Malta Fashion Week 2015 - Sarto Garden Runway
On a good day, the Chinese gardens of Santa Lucia are a pretty nice place to be. Add soft, warm ambient lighting, a funky catwalk and a healthy does of fashion from some top brands and enjoy.
Whilst some may our may not like the way the city gate project turned out, today it provided a great backdrop for the fashion shows of 2 local designers: Ferragiu and Nilara.
Ferragiu, "Renaissance" Collection
Nilara, "Paint it Black"
And of course, this post wouldn't be complete without a jump from Claire and some behind the scenes action :)
The first order of the day was the Bridal Fashion Show at the Sacra Infermeria in Valletta. Featuring dresses from Wedding Bells, Impression Bridal, and Ivory & Co. Local designers Creative Factory 7 changed the princessy tone and injected a much needed dose of colour
Behind The Scenes:
And some shots from the show:
The Mercedes Benz Malta fashion week kicked off today at The Point Shopping mall, where various high-street and designer brands showcased portions from this year's collection.
Here is a selection from behind the scenes:
Check out https://fashionweek.com.mt/ for more information on fashion week as well as photos from the shows.
Tonight the Fashion Photography Exhibition kicks off in Valletta as part of Malta Fashion Week (www.fashionweek.com.mt).
This year the theme we chose to exhibit is a modern interpretation on the classic Pin Up. This was shot in one of the amazing designer suites at The Palace Hotel, Sliema; With clothing and accessories from River Island and Porto respectively
The team behind the shoot was: The lovely Amy Zahra from supernovamodels (www.supernovamodel.com). Styling by Caroline Paris (carolinefashionstyling.com).Make-up by Gabrielle Zammit Grung and Hair Styling by Christian Gale.
Check out some shots from the shoot and make sure you get your butts to Valletta tonight for the opening of the exhibition and to see the selected shot
The interesting thing about black and white photography is that the light and editing choices we make have a much stronger impact on the overall feel of the photo.
Lower the contrast, dull the highlights and keep the blacks for a soft, sad feel
Going to the other extreme, black and white photos can take high contrast very well, leading to a crisp image with plenty of impact
Combining the two techinques (using an overlay layer and selectively masking) can provide the benefits of both approaches.
In the following image the dominant low contrast toning provides feel whilst some high contrast is used to add detail selectively
And the last photo of the day :)
For these photos the GoDox AR400 ringlight remained as fill or in the bag :) Bowens beauty dish sometimes with a pal in clamshell setup did the heavy lifting
I finally bit the bullet and bought a ring flash - whilst i really wanted to get a ProFoto or Bowens flash, the price as well as the portability was a bit of an issue. Quick trip to china and voilà, a GoDox AR400 Ring Flash joins the family :) (for a review of this unit - scroll to the bottom of this article)
Ring Flashes had become a bit of a cliché especially in the Fashion world, since they provide a uniform light around the entire lens, which makes for a soft shadow, a glow on the skin and pretty kick ass catch lights. I personally like this effect but i always feel that they need a little bit of spice.
The lighting set-up for these images involved 3 lights: The Ring Flash (400w) on the camera, a Bowens 500w with beauty dish above the model to add a bit more definition to the face, and a Bowens 500w with barn-doors behind the model and to the left. By varying the intensities of these lights we can create 3 different lighting effects without changing the lights we use and their positioning (as always click on the photos to see them all :))
So far I've only taken a few hundred shots using this ring flash but here are some pro's and cons
Righy, let's get this blog on the road.
I'm currently very much in a Black and White mood, so this is a perfect time to take some Portraits (in Black & White of course :)) in the studio. Click on each photo to see the full shebang.
Firstly, let's start with the lovely Claire Ciantar from Supernova Models. Whilst we were working on another shoot we took a quick time-out to take this portrait. Make-up by Shasha and Hairstyling by Jonathan @ Screen
The lighting setup for this shot was simple: a Bowens Gemini Pro 500w w/ Bowens Beauty Dish - above and to the model's left.
The second shot is of Gaby Curmi, also from Supernova Models. Makeup was done by Krista Paris. The lighting setup of this shot is very similar to previous shot.
And last but not least, this shot was actually the first in this current round of black and white portraits - showcasing necklaces from Aura and the expressive Estelle (Also from Supernova). Hair and Makeup also by Krista Paris
Comments, Criticism & queries are always welcome :)
That's all for now, hope everyone's having a lovely weekend
Kurt
Just as every software project begins with "Hello World". So shall this blog :)