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Shoot: Aerial Woman

Lesson 17 from: Experimental Portraits

Sue Bryce, Lara Jade

Shoot: Aerial Woman

Lesson 17 from: Experimental Portraits

Sue Bryce, Lara Jade

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Lesson Info

17. Shoot: Aerial Woman

Next Lesson: Shoot: Trapped Male

Lesson Info

Shoot: Aerial Woman

My idea for this shoot or this shot, who was to take cassidy shooter from above and try and get some aerial movement and see how freaky I can make it when I flip it up right, like levitation floating? I am incredibly captured or captivated rather bye underwood imagery, but what I hate about it is that you see the pole and that you see, the face always looks horrible, so I don't care what you are with you're a fashion photographer, a conceptual artist, I look at the face of a subject, and no matter how beautiful the image is, when there's no connection, this no emotions, and I always, unless it's, you know a profile or from back on, and it doesn't require if the faces in an image, it is the most important part. When you meet somebody, you don't go hi, nice to meet you. I just love the shape your legs, you don't look at people's bodies, you look at their face, we read from left to right, we read the face from left to right, which is your right to live. We spend more time looking at the r...

ight eye when we talk to people than the lift I did, you know that, so if you're right side two, best side, that your dominant side so when you look you look to the right you glance to the lift, you come back to the right because you don't hold a single a gaze for longer than ten seconds and I just feel like it's really, really important that face so I'm like, can I create an underwater image? That's not underwater can I make her body shape now? She's not a model so we had to move here we have to move in the shapes that we want to make I think it would be really cool if you got a dancer and if you go to dancer that maybe it was somebody that could free style but even freestyle dancers cannot direct themselves so laura shot me only promise like oh that's so easy because you compose yourself while I can pose but I can't see in the camera and I can't see what looks good account. See what angle looks good? What perspective? So what looks good in the camera with my body only she can see that so it's still in her hands I can move my heads and I can create body language with my body but she's the one taking the image so I have no control over that although I feel like if you had somebody with really flexible movement there's, some really cool stuff you can do ultimately I would like to shoot this on a balcony over the top of her so the perspective is perfect we don't have that here so what I'm gonna do a shoot from the top of the letter so cassidy come back in but here's the cool thing this is where we look at our compass it and we say what else can we put into this image so I've got this course good and this little course it top cost me eight dollars from river twenty one you know so I find thinks that this eight dollars and it's one of those little pieces of my wardrobe that all the young girls always pick up first and go all this's darling so I love having little cheap wardrobe pieces like this I want you to lie down flat now straight away I can see one thing and that is cassidy's skirt is a little bit see through in certain spots so if I want to block that up I can just put this black fabric underneath here or I can put another black skin underneath here but she's got great leagues and I want to use his leagues in the movement right this is where we play with compasses its first thing first when people lie down they have no chin right? So they tuck the chin in so we need to elevate her here so we need a little tell or something that can elevate under a hit on what we do have is a box of here and the box of here to big needs to be smaller than that, like even the jersey that you're holding the cardigan that you're holding. Alexis rolled up coming this way and you can bring in the box of here. This is where we put in elements first. So we're going to put in elements that are already in the shot and then elements that were going photo shopped him. All right, so this here will elevate here hidden in a soon as we elevate here. Here who chin comes forward from above. And that's how? Ten. Fourteen down. Okay, so ten fourteen down line down. Everybody wants a good nick incheon, and then she can bring her chin down like this and duel of these beautiful positions. Now secondly, I get to do anything I want with her here because she is innocent and in this comfortable position. So as long as that she's comfortable, I can bring her here like this, which I'd never be able to do it. She was jumping. I would never get that shot focused on your face. I can do anything. Look at this beautiful shape already, second, late now I want to shape her body. So my hairstylist with teo get a whole lot of synthetic here I got a whole box of here for under fifty dollars. Okay you khun by synthetic here you cannot straight in it you cannot curl it but you can buy it crimped and you can play it it you can buy it and tease it and I can now create this lashes beautiful big design with here here I can make it go all in one direction so from the front when we flipped her up who he is going to be straight up and out like this which is going to be so much fun to play with her now I'm mixing beauty with sort of floating sort of mysterious now have a look at all this my hairdresser my hair stylist did this and she made that say how beautiful is that we can put this whatever we want with the girl on the flowers we can pin it in so I will need him here pins from glen if you can and I just want to play with this and make something really gorgeous also have a look