This is my first contribution to this thread. Thanks Aurelie for pointing me in the right direction for posting this type of work!

I shot this last night in one of our more well known drains. I've been wanting to shoot this location for months - and luckily I stumbled upon a model who was daring/creative enough to work there. Amazingly, we were able to shoot for a couple of hours without interruptions, walk-ins, or being discovered. With three speedlights firing every few seconds, I'm amazed our presence went entirely undetected (considering there are huge grates opening to a sidewalk overhead - just out of frame).


Down the Rabbit Hole

I have a few more, but I still need to finish my sort and edits. Also, this is probably the most "work safe" of the bunch, so I'll probably keep the others under wraps.

Cheers!

Gorgeous shot. I love how she's surrounded by all the vivid colours which fill in the shadows just a little. I'm also impressed with your 3 light setup. I only have 1 speed-lights which makes location lighting a pain in the ass. Can't wait to see more

Posted by e-photog Gorgeous shot. I love how she's surrounded by all the vivid colours which fill in the shadows just a little. I'm also impressed with your 3 light setup. I only have 1 speed-lights which makes location lighting a pain in the ass. Can't wait to see more

Thanks e-photog! This shot was actually just 2 lights firing, I disabled my main key light (which was basically a front fill w/shoot-thru umbrella) to get the shadow/orange-highlight effect.

While they don't allow for ETTL, the Vivitar 285HVs are great when working on a budget. However, I quickly learned that they don't have an optical trigger, which means I HAVE to have a radio trigger on it 100% of the time. I also have a Yongnuo YN-560, which can be had for about $65 on Amazon. It is just as powerful as the 285, AND has a built-in optical slave. You could probably find one cheaper than $60 if you hunt on eBay. If I were to do it all over again, I'd have bought all Yongnuo. Lesson learned.

Again... there is no ETTL with these flash guns, so they require total manual control. This adds some time in setup, but considering the money saved compared to a $500 Canon 580-EXII, in my opinion it makes learning manual lighting well worth it. But then, maybe I'm just cheap.

Amazing shot man!

MOAR!!!!!!!

Very interesting, love the colors!

well done!
clearly effort went into
pulling off this great shot.
the model has great curves
and you've done her some justice here.

Def a killer shot! Also, you can post the NWS pics in here... me and e-photog have posted plenty haha. Seriously though, wonderful composure. She could do with some more lighting in the foreground on her, but still... great work!

Killer colours.. love it

i've never understood the pose where one arm is crossed above the breasts, makes her look awkward, not shy and endearing....personally i like shots where the drain is bigger (it's just a side note in this photo,perhaps she could have been sitting within the curvature of the drain) and the pose not covering her breast. yes, she is attractive and i'd like to see her breasts, as opposed to half covering them - if she had arched back somewhat and exposed herself then she could 'own' the photo,be assertive; here she seems like a half willing participant.

the shot is pleasant to the eye, the model is cute, but the overall final product is uninspiring.

i've seen other photos you've taken and i like them , and as such i respect your work. this criticism is as much about this one shot as it is to many others which to me have the same 'feel' to them (not by you, by model photographers in general).

clearly shooting a model under these, or any, staged circumstance is difficult, even if you are familiar with each other or the environment. very rarely do the models in the shots on this board seem comfortable with what they are doing, even if they are, it is not transpiring into the final product. Technically, and i talk generally about this board, the photos are great, the processing is clear, good composition, sharp and colour balanced, but it doesn't compensate for the subject.

not for one millisecond do i think i could do better, even without a model you would all leave me for dead, but aside from the huge wave of constant support everyone shows each other, very little is ever criticised.
and positive criticism is healthy.

i am not on a high horse or putting anyone down here, i'd rather you responded as a stimuli for discussion on how to capture a 'natural' feel to models in these scenes, and to push the art forward.

Great shot!