Some of you know that The Shoot typically is a 2-parter with a candid and glamour segment. I recently started Fitting Room which is a fashion feature on this site and since it resembles the candid segment of this series I decided to keep The Shoot strictly glamour moving forward. The lovely Angela Sommers takes center stage for ‘Episode IV’ and it may be my favorite set yet, but it certainly didn’t start off that way.
I didn’t have much contact with Angela beforehand so I had no idea what type of outfits she would have with her. At this point you are probably tired of reading about how I end up winging a lot of the shoot but yeah, I ended up winging a lot of the shoot… again. The only thing I knew going into this shoot was that I wanted a classic lingerie with a garter look. Every woman carries a lingerie set when they travel, right?
THURSDAY 12/17/15 – NEW YORK, NY
I decided not to leave that much to chance and so I left my apartment a little early to give me some time to stop by Journelle on E73rd and 3rd to pick up an outfit for Angela. Possibly because of the holidays I was thinking something red. Luckily Angela had posted something recently on twitter which showed her sizes so I had that part of it covered. Of course there wasn’t anything I liked in red, so I decided to stick with something by L’Agent which is an awesome lingerie brand. I quickly picked out a black set with the help of the ladies at Journelle who are always very helpful. They asked me if I needed thigh highs, which I didn’t think I did but I texted Angela to ask if she had any black stockings with her. The hair stylist had already arrived at the hotel room 15 minutes early so I looked through Angela’s Instagram real fast and took a snapshot of a photo so I can give the hair stylist some direction. Angela had also gotten back to me and yes, I needed the thigh highs too.
I was in traffic and so was my friend slash makeup artist Tiffany. She got to the hotel before me so I told her to get started on the makeup. She had warned me that the hotel room didn’t have much space and the lighting was pretty crappy, but I had my lights with me so I told her it’ll be fine.
THE SHOOT
Just as Tiffany was finishing up, I made it to the hotel room. I wasn’t worried about the lights but she was right about the space. I knew I had booked this room for a reason although it seemed like a bad choice on first glance. Then I noticed the huge private terrace which made me remember why I had picked this place. The only problem was that it was pouring rain. The only viable option was the bed, so I decided to go with a classic boudoir feel for this shoot.
I chatted with Tiffany and Angela while I setup the lights and tried to feel out Angela’s vibe and in essence tried to get to know her as much as possible in this short span of time. She was a real sweetheart and I knew rather quickly that the shoot will go well. I started off with one soft box just to get some shots with relatively even lighting. I had more Noir-ish ideas in mind but I like to start off with some standard looks first almost as a warm up. Angela was a great model, and when I’m not talking too much it’s usually a good thing. She knew what expressions to make, positions to get into and shapes to make and kept it moving with each snap.
We had a great rhythm so I switched out the soft box with a honey comb grid and got on with a much moodier lighting. There wasn’t much space anyway but I stuck with the one light setup for the entire shoot. The walls were tight on the side of the bed so I didn’t have much variety for angles. I moved around as much as I could changing height often. I noticed the mirror on one side of the bed which was positioned perfectly. I directed Angela so I can get “both” of her in the frame, and I was really happy with how those came out.
Her friend Buck stopped by and added some comic relief through the process as well. He really wanted to pour water on her ass and being the good sport that she is, Angela obliged. I have some great shots with that also but they’re a little more risqué so keep an eye out on my twitter and Angela’s for those. I had a lot of fun on this shoot and was lucky to be able to work with an incredibly talented model. Another good examples of making the best out of the situation and the lesson here is that with some good lighting and a great model you can get great shots anywhere. Thanks to everyone involved for a great shoot and especially Angela who is really a great and genuine person inside and out.
The support on this series has been amazing so thank you everyone for that, and I’ll see you guys for Episode V in 2016!!
|| ANGELA SOMMERS
Photos © Sonic Highlark