at these long pieces thes synthetic pieces of here they do look like real here but you can but they're very blond but its compass it so the whole point is I can use it to beef up here here and then I can add that here takes you from her here by copying and pasting it so this is where we go into absolute place on there is nothing we can't achieve you can get units and stuff them full of here full of stuffing full of decorate you can get curly synthetic hair like this it's all really killed and you really just want to match it so this is the closest match to her normal here keller it's in knots when platts and curls and quits and waves and all I have to do is loosen their all out like this and make whatever I want out of it and then multiply it is often as I like in the image so I think it's pretty exciting I'm going teo habit flying off like this I've got this beautiful piece here look at that how wonderful now once they get up the letter I'll get naked to stay nice and close here so that she can move anything I want to move and it's rubber banded together so all I want to do is I'm going to create this here so it looks like it's flying off to the side I don't care if it's not right I just want to create shapes movement that I can move around now I'm that naughty person I'm a naughty girl that tends to do things that I can fix later and photo shop how's my coffee breath could I just thinking get in people's personal space okay I'm that naughty person that thinks because I have good finish up skills so I tend to be a little bit lady and I'm like the world get that finish up like that join there or I could simply go it listen brush you hear over it and then save me a job and finish up if you can do it life please do it life meaning if you can do it on sick do it take the time that you know what these shoot shouldn't take long because the photo shop is the whole point of the action of it I haven't looked at all the cool things I could do I can create a big victorian piece like this and all I have to do is take a bulk like this I can put a hand it over I can stitch it pin it and I've got two choices I can sit something here and just have it sitting on the top like that so it looks like it's just crazy avant garde here I can sit down here and just pin it on but I can pretty much I'm limitless you know this is the whole point of creating fake world is there our worlds and I just love that that is magnificent here I would never be able to get there sitting up on suspicion up in five minutes okay so how cool is that? Um all right now any elements I would like to add I would add them now so a crown twigs um at a bird's nest like we said before I've got a business for later I could put that on anything I could create I would do it right now I'm just gonna put another pin in here just to secure this to the top of his head so I could stop moving to generally when you're putting pinson you just push until they either cry out or you feel blood they used to cry before they played by the hour and then they blame so it's like oh sorry that's why didn't there is ok now here around the face looks magnificent um I was going to say if I could take a picture of that from here to show you, that would be really cool but I'm about to all right I don't care about the black piece of fabric behind her she looks incredible uh I wanted to be that simple I want it to be that beautiful the one thing I would consider would be bulking up this piece here just to bring it forward so it's not so obviously back so I was going to use other but to hear oh look att that yeah that's so much fun, right? I kind of want to be almost over here so I just picked this up and put it there that's the one beautiful perfect. So I have a photograph kassidy with here almost exactly like this but it took about two hours to do and now we've just done it that quickly also I can move this here any way I want. All right next thing we need to do is pose here so I want something really elegant first I want one foot down one foot up nice pointed toes tokyo I want the dress to look like it's flying in the same direction so I'm gonna pick this up to here I'm going to flick it out I'm not going to flick it out I'm gonna bunch it up just above her knee so she's got nice long legs I'm gonna punch that up just above him me and I'm gonna flick it up like it's floating so I'm gonna flick the screwed up remember the movement, the body language with this image going think about that now she's here and now she was jumping or floating she's almost going to be and ballet arms like this, right? So she's going to be in a position where her hands she's looking right at me and her hands will almost be coming towards me so if I could get her hands off the ground even better lift them up towards me and so bend your elbows that's a go and now if you were floating, your fingers would be out and one hand would be a little bit more extended that's it into even coming towards me so you would just be floating your chin would be up on extended beautiful hands higher one hand higher than the other and maybe one out like this and instead of being index finger go belly fingers which his middle finger so be there and always always hell palm I can't we don't dance like this, nobody dances like this. Everybody dances like this a case and make sure that he'll pound is always in that pushed he'll pop it is the most delicate, beautiful hands belly fingers, thumb to middle finger ballet hands, belly hands there. Okay, so that movement for ballet hands has always extended he'll pound belly fingers good girl said they're there that in a little bit higher with this one that maybe back like this towards you they go because I'm going to be as high as I can get and that perspective right? I'm just going to check the hair beautiful. I love this amazing cassidy alright, for my