Jesse Shoots Models

 

Model: Jasmine Shaughnessy 

Photography is an art form like any other, the only way to get any good at it is to practice. When I first picked up my camera again after a long break I began shooting landscapes while I traveled with a mixture of street photography. Although I still enjoy these forms of photography I found myself uninspired when I returned to Canada. After my 5 Alarm gallery I realized I really enjoyed making photos of people. I had dabbled in the past, but now I wanted to learn how to shoot people.

Model: Taylor Kyoko

Model: Chelsea Lynn

Model: Natasha Logan

 

I started seeking out models to photograph. Models are great to photograph because they want to be in front of the camera. It’s great to take photos of friends and family but some can become annoyed with a camera in their face for an hour or more. While models are there and enjoy it. I think it’s also important to shoot with models as they are strangers and you can then learn how to better direct and control your shoot. While family and friends will not always listen.

Model: Chelsea Lynn

Model: Celeste Walsh

Model: Dalyn Semple

I find most of my models on Facebook, in local area TFP (Time for Print) groups. These groups are filled with photographers and models looking to collaborate with each other. You will find experienced models and models just looking to get a start. Be sure to use caution when meeting anyone online, this goes for models and photographers. But in exchange the model gives their time and talent in a shoot and the photographer then will give them usually digital files in return. In these encounters no money is exchanged as it is considered a trade for time from both parties.

Model: Natasha Logan

Model: Celeste Walsh

Model: Dalyn Semple

Model: Taylor Kyoko

Model: Natasha Logan

Model: Celeste Walsh

Model: Natasha Logan

 

I have found this to be a great way to learn and take photos of people and figure out some posing.

 

Thanks for reading.

-Jesse.

**All photos were taken by myself Jesse Boily and all the models were from TFP Facebook groups. **

Canon Vs. Nikon Vs. Sony

I love following gear updates, Nikon and Canon are entering the Full-Frame mirrorless world and as Canon say in their marketing its going to be revolutionary. But will it actually? Sony has been in the mirrorless game for a while, are Canon and Nikon going to really change the photography game? But more importantly how important is this gear?

When I first started taking photography semi-seriously, I bought a Canon Rebel T3i, this is considered an entry level DSLR and some people will say you need to upgrade from such a thing to progress in your photography. I figured I needed Full-Frame and so I went to the store and bought the Sony a7ii. Both these cameras are really good. But I can tell you now I took awful photos with both of these cameras and good ones. I recently moved to Nikon for the Journalism program at SAIT. I have taken good photos with it and bad ones. It doesn’t take long to realize your gear doesn’t make the photo.

But let’s look at photography as an art form really quickly.

Henri Cartier-Bresson FRANCE The Var department. Hyères. 1932.

 

Henri Cartier Bresson is one of my favourite photographers. Bresson is best known for his street photography. He did not have an LCD screen on the back of his camera, he took a photo and then after some time in a dark room would see his final product. His camera did not have autofocus something so basic and standard in modern cameras that most people couldn’t imagine shooting without. My little Canon was better than Bresson’s and yet I don’t take better pictures then him.

Hoi An, Vietnam – Jesse Boily

The camera a photographer uses does not make up who they are or their photo. Just as the hammer that a carpenter uses to build a home doesn’t determine the quality of the house. I think a problem we run into in photography is that people think the camera does all the work.

Paris, France – Jesse Boily

Photographers can also fall into this trap when new gear is released, we want the newest best thing. We are marketed to and told this is what we need. But we also need to remember that the greats before us didn’t have this stuff, and they were still able to produce great work. Photographers buy this gear and end up not understanding it, they start running before they have learned to walk. We need to understand the basics and roots of photography before we can run.  I can’t take the same photo as Bresson because I don’t think like Bresson. He saw his compositions so perfectly and understood the fundamentals of photography and composition.

Outside of Grande Prairie,Alberta – Jesse Boily

In the great battle of Nikon vs. Canon vs. Sony I don’t think it matters. What matters is that we go out and practice are shooting as much as we can. With what gear we have and can afford. I have photos from my canon, Sony and Nikon and what truly makes the difference in the photos was my experience at the time.  Let’s stop wasting our time on figuring which brand is best and just go take some photos. We need to remember that the camera is only are tool as photographers.

