More than one way to skin a cat

More than one way to skin a cat

I’ve clocked up two remote shoots this week, and it’s led me to some additional thoughts about the way we can photograph models during lockdown.

The first was a second session with Vampire Princess, and that made me very much aware of the benefit of doing a one-hour initial session, and then being able to think about and digest what went on. Coming back a second time meant that I already understood the way that the software worked, and it was possible to set various other things up in ways that were really helpful.

So if you’re going to give it a try, I suggest booking two one-hour sessions a few days apart, rather than one longer shoot. There will always be things that you think of once the photography stops and the editing starts!

The second session this week was with Paige Antonia, who was trying out arrangements with her partner’s camera, a Sony Alpha 99 II, so everything was different, technically. We still made the connection through Zoom, and Paul handed over control of his camera via Zoom screen sharing, but we were using Sony’s Edge software instead of the third-party Digicam program. The screen looks different, but all the same options exist for control.

Thinking about common features and differences leads me to suggest thinking about and discussing things like lens choice and format beforehand. Although it’s perfectly possible to change the camera from landscape to portrait format during the shoot, you may find it easier to minimise such changes. Decide whether you want to shoot mainly standing, sitting or lying poses, and have the camera set up accordingly.

Consider camera height and lighting positions in advance, as well – although any model doing remote shoots will be happy to set things up for you, it’s a creative choice that you will have, and it radically alters results.

If you are using flash, remember that a visual check of results won’t tell you as much as checking the histogram of the output file! This was my big blunder with Paige, and I had to life the exposure just over a stop - absolutely doable with Sony 42mp RAW files, but annoying. I am more than a bit embarrassed…

And I spotted this from the start, but it’s worth reiterating. Focus when the camera is miles away on a tripod is a little clunkier than when you’re holding it, and it makes sense to stop down a bit to avoid needing absolute precision. This might mean that you need to do some work on flash output levels and ISO settings – my ‘studio default’ is 100 ISO and f/11, but not all lighting setups and flash units will allow that. f/11 and 400 ISO is better than dragging out shadow detail, though.

In a few weeks, there may be a fourth set of thoughts on this, when I’ve done the remote session I have planned with Stephanie Dubois, over in Cyprus. Now that will be a remote shoot!