Fashion & Portraits

We shot with Heidi for about four hours or so. I don’t know how but I got 20+ decent frames in that time. Must have been a record of sorts. Okay some duplicates because I could not decide between the color and black and white.

So there more pictures in these few last post than ever before. More on flickr and facebook.

Day before yesterday I was again talking to Janne online and asked if he would come to Kotka for a similar shoot if I can find a model. Too many if’s so I had my doubts. Two hours and dozen phone calls and mesages later we had three models and an assistant who all agreed to come for a quick shoot. I invited two more photogs to come around and Maiju Siekkinen (the stylist) had a day off so she tagged along to shoot some pictures as well

Maiju had some great images  and I hope that she does not take up photography too seriously because I’d be without of a work very quickly.  Useless.

Anyways, more to come and two wedding albums still to waiting to be published here.. ouh my.

I just came home and its almost midnight. I shot the last wedding of the summer tonight and had a blast. At one point the bride came and said that “you are off duty, start drinking!” I took couple of beers but shot pictures untill I left.  Can’t help it anymore. Im a lost cause.

Anyways  before I get to Matti and Katjas wedding pictures here are couple of images of heidi..

I was chatting with Janne online on tuesday and he happened to mention that there was a model just around the corner. They know eachother from school and figured that she just might agree to work with us for a location shoot. Before even letting him to discuss the possible dates I said that I’ll be there tomorrow around four if she Heidi says yes.

All of the sudden I was in a rush to recharge the batteries.

Janne posted me picture of Heidi and I thought of two things. One: I really have to screw things up to not get a really good picture of her to my portfolio. Two: how the hell will do pictures that are good enough for her portfolio. I do not want to waste her time to shoot crap that she can not use!

I think we were in Ullanlinna in Helsinki, Im not sure. Picture snapper from Kotka in Helsinki is pertty much disaster in terms of whereabouts. I really like to scout the locations because it save time. A lot of time! Our plan was different. Just walk around a bit and see what we find and work with that.

Im at ease in any location these days so that did not worry me.  With a model like Heidi you do not want to waste time walking around looking for backdrops.  Dispite all my fears it all went so well. We found couple of locations quickly and Heidi was ablsolutely perfect. No need warm up or get comfortable with the camera. Actualy one the frames used was the first frame of the aka the chimp frame.

Thank you both Janne and Heidi. What a day!

More to come..

Its  one am again and Im here editing.

I shot a wedding last saturday and here is a really quick preview. There was a group of truckers that fell in love with the bride in at same gas station that the couple met. Guys came around and put on a quite a dance show. Just to remind the groom that there are takers if he ever lets go. Not gona happen thou.

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One of Finnish tabloid paper put up 15 wedding portraits for the readers to choose the best one. I don’t know what to think of those pics. Some are really cool, but others are shot with “the nephviews new awsome digital camera.”  It would be ok to do a technicly bad picture if the concept rocks but nope. Point and shoot wedding portrait. You get what pay for I suppose.

I said it before and I’ll said it again. Biggest problem is not me failing a job its me getting a way with it. If I mess things up I need to get shouted at. For magazine and newspaper shooters there are picture editors to do the shouting  but I do not have the luxury of someone else going over my wedding photos.  I have to be my own worts critique.  That said, I just send out an email to a client which basicly said that Im not complitely happy with the set I delivered and I will do another set of black and white pictures for them. For free, of course. If and when I get to choose I would only do black and white wedding pictures.

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On the side note something cool is happening. Plenty of ideas flying around at least.

I met some intresting people couple of weeks ago on my way to the bar. One the models is in there.

The dog is called honey. Ironic because she is everythign else but cuddaly. She might try to sit on your lap just get close enough to bite. Just kidding. Shes a really nice staffer.

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What a dumb day. I have another Elinchrome Skyport reciever waiting for me at the Telefoto. Asked Janne if we could meet for a coffee when I pick up the reciever. He was kinda busy but said OK. He called me back fifteen minutes before my arrival and asked “has telefoto always closed at five?” F#@£! What a dumb thing to do, why I did not check before I left Kotka? I was too sure that it would close at 7pm. Seven my ass. It said five pm all along on the web page.

I was late and could not even get in to the store. Janne did not seem to mind too much so we went to a cafe and chatted for half an hour or so about photography. He has very good points about how to survive or even how to break out in the business. Not that either of us are total pros in our fields of photography.

On my way back I figured I might as well call to Maiju, the stylist. She lives on Porvoo these days and its only couple of kilometers from the road #7 that goes from Kotka to Helsinki. We met, had a coffee and talked about some ideas and life in general. All of sudden the trip was not in vain.

All in all, it wasn’t so dumb day after all. Actualy it was a good day on the road. Even snapped some pictures throught the wind shield but not much to say about those.