tagged 
Florida, Safety Harbor, Safety Harbor Spa, model, strobist in Commercial, Fashion
Florida, Safety Harbor, Safety Harbor Spa, model, strobist in Commercial, Fashion Safety Harbor Spa Florida Commercial Model Shoot
Friday, April 22, 2011 at 4:39PM Jason Collin 
Safety Harbor Spa - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame right SB-600 to frame leftSafety Harbor Spa provided the backdrop for a commercial photography fashion shoot for a magazine featuring several models. All the models were fun to work with and helpful, even offering to assist me in carrying some of my strobist gear around. Much obliged. Nancy is featured in the above shot, which turned out to be my favorite shot of the day, and I later found out it was the magazine editor's favorite too. This shot was made in the "History Room" of the spa. The dog statue was moved into the shot purposefully. The spa staff later told me that many consider the statue to be haunted. People claim it moves by itself and some even have said it tried to bite them! It did have a mean stare if looked at from a certain angle, but I touched it and it only felt like cold bronze to me.
Safety Harbor Spa model shoot - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightAlthough we shot at many different spots both inside and on the grounds of Safety Harbor Spa, the History Room was by far my favorite. Young model (just 15!) Julie poses in front of an oil painting at the far end of the long and well furnitured History Room. The length of the room allowed me to use my preferred Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens for this shot.
Safety Harbor Pier - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe first shooting of the morning though was of the gentlemen out on Safety Harbor Pier. The sun was already fast rising in the sky and with minimal space to place my speedlights, it was a bit of a logistics as well as photographic challenge to produce the above shot featuring Luke. I wanted to incorporate leading lines and a bit of a vanishing point in the shot.
Safety Harbor Spa - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightJulie again in this shot showing very good balance and flexibility allowing for what I feel is a bit of an Aloha State themed image. If you have never photographed professional models before, I recommend hiring one for a shoot of your own and experiencing just how much easier it is to produce photographs when the subject already knows how to pose well. Another option is to do a free TF (trade-for) shoot with a model where each exchanges time in order to build their respective portfolios.
Safety Harbor Spa - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThere was a makeup artist, hair stylist and fashion director that all worked together with the models helping me be able to photograph six models in total at eight different locations all in under four hours. Thanks a lot everyone, it was challenging fun.
Reader Comments (4)
This shoot must've been like a breath of fresh air for you! Photographing photogenic people who know how to pose is definitely satisfying.
I can hardly believe that Julie is only 15! Incredible... I think my fav. shot is the one of her standing in front of the painting.
Only 5 shots posted from this shoot total??
It was definitely a welcome change of pace....yes, I was surprised to find out Julie was so young as well. Her mom was on site as she needed a ride there! Julie also looks like one of my cousins did when she was that age, so I was distracