I rarely shoot portraits and I’ve never used professional models, but I had the opportunity to try it at Photoshop World 2011 in Las Vegas. One of the exhibitors, Westcott, which specializes in lighting equipment, set up four photo studios in the exhibit hall and featured different models, costumes, and scenes every day. A lighting expert was present at each shoot to talk about the equipment and how to use it. Dozens of photographers jockeyed for the best locations to photograph the models.
Since I was not as aggressive as some and not as timid as others I often ended up in the middle of the pack. However, I usually had a reasonable camera angle. Based on my experiences the first day, I brought my 70-200 mm zoom on subsequent days so that I could get better face shots from a distance. Although most of the models were women, the group taking photographs was by no means a male-dominated crowd.
The models were not just pretty faces; most of them were decked out in wild and colorful costumes that often defied description — a creepy looking space alien appeared to be emerging from an egg, a stern dark-haired man wielded a sword, and a forest nymph covered in moss wore a headdress of twigs.
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