next trick, I will climb a letter uh say okay, don't let me fall in an embarrassing way, way look if I could try and make this look graceful I'm gonna shoot on thirty five mil I want it wide because I don't want to get too high at this letter I want to see how far up I can get I should have a strap on for security if anybody drops that camera's kind of hit here so I don't want to do this I'm gonna put the strap on my wrist um hand of god to make sure I'm getting over the top so what I'm going to do is I'm going to change my focal point to all focal point you look like a barbie doll you really do I need you to put some shape into your hips, cassidy so I need your body to be skewered for a little bit more than that good girl more that's it a little bit more that's perfect point those toes straight down so what I'm going to do now is I'm going to go I'm at two point eight okay whatever good day put my I say I am get eight hundred but you know what if you know what's happening these dark in this image so my camera's reading it is a lot darker than it really is c so that see how it's saying it should be a fortieth there was taken so we're under exposed it and it still looks to stop too bright this is we trust you I not your camera since going to drop it down so I didn't actually need to dot my I's gonna protect six really? All right, that's where I wanna bay in terms of light now I've gotta wait these hands so I'm going to go to life you on my camera and what that is going to do is it's going teo, put me out to here, I'm going to swap hands so my closest hand is in here. Then I can hold this out and I can shoot it life you and I'm just going to lift my hands over here. All right? So ideally, I'd want you to be in a position where you can get a really good focal point over the eye because I'm trying to do that and it's not letting me let me see can't a town all right, kim towards may look to shape in your body. Point your toes straight down really overextend your toes, casely point them be enjoying hand at the elbows that to go and like you're floating both hands up, so keep don't move them just keep them out and bring your left hand up a little bit more your left hand, yet out, wider out, wider that's it stop now long chin towards me like you're floating, relax those eyes all right, did I get it all right now I didn't so that they're not sideways bring your knees ride out that to go lot to shape into hip floating hands. There you go this hand wider because I'm looking straight down it so take it out. I can't do it like that that's it now lower stop right now! Long chin towards may and down forward and down not up head to go see you are all right now I've got it have a look at this I'm going to lean out as far as I can I feel a bit more secure now my focus is over her eyes long chin cassidy, push it forward push that chin ford all right, I'm going to get nicky to move her dress because I can't move it, so I want you to bunch it up a little bit more on the side in a little bit higher on this side, so flip it over her knee so I can see her knees that's it that's it pull back a little bit more and give me more scared out here and sue cassie adelaide is wondering whether the site of the dress that's kind of falling off under the latter being cut off on the side does that bother you at all? No, because I'm going to fight a shop it perfect that's it nicky perfect don't move can you pull the dress down sir can see her midriff a little bit more because it's just sort of sitting high that's it it's not on her waistline that's the one perfect nice okay bending those that's gorgeous shape good shape on the shoulders cassidy good movement I'm going to lean out as far as I can and we are there you could just bring your look at the camera not make yesterday I just got a look at your expression cause I can't see the bigger the camera bring your foot down a little bit lower that's the one that's the one lots of nicky can you pull address down around her waist I don't want luke dress bunched up around her waist on the either side because I want to show how slimmer waist is not have the dress blocking it it's still upon this side honey that's the one there it is perfect lots of shape into hip good girl push that right elbow into your waist length that's going to show the kid good that's perfect left hand down a bit more cassidy underwater push your chin towards me very organized okay point those toes, honey like you're jumping and dancing good maybe just lips together a little bit more it's not so much a part okay chin forward and down like down down down forward towards me so lift off the air there to use that cushion good girl nyse okay let's flatten that hand out a little bit cassidy it's just a little too high so he'll palm down towards me now your left hand no towards may heal pamuk give me the bottom of your hell that's it they like this that's it but beamed it backwards don't move your mouth you in perfect position now to knit away from may this one that's a tune it away a bit more and down a little bit more so it's down a case and notes often this movement just like you're floating in water that's it you're doing it with your right hand more hell like that stop now this one that's the one perfect now you look like a barbie doll chin ford and down ford and down okay let's teo a hands over the head kind of sixty one like but a floating won some more like belly hands a little higher so like really floating hands don't touch you here so just tapped the top of your here good girl and then maybe the top of your shoulder with this one so just that teo stay there really changed that wait if your feet other foot so that salon good perfect but don't turn away don't look like you're lying down look like you're floating that's the one perfect let's try that uh I'll get nicki to change up your here nice