Urban Style Summer Look Book
During the summer I took a Splash Photography Class at the College of Southern Nevada. In this class we learned multiple techniques on how to deal with the energetic dynamics and creative possibilities of photographing liquid splashes, spills, pours, sprays, droplets. One of my favorite assignments however was an underwater series I did for my final project. The goal for my project was to capture the feel of a pool party mixed with an urban Southern California wardrobe style. During the process I worked with several models on various shoots in order to get the variety of looks needed. In addition, I used both an underwater camera rig as well as a second camera to get the images taken above water. Each shoot was also setup at different times of the day in order to experiment with the lighting. In addition, while shooting I experimented with how the surface of the water affected the light below by shooting in both choppy and nearly still conditions.
While taking the photos underwater I used a Canon 5d Mark II in the Aquatica underwater housing and the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens. Anyone interested in shooting underwater should definitely look into this setup or if you have a bigger budget the newer 5d Mark III which Aquatica has a case that was recently released in July 2015. One of the biggest challenges shooting underwater is dealing with the particulate matter that floats throughout a pool and of course any natural body of water. When shooting you will definitely notice all the particles between you and your subject becomes more visible the further away you are. If you plan on shooting in a pool I recommend a through skimming of your pool as well as rinsing off anything before you introduce it into the water, that includes yourself, models, their wardrobe as well as any props. Furthermore, I would recommend that you do not wear any lotions, sunscreens etc as that will wash off rather quickly. High end water proof makeup such as Makeup Forever and MAC are great when you want to work with a model as they will stay on very well. The images taken above the waters surface were taken with the Pentax K3 with both the 16-50mm DA* and 50-135mm DA8 Lenses.
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