My first fashion show photoshoot

Hair by Bethany Queenb Bell

(All photos copyright Colleen D. Gjefle, GJFOTO.com, 2011)  

Earlier this month came an opportunity to attend – and photograph – a fashion show. It came to me through the website “Model Mayhem”, which I’m a member of.  By the time I got the invite, it was only a week away, but I scrubbed my other plans so I could jump on this opportunity.

It was held in mid-July at EA Effects Boutique at the Piazza at Schmidt’s in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. Thankfully for all, the weather was perfect as we were in a lull between 90-degree heat waves. 

I had no idea what to expect as I’ve never seen a fashion show before. I had HEARD of them, but I’d also heard of Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster as well, so that tells you just how much knowledge I had on the subject. However, I was excited at the chance to try something different.

Hair by Bethany Queenb Bell

I arrived, found the boutique and observed a small space packed with beautiful young women milling around with what seemed to me to be an air of purpose touched with just a little confusion. I found someone who "looked like she worked there" and asked for Philip, who had sent out the invitation and whom I had called to RSVP.  He was a very pleasant young man with Bell Management, one of the co-sponsors of the event. Philip gave me a warm welcome and introduced me to another photographer who had experience with fashion shows. The photographer, Will Stotler, gave me some hints and guidance, which I greatly appreciated. He also correctly forecast that the show would start at least an hour later than the posted time of 7:00 pm. The first model started her walk around 8:15, so I figured that’s where the phrase “fashionably late” must have come from!

Not having any idea what to expect from the fashion show, but having photographed a few models before, I had arrived with the mindset of PORTRAITS when, as I quickly figured out, I should have had the mindset of SPORTING EVENT. Despite having started over an hour later than scheduled, once it got going, it all went very quickly! The models moved at a pretty fast clip, briefly paused & posed at the end point of the runway (intentionally kept open for us photographers) and then gracefully made their way back into the boutique.

I adjusted quickly enough to the fast pace, but lost several shots to some guy who was frequently jumping in to take a snapshot with his annoying little point-and-shoot camera that he pulled out from his shirt pocket. Just when I was getting ready to release the shutter, Mr. Point & Shoot would leap in, blocking the scene I had been composed in my eyepiece. (Did I mention that he also stomped on my flip-flop clad foot not once, but twice? It apparently took me swearing at him rather vehemently the second time for him to mind his space!)

Before the show began, I had gotten the impression of semi-controlled chaos when I was viewing the models, designers, hair and makeup artists milling around inside of the tiny boutique.  The after party seemed to be a similar event, but with the audience participating in the happy turmoil as well.  I was especially interested in finding the hair models, who had incredible "hair jobs" done by Bethany Queenb Bell.  I found one of the two and got some nice additional shots of her.

All in all, this was a fun and educational experience that I really enjoyed and hope to do again, even with the point and shoot dude. If you enjoy these photos, you can see more of my work at my website at gjfoto.com.

The full series of photos from the fashion show can be seen at - http://gjfoto.smugmug.com/EditorialJournalism/EA-Effect-Fashion-Show.

(All photos copyright Colleen D. Gjefle, GJFOTO.com, 2011)  

It was nice to have men also modeling.	Above is Philip, who organized the show.

Boudoir Photography to Heal the Soul?

It seems like half the people I meet say they don’t take good pictures. Unfortunately, most people are used to seeing snapshots of themselves taken by Uncle Joe who's using a little point-and-shoot camera with the built-in flash. Nobody looks good under those circumstances. Hell, not even models actually look like the over-photoshopped caricatures that we see in magazines.

We tend to forget that.

So here I am, to tell you ladies out there that you are ALL gorgeous!  I love making women look - and feel - fabulous. But it does bother me just how many women have surprisingly low self esteem. Even some really beautiful women are ridiculously critical of themselves and/or their bodies!

I hope I'm changing that in my own little way. A genre of photography that I really love is boudoir or beauty photography, which ideally brings out that inner beauty in the process of photographing the outside.

Boudoir photography is definitely popular, but there still seems to be some apprehension about the entire subject. It's not dirty or sleezy - it's empowering and liberating! Okay - I'm biased and a pretty much a life-long feminist!

I know a lot of women might WANT to have some sexy and sultry photos of themselves but are terrified at the thought.  The ladies I've photographed have normally come in nervous, but after we got started, they not only relaxed, but started having fun! It helps that I'm a female photographer - there's no ulterior motives and I definitely won't be drooling when you get undressed!

