Cool for the Summer

Date taken:  23rd of July, 2016

So I have this thing with doing "bonus shoots" or "mini shoots" inside of a main photoshoot. 

This is sometimes done because we have extra time before or after the main thing, or because some of the clothes or props didn't fit into the main theme but we still wanted to shoot them. 

In this case we met Aviv and Michelle for the "geek chic" photoshoot and I asked them to bring their own clothes, as far as they can find things that fit the theme. A lot of what they brought was right on point and still a lot was really beautiful but didn't fit with the theme. 

So we did a "pre-shoot" where we had the girls put on their definitely-not-geeky outfits and photographed them around the Weizmann Institute where we were setting up. 

Models: Aviv Cohen and Michelle Rabinkov | hair: Neta Hafif Shmulenson | makeup: Anet Nour

Wildflower Spring

This is another shoot in the direction of "model test", continuing a line I really enjoy of shooting beautiful models for the sake of shooting and practicing rather than for a specific fashion... 

It has been almost four months since I headed down to Beer Sheva (once more) for a photoshoot. I wanted to start appealing to a younger audience so I asked around for models under 15. I talked to Maya (on the left) and she was enthusiastic for doing a shoot. She suggested that her friend Bar join us, and eventually we had three models (with Aviv joining closer to the date of the shoot). I met with Adi, that did the makeup for my last shoot in Beer Sheva, and we found a cool location not far from the city, in a field next to a burned tree and in clear sight of the sunset. 

Once more, we didn't have a stylist or fashion provider. It turns out you really don't need one... you decide on the style and make a good moodboard, and the girls bring the clothes they like and feel comfortable in. It's free, and you are free to shoot whatever you want without interruptions... so less of a catalog shoot, more editorial (like the last test we did). 

Models: Maya Yachnes, Bar Shimony, Aviv Cohen | Makeup: Adi Chen

Street Fashion

Today we are joining Yuval on a fashion project that is a little different from any of the past fashion shoots I've done. In this case she played the role of model, stylist and director for the whole project. The idea was to do something that looked candid but also high fashion. The sort of shots a good paparazzi would get of a supermodel while she is shopping in Paris. 

To make things feel more European we needed a location that looked classy and didn't scream it was shot here in Tel Aviv. So I did what a photographer should always try to do, and went location scouting a week before the shoot. 

A good friend from Tel Aviv helped me find a string of cool locations, starting from some new buildings with a wooden deck floor around them, through some renewed buildings in the gentrified part of south Tel Aviv, and finishing on brick road streets on the edge of old Yaffo. 

Our model/stylist had several looks to go through and we managed to get quite a few shots for each of them until sunset. 

Brides and Beach

So last summer we did our second bridal photo-shoot (the first one here),  this time on the beach of Caesarea. I had been contacted by make up artist Danit, that already had the wedding gown vendors and the location chosen. We only needed to find two models, which led us to the beautiful Maria and Karina that star in this post. I had also contacted my friend Yael to video the whole shoot.

The schedule for the shoot was clear. We arrive at 16:00 at Danit's house, and begin makeup and hair on the two models in parallel, switch them, and then drive 15 minutes to Caesarea beach to be there at 17:00, with plenty of time to spare before magic hour. In practice, everyone was late (there was horrible traffic), getting ready took longer than I thought, and we had ended up arriving at the location less than half an hour before sunset. So we scrambled, we skipped over some things and went straight for the money shot.

Studio Sessions - Adi

 After a few non-fashion posts I decided to jump back a bit to my first (and so far only) studio session. I had been collaborating again with Zoe from Swans Moda and this time we shot in her studio/basement. You may recall our beach shoot from the year before, or the urban winter shoot.

The model for this shoot is the beautiful, not-yet-even-eighteen Adi Hashamonai, who made things very easy for me as she both knew how to work the camera angles and looked amazing in anything we put on her. 

The studio setup was pretty simple. A white fabric with two constant lights in soft-boxes to burn it out, another constant soft-box as fill from the left, and my flash in a fourth soft-box as key. Then I alternated between the 105mm for closeups and the 50mm for full body and medium shots, as I didn't have enough room to back up to use only the long lens for everything. 

Rock and Roll Baby

Back from vacation and again trying to catch up on old photoshoots.

These images were taken back in February along with the mystery lady shoot.

We had three models and seven different looks and these two were particularly interesting.

The concept behind this production was masks, as it was just before Purim (the Jewish holiday for costumes) but we switched to a different styling after we felt the masks had done their part. The look we were going for was grungier, rock and roll club party girl look. More after the jump.

Model: Mishel Rabinkov | Styling: Jeni Ageev | Makeup: Iris Roizen Fainstein | Hair: Andrey Zukal | Dress: Natali Boychuck

Mystery Lady

Today I want to write about a photoshoot we did a few weeks ago (yes it takes time before I am even done with the editing and can go on to blogging).

The shots were taken in a pool joint / bar, and the lighting was completely artificial. Which makes it easier in a lot of senses. It also lets you do whatever you want when it comes to light and color.

In this first post from the photoshoot I want to introduce Tal, a beautiful new model I had wanted to work with for a while now. Finally this production took us to Beer Sheva and things worked out.

The theme in this set is masks, and it was part of a session we did for Purrim (the Jewish masquerade holiday).

Model: Tal Ratson | Styling: Jeni Ageev | Hair and makeup: Andrey Zukal | Dress: Natali Boychuck

Last Days of Summer

So it has been a while... again (sigh...)

I admit I haven't had time for blogging but I did keep busy in the photography front.

Last month I decided to challenge myself and go for something bigger and a lot more complicated than the last photoshoot I did at Weizmann... This time I had contacted three models, two make up artists and a stylist to do a life style shoot at the beach. Early morning, at Ashdod's fort beach. This was really much more difficult to arrange and shoot, but the end results are well worth it. Also, I've learned a number of lessons for the future...

Models: Liora Finkelshtein, Or Jacob, Merav Weintrub
MUA: Mary Jane Kvantaliani
Styling: Zoe Simazki for Swans Moda