I've only ever known Steph through Instagram. Just through shared likes and comments but nothing else. This past Monday we went on a drive up the coast from Santa Cruz to up on Skyline Boulevard.
Once we started driving north of Santa Cruz, I realized that there gas going to be a heavy amount of fog. I was expecting sunny weather because of how warm it was in Los Gatos. The first, and only, stop on the coast was at Shark Fin Cove, somewhere that I've shot at often in the past. Posing models is something that I have still been working on. Working with models with experience is definitely something that is much easier because they know how to move and pose themselves. I want to pick up on it more in the future in order to help with shoots I have with people that have no experience.
I've been trying to add foreground in my photos to add depth. When I look through my photos, the composition looks a bit flat because they don't have foreground. By shooting through the flowers I was able to add some depth.
After only a few photos around the cliffs, we headed back up the coast. To get a good sunset we needed to go up the coast and up to Russian Ridge. The clouds did allow for good photos, but they were flatter than what I have gotten used to.
We tried to do some good hair flip photos. I think I need to work on my framing. The most difficult part was to get the composition correct, moving the camera to get photo weight evenly distributed. Also, having there be a good amount of space in the direction she was facing was important.
Nice rim lighting. Sometimes less is more. A simple portrait with a little bit of rim lighting.I used her hair to block out any harsh lighting, then I was able to bring back the shadow in post.
Last photo of the day. The tall grass had a nice gradient to it.
Location:
Shark Fin Cove
Russian Ridge Open Space
Link