Saturday, April 13th, 2013-
New York - Winter has seemed to last forever this year. Even though we haven't been bombed with too many major snowstorms, we've had enough nasty weather and cold temperatures to be fed up and anxious for some sun. And April has most certainly lived up to it's reputation bringing plenty of showers so far. So, when a client, Emily called me on Tuesday letting me know she needed to do a swimsuit shoot asap, I suggested waiting a few weeks to ensure some warmer weather. She meant "asap!" LIke that coming weekend. So, I immediately set my mind to finding and locking down a location. I already had one in mind, only question was whether or not the pool would be open and ready that early in the season. Fortunately, it would be by that Saturday! The location located in Westbury Long Island, NY, is the estate of a family friend who usually gets his pool open and ready for the summer a few weeks earlier than most. Timing wise, things were going well. I got my crew together and had to get another model. I called Maybelline, a model I have been meaning to work with for some time now. Plan was to shoot some swimsuit stuff poolside and then get some really hot shots with an exotic car. Owning a gorgeous mansion/estate of course means having to own some pretty nice cars. Sure enough our host had plenty including a gorgeous, deep crimson Lamborghini Murcielago. The weather forecast 60 degrees high, mostly sunny, partly cloudy. Seemed like it would work out to be a decent day and overall, it was. However, with the sun going in and out with random intervals of bright sun and then clouds, it made lighting things a constant battle. One or the other would have been great! Basic set up poolside was: Main light - P.Buff Einstein fitted with the P. Buff 22" beauty dish on a boom. We used a large Westcott 5 in 1 reflector disc for the fill light and for the scrim when the sun was at it's brightest. The temperature was no where near warm enough to place models in the pool so most of the action took place outside on the edge. One of the models, Maybelline, did venture in down the steps enough about thigh high in water for some shots. She's a true professional and was down for whatever to get things done. After the poolside shots with both Mabyelline and Emily, we headed to a garden section of the estate with a fountain and stone benches where we continued with Emily's shots. The sun was saying sayonara by this point but there was enough to get some decent rim light.
After the garden shots, the sun was nearly all gone and it was getting late. We were a bit behind schedule and Maybelline had to hit the road back to Philadelphia. Before doing so, we were able to get the Lamborghini into position in the driveway and prep for some shots with her and the car. This time, in addition to the Einstein and beauty dish, I busted out the Westcott 7' parabolic umbrella attached to a Bowens Gemini GM500r to light the car. I experimented with a few positions hoping that the wide spread of specular light from the silver lining would catch the car enough to add some punch and highlights to the deep red color. For the most part, it worked well. But I was tempted to grab another light, maybe even just rig a speedlight real quick, but I was running out of time. A few shots later, the umbrella and light all sailed over and hit the ground. (no sandbags, as I HAD one of the assistants on the light, but they left for a minute!) I thought the light would break for sure but it turned out to only be the shaft of the umbrella that snapped. So much for that. I really liked that umbrella! R.I.P. Gotta pick up another soon! Anyway, was a great day, great night. I pretty much got what I needed, packed up the Rover with help from my assistants and hit the road back to NJ. Below, are some images from the shoot.
