Maryna...By the Marina

 

Maryna got in touch, inviting me to shoot with her, since she was in the region. She liked my ability to capture flattering images both in the studio and location. Flattered, I gladly accepted, and so pleased I did. Standing 5’9 she is very striking. Pre-shoot communications were very professional, and I gave her a free hand in terms of clothing choice and style. Wherever possible, I like to capture a model’s character and personality, although there are times, say in a commercial setting, where they have to be a canvas for the designer, makeup artist, hairdresser etc.  

Maryna is originally from Ukraine but began her modelling career in Germany in 2020. I wasn’t surprised to find her approach and subsequent communications ultra-professional and straightforward. We agreed on a two-hour shoot by the quayside- it was central, public, but had plenty of scope for uninterrupted shooting. She arrived promptly and immaculately prepared, ready to shoot. We started with the black and red theme, switching to the yellow and black. It was cool and blustery, but thankfully the rain forecast didn’t materialise.

Come the close of the second set, we’d been shooting for 1hour with nominal rest and sensing she was a little cold, I suggested we break in the warm. Twenty-five minutes and a change later, we were back in the quieter areas and shot for a further twenty minutes until I realised we'd gone over by five minutes. I closed at his point, since both had other appointments and didn’t want us to be rushed. These were shot at F2 using my A6300 body and equally trusty Sony 50mm 1.8 lens.       

Karolina

 

I’d had a few postponements due to sickness and other unavoidable circumstances, and needed to tame the midwinter blues (not to mention a dental abscess) with some creativity. Enter Karolina, I’d noted she’d modelled in the recent past and was very striking.

We settled on a location-based winter fashion and portraiture theme. The port town was convenient and familiar to both of us. Standing 5’1 (155cm) she was petite. While this is considerably shorter than the traditional 5’7 (170cm) baseline for fashion models, there are other avenues to explore, and there’s more scope when it comes to posing and angles.

For example, by lying down, I can give a real sense of height. Doing the same with someone standing 6ft 2 (1m88) will make them look cartoonish- fine if you’re looking to recreate the “Attack of the 50ft Woman” vibe, but hardly flattering. We agreed on a 1400-1600 shoot, since this was most convenient for her and still allowed a decent amount of natural light.

Sunday was a similarly good fit, since there would be fewer people around. Experience says the public is generally respectful, but can also encroach and let well-intentioned curiosity get the better of them. Continuing this narrative, Karolina brought two outfits and accessories, allowing for variety and more convenient changes-an important consideration, especially in built up areas. 

I used whatever spoke to us in the immediate environment and some useful props, including this Kawasaki presented- Karolina proved very self-aware, posed fluidly, yet was very open to direction. She could also sense the Kawasaki’s draw for me and worked creatively around it. Light was beginning to fade come the close of our session, but no issue with a small reflector 50mm 1.8 and 33mm 1.4 lenses. I’m pleased with the results and look forward to working with her in future.