Happy Easter! My Sunday series on outdoor portraiture continues today with a portrait of Tomiko. She is a lovely and dynamic model who I was lucky enough to photograph during two different group model shoots in Arizona that were hosted by the late Dave Hall.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years.—Audrey Hepburn
Outdoor portraiture is as much about lighting as it is location. One of my earliest mentors advised me to work with as few light control devices as possible. When it comes to outdoor portraiture, I try to do that because the less time spent fussing with my gear, the more time I can spend putting my subject at ease.
These days much of my outdoor portraiture is done with natural light sometimes using a speedlight or a single reflector. Having a reflector on a light stand can be useful when working alone but if an assistant is available I prefer to use them instead. It’s much easier to talk to an assistant from camera position and get them to move the reflector than walking back and forth to the light stand to make an adjustment. And in a strong wind, as can happen often this time of year here in the Rockies, a reflector on a light stand can easily become airborne even with a sandbag attached.
Photographing Tomiko
Tomiko is blessed with an athleticism and physical strength along with the elegance and grace of a ballet dancer. These attributes along with with her innate creativity and effervescent personality make her a delight to photograph. I was able to photograph Tomiko on two occasions; both when attending group model shoots in Phoenix. You can see images from that first shoot here and here. I always enjoyed these shoots because she and I always made great-looking images together. Today’s image is from that second shoot.
How I Made this Portrait: Here Tomiko gives off the vibes of am 1970’s B-movie heroine who could kick your butt! I photographed her using a simple exposure method I originally used for photographing glamour models outdoors but also confess to using it sometimes today: I put the camera in Program mode and simply turn on a speedlight. It’s crude, for sure, and most of the time it works. The camera used was a Canon EOS 10D with the EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM lens (at 60mm.) It’s been discontinued by the manufacturer but you can pick up used copies from many sources. The speedlite used was Canon’s 420EX. Exposure was 1/100 sec at f.5.6 and ISO 200.
The best way to improve your portrait and glamour photography is to practice. Make sure that you shoot something every week—it doesn’t have to be a portrait—‚so that you reach a point where you don’t have to think about how to operate your camera. It becomes intuitive. All of the suggestions I’m making today are hardly secrets and you may already know this stuff but it may be tucked into the back of your mind and waiting to be jogged. Here’s my jog…
Postscript
Recently Tomiko and I have been exchanging DMs through Instagram. (Please follow me there on @joefarace.) She posted a comment under one of my “street photography” images saying “Would love to work with you again.” I excitedly replied and she followed that up with “we should plan something for sure! I’ll make it happen!” If and when we reunite for a shoot in Colorado, I am sure you will see the results here.