Malta Fashion Week 2015 - Ferragiu & Nilara

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 :)


Malta Fashion Week 2015 - Bridal Show & Behind the Scenes

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:


Modern Pin-Up

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

20150204 - Amy Pinup-184-Edit.jpg
20150204 - Amy Pinup-115-Edit.jpg


Portaits,Tattoos and the softness of black and white

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 

 

Bev @ supernovamodel.com 

Bev @ supernovamodel.com 

Going to the other extreme,  black and white photos can take high contrast very well,  leading to a crisp image with plenty of impact

 

Stephen

Stephen

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 

 

Amy.  Makeup by Krista Paris

Amy.  Makeup by Krista Paris

And the last photo of the day :) 

Gaby, supernovamodel.com. Makeup by Krista Paris

Gaby, supernovamodel.com. Makeup by Krista Paris

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

Ring Flash Review & More Black and white stuff

More Black and White Portraits

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.

Lighting Setup

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 :))

Sarah. The Ring flash is the key light here and you can see the signature ring flash shadow around the model

Jelena. The beauty dish power is increased here to just slightly over power the ring flash. 

Talitha. The Ring flash has been demoted to fill flash for this shot, reducing some of the shadows created by the beauty dish.

GoDox Witstro AR 400 Review

So far I've only taken a few hundred shots using this ring flash but here are some pro's and cons

  1. Construction & Build Quality is Good
  2. The diffuser is unusable if the lens doesn't extend past the opening
  3. The opening for the lens, and the diameter of the ring flash in general is too small
    • 85mm 1.2 has to be used without a hood
    • The ring flash catch-light is too small unless you are VERY close to the model
  4. Battery life is very good. Lasted a whole shoot without coming close to finishing the battery
  5. When connected to a 5D mk3, battery grip and a decent lens, the set-up is HEAVY.
  6. Light quality is good, not Profoto/Bowens good, but good.
  7. Optical slave is great when working with a multi light set-up
  8. The bolts at the back of the flash to which the camera harness is secured interfere with the grip of the camera and depending on how far forward the camera is secured, can be uncomfortable.

Black & White Portraits

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.

Simple styling, light  and less-than-my-normal contrast in editing, provide a softer look for Claire

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. 

Curly hair & an oversized Boyfriend's Shirt with high contrast B&W editing for Gaby's Look

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

Dark Shadows, Bare skin and a statement necklace for the fierce Estelle

Comments, Criticism & queries are always welcome :)

That's all for now, hope everyone's having a lovely weekend

Kurt