REMOTE PHOTOGRAPHY

REMOTE PHOTOGRAPHY

As a result of the Covid pandemic, draconian lockdown measures came into force on the 26th March 2020 in the UK which amongst other things instantly halted one to one model photography with severe legal restrictions on travel and meeting people. Breaches of the legislation could result in fines etc. We had moved from Brighton to Inveness 5 years before and wheras in Brighron the availabilty of models was such that I could have been photographing and drawing in my studio 24/7 for some unaccountable reason I have never been able to find a suitable local model to work with - one girl told me that's because they are all prudes up here. To date most of the models I have worked with here have been from England.


Soon after the start of lockdown I became aware of various initiatives by models finding innovative ways of continuing modelling for photographers and artists. Methods ranged from models offering sets of self taken images to the gradual evolution of remote shooting which takes a variety of form and it is true to say is misunderstood and often misrepresented by peoplewho have never tried it. At its most basic it can simply be the model using her mobile phone held in position by a tripod or clamp and connecting with the photographer via wifi using an app which allows the photographer or artist to take control of the camera and fire the shutter etc. I have used this method several times. The results are obviously dependant upon the quality and experience of the model, the camera and its facilities, and the quality of available or artificial light. Excellent results are possible with care. Potential downsides of this method are that the model is unable to see the photographer, but quickly become used to that; and whille the shoot is taking place and afterwards while the pictures are being uploaded to the cloud the mobile phone cannot be used as a phone! The photographer has absolutely no access to any files or information on the models phone. The pictures are downloaded from the cloud by the photographer and the model has no access to them.


Having tried, with various degrees of success, different forms of remote shooting I have for some time been working almost exclusively with the model Vampre Princess and you can find a small selection of the work we have done at https://davidhibberd.mypixieset.com/Vampire_princess/. Kay is a very talented model and photographer and has invested a great deal of time and money acquiring photographic equipment, lighting, backgrounds, props and above all experience enabling her to assist photographers obtain excellent results as can be seen from her pictures here. Once a booking is made we discuss what styles we will be working on and requirements as regards lighting, makeup,, styling, props, packgrounds etc. Shortly before the shoot Kay sends me Zoom link which I click on at the appointed time from my computer. Within seconds ofclicking on the link I will be connected to Kay's laptop and we have a brief chat to finalise any outstanding details and then she shares her laptop screen with me and I am able to see a live view as seen by her camera and control focus, shutter speed, white balance, ISO, and the shutter. Kay is so committed and experienced that the moment she steps in front of the camera all camera settings, lighting and background will be correct for shooting to start straight away based upon our pre shoot discussions. Obviously she is completely happy to adjust settings etc if required by the photographer, and we usually alter settings etc as we proceed to give options in post processing etc.. During the shoot we normally pause to review what we have achived and make sure all is as it should be. Once a set is finished we will move to the next planned set which may necessitate a change of lens, clothing, location background etc.


During the shoot the digital files will be saved to Kay's laptop and to a flash drive so that there is no possibility of the files being lost or corrupted. At the conclusion of the shoot Kay sends Raw files of all pictures taken by email to the photographer using a dedicated transfer service. Once the files are all to hand, a couple of hours or so later, they can be archived on the photographers computer and the fun and creativity of post processing can begin.


I have worked remotely with models as far away as Chichago. Kay works regularly with photographers as far away as Australia. I you would like more information on remote photography or life drawing feel free to get in touch using the CONTACT page and I will do my best to help.