Styled Shoot, Model: Breanna Sorensen, Photographer: Tamsin Photography, Location: Melbourne, Florida

I love shoots that allow me to push myself creatively and that force me to try new things to reinvent portraiture as it is known in the traditional sense. When Breanna came to me with a need to collaborate on a fashion-modelling shoot I was so excited. She knew that this time she wanted something different from the light and airy outdoor shoots and the studio work we had done together in the past. This time she wanted something dramatic and edgy, but feminine with a bit of sparkle and some vintage glamour. That is how "Sequins and Smoke" was born!

Juxtaposition- Creating Drama Through Contrast

As we planned our shoot we knew that we needed the perfect dress, a killer location with strong sunset light, a vintage element and of course- smoke! It was our goal to create dramatic contrast by placing feminine and elegant items into the scene with an earthy location and the edginess of plumes of smoke. We chose a Bagdley Miscka gold sequinned floor-length gown to give the shoot some high-fashion. We then located the most charming little blue velvet chair from Timeless Vintage and painted the legs gold to tie it together. Lastly we found the most amazing smoke bombs from Skyking Fireworks in Melbourne and chose a sunlit grassy field to shoot. It is always so amazing to see all of the pieces come together and when we arrived on the day of our shoot it was obvious that we had styled something super gorgeous. It helps that the golden hour light that night was on point thank you to mother nature for that one!

Technical- Wide Open and Fast

I decided to shoot wide open at about f/1.8 and at a high shutter speed (1/250ish) for most of this shoot. It was important to me to create lots of depth of field to highlight my subject as this was a modelling shoot, while also capturing crispness in the movement as she shifted from pose to pose within a short time while the smoke was present. I shot with my Canon 5d Mark iii and Sigma 35mm Art lens for the duration of the session, being sure to keep my gear out of the smoke to keep it clean and safe. I used available sunset back-lighting and the smoke to highlight different parts of the body of my model and to convey motion and emotion as we shot. Using the smoke bombs was a lot of fun and the unpredictability of the smoke made capturing the shots exciting as it pushed me to shoot in ways that I normally do not. I shot quickly to maximize each smoke bomb, which lasted about 45 seconds. The experience was awesome and I will definitely be shooting with smoke bombs again.

Enjoy these images from our shoot, "Smoke and Sequins" and be sure to leave some love for my amazing model, Breanna!

If you are a photographer who has questions about the shoot feel free to ask below!

Love from the other side of my camera,

Tamsin