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Parachute at Sunset II

On the evening of  October 24th, I worked with the lovely Markiel on a parachute dress shoot. We did this shoot at Oaks Quarry Park, at sunset.  Oaks Quarry Park is a good place for this type of shoot with the open spaces and the unique landscape that can go from lush green to barren looking across the seasons. 

For this shoot I used:

  • Canon 80D
  • 2 Speed lights
  • Speed Light trigger
  • Speedlight battery pack
  • Light stand
  • CTO gels

I shot 124 frames at ISO 100 with an aperture of F8.  I used an aperture of F8 to ensure depth of field and focus.  My shutter speed ranged from 1/50s to 1/640s with a majority of the frames being shot at 1/80s.  My focal range varied from 18mm to 80mm with the most common focal length being 18mm which ensured I got the whole dress in the frame. 

I prefer to shoot the parachute dress with an assistant for two reasons, 1) it is a lot of dress, 2) it makes it easier to fluff the dress to make it billow in the wind. Unfortunately, my assistant was unavailable, so I did this shoot on my own, which meant fluffing the dress then running to grab the shot.  That is why there are very few billowing dress photos in this set. I was very thankful for my extra tall light stand so I could get the height needed for the lighting.  

As mentioned for this shoot, we shot out at Oaks Quarry Park, which tends to be a hot spot for sunset and family photos.  I picked the park because I wanted to go for a little bit of that Mad Max vibe where they are out in the desert and there is no one around. So, I asked my model to go for a more avaunt guard/dramatic look with the make-up using blacks, greens, and golds to go with the dress.  She did a very good job with the make-up. I also provided the model a Wonder Woman headband to give here a bit of regal queen look.

I have a lot of favorites from this session, but my top favorite is of Markiel standing proud on the rocks with the dress curled around her and the sunsetting in the distance. I feel it is a very strong image that shows a powerful woman.  To get this photo, I metered for the sky and a flash with a quarter cut CTO filter on it, was placed to my left elevated and then pointed down towards the model.  The flash was zoomed to about 50mm. When editing the photo, I reduced a few of the hotspots on the rocks and brightened the models face slightly.  I added a bit of a vignette, and finally applied an orange/blue split tone to the image. 

(ISO 100,  Aperture F8, Shutter 1/200s, Focal Length 20mm)

The second image I love is of the model sitting on the rocks looking regal. The pose is relaxed but still strong,  and shows the extent of the dress.  To get this photo, I metered for the sky and a flash with a quarter cut CTO filter on it, was placed to my right elevated and then pointed down towards the model. This flash was zoomed rather tight to about 80mm. When editing the photo, I wanted to keep it very dramatic and moody so kept it dark.  I bighted the light on the model’s face just a touch, reduced some of the hotspots on the rocks, and added a bit more light to some of train of the dress to make it stand out just a touch.  I finished the image off with a heavy vignette and an orange/teal split tone.

(ISO 100,  Aperture F8, Shutter 1/125s, Focal Length 18mm)


This last image the sky is blown from the sun, due to me metering poorly; but I feel it is still a strong image.  I believe you can feel the power in the image, from the models pose and the way the dress is blowing in the wind gives the feeling that she is walking towards something and she is not afraid.  I also like hos the light is shinning through the part of the dress blowing in the wind.  To get this image the flash was to my left, raised up and pointed down. This was one of the last shots I took before adding the CTO filter to the flash. When editing this image, it was obvious I blew the sky out and there would be no way to fix it even after pulling the exposure and highlights down.  I did brighten the model’s face and upper body some using the brush tool.  I also adjusted the color slightly by pulling out a little bit of the orange and reds, the sunset tends to make things lean towards orange which can affect the skin tone.  I also white balanced more towards blue.  Finally, to finish off this image I added a strong vignette.

(ISO 100,  Aperture F8, Shutter 1/80s, Focal Length 40mm)

Overall, I’m happy with how the images from this shoot turned out.  Markiel is a good model to work with. I also appreciate even more having an assistant since it make it easier to quickly adjust for changing conditions and mange some of the smaller details.  You can see all the images from this shoot here: Parachute at Sunset II


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