Check out Cat- from Cat fight Collections-ric woods photography

Cat Heart owner of Cat Fight Collections , maree and myself got together in the studio the other day and made some great photographs.
I must ask the question....
Can anybody tell me ..What is this obsession women have with shoes?
To be honest, Ive seen shoes of late that are seriously bordering on becoming ART!
Maree did Cats' make up and cat provided the costumes, there is certainly benefits in owning a clothing store.
I provided the photography..

Sophie...Our Tiny Dancer_ric woods photography

Sophie has melted the hearts of all the staff at ric woods photography.
During her portfolio photo shoot she showed all the confidence and poise of a mature adult dancer...and at only 8 years old,she has so much time to polish that presentation.
Sophie and her mum ( who was fantastic with her styling) certainly struggled with her image choice...."so many great shots to choose from". One of my favourite photo shoots of the year thus far.Maree was in heaven applying stage make up to 8year old skin.....

ric woods photography fashion and lighting course- behind the scenes video

Turn up the volume and take the jump to the "Behind the Scenes" video of our recent Fashion & Beauty Photography & Lighting Course. At ric woods photography we conduct small classes for better one on one time and the latest course (21 page pdf course booklet download) was a blast....All participants get to shoot and take home fantastic portfolio images.

The studio ( location) was buzzing with enthusiastic and creative people and at 6pm it all took off!

We started with some theory like:

• Camera preparation,lens selection...we talked about shutter speed, aperture , ISO and how to balance or eliminate the ambient studio like.We showed how to get clean perfect exposures straight out of the camera.I shot images tethered to two monitors and showed practical differences with light modifiers. I use equipment that people have in their own kits like umbrella's as well as studio gear like gridded beauty dishes and large soft boxes.
• We instructed people how to engage the models.We explain why we NEVER touch models without asking.Composition and camera point of view are covered.We talked about photographic releases explaining that you MUST have a release for every portrait and every wedding shoot. You get the HERO shot you best have a release before you sell that image on the Commercial Scene, OR it could come back at you and you may need pay many $$$$s to clean up the mess.

Special thanks to;

• Maree Nichols my business partner and production manager for pulling it all together.If you need more information about the courses of booking a shoot at the studio, shoot her an email maree@ricwoods.com.

We gave a couple of students their "shot" in a commercial studio.

• Caitlin Nolan-Jones wants to be a creative director. Caitlin was given free reign to design the theme for the shoot.She sourced the clothing and accessories and enlisted the aide of two friends to be the male and female models.She did a great job and exceeded our expectations.She did the work and was rewarded with a great result.She supplied several looks and did well in the 3 hour course.

My tip for up and comers that want their "shot" . Do the work you want to get paid to do....do the work..do the work.

• Piyanuch "Nuu" Hathaipontaluk was our make up artist and did well to collaborate with Caitlin to pull the vision together.She was showing off her skills, doing male and female make up finishing with a Dramatic look on our female model. Also thanks for her patience in my poor attempts to pronounce her Thai Name.
• Odessa our female model was stunning and brought amazing beauty to the photo shoot.
• Liam was the perfect male model, making light when some participants were finding it difficult to shoot and talk at the same time.
• Thanks to Kristie, Debbie,Peter, Zahra, Kaz and Llynda the participants...great work, good listening.

Finally..........

• Eagle Boys Pizza for delivering ON TIME and making GLUTEN FREE Pizzas...

Temple Gold Carpet Hair & Fashion Show Newcastle Panthers 31st May 2009

We are shooting Temple Hair & Fashion Show at Newcastle

Panthers Sunday 31st May 2009

These are the DLs we had printer for the event.This is one of the pre lim stills from the Whittaker's Jewellery Campaign I shots a little while back. The stills were put together into a TVC ( television commercial)

by Little Green Frog Marketing and Good Eye Deer. This why is very important to work with releases.

For the event we will be shooting production stills, prep at the Temple Salon in the Junction,backstage, Arrivals of the models and the VIP's such as Peter Morrisey fashion icon, Sonia Lipski Miss World Australia runner up & Ann-Maree Bowdler a local Miss World Finalists.

I like to do a reccy of a venue where ever possible no only does it give me a feel for the event but I can check out flooring, lighting, power points etc.I like to make my self known to the events manager, techies and grips. If I get their mobile numbers it good insurance no to need it.
We will be setting up a full studio scene inside the event to create interest and blur the lines between the models and the audience. We will be encouraging people to be photographed on the set as well as the models as they come off the cat walk. Shots of the VIP's, sponsors,the clothes and the hair need to be captured. These images will be sent to Vogue,Oyster, Harper's Bazaar etc.. so they need to be technically top end as well as interesting content.We will also captue the movement and colour of the event,to do that you need to get in real close and use a wide angle. I remember hearing a quote from a pro in a book somewhere, he said " If you pictures aren't any good...your not standing close enough"...

We found a perfect alcove during the reccy. We will be setting up a roll of white seamless paper here.We will let the lighting fall off to a light grey so we can capture both blonde's,brunettes and redheads with the correct contrast. The setup needs to be able to work with singles,groups, full length and 3/4 shots. Ill use a large soft box and a hair light.Add a reflector with the darker clothes and add a black panel for the white clothes to give good edge definition.

OHS is important so we will setup ropes so the photographer doesn't walk backwards into onlookers...as I do.Tappe down leads,sand bag everything,gaff tape every thing, hide the ladders...and remember some of the audience will be drinking in VERY high heels.We will use panels taped to the floor over the paper so that people dont go through the paper in their heels on an unsafe set.You will see the downlights in the set area,they will need to unscrewed to stop the colour cast into the shots.Ill shoot at 125th and about f11 to give me sharp images free from movement, the hi f stop will mean that I can shoot 2 rows and keep them all sharp.You need space for that, one of my pet hates are group shots made with a wide angle lense...The front row has hands like the HULK, the second row (if its a large group) has tiny heads and everyone that gets to stand on the edge just gained 40kg.

I use theses images to explain to the other photographer (not present) the catwalk position and height.I would normally use my 18-200 kit lens for the reccy shots so I can plan my kit when I get back to the studio. The 18-200 is a great walk around lens, it means I only need one lens on camera when I'm doing the research, these were shot with the 24-70 2.8 and as you can see more reach will be needed..We will probably set up some strobes attached to the hand rail from both sides, and drag the shutter to grab the coloured spots ( if they have them).The models are only at the end of the catwalk for a second so being on the ball is esential. Its better to bump your ISO up a lttle so the strobes power can be reduced for quicker re-cycle times...much better.

There is lots of work behind the scenes and Garth and Christie Belic at Temple Hairdressing at the Junction ( 02 4961 2277) need to be congratulated for taking their 1st Birthday grew it from a few regular clients and a cake to Panthers and 700 plus guests...Well done guys. I think tickets are for sale at the door or through temple...If you drop by...I'll SHOOT YOU !!

I'll keep you posted on the results