Gia at Black Star Studio - Part 2
After taking a few with the same outfit I was keen to try out the Killstar dress that Gia had bought with her, which I was really excited to see because again it gave me a new way of looking at the shoot. These are super dreamy and exactly what I was thinking about when I made the shoot plan. Again I think the headband works well to stretch the image and add interest in the edges and I love the way the lace translates across, here and there but fading out into the blackness. Gia is so amazing at giving tiny movements that change a look so that the first set feels like a warrior and yet this next set has a sense of yearning like a Gothic heroine.
While Gia was changing I made what I initially thought was a really bad choice; I reduced my aperture to create more depth. The problem being that a lot of the shots after that I really liked had lost focus. I’m still in two minds about it now after listening to advice that said you shouldn’t shoot lower than f4 for studio portraits but at the same time the ones that have hit I think are super beautiful. The image of Gia on the stool has a beautiful shape, but it’s taught me to be conscious of the props I’m using and how their aesthetic can change the finish of the image. I still really like it and think I’ve learned a lot from it so wanted to include it here.
Although I took a lot of portrait images (obviously) but I challenged myself to try to also take some landscape too. I find it difficult sometimes because I don’t know what to fill the space with but I love when Gia is doing in these images and it gives me a lot of inspiration to take forward. About halfway through this set I also removed the grid from the softbox to let a little light spill on to the background and soften it. I just love how soft her face is in these images, she looks absolutely stunning and the lace look so delicate.
My main take away from this set of images is to be conscious of how to use the body to fill the frame and be conscious of how the clothing is acting in different positions. I’m also thinking hard about what kinds of props I want to use to add interest and texture to the images too.
These next images are some of my favourite I’ve ever taken. They’re mysterious, haunting and dark and they’re exactly what I wanted to capture when I was thinking of this shoot, but if it hadn’t been for Gia it wouldn’t have been possible; she brought the dress with her with those incredible sleeves and one little moves she made sparked inspiration and I asked her to cover her face. I was so glad when I saw that the focus had hit the eye, just so excited.
