MODEL VS MODEL CHALLENGE | Working within strict parameters
Last week as I was sitting in quarantine, finishing up my last editing job, I was thinking about what is next for all of us in these uncertain times. I started to wonder what everyone needed in their lives while we are all hiding from COVID-19. My conclusion: positivity, laughs, and something to keep us entertained. I decided it was time for me to come out of hiding, dust off the YouTube channel, and bring you guys the laughs you need to get you through this.
In this video my friends Shelby, Presley and I went to Orange for the day with no real objective in mind except to take cool photos. We filmed a few TikTok videos, which I will link if you want to check them out. We also thought it would be fun to do a model vs model challenge. So, they would choose their own outfits, and poses, and I would challenge myself by working within their parameters of how they wanted their photos to look. We did three rounds in this challenge. In the first round I directed the photos, the second round we wanted to get portrait shots, and the third round I let the models completely choose how they wanted the photos to look.
I will be providing more laughs and photos on my Instagram and TikTok if you guys want to follow along.
In this set of photos it was golden hour, so I wanted to capture motion and emotion and I thought this had a very editorial vibe to it. I wanted to get something that you could see in an ad without using any other equipment other than my camera.
This is my first time experimenting with black and white photos, but I am trying to step outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself. I also find portrait shots difficult because I am uncomfortable with the intimacy it creates, which is why I tend to shoot wider angles. But I like the way I captured the personalities of each of the models through these shots. Overall I am happy with this experiment and I feel like I learned a lot.
These shots are from the last part of the challenge where the models have total creative freedom. I thought this would be a good way for the models to push themselves because often they are given direction by the client or the photographer. I also thought this was a good exercise for me to set parameters for myself, as the client typically would, and practice making someone else’s vision come to life.
The instruction I was given by Presley was to make her look tall and powerful. I thought the best way to achieve this was from a low position with a wide angle lens.
Shelby wanted to create long motions to fill up the space in the photos. My approach for this series of shots was to have a fast shutter to capture the quick motions.
Let me know which photos you guys liked, and who you think won the challenge in the comments on the video, I will link it below. I enjoy doing these challenges because I am continuously learning about photography and I hope that these videos help you guys along the way as well.