Every photo in this post was taken with a different camera band.

5 Alarm Retrospective

Over a year ago I started shooting people (photographing) when I got selected as one of the photographers for a local art gallery contest in Grande Prairie, Alberta called 5 Alarm. The competition takes 5 photographers and then gives them 5 models and 5 themes. The photographer gets to choose which model he wants in each theme but must use the models he is given. This was my first time working with models, and arranging a makeup artist for big shoots. The themes I had to shoot were High Fashion, Twisted Fairytale, Romance, Scene from a movie, and scenic portrait. I believe each photo from the 5 Alarm set that went to gallery really has a piece of me in all of them.

 

The Romance shoot:

What I was trying to show.

When I was looking for inspiration on this photo I knew very early on that I wanted it to be a same sex couple. I looked through the previous year’s Romance category of photos and found that it had always been traditional heterosexual couples in loving embraces. I wanted a photo that was going to show that romance could exist beyond the heterosexual mindset of previous years.

Next, I wanted the photo to show a sense of adventure. I wanted to have a bright and colourful photo to express the happiness of the adventure the two women were embarking upon. One is leading the other on an adventure through the bright yellow field of canola, while the other is moments away from proposing; about to begin a journey of a life time with her companion. In a sense the photo shows a physical adventure and emotional adventure in their futures.

 

The high fashion shot:

The Inspiration.

For my high fashion shoot I was inspired by Richard Avedon’s shot “Carmen”. I wanted the photo to have a sense of movement and I knew early on that I wanted the shot to be black and white. The problem’s that came from this shot were that I was running out of light fast. It was shot outside the Grande Prairie Art Gallery and that evening make up ran late and we lost some shooting time. But this made the shot a bit dark so a flash was required.

 

The Twisted Fairy-tale shot:

Never grow up; Stay Weird:

My favourite fairy tale is Peter Pan, I knew I wanted to do a Peter Pan inspired shoot for the gallery. I had this idea of having a dark Tinkerbelle preying over a child who was sleeping. This shot is the most heavily produced shot. I learned a lot about photoshop because of this shot, I shot it in a window sill and had a model who was balancing on the window sill and a stool. The model made the costume herself and put some incredible detail into the wings but they were heavy. This caused us to have to stop and take breaks while setting up the shot to ensure she would not fall and hurt herself. By the end of the shoot her poor legs were just shaking from bending them like they are in the photo and staying in her pose.

 

Scene From A Movie:

My favourite movie:

Indiana Jones is one of my favourite movies of all time. I remember growing up and just wanting to go on adventures like Indy. I really enjoy peoples cosplay at comic expos and I thought that it would be really fun to see a female version of Indiana Jones. I took the iconic look from Raiders of the Lost Ark and recreated that scene with a model. This was one of the easiest shots to complete from the shoot and is one of my favourites. I wanted it to have an intense feeling like you were there about to run with her from whatever may happen next.  I think the clarity in her eyes helps portray this.

 

Scenic Portrait:

The Hopeful Adventurer:

For the scenic portrait I found in the past 5 Alarm photographers used wide angle shots. I decided to try something different. I wanted to again in case my sense of adventure and wanderlust into a photo, with my love of comics. I had the makeup artist give the model a pop art feel I was thinking comic books and I had her pose with her thumb out as if about to embark on a journey. And we see in her glasses where she is dreaming of going. In the glasses are Ha long Bay in Vietnam and Paris, France both photos I had taken from my trips abroad.

 

Where I struggled

These were my first shoots with models. I had been to shoots and assisted before but never had models waiting for me to direct them. I got help from a variety of people while doing these shoots. Charlie Healey was there at every shoot helping with reflectors and even helped with some photoshop and colour corrections. Sean Trostem and Joanne Cousins of Prairie Soul Weddings also helped me enormously with editing and the Scene from a movie and Twisted fairy tale helping with lighting and posing. When doing these big productions, I found it to be essential to not be afraid to ask for help when you needed it.