While visiting home I was able to run off to the mountains of Ruidoso, New Mexico with my brother (Noel) and sister (Sarah) to practice a bit of fashion photography. My sister is an aspiring model and this gave us both an opportunity to add to our portfolios. We got to Ruidoso around 11am (after I got us lost by wanting to take "the scenic route" = dirt road to nowhere), and spent around 30 minutes scouting for locations. After I decided which looks were going to be shot where and waited for my sister to do her makeup we shot until 6pm, with breaks for snacks and wardrobe/makeup/location changes every few hours. It was a long but very fun day.

I used my Panasonic GX7 whose hot shoe randomly gave out last month (apparently I'm not the only one who has experienced this) so rather than trying to rely on my speedlight's slave mode I decided to shoot using a 5 in 1 reflector as my main "light source". I only recently purchased this and it was my first experience using one of them. Throughout the shoot I used the reflectors' shiny silver side which I think mimicked a bare flash pretty well. Since this is the look often sought after in high fashion I was pleased with the results. However, there are a few caveats I encountered:

• The sun needs to be out.
• Works best if you have an assistant - Noel was a great sport and ended up calling himself "the lighting guy" throughout the day haha.
• Sun needs to be behind or to the side of your subject.
• Works best if when you place the subject in the shade and then illuminate them.
• When using the shiny silver side, the reflector is hot and blinding - Sarah was a champ, but there were times when she needed a break.
• It can be difficult to control in the wind.

I used Olympus' trusted 45mm portrait lens for most of the shoot but also used an OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 coupled to a generic focal reducer (translates into a 50mm f/2 lens). It was very sunny out and I was extremely thankful for the Panasonic GX7's ability to shoot up to the 1/8000 shutter speed. This allowed me to shoot wide open for most of the photos. Below are my favorites from the shoot. It was a pleasure working with Sarah and seeing what a beautiful woman she is growing up to be. Having my brother there was also a blast because he knew exactly what to say to get her to laugh. Of course the bonding time was priceless and I can't wait to do it again. Hope you enjoy our efforts, Sam.

If you live in, or are traveling to Florida and would like to schedule a photo-shoot, I am currently offering portrait services in and around Central Fl. Check out more of my work at www.samgoldphotography.com

Into the Woods

Navajo

Radioactive

The Walking Dead

Greyscale

 

I have been spending all my editing time with the fashion photography I shot with my brother and sister in Ruidoso, NM.  I feel I need to step away from this project and let it "cool down" for a couple of days and then re-examine the collection with a fresh pair of eyes. Couldn't help but want to share a few today though and came up with this mini series of square black and white photos from each of the four looks I photographed. Hope you enjoy! Sam 

If you live in, or are traveling to Florida and would like to schedule a photo-shoot, I am currently offering portrait services in and around Central Fl. Check out more of my work at www.samgoldphotography.com

I have unfortunately neglected this site for the past few weeks because I spent some time visiting family in my hometown of El Paso, TX. This desert city is known for its sunshine, good food and happy residents. I had not visited in about four years (way too long) and it was great seeing how much everyone has grown. I come from a very large family and everyone from my generation has been busy building families of their own. I got to hang out with and meet so many kids and definitely used the opportunity to build my family and lifestyle photography portfolio. I was even able to take a trip to Ruidoso, NM with my younger brother and sister to shoot some fashion. Photography gear that I took with me to El Paso included a Panasonic GX7, MZD 45mm f/1.8, OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 coupled to a generic focal reducer, Lumix 14mm f/2.5, a Sigma 60mm f/2.8, along with some rudimentary lighting gear (single flash and a 5 in 1 reflector). In terms of lenses, this has basically become my standard kit and I ended up using everything but the Sigma lens. As for lighting, the hot shoe on my GX7 is broken so I was not able to utilize off camera flash as much as I would have liked and was only able to use it indoors using the speedlight's slave mode. I took well over a thousand photos and am still trying to process them all but here is a "mixed bag" look at some of my favorites from the trip. 

If you live in, or are traveling to Florida and would like to schedule a photo-shoot, I am currently offering portrait services in and around Central Fl. Check out more of my work at www.samgoldphotography.com