and quick so we've got another question or anybody in the audience has a question when nikki changes here here I can answer it push your chin ford wait a minute put options for now could kill their this sorry one more okay, push your chin forward and down that's the one so this some tension and who need cause she's holding himself up but that doesn't matter I'm going to make sure I fixed that. Okay? And nicky with here here I want you to bring it down and around so it's not so high and elevated and while nicki's during that let's ask a christian kill it like a wave nikki so it's not cooking like genevieve in the, uh in the studio audience has one of the questions sue like we did the shot with her behind the twigs and it was hard to fix things that went across your face if you didn't get it right. Hard to fix and photoshopped. Is there anything in this shop that would be particularly challenging the photo shop to kind of watch for, um perspective I've got to get right I've got to get a perspective right? I've got to get here he'd shape right so that I've got to make sure he leagues don't slip to the side like she's lying down because from when she slipped up right, I wanted to look like cheesy the jumping floating around the water so that's more important than anything it's making sure she doesn't look like she's lying down so keeping her hands off the backdrop is the first one because if you were standing up you'd never have your arms flat against the wall if you're leaning against a wall and the other one is the neck and throat now she's got tension and she's holding her neck up and she's pushing a tenfold but that's easy to photo shop out there's nothing that I really want to lose elemental e everything else I'm going to end in I'm changes get to the other side nicky so this one here is coming down but his get actually that's perfect like that because I'm just in the top of her thigh now flick it out your side so no notjust the very corner so she looks jumping that's it's that's like a little flipping up movement that's great perfect so go be cut with your hands but that's it stay there just float that one there don't move and let's point your toes all the way down and bring your knees together so bringing needs to get it and point your toes flat like legs flat good gil and note that doesn't wick cross one ankle oh it just bring one ankle up stop perfect all right, so this looks lying down, but I'm gonna try and work it out. I just want to try and get this one chin ford. Okay, eyes to the camera. Good, gil, beautiful face. Perfect, cassidy. Now what I want you to do is hold your skirt like you're jumping that's it so you, khun bunch it up elbows in towards your waist because we always shape the body always shake the body with the album's towards the waste but don't flatten them down to the ground if you can lift your elbows off like you would be standing good girl and that's putting a shadow but elbows towards your waist knot out the ego that's perfect right there and I want you to lift one knee up towards me so it's almost like you're doing a skip jump like a fashion skip, jump with your toe comes away from the other one that's the worm and long chin forward and down I've got my focal point and as soon as I got that there, I'm there perfect. Okay, I love that but don't like the legs so let's change the legs, drop the league down, it's too high and halfway bring the other one up uh, stop that tip perfect, there we go this she asked enough and try bringing your knee up just like this it's floating like if you were doing a jump and this one would be just touching your knee more but don't cross over bring it towards may like needs towards may there to guilt swap meet let's get another one note towards may set up here that's the one perfect up more no note knee up there that's the one all right and so hands putting your ten forward nice okay let's do when we your chin comes all the way down this way down down nice day there do you like it here can we soften that bottom curl so it's like it's looking a little bit rough can we just give it a twist or something no that's worth go closer to it lunch it just put it back towards the rest of the here too easy just push it right back in the case that joins up to the rest of the here yep bunch it like the a that's better good girl that's how here sits right so as usual I would rather be down there playing with the here the guild beautiful face movement I might have just gotta blink son was going to take another one just in case and I'm gonna lay out and play with it here so oh, I love this okay now um casey kittery sorry cate cassidy rose could you? Casey cassidy has lady feet because she's tall the cases she doesn't have dancer's feet she has long legs feet so see how they roll in like that she needs to point her ballet faint and roll them out towards me that to go on and that's why you gotta make sure when you get dancers and stuff they have belly feet but tall long girls always have lazy fate so I'm not watching her ankles and I got to make sure I now that because otherwise and my photo shop I'm going to be straightening up ankles you didn't know you had lazy ankles did you weigh just told the world that's fantastic good girl okay you hid position is amazing your hands amazing I want them higher so you can pull this get up with you now what I want is really or some leagues how about you bring both knees towards me and been them back that way? Yes. And so okay let's, try this chin all the way back where it wass that's a girl down I love this point those toes for me cassidy, go! Go now legs lower down a bit more they too high towards you and push down, push down to keep them they're just pushed them down together keep going, keep going, stop, bring your knees towards me now both of them just bring them towards me now tonight this way