vintage
Model Portfolio: Rhian
We know how hot summer got, now that the rainy season is supposed to be kicking, let us look back with a shoot we did with the lovely Rhian Ramos. Now this girl redefines hot. Rhian has always been one of my favorite muses to work with over the years.
I missed this one in front of the camera for such a long time. We used to shoot often and just for kicks back in the day, but work schedules and life happened. But after months (and years?) of planning, our schedules met again, and took this chance bring Rhi out at a friend’s place to shoot. The jukebox was my favorite set of the bunch, and you know me and nostalgia looking stuff. Hahaha. There was also a Vespa on the grounds, so made use of that as well.
We should be doing this more often just to stretch out the creatives juices.
Production Credits
- Make-up / Hair: Sofia Day
- Styling / Model: Rhian Ramos
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Model Portfolio: Alex
I worked with Alex a couple of years ago for a bikini calendar. She was one of those names that popped up again in my FB newsfeed, so I thought of contacting her for a shoot. It took awhile to get a common schedule because of work, but we managed some hours in the studio before an ad shoot later that evening.
For a good part of the shoot, I was working with a harsh one-light setup to get a more raw feeling from the images. All this took was a one light on a long-throw reflector placed at an angle of you choice, depending on where you want the shadow to fall in the shot. I opted for a long-throw so the light direction is focused, giving that sharp shadow line. You can immediately tell mine by just looking where the shadow hits the wall or ground. You can also use a regular reflector, if a long-throw isn’t at your disposal in the studio. The Atari also makes a comeback from the my shoot with Jinri just for fun.
Photo Gallery
Production Credits
- Make-up: Jet Babas
- Styling: Model’s Own / Hannah Kim (MIA)
- Model: Alex Moreno
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Model Portfolio: Sarah
Sarah was introduced to me through a common model friend, and from one fateful shoot session, she has become one of my favorites. There’s something classic about her beauty that shooting her makes it look timeless. That, or I’m the usual sucker for vintage-looking imagery. This was a simple folio session that turned out interesting since I wanted to push the vintage / pin-up girl look again on her. I wanted subtle eyes, but strong lips which coincidentally becomes the main focal point in her beauty shots.
For those who own a studio or planning to setup one, I highly suggest buying white acrylic sheets. My usual source is Modern Art Broadway, and they sell all sort of useful materials for props and backgrounds we end up using heavily in shoots. Paper background has always been my default choice over rubberized cloth. Although the latter is more cost-efficient, the light doesn’t bounce as evenly because of the patterns and ridges it has across the fabric. Also as wear and tear, lint builds up and creases deepen making it more difficult to light over time. Paper backgrounds are prone to getting wet, despite the weight (a.k.a. thickness) of these being more than your usual oslo paper. They also catch dirt easily, and you’d up having to cut those eventually running out of roll. So what’s my point? Seems like a waste right? Now, having an acrylic sheet placed on top of the paper background becomes a more practical solution. It protects the paper underneath from unwanted stomping, at the same time pulling the paper evenly preventing any creasing.
You can finally create clean backdrops without subjecting the paper to too much abuse.
This works best with white backgrounds matched with white acrylic sheets of 1/8 thickness. It can work for other colors, but the acrylic and the paper background have to perfectly match.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Jet Babas
- Styling: Hannah Kim (MIA)
- Model: Sarah Gill
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Model Portfolio: Anthea (Pin-up Series)
Pin-up has always been a timeless genre for me. It’s something I would come back again and again, never getting tired of making new pieces with it. My inspirations for this look has always been two artists: Albert Vargas and Gil Elvgren. You can Google them up to see their respective styles. As for this shoot, I was look more into Elvgren’s look and feel.
With the proper lighting, pushing the image into a pin-up look isn’t really a huge a task afterwards. The little secret is defining the shadows and highlights in a particular way that would make them linear in appearance, much the same way their painted counterparts were done. That meant controlling the harshness of the lights you use. In this case, my weapon of choice for the main light is a beauty dish. On its opposite side is strip light to give off that soft highlight, while on the other side is a strobe with a regular reflector (no grid) to give a harsh reflection. Two lights are dedicated for the background, and one softbox is placed behind the beauty dish acting as a fill, controlling the amount of shadows you get from the harsh lights.
I used a white acrylic sheet as a flooring, and when the background lights hit, it bounced enough to give that specular highlight at the skin edges of the model.
Not all models are fit to do this kind of look. The more diverse the model is from the established archetype, the stronger the cues you have to put in the image to familiarize your audience. In the case of our model Anthea, she was quite the shoe-in for this look. A simple beauty shot sans the wardrobe and accessories already gave strong hints of the genre because of proper casting. The ribbon cost me P 50.00 in a nearby Landmark Department Store.
Production Credits:
- Make-up: Oliver Bumatay
- Styling: Model’s Own
- Model: Anthea Murfet
Model Portfolio: Jinri
As usual, I always love having Jinri in front of the lens.
This particular location has been months in the planning given how schedules had to be aligned for all people involved. It’s been getting harder and harder to rally the usual suspects for a shoot with how our work schedules have been getting tighter towards the holidays. As you could see, it’s only now I get to update this blog.
This particular vintage-inspired set was something I just had to do at the venue. The furniture rotates on a regular basis so I had to take this chance before the entire set disappears again at the whim of the homeowner.There’s something about vintage looks that never loses its appeal with me. I guess since the tone and feel is already set in a particular time, we didn’t have to be too forward into thinking if the shot is apt in a contemporary setting.
Prior to every fun shoot we do, Jinri and I spend a good time chatting around and picking up pegs to work on. Jinri is collaborative to this extent. The pegs we started with were something she just threw around. It eventually mutated to other layouts as the venue permitted, giving us alot more images in the end than what we originally planned. This “gym” series was based on Khloe Kardashian Complex magazine spread. It was Jinri’s idea to work on this look first.
Lo and behold right beside the gym is a bar. How convenient is that? 😛
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Santos
- Styling: Hannah Kim
- Production Design: Raffy Tesoro
- Model: Jinri Park
- Special Thanks: Iron Bar @ M House / M House
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.