NIGHT PAPER with Fem Appeal
Last night the talented and energetic Fem Appeal joined us for a shoot in Astoria. We explored a rainy N/Q between 30th Ave and Ditmars, and had a lot of fun explaining, "it's Fashion Week" to curious late-night subway riders. You rock, Fem – and you looked amazing in my first dress-form cut paper fashion. Enjoy the set!
NIGHT PAPER with Karina Libido
A budding fashionista on the Upper East Side.
The alluring Karina Libido (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook), joined us last night on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to make another NIGHT PAPER shoot come alive. Uptown was upstaged as Karina became the paper she wore, making an amazing set of photos with us.
Thanks for being amazing Karina! Here are the picks from the set:
NIGHT PAPER with Suffragent and Richard Louis Boccia
Last evening we made beautiful art with Suffra Gent and Richard Louis Boccia on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Mabel secured a gorgeous lounge / 3rd floor rooftop area from a friend of ours (and permission from the building!) we embarked upon an amazing shoot with the creative duo.
This is the first time I've made what I'm calling "Facebeards" – a combination mask and body piece. Here are a couple of them:
"A little tease from the fitting for the artistic madness happening this evening. #NIGHTPAPER"
"More #NIGHTPAPER preview - a second "facebeard" cut paper fashion for this evening"
This was a very fun, collaborative shoot and we're grateful to Suffra Gent and Richard for joining us. Here are the picks from the shoot:
NIGHT PAPER with Heather Whatever on Rockaway Beach
Mabel and I had a great shoot with an old friend this evening – Heather Whatever. We previously shot with Heather in Brooklyn in the snow and she was one of our seven performers at the Paper Burlesque. This fine Labor Day Weekend evening, we met up at Rockaway Beach.
I admit I went a little crazy making Heather's mask, which really ended up being a headpiece. I love it, and she looked downright amazing in it. We had fun with sand and sky and surf. Enjoy!
NIGHT PAPER with Becca at Cathedral Park in Portland, Oregon
This evening I had the pleasure of making art with a dear friend. Becca and I have known each other for some time, and when she volunteered for NIGHT PAPER I was both humbled and delighted. After some other mis-adventures earlier this week (like me not feeling well enough to travel out to Cannon Beach, forest fires all over Oregon, etc.), we finally, at the literal and figurative 'eleventh hour', made time to shoot here in northern Portland under Cathedral Bridge in the park below (I leave tomorrow!).
While avoiding groups of teenagers having a mini party, opossums and a whole family of raccoons, we managed to shoot this cool set of night paper portraits. Thanks for being wonderful, Becca! Enjoy:
NIGHT PAPER with Jacob and Morgan at Portland's Docks
Yesterday I was very lucky to look out my window to see two acrobats performing pose flows right across the street in front of a beautiful mural here in NE Portland. I was so enchanted by how they moved that I felt compelled to approach them and ask if they would consider being part of NIGHT PAPER. I was delighted to get a call a couple hours later from Jacob Brown (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) and Morgan with an enthusiastic yes.
With only six hours to coordinate the shoot and create paper fashions that would not be in the way of the flying poses, I madly went into creative mode. And thanks to Tucker Stevenson, I had an awesome guest assistant who is also well versed night photography. It was all kismet.
Deepest gratitude to the amazing Jacob and Morgan for making their beautiful art with me.
Here are the results. Enjoy!
Night Paper with Iris Explosion in Central Park
I am so pleased to present the next NIGHT PAPER art experience. Our guest for this evening's gorgeous night in Central Park, NYC, was Iris Explosion. She brought beauty and grace to one of New York's most iconic public spaces, and we're so glad to work with her.
We visited the Naumburg Bandshell, the Minton Tiles at Bethesda Arcade, the Bethesda Fountain and The Pond. At night, they all take on new faces and when combined with long exposures, multiple light sources and artists performing, the spaces transform into something otherworldly. Enjoy the art set from this shoot, and welcome back NIGHT PAPER after a hiatus from last Fall.
NIGHT PAPER COUPLES: Clara Coquette and Hard Cory
A new american gothic, perhaps?
Ever since starting the NIGHT PAPER project, I had dreams of exploring how real-life couples would relate to being dressed in surreal paper fashions, nude, standing in somewhat public spaces and posing for long exposure portraits.
I desired to see how their already-established relationship would bolster, grow, expand, augment, etc. the relationship with the lens, myself and the connection to the space, time and intent of being together on film.
