Miss Missouri Teen

 Amber is heading to Nationals so we had fun with a shoot in Loose Park.  Perfect weather.

 Nikon D800 for all.  Fill flash on some, others all natural light.  The one immediately below was done with camera set to jpeg fine in portrait mode.    I always shoot RAW though for more editing opportunities.   Nikon 70-200mm lens for most... last two are 24-70mm.   ISO 100 and 400.

Amber

One of my favorite subjects is Amber who is getting ready for the Miss United States Missouri Pageant at the beginning of April. Like all really good models she is able to go from sultry to pixyish in a moment... offering me a variety of looks... lighting and shutter release is almost all I have to do.
The black dress and the blue dress shots were all done with one light in a pan reflector covered with translucent white, rip-stop nylon and a silver reflector below her position bouncing light upward. Background was medium gray paper roll. F-stop varied between F16 and F22 throughout the shoot. Nikon D3 with 105mm lens throughout.

Sometimes called "glamour lighting" this light is fired point-blank at the face at a little less than a 45 degree angle and the reflected light fills in from below.
One of these or the many others we took will be her headshot for the competition and an entry in the Miss Photogenic contest.
Three lights were used in the last set-up. The pan reflector, a light overhead bounced from a silvered umbrella and a direct flash on the background which was changes to white. The above shot I did not use the background light as I wanted a more monochromatic image to highlight her eyes an lips.
Amber was called "Barbie" in high school.... but I think she's more like a porcelain ballerina.... she's also got moxie.... which helps in this endeavor :)

Amber in Autumn

Tis' the season for Senior Pictures and Lee's Summit's finest visited on Sunday. Amber is in her senior year and we did studio shots and then traveled down to one of my favorite spots... the West Bottoms... for some location work. She's wants to be a Registered Nurse and is already taking a course to that end.
These are just a few of the 88 shots she has to choose from.

Amber also dances and has entered several pageants.... winning Miss Photogenic in her last outing.... she's fun and a very good sport to sit on the ground :)
Studio shots were taken with the Nikon D3 and the 1o5mm... my favorite portrait lens... location shots were with the same camera and some with the 24-50mm lens, but most with the 70-200mm lens wide open at 2.8. ASA 200 on all shots.

Two Winners In More Ways Than One

My two most recent pageant photo subjects competed last weekend in the Miss American Coed Pageant in St. Louis. Amber, above, won Miss Photogenic (yea me) in the Miss Missouri Teen Division. And Taya, below, in only her second pageant ever was 1st Runner Up in the Sweetheart Division. She also won Miss Photogenic and Best Hair, Best Smile, Best Gown, Best Interview and the Spirit of America Award.
Congratulations to both girls on their success.... they are both extremely nice in front and not in front of the camera.... also, congratulations to their coach Lorenzo who has more winners than any other coach in the midwest.....