Lauren on a Ledge, the Last One

I can't believe anyone would be tired of seeing shots of Lauren, but this is probably my last post of her....well I may have to show one of her standing in the snake-infested weeds (according to a passerby) next to the railroad tracks.  This ledge is actually about 5 feet up the wall, no stairs lead to it (Shirley brought a ladder) and Lauren did not hesitate when we asked her to climb up there.  I was thinking the cream walls and her white dress would be too bland and although I added a couple of textures here just because I felt like it, the original image itself is not bland either.  Usually I do not like shadows on backgrounds but here I did like the shape of her profile on the door behind her, caused by a flash.
So maybe I should show the uncropped, untextured shot:

so which one do you prefer --- closer and textured, or uncropped and no texture?

Lauren, Just Resting TTD 5

Even standing by a fire hydrant, trying to take a break, Lauren still looks beautiful.  We asked her to do so many things during the course of this session and she was game for all of them.  I never want to shoot a wedding or even do bridal portraits but it was fun to pose Lauren all over the alleys of Galveston --- she is beautiful and sweet!

Lauren and TTD 4

Here Lauren was posed by Shirley for a boudoir style shot.  The sun was coming from behind her, camera left, and a soft box on a stick was coming from camera right or maybe straight on, and possibly even the juice-Fong flash was aimed at her face but suprisingly all that light combined for a softly lit scene.  I think the black and white version looks like a still from a Grace Kelly movie, classic and beautiful.   

Steve has a similar image, but remembers the flash setup differently than I was thinking.

Lauren and TTD 3

While we were waiting for the sun to move off the red door in the alley, we went around the corner in front of the Masonic building and were posing Lauren in different ways when we noticed a woman sitting on the curb across the street and watching us.  She asked what we were doing and then told us she had a ton of ideas, and one was for Lauren to peek in the letter slot of the door like she was trying to see inside and she even knew how Lauren should hold her flowers.  So, this shot was posed by the realtor lady showing an open house nearby.  I wanted to include the carving at the top of the door, it almost looks like a heart. You can tell by the shadow the direction of the light but I don't know if it was only the softbox/flash or if the second light was used here also.

Lauren and Trash the Dress 2

Lauren was so patient while we all tried to channel Joe McNally and figure out how to light her in this concrete box.  I kept trying to get the light softer so the shadows behind her would not be so hard and dark and honestly here I am not sure what the flash set up is, we tried so many different things.  I know Shirley was using a reflector to block the sun from hitting her dress on the camera left as I cropped her out, and possibly the flash/softbox on a stick was coming in on camera right, and at one point we tried the juice diffuser flash laying on the ground in front of her and shooting up through the trigrip diffuser panel...I should remember to take some set up shots to refer to, but I get caught up in the shooting and never think of it.
Nikon D200, 50mm 1.8 at f5.6 and 1/45, ISO 200

Lauren and Trash the Dress 1

When we first got to this alley we struggled trying to light Lauren in a concrete box with some plumbing, to the right of this doorway.  We had stopped here just for that fantastic red door but at that time the sun was hitting it directly so we started with the box and spent quite a bit of time there trying to get good light on her without harsh shadows being thrown directly behind her.  I may post one of those another day. Later the sun was only hitting the small patch of grass here where Lauren is standing and I think she is lit with the small soft box directly across from her on the other wall as well as the juice-Fong aimed at her face from camera right.  If that isn't correct, Mike,Steve or Shirley can correct me.  Unusual for me, I shot with a smaller aperture to get the texture in the door and wall to show the contrast between her smooth skin and the satin dress and the rough, weathered door and wall.  At this distance the texture is not really noticeable...
Nikon D200, 50mm 1.8 lens at f5.0 and 1/60th, ISO 200

Those Eyes