Pictures, rants and randomness!
As a working photographer in mid-Michigan it is a lot easier to get female models than male models. Last summer I met and worked with Brian. He is up for almost anything especially if it is edgy. He also had a great collection of props. As with the last time we shot together we have to use the gas mask!
This picture was taken at the Defoe Photography studio in Bay City, Michigan.
I had the pleasure of working with Ashley over the weekend. Ashley was a teen beauty queen and is a dancer. There are a few things here that could either make the photo shoot great or difficult. A lot of beauty queens have a hard time making the transition from beauty pageant to modeling. I believe that it is easier for a beauty queen to transition into being a tv spokesperson. The reason is that if you have won a beauty title the girl/woman has to be great at interview and has to present themselves well. While the pageant smile looks great on stage and in an interview is often does not do well in fashion or advertising images. So a beauty queen needs to break the habit of the one face smile look. One advantage I have found from working with pageant participants is that they know how to “smile with their eyes” or put a “sparkle” in the eye.
I enjoy working with dancers because they are usually limber and used to being able to hold uncomfortable positions. We joke sometimes that a model needs to be like a human pretzel and sometimes this isn’t far from the truth.
Are you a Michigan beauty queen or dancer that would like to try modeling or just get some pictures to add to your portfolio? Contact me at Defoe Photography. I’m based out of Saginaw and have opened a new studio in Bay City.
As part of the Detroit Design Festival there was a Fashion Show at Red Door Gallery presented by Fuzzytek. The fashion show was a culmination of 6 years of Fuzzytek’s Abandoned in Detroit fashion project. Having been a regular participant of the Abandoned in Detroit photo shoots over the years it was fun to be a part of this fashion show – again working as a photographer. I picked a deserted room at the end of the runway for my pictures. I had better hope in the room than the end product turned out. After looking at my pictures I should have shot from the main room. This is a situation where trying something different wasn’t necessarily the best idea. The original fashions were great and the models did a fantastic job showing off the clothing.
More at: http://pics.defoe-photography.com/Fashion/Abandoned-In-Detroit-2011/
Having been contemplating a photo shoot in a junk yard for a few years I was excited that the plans finally came together. Working with a newly formed Facebook group of Tri-City photographers and models we were able to organize a group shoot at Howe Salvage in Bay City Michigan. Like most free group shoots a lot of people expressed interest but backed out at the last minute. That’s OK because all that participated had a great time. The day was hot but we had a great group of models that were creative and put up with dirt, rust and heat to allow us to get some fantastic photographs from the event.
I’m looking forward to participation from more mid-Michigan models in the future. Our September group shoot will be at either a pumpkin patch or an abandoned farm.
More of David Defoe’s photography can be seen at http://defoe-photography.com
Looking at my Google + account I saw a video posted by a photographer friend of mine, Fuzzytek. The video talked about the up-coming Abandoned In Detroit fashion show and photo exhibition. The video mentioned that there have been 25 photo shoots over the past 6 years. I am proud to have participated in several of them.
After watching the video I decided to grab an old hard drive and look at some images from my first visit to Abandoned In Detroit in November of 2006. I have to say that my photography and editing skills have gotten better since that first photo shoot. I also can say that a lot of my development as a photographer can be attributed to participating in the AID project. Why? Because it gave me an outlet to be creative and work with many creative people. People who got together because of their love of fashion, photography and modeling. No one got paid and for most involved it probably cost us a bunch out of pocket.
Throughout the years I’ve meet some cool people that I would like to call friends. I look forward to the next photo shoot and seeing the exhibit that Fuzzytek has put together. As usual he is donating the money to help a cause in Detroit! Be sure to check out the short video at: http://youtu.be/zMokHYZmelg and you can see Fuzzytek photography at: http://photos.fuzzytek.com/
The above photos are re-edited photos from the Nov 2006 Abandoned in Detroit photo shoot.
The people who randomly stop by now know that they will be used to test a lighting technique or idea . . . if I’m in the mood. Abby stopped by on Sunday just after I got done cleaning. I was in a creative mood and wanted to play with my 21” beauty dish and grid setup. After playing with the settings a few times I got a picture that I liked. I’ll have to use this setup again.
I’ve attended a few workshops this summer. Yesterday I decided to attend one by award winning photographer David Birdsong. This was the least expensive photographer workshop that I’ve seen in Michigan. The class was a combination of indoor and outdoor lighting techniques. The class size was small and everyone got to shoot and we were able to keep the images for our portfolio. For $50 I highly recommend one of David Birdsong’s workshops. This was not an advanced class but well worth the time and money spent.
The images above were a few shots from the workshop.
Model: Kayla S
Photographer:
I worked with the Detroit area model in the above picture a few times. Recently I saw that she had gotten some paid work as a fitness model. It is always good to see models that I’ve worked with make it into advertising. The modeling industry is not an easy one the break into and Amy has worked hard to get the advertising and acting gigs that she now gets paid for.
I’ve been using Model Mayhem to network with models for years. A few months ago I got a contact from a model in the Grand Rapids area. She said that she knew someone who had a limited edition car and she wanted to get pictures with it. After about 2 months of trying to get the scheduling worked out we finally were able to get all parties together at a race track south of Grand Rapids Michigan. It was a blazing hot and hazy afternoon but we were able to get some great pictures of the car . . . oh and the model (Rosealee) also.
After the shoot the car owner opened it up for a couple of runs on the drag strip. Unfortunately the clutch in the Camaro was not able to handle the torque from the 650HP super-charged engine. The car was towed to the local high-performance shop and hopefully was fixed and on the road to the next car show a few days later.
A special thanks to everyone who made this photo shoot a success including the car owner (hope the repairs didn’t cost to much) and US 131 Motorsports Park. To view more images from this shoot visit:
http://defoephoto.smugmug.com/Models/Rosealee/
Chelsie Hurst is a 21-year-old local Hooters Girl working out of Saginaw and Bay City Hooters and has a newfound fame in her recent international successes with Hooters. After finishing in last years Miss Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant she is now trying to get the title of Hooters Dream Girl. I had the opportunity to get some pictures of Chelsie in Bay City last summer when she worked as a ring girl for the MMA competition in the Hooters Bay City parking lot. Be sure to watch the show on FX network this Saturday and then vote for her online. Let’s make Chelsie go from local celebrity to International!
Read more at MyBayCity.com - want to see more model photography click here.