just your knees that so just go like this bring your niece towards a letter more more more not just your knees not your hips nis sat just your niece nicky got moved her if I can't move my models and somebody else has to just who needs bean towards me that's it but not jai I don't want them up by a bomb I just want to needs towards may okay stop just your knees and your fate down nice towards may don't make me come down this letter now and I like them flat and bring them towards me like this just you need and feet down towards nikki passed here don't attack your heels up to buy and bring your feet down and your knees towards may more more cake I just her name push her knees towards me no just towards a letter yeah start point your toes all right pointed toes pointed toes pointed toes look down I want to see your right hand good girl right hand there it isthe beautiful soft hands look down with your eyes put your feet down there to killed up put point them down keep your knees here just bring your feet and you almost touch this cursory keep going keep going down so stretch them out down down away from your bum so bring your feet down keep going stretching down like lengthen out lengthen our stretch out they go they go more more more towards me more that to keep them separated though they look really amazing and point those toes bell a feat good girl okay can you bring your eyes shut like you're sleeping on ice they're this point those toes for me cassidy this is a sleeping beauty shot oh I could put her in flowers I can put her in what I can create space around this and have black birds exploding out of her dress like snow when the huntsman what else I can put black chul flowers all around here I can put her into onto concrete what else it is yeah but a bit of fish yeah that would be crazy fire what else smoke or clouds like smoke would be good putting ink and water photographing income water in the studio having the dress fly away to thank what else cv suggests bones wow yes that would be pretty cool anything elemental like that would be amazing ok can you bring your um legs almost like you're doing this so yeah that's it like that's it now bring this need towards me a little bit more and point your tie's good girl and then your chin try going okay go chin down nights he chin down that way it looks like a run go the other way chin down this way to the shoulder um nikki need to bunch up this here okay, this is really interesting shape because she looks broken now so I'm going to try broken ones because why not? And then I'm going to change the league she looks broken in both directions that's crazy okay now straighten up those legs for me and stay there that's it so bring them back to the centre with just year now cross over with your right foot right ankle over your left good girl and but leave your knees towards me don't turn your hips away that's it perfect do I have a male model? We do indeed and he is ready whenever you are pushing him down I stand alone pressure chin away from unique that's our eyes down a little bit lower like you're sleeping and I just want one like this with your league stretched out that's it stretched out to where they were at the beginning with one knee up so that's a perfect and I just want you to bring your right hand up to your face here little that's it stop no do that again good guilt no two fingers you don't do just one so you had to fear I'd go just under your chin bringing our bow out so it away from your body halfway good girl said, just touch so when you first came up it was perfect now you're doing there okay, so when you first came out you were just touching with the head to do that again. Albert up that's the one turn your hand towards me like this that's it don't move that absolutely amazing beautiful hand movement cassidy oh, I love this I need you are elbow into your waist on your left side and I need your eyes to the camera long chin and now I want you to tune this hand up to here that's it and sleep when you wake up you're going to be a supermodel are uh all right, we're done. You're perfect. Thank you so much. Thief on your last comments who? There were comments in the chatter and they cassidy needs to becoming model stat very, very soon imagines a wonderfully wonderful job. Uh, it's been amazing to watch from a absolutely absolutely go. So were they here? We didn't five minutes. How many elements can we put into it here? Think about this. We want her to float we're gonna shift the perspective tomorrow when we finish up here we can put anything we want into the background we wanted to float look underwater, we're going to do some crazy stuff we can warp biscuit how many other elements can we put in there? How can we make it amazing? I mean there's so many choices but you don't have to put a lot of time, and if it this good is definitely mine it to my wardrobe, that little top was eight dollars. She could have been wearing anything white would be amazing. Floating would be amazing, or, you know, if you watched jennifer hudson on creative life, amazing workshop she's, so incredible she so fine that she gets the vintage white dresses and puts them in water and does exactly what we just did. She wouldn't be at a float to hear, but for here, it's, not about the here, she brings in other elements. She brings in bone. She brings an antlers. She brings in leeds an amazing stuff, but the whole body is wit, which is an entirely different looking and it's, just a such a great thing. But that the theme that the thing, everybody has their thing, what's yours, you know, that's, what we're trying to find out today.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Sues Textures
LJEssentialActions
Lara Jade Textures
Lara Jade Textures for PC
QA Erin OKeefe Stylist
QA Felix Kunze Assisting and Lighting
Sue Bryce and Lara Jade Lighting Guide

