Connections, connections. I like to point out how important this is since it proves to be the way new opportunities present themselves. We had a great team on this shoot: Alex on make-up, who I met through a friend I used to work with while shooting a wedding, Lauren, Alex's second cousin doing hair who I met on this shoot and of course Stephanie, the model, who I met through Alex. Stephanie is signed with Aqua Model Management and has been involved with some exciting work recently - appearances on Dr. Oz, work in a Marc Anthony and Wyclef music videos, 50 cent, ESPN, FOX, Style Network, The Heavy, and the list goes on. Keep an eye on her!
The location we chose was Bear Mountain in NY. It turned out to be a half-way point for most of us. The setting really looked like it would work until, just as we were about to set up (I didn't get a full light stand up) and the park ranger stopped us and said, "Hey, you all have to leave! Do you have a permit? I thought I told you to leave already." He wasn't very nice about it and on top of his kind words, he called the local police to make sure we didn't hang around. Yikes! We packed up and went to a location that Alex knew of further north in Beacon, NY.
Our second location was "closed" as well but we were all determined to not waste the day so we parked and walked around those pesky things in the way....barricades, I think they're called - haha. Anyway, let's get to the good stuff. We scoped things out quickly and found some areas that would work within these grounds and because it was closed, there were no people to hassle us about permits :-)
The first set of images I like to do are beauty shots. Stephanie has an instant connection with the camera and has eyes that will melt - you - down! There are some great behind the scenes (BTS) shots that were captured to give you an idea of how much a pretty location doesn't matter nearly as much as good light.
The catamaran was sitting near where the beauty shots were done and we thought it would be fun for Stephanie to chill out in the arm of the big CAT.
For this shoot we chose a theme of bohemian as you can see more of in these images. Alex and Lauren did a great job along with Stephanie putting this look together. Stephanie also has a background in dance so that helped with getting into some interesting positions on the railing.
The last few from the shoot featuring the bohemian look. Thanks to all that participated (even Stephanie's mom) and helped make the shoot happen! I look forward to working with you all again.