I must say, I am fortunate to kick this leg of the project off with Clara Coquette (featured in previous NIGHT PAPER shoots) and her beau, Hard Cory.
We had fun on Randall's Island in NYC, exploring the periphery, looking for water, sky and a little privacy. Huge thanks to both of you for being simply amazing. Wthout further ado, here is a gallery of images from the shoot.
Are you interested in volunteering? Read more here.
How-to: Taking a Portrait at Night
Mandy, circa 1993
Zeiss Ikoflex TLR + Kodak TMAX 100
Oriental Seagull paper (badly fixed)
I've spent a fair amount of time teaching myself how to take a creative portrait of someone at night. I'd like to share with you some of my successes (and failures!) so that you may also enjoy making creative portraits during your night photography expeditions.
The above portrait I shot in high school (to the best of my memory...) while exploring how to take portraits in little to no light. I got lucky with this one since we chose to go to the school nearby and stand under a lamp on the wall.
More early history: My first attempts to render a human at night involved what I call "lighting with a hammer" – i.e. me setting my Vivitar 283 speedlite to a thyristor automatic setting and hoping it wasn't either too much or too little. Mind you, I was also shooting film and could not yet afford Polaroid at that time.
This is my first recollection of a successful photograph at night - which also happens to be a portrait:
Bryan, circa 1992
Yashica FX-3, Tamron 24-70mm zoom + fisheye adapter
Vivitar 283 + Velbon Tripod
I remember it being like this, "Bryan - stand here." Open shutter on bulb. Pop flash. Bryan walks out.
"Why did you walk away?"
Bryan replied, "the flash went off and you didn't say to stay."
That was the best piece of non-dorection I ever gave. This print, when it came up in the developer, gave me shivers and possibilities exploded in my head. TIME + LIGHT = FUN.
I've been chasing time dilation methods ever since.
Fast-forward to today, where my NIGHT PAPER project has made me very serious about portraiture in the absence of ambient light. I am constantly evolving how I approach each portrait, but here are the basics I'd like to share today:
- Do the High ISO Test and make one perfect ambient exposure. Do not photograph a person until you have mastered your scene - too many variables out of control to then throw in a live human being.What's this? Read Lance Keimig's PDF.
- Use a flash meter. Batteries are your friend at night and every opportunity to do something once instead of chimping your way through your batteries and missing shots at the end is a benefit. I use a Sekonic L-758DR, and it has a PocketWizard trigger in it that works with my Plus III Transceivers and Profoto AcuteB battery flash pack. Additionally, I have to add that if you are able to master doing it all in-camera in one frame, your depth of knowledge and personal satisfaction will be very high.
Meter your main portrait light for so that it equals the aperture & ISO you set for your long exposure. Not enough? Turn up the power or move it closer. I'll post about quality of light in a separate blog post. To much? Do the opposite.
Also meter your 2nd and third flashes (set to manual) if you are using additional flashes for your initial burst. Make a good ratio if these lights are providing edge or texture definition for your model. - Be very aware of where the model's head is! Reason: If you have them move out of the frame after the first flash burst, which I often do, then whatever is behind their head is going to be added to the photograph. If it's a dark background, then almost nothing will happen. If it is a light source, then this will now become part of their head. Same goes for bodies - either intentionally let something burn through and "ghost" them or deliberately do not!
- Have the model always come back to the same spot. Sounds simple, but just to be clear - the flash power you metered was an exact distance form the flash. Keep your exposures consistent by keeping them in the same place.
- Try simple poses first. I am a fan of the face pointing towards the main light - it is flattering. Start there, then do variations of face placement for different shadow structure. Whatever is good in the daytime is also good at night!
- Try jumps. These are not only fun on film, but also great to stimulate a model who may have to wait minutes between exposures. A good trick is to have them bend their knees when jumping - it give the illusion of a higher jump.
- Mix continuous and flash sources. This is my favorite benefit of doing night portraits (as opposed to daytime). Use a tungsten flashlight, and LED flashlight, your speedlites (snooted off or with grids), your iPad/iPhone, flames (carefully!), video light, LED penlight, anything with which you can isolate parts of your model's body and then have them move after the flash goes off at the beginning of the exposure. Experiment. Get crazy - you may love those "happy accidents."
- Safety first! Make sure your model is comfortable and in a place that is safe.
Take a fresh look at NIGHT PAPER (below) and see if you see anything different after reading what I have learned along the way. Comments welcome!