Ratings and Reviews

photogirl
 

This was my first Creative Live course and I thoroughly LOVED it! While contemplating purchasing the course, I was a bit weary because some of the reviewers commented on how they wished they could have seen Sue Bryce give more in depth information about one of her projects, but there is SO MUCH information that is packed into this class. I LOVE Lara Jade and her work is amazing. The enthusiasm that both instructors bring to the class, their eagerness to share their workflow and wonderful retouching methods are worth every penny and then some. Going into the class, I already was familiar with Lara's beautiful fashion photography and really wanted to know her trade secrets so for me this was everything I needed. For me, the bonus feature was getting an insight into Sue's wonderful mind and how she conceptualizes, photographs and retouches her amazing portraits! Wow, I learned so much and I HIGHLY recommend these ladies and this course. Creative Live just one more thing... please, more LARA JADE courses!!

Kristen Clapham Photography
 

SO glad I bought this one...!!! Check out Day 2 - "the gospel according to Sue Bryce" - it's absolutely awesome - if you feel like you've been in a creative rut then you've gotta own this and watch it repeatedly!!! Thanks Sue, thanks Lara, thanks Creative Live team... another GREAT workshop!!

Susie
 

fantastic to see Lara in this; she's so natural and inspirational, and so generous with her resources. I would love to see her do another course, maybe with Felix too as I love his lighting and creativity. More, please!

Student Work

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