and bent her body in all sorts of directions, peering out from behind this cloak.


Thanks for another fun weekend!
Next shoots:
Week of 6/6 - The town of Devens for CommonWealth Magazine
Saturday 6/11 - Photos with Rebekah's masks! Did you hear the ad on 92.5? I didn't, but I've been hearing about it! We have no idea how many people will be here, but it's going to be awesome.