Pictures, rants and randomness!
SaikoX is a very creative mid-Michigan model. The theme for this shoot was . . . well . . . she got a new outfit and wanted a shoot. After playing around with her hair it turned out perfect for a rocker portrait. There just happened to be a guitar in the corner and the images turned out great.
Are you a musician? Contact Defoe Photography in Saginaw for a portrait or promo photo.
Last weekend I met with two new photographers to work on some lighting techniques. One of the photographers had just purchased a lighting setup from a mid-Michigan photographer that was getting out of the business and selling their equipment. Having had the equipment gathering dust in the basement for a few months they figured it was time to figure out how to use it a little better. Being honored to be asked to give them a private workshop we gathered in a basement on a Saturday morning. We had a lot of fun playing with the lights and working with one experienced model and one nub.
The following picture was taken with 2 soft boxes. Both lights were behind the model at about a 45 deg angle pointing at her shoulders.
It was nice over the past weekend not to have to drive to Detroit for a photo shoot. Through ModelMayhem I had been talking with a model from Saginaw and we finally got together for a photo shoot. Shoot turn out great and Lakeshia was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her for all you Great Lakes Bay Region publishers and online product website photographers. In fact you can call both of us to work as a team! Photographer and model all in one!
On Friday night a group of Saginaw area photographers gathered in a cemetery in Freeland, MI for a group photo shoot. We were hoping for a full moon but the night sky was covered with clouds. The dark cloudy night, strong winds and cold temperature didn’t deter the photographers or models from having some fun!
When you think of Model Photography in Saginaw, David Defoe tops everyone’s list for actor headshots, commercial portraits, band photos for musicians, and portfolios for models.
The Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium allowed the Abandoned in Detroit fashion project to do a fashion photo shoot at the aquarium on September 18, 2011. This was an opportunity not to be missed. This aquarium has been closed for over 5 years. The 101 year old Belle Isle Aquarium is the oldest aquarium in the United States and it is a shame that it is closed to the public. Visit their website (link above) and make a donation. It was amazing how many people went through the building the day we did the photo shoot and all were amazed at the beauty of the structure.
For more pictures from this photo shoot by David Defoe visit:
http://pics.defoe-photography.com/Models/Abandoned-In-Detroit-201109/
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.
If you read my last post I was happy to receive a new backdrop stand in time for a photo shoot. I wasn’t the lead on the shoot I was helping a photographer friend of mine. The shoot was a grade school wrestling team in West Branch Michigan. This was my first test of the new Square Perfect stand. I have to say that the stand lived up to the reputation I had read about online. The legs were sturdy and it was able to hold the weight very well.
The shoot was fun and the setup was interesting. My friend, Alex, always comes up with great ideas. But like most ideas – you never know quite how the execution is going to work. We setup a black backdrop about 20 feet behind the subject. There was a wrestling mat on the floor so it looked natural. The main light was a speedlight with a diffused beauty dish and the fill light was another speedlight with “the shell” flash diffuser attached. The real dramatic element was the flash setup as a backlight “kicker” behind the subject. After a little adjustment the lighting produced a very dramatic scene. There was a glow behind the wrestler with a dim reflection on the wrestling mat and the black backdrop was completely blown out black. The parents were very happy at what they were seeing on the camera screen and the orders were flowing. Of course the fun part is getting the final editing done and all the prints made.
It is always a joy to assist in a photo shoot. It gives me a chance to see how another photographer works and improve my skills by watching them and the environment.
My wife’s retail store in Saginaw MI always provides me a good flow of commercial photography opportunities. We are getting ready for the new year and decided to re-do the entire e-commerce portion of he website. This means more programming and more photos. As photo shoots usually go we had three models confirmed and only two showed up. The above picture is Amanda. I hadn’t worked with Amanda for about 2 years. She still does great in front of the camera and we had a good time getting pictures of about a dozen outfits for the website.
More pictures of Amanda can be found at: http://defoephoto.smugmug.com/Models/Amanda/ – I’ll be she’d love it if friends and family got her some prints for a present!
I was getting ready to head over to Pit and Balcony in Saginaw to photograph the evenings performance of Five Women Wearing the Same Dressand I got a call from my wife. Review magazine need a cover shoot. She was going to arrange the models and get setup the set and we would do the shoot when I got home. I arrived at the theatre with a few minutes to spare. After unpacking the gear I found out that the play was delayed for 1 hour. Great! This ment that the play was not going to be over when I needed to be at the next photoshoot. The cover shoot could not be delayed because the magazine was going to press the following afternoon.
Scrambling the theatre director suggested that we stage some shots with the actors that were there and in costume and then I could shoot the 1st act and leave when I needed to. This worked out great and we were able to get an entire cast photo, which sometimes doesn’t work out after the show.
After shooting the play I rushed home just as the models were arriving. We hadn’t done a full fledged photo shoot at our house before and I realized that I didn’t know where all the plugs were. So as I scrambled around setting up lights and gels my wife fixed makeup and got the models dressed. An hour later we had a nice selection of pictures for me to edit.
Following is one that didn’t make the cut for the cover of the magazine but was one of my favorites from the night!
Want to hire David Defoe for your magazine, website, senior pictures of wedding? Contact me online