Back for Seconds?

April 24, 2015April 24, 2015 / Heather Houle / 4 Comments

We certainly were with this shoot. The deal was that we could eat our subject after we were finished… honestly, half the reason I took all those raspberries was so I could consume them afterwards. Yum!

Our desserts were back-lit with a softbox, and then we used reflectors to bounce the light to the front of the subject. It was surprising how bright the photos came out, considering that we only used one light! They look pretty yummy, but let me say: they tasted even better…

Cheers,

– Heather

Just a Taste…

April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 / Heather Houle / 2 Comments

Isn’t that what we always say about dessert? Ooh, I’ll just have a bite… I’ll just have one… I’ll just have another… until the next thing you know, you look at the empty dish and realize you’re largely responsible for its clearance. (This is how things normally go for me, anyways.)

We shot some incredibly lovely desserts in the studio yesterday for our final shoot of the semester, including but not limited to cheesecake, tarts and mousse… So. Darn. Good. If these production teasers get your mouth watering, stop by again on Thursday for a decadent second round of sweet stuff. 😉

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Cheers,

– Heather

Pearls and Red Lipstick

April 16, 2015April 16, 2015 / Heather Houle / 7 Comments

…What else does a woman need to go out? Cherry lips and smooth white beads are all that’s required. (Clothing: apparently not important.) Last week during our product shoots, I featured these two essentials of classic Hollywood beauty. Our single strobe-and-softbox setup, coupled with a reflector provided a lovely mix of deep shadows and rich highlights. The black leather of the purse (compliments of Value Village, if you’re wondering) and deep blue scarf really made the gold-toned hardware and the pearls pop, and the way the light hit the band on the lipstick (which is some matte stuff by Revlon that I bought on a whim a while back) illuminated it so nicely. Considering that our only direction with this shoot was essentially to experiment until we found something that worked… I’d say it all went pretty well!

Cheers!

– Heather

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Product Shoot: Sneak Preview

April 11, 2015April 11, 2015 / Heather Houle / 3 Comments

Portrait photography can be a hassle because there’s a lot of techniques to learn. It can be good to be a rule breaker sometimes, but it helps to first know the rules you’re attempting to disobey. Except with product photography… because every product is different, every shoot will be different. The only rule here is that it’s all just an experiment, more or less! Yesterday, our photography class was in the studio taking photos of a product of our choice. And there was a lot of experimenting– which did pay off, eventually. My classmate Sarah and I shared a bay in the studio and were helping each other out with our shoots. Here are a few photos of her setting up her shoot!

Cheers,

– Heather

The Room Where Marilyn Stays

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015 / Heather Houle / 6 Comments

Looking at my calendar, I realized that I’ve only got a few weeks left in my current living quarters. The first of May will bring a new adventure in the exciting realm of Within-Walking-Distance-of-My-School Land. I am very, very excited.

As I’ve already begun packing, I thought I’d take an opportunity to pay a little bit of tribute to my lovely little room here in the condo. The ocher walls play off the soft golden light from the little Ikea table lamp. (There is actually no overhead lighting in this room, so the lamp and the closet lights (did I mention that there are two closets?!) get me through!) My bookcases house dozens of thrifted novels and various knickknacks. I have several portraits of Marilyn Monroe, and a money tree that is unfortunately dying a slow death. The multi-toned flooring is glossy and smooth. I’m going to miss it, just a little.

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

Long Time No See!

April 6, 2015April 6, 2015 / Heather Houle / 12 Comments

If you were here last night, you’ve seen a lot of me in a very short time period… but I’m caught up on my postings now, and I’ll return to the regular Thursday-and-Saturday posting schedule!

Aside from the texture-and-patterns I took for yesterday’s post, I also did a short shoot with my beautiful little sister. I’m a photographer; she’s a stunning, natural model– it was just meant to be. She recently took a bold plunge with her hair and went silver. I’ve just been dyeing (get it?) to take some photos of her new ‘do. It’s faded a bit since she got it done, but I think it still looks super grunge-chic.

With her porcelain skin and pale locks, she’s a gorgeous high-key image just waiting to happen!

We had some good laughs shooting outside of the house, a lovely small-town century home. I’m a big fan of the worn-down bricks; they really made her hair pop! The natural lighting also worked out really well: the sunlight was bright, but the diffusion from the clouds made it gentle and flattering (though it doesn’t take much to make this girl look good!).

Cheers!

-Heather

Hoppy Sunday!

April 5, 2015April 6, 2015 / Heather Houle / 4 Comments

This is an Easter posting that has nothing to do with Easter, and a lot to do with the fact that I am racing to catch up with my blogging. That being said: Whether you looked at this weekend as Easter weekend, or just April 3-5, hope it was absolutely lovely!

