Photo Shoot In A Fire Station

I collaborated with a local model, Harbor, and completed a photo shoot in a local volunteer fire station. A fireman met us at the station and basically allowed us full access to the station and equipment during the shoot. He even moved trucks around for us and found smaller firemen's clothes for Harbor to wear.

Most of these photos were taken using a combination of natural light and just one strobe with a 60" umbrella. I used a Norman ML600 strobe, the same strobes I use in my studio.

As I recall, the pants Harbor was pulling on were quite heavy and cumbersome which prompted her look in this photo. Harbor is quite expressive. Part of being a great model is the ability to set a proper mood for the moment at hand. Sometimes this comes from the model, and sometimes from the direction of the photographer. Harbor's expressions are one reason I thoroughly enjoy working with her. She is a good actress and understands what the photographer is doing.

The image above was taken using my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens set at 25mm and f/3.2 with a shutter speed of 1/200. This shutter speed doesn't allow for any ambient light to enter the photo, and the f stop gives a smaller depth of field causing the background to be somewhat out of focus. I chose this setting  in order to focus more attention on the model and less on the background while still giving the viewer a sense of place and surroundings.

My 24-70mm lens is one of my favorite lenses to use. My 7D's sensor size means this lens is equivalent to a 38-112mm lens on a full framed camera. This works great for much of my portrait work.

Harbor was clowning around and I snapped off a quick shot. I suppose she won't forgive me for posting this one! I couldn't resist doing it because it's a great example of how much fun she can be to work with; never a dull moment with Harbor. And yet she is all business, too.

The fire station had this really cool old, retired firetruck that drew our attention. When we walked over to shoot around it, the fireman picked up an antique helmet for Harbor. It complimented the mood we wanted very well. Here again, I used just the one Norman strobe with a 60" umbrella. I used my 24-70 lens set at 30mm, f/2.8 with a 1/60 shutter speed. I chose the slower shutter speed to allow more ambient light to enter the photo. This truck was sitting by a window, and the combination of ambient and strobe gives a nice balance to the photo.

The fire station men were very helpful and cooperative. We wanted to leave them with something they could pin up on their bulletin board. So, we created a few glamour shots like this one to print, and we gave them to the firemen for this purpose. This photo was shot at 42mm, f/3.2, and 1/100. This shutter speed allowed some spill of natural light to mix with the strobe light. The ambient is coming from the same window that was by the old firetruck .

For some shots we wanted to create a look that reflected a fire fighter's mood and how they  might feel after fighting a big fire. Again, using Harbor's acting ability. I feel she set the mood quite well in these shots.

The two previous shots were taken with a combination of strobe and ambient light. The fire truck Harbor sat in was moved outside the station for us so we could get more ambient light. However, the ambient for these shots fills the cab of the truck shown in the background only. The main light source on Harbor comes from my strobe. My lens was set at 70mm, f/2.8, and 1/200 for both shots.

The theme for this shoot was Harbor's idea, and I jumped at the chance to collaborate on it. I knew it would be a lot of fun. Since doing this shoot and publishing the photos, Harbor has garnered several gigs from them. One of the benefits of being a photographer is having fun while you work and being able to help others be successful. It is very rewarding.

That's all for now.

As usual, thanks for reading my posts. Your questions and comments are always welcome.