I was so happy I was going to be shooting again, well doing a shoot that involved people. Photographing people is my true joy in photography, so indeed I was happy. I had a great idea for the shoot, I even had some props to make it happen. Unfortunately the world as it usually does, had different plans for me that day.
The Plan: Pick up the model in front of Ikea, head to Marine Drive where it runs behind the PDX airport and get a shot of the model with a plane taking off behind her. Easy no problem. Since the shoot was set for Thursday, I figured I'd scout the location on Sunday and check things out. I hung out behind the airport from 3:30pm to a little after 5pm, it was an overcast sky, a slight breeze and a little chilly but not really cold. I went up and down the runway to see where the best spot to catch the jets leaving the ground was, tested backdrops etc etc. Everything looked good.
Day of the Shoot: I arrive at Ikea to pick up the model at 4, its 45 degrees outside, its mostly clear skies, windy with 20-30mph gusts. We get to the back of the airport the wind is now a steady 30 mph blowing down the Columbia river.
I think to myself, thank god I'm not the model. I'm wearing jeans a thermal shirt with a hoody and I'm feeling pretty chilly. The model is attired in an evening dress, heels and gloves. Hindsight would reveal we should have worked a jacket into the wardrobe. I tell her to stay in the car until I can get the flash setup and take some test shots. I setup the 580exII on a light stand with a 12X16 inch soft box, I take the first test shot.
I look down at the LCD... I realize that there is significantly less light then there should be, or, than there was on Sunday at 4:15pm. Clouds, one of nature's biggest light modifiers had kept it much lighter Sunday, than the now almost clear skies. As you can see in the picture above and below, trying to get a nice exposure from the sky was going to mean anything not in the flash was going to be black. I take a few shots of the model before she is shivering. I tell her to get back in the car so we can wait for a jet. Five minutes goes by, Ten minutes, no plane. Apparently they have started using the runway on the other side of the airport for take offs and using our runway for landings. At this point I can see we are going to completely lose the light before we get our shot. What a bummer! We have been dancing around the weather for weeks waiting to make this shoot happen. Luckily, I was able to get a couple of good shots, just no plane, so not a complete loss.
Normally I would have suggested we look around nearby for another location, to try and salvage the shoot. However, the temperature was fast becoming prohibitive for an outdoor location. Also too, there really isn't anything very interesting (in the dark) nearby except for the airport itself, and that didn't sound enticing to me. Then it struck me, Ikea, lets shoot there. Its warm and we should be able to find something interesting inside to use as a backdrop. I figured I'd forgo the flash and shoot with available light so as not to attract attention. I suggested it to the model, she agreed it might be good, so we were off. I have to say, if you owned Ikea or had carte blanche to shoot there, it would be a dream studio! You just have to bring lights and get rid of all the price tags. The first thing we found was this nice drape setup in one of the living room displays.
We found a nice dining room table that also provided us with a nice shot.
I believe this next one was somewhere near the bedroom area, maybe right past the mattresses. It was at this point that one of the shoppers mistook the model for a mannequin.
Since the model was nicely warmed up from walking around inside, we decided to take a couple of shots outside. We used the staircase that every Ikea seems to have on the side its building.
I have to say the staircase lighting was probably the best Ikea had to offer. There were banks of fluorescent lights going across the stairs, that plus a little fill bounced off the 580exII's built in reflector card, and I was able to get several nice shots in about 5 minutes. Ikea, not only a fun place to shop, but a fun place to shoot. :)
First stop, too funny I didn't even get the name of the place, oh well.
Apparently Santa Con is open to all denominations :)
En route to stop # 2 Kelly's Bar, such a shame that the event got so splintered this year.
Although the Santa's were still all over the place, coming and going.
This Santa was very pleased that his hat was on his piece.
Stop #2 Kelly's Bar, a nice little biker joint, quite a few Santa's fit inside I was suprised.
There was still a good deal of Santa's hanging out on the street too, there was all kinds of weirdness happening outside.
Another Photographer was also taking notice.
I believe this guy might be the responsible culprit.
There was even a Krampus which I had never heard of, I guess they are from Austria, seemed nice enough until he started hitting people with his branches. :)
There were also several Female Santas and Mrs. Clause types.
And of course the event attracted a lot of photographers, here's a few.
Oh, And I was there too
Happy Holidays!!