I spent most of this weekend visiting family. A lack of brightly-coloured eggs (this is what happens when you start to get old…) led me to decide to do a little pattern-and-texture study. It’s pretty neat what you start to see if you’re looking for it. Just peeking around the house, I discovered a plethora of subtle designs that were interesting to look at. Hope you enjoy!

Cheers!

– Heather

P.S. The photo titled “Five points if you can guess what this is” is a legitimate challenge: feel free to comment with guesses! (Though I’m not entirely sure what kind of “points” I’m awarding…)

P.P.S If you click on the photos in the gallery, they’ll enlarge; this will allow you to see the titles. 😉

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

: Copyright Heather Houle 2015

Portraiture

April 2, 2015April 6, 2015 / Heather Houle / 14 Comments

I did a mean thing. I posted those “sneak previews” from our portrait shoot, and then was super-delayed in posting the actual photos! My apologies to those two people who look at my blog (I keep updated with the stats, okay?)!

Anyways, here they are; at least, a handful of them! It was really tricky to pick favourites– they all turned out better than I expected! Alisha did an amazing job modeling, and was super, super patient with me as I was messing around, trying to get the lighting right! She was pretty tired at the end of it; she’s such a champ! (And again, feel free to check out her blog as well!)

For those who care: We had a “four-light” setup that utilized two strobes (I’m 80% sure they were 50W, but don’t quote me) with octoboxes (which is a softbox diffuser with eight sides), one as key light and one as hair light; a third strobe with barn doors lighting our background, and a reflector (I confess, it wasn’t really a four-light setup; hence the quotation marks). We used a gold-toned reflector for a lot of this shoot and I really love the warn glow it added; Alisha said it made us look like “sun goddesses.” The “PR portraits” are done with Rembrandt lighting; the “character portraits” (ie the ones with the magnifying glass, if you weren’t sure) are done with both Rembrandt and butterfly lighting. If you have no idea what that means, but are curious, check out this handy-dandy tutorial!

Cheers!

– Heather

Soup on a Sunny Sunday

March 27, 2015April 6, 2015 / Heather Houle / 2 Comments

I am getting a little over-excited about the warmer weather. This past Sunday, it was beautifully bright but still below the freezing mark. Yet I went out in my spring jacket. I saw the sun and thought it seemed like a good day to ditch the parka (I had also just scooped up the jacket from Value Village the night before and am a little bit infatuated with it; that didn’t help me much). It was unwise. I knew it was unwise; in fact, I ventured out, missed the bus by a nanosecond, and walked back home to wait for the next one. I noticed that I was a bit chilly. I could have put a warmer coat on… but I didn’t. I just looked too cute. Fortunately for me, it wasn’t frostbite-risk weather, but strolling around the Distillery District, I was a titch uncomfortable. Worth it? Perhaps.

Yenno what helps warms a gal up, though? Mexican tortilla soup. The tortillas were pretty unidentifiable (they had spent too much time in the soup, I think), but still really tasty. Long live cheap (ish) soup lunches! El Catrin, the District’s one-of-a-kind Mexican restaurant, not only has great soup but is also very photogenic, albeit some spots are a bit dark. The massive, open space features warm pendant lights and large windows; colourful Mexican artwork, both traditional and modern; and perfectly distressed wood tables.

The murals of sugar skulls and dessert scenes are stunning, but be sure not to miss the little archway tucked away near the back of the restaurant. A short (fun fact: it’s almost exactly my height; I’m about a centimeter shy) tunnel beneath the stairs to the second floor houses a glassed-in display of votive candles and vintage miscellany. A two-seat bistro table in the tunnel on one side of the casing offers one of the most private seats in the house– save for the fact that all the guests coming to and from the washrooms (situated on the opposite side of the display) could potentially be staring at the back of you, and you wouldn’t even know. But let’s just not think about that; just focus on the soup.

Cheers!

– Heather

Portraiture: Sneak Preview

March 22, 2015April 6, 2015 / Heather Houle / 4 Comments

As of late, our photography class has been working on shooting and retouching portraits. Yesterday afternoon, we we in the studio for a solid three hours, fussing with lights and camera settings… and our hair. When you’re a photography student, everyone takes a turn as the photographer, the assistant, and the model, whether we appreciate it or not. We had a grand old time, despite the occasional frustrating moment (I never thought I’d get so angry at a strobe light; I was ready to knock that thing over).

Working with studio lighting is tremendous because it allows you so much control that you simply don’t have when you’re just working with available light. It was a change of pace for me, who has learned to do the best I can with the lighting I have. Being able to adjust the lighting to exactly what I need is great, but it takes time to learn how to coerce the lights into doing your biding. There has been a lot of experimenting involved in this assignment, but I’m really enjoying the shots we’ve got (more on that next week)!

Cheers!

– Heather