Next month my sister is having a baby. Wonderful news for everyone, and I hope to make it over to the UK sometime this winter to see my new nephew / niece. I’ll bring my camera along, but to be honest I haven’t photographed many babies. I mentioned this to some of the other photographers on Okinawa, and Anya Schmidt invited me to assist on her latest newborn shoot. The first thing I learned is that newborn shoots are done when the baby is very young. We were photographing Alec at 14 days, and I was told this was quite old! The second thing I learned is that the baby controls the shoot. As most newborn images are created while the baby is asleep, you have to wait patiently in a very warm room until the baby sleeps. A newborn photographer is a bit like a horse whisperer trying to relax the baby and parents, before trying to get the shots. The third thing I learned is that if you are photographing naked babies, your …

There are huge differences between shooting in the studio and shooting on location. Above all, it’s the degree of control. In the studio you can easily adjust the direction, quality and strength of light. You can make micro adjustment to the model’s poses, and then shoot, check and reshoot until you get it right. Yesterday was a wonderful example of having to relinquish control. With heavy clouds, sporadic rain, and several large horses, you have to work with what the conditions and the equine models will give you. Luckily things all came together. The overcast skies produced a nice even light, and the horses were kind enough not to throw Liz off their backs, or knock me (and the camera) into the water. Huge thanks must go to Liz Craig for modeling, Kim Clay for makeup, Pete Leong and Eboh Ajeroh for assisting, and above all Eve Carey, Makoto, Sly and Sky of Mihara Horse Club.

Pro wedding photographer Pete Leong came along on a fun location shoot with model Liz Craig and horses Makoto, Sly, and Sky. Pete took some wonderful behind the scenes shots, which pretty much explain all. So without further ado…

On Sunday, as the  sun dropped lower in the sky,  I switched focus from Ursula to Liz. (I shot Liz in the studio a couple of months ago, you can see the images here.)  For lighting Eboh brought a studio strobe with battery pack and a smaller hot shoe strobe. Both were triggered wirelessly using PocketWizards.  This was the first time I’ve used studio lights on location, and it was interesting  balancing the light from the strobes with the natural light. Keep the power of the strobes low for a more natural look as in this shot. Or crank up the power of the lights, and produce a brighter look more similar to what you see in advertising. Thanks to Liz for being a great model, Kim for make-up and Eboh for lighting. Looking forward to working with you all again soon.

Late Sunday afternoon, a small group of photographers, models, a make-up artist and I gathered on the beach in Okinawa for an almost impromptu shoot. Urusla, the wife of photographer Eboh, is simply stunning. She’s a fantastic model who knows how to produce great dynamic shots. I first went wide with the 645D 55mm lens to emphasize her stature. I switched lenses to try out the 67 105mm on the 645D body, while Ursula put on a shawl. I had been wondering if the 67 lenses would be a good match for the 645D body. I was pleased with the results of the test shoot with Bear, but a quick focus check on Ursula’s eye really blew me away. That’s not just a self-portrait of the photographer, but a mini landscape! A big thanks to Ursula for modeling and Kim Clay for make-up. More images from the shoot in future posts…