If you are thinking about getting some boudoir photos, be sure to find the right photographer. Sure, I'd like it if everyone would call me up and book a session, but there are a fair number of photographers offering boudoir, so look around and select the photographer who has a style that you really love.  For example, if you like really soft, sweet and sugary, I could do it but it isn't my strong suite - you'd be better off finding another photographer who does that type of shooting perfectly.

I'm good at bold, black and white with a just enough edge to it to make you take that second (third, fourth, etc.) look. Okay, there's the occassional colored image thrown in as well, but those images are the exceptions.

I always loved the dramatic cinematography of 1940’s film noir movies and the grainy, often fuzzy black-and-white fashion photos from the 1950s and ‘60s. I remember, as a kid, coming across an old, outdated fashion magazine collecting dust in my aunt's closet. I paged through it and fell in love with a black and white photo of a gorgeous woman curled up on a chair in a tiny, narrow hallway. I didn't recognize her at my young age, but it was an old photo of Sophia Loren.

I also love the stark tonal contrast and texture in vintage film photos - it has a feel that just isn't present in the absolutely perfect and noise-free digital images that our new cameras put out. Don't get me wrong - I love digital and when I take a photo, I want the images to be perfect and noise free as well. But then I like to turn around and add some noise to throw in that character that seems to sometimes be lacking in those flawless digital images. Is that weird?

Anyhow, I'm sure you don't care about my views on digital noise!  But if you want to see some more of my photos, you can go to my website at http://gjfoto.com.  You'll find a link to the boudoir photos in the "portraits" section.

If you've ever considered getting some boudoir shots, go for it! If it's never crossed your mind before, it's something else you might want to add to your "bucket list".  Every lady I've photographed has gotten a healthy ego boost from the experience and had a ton of fun in the process.

So ladies of the Philadelphia area, call me or call someone else, but show the world we're not that traditional here after all!

Peace and Love.

(All photos copyright Colleen D. Gjefle, GJFOTO.com, 2011) 

Sensuous photo shoot with artist's model

A few days ago I had a photo shoot with an artist's model named Kathryn. Though she didn't have experience in front of a camera, she was comfortable posing since, as a life model, she poses nude in front of groups of artists or students. Even with a beautiful body like she has, that still takes guts!

Since she wanted poses to show her value as an artists' figure model, I shot more full body or nearly full body photos of her than I normally would. Some of my favorite photos of Kathryn are showing parts you can't show on the beach! I'm very happy with her photos and she is as well. Kathryn was a pleasure to photograph!

(All photos copyright Colleen D. Gjefle, GJFOTO.com, 2011)

Electronic Evolution

I had to take a photo of my Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR camera and my little epad sitting next to my small collection of vintage cameras. From the tiny Baby Brownie camera that took pictures measuring only 1 5/8 X 2 1/2"  to my new 5D with 21 megapixels of imaging power. Wow - electronic evolution.

I'm eventually going to put up pics and info on some of my old cameras on my website (http://gjfoto.com) but that is only a thought at this point. I love old cameras and old photos, so many of my images are reminiscent of vintage images, especially more and more of my portrait work.

Seems strange in a way to have a super-modern, high resolution camera with a top of the line lens that gives sharp, crisp images and to then use it to create soft, black & white images with some grain added to simulate old film prints. But there you go.

Winter Photo Shoots

I enjoy "location" or "environmental" portrait photography - in other words, portraits taken in the real world, not in a studio.  Many people just can't really relax and be natural in the artificial setting of a studio. And people have to be relaxed to take the best photos they can. So out into the real world we go!  Living in a large urban center (Philadelphia PA) provides a wide range of outdoor, real world backdrops.

However, it's a little trickier in the winter - you never know what the weather might hold for you the day you have a shoot scheduled.  But if there's no active blizzard on that day,
a winter photo shoot can be spectacular!
In the following photos, I took the photos of this lovely young woman on a busy city street and in the very tranquil Pennypack Park, located in the northeast section of Philly.

(All photos copyright Colleen D. Gjefle, GJFOTO.com, 2011)

The photos below were taken at Longwood Gardens (located between Philadelphia and Wilmington DE).  It was a very cold day, so we took some quick outdoor shots and then went into the huge conservatory where we could take winter photos amidst the lush, tropical greenery.  This makes for an excellent location for a winter photo shoot - the best of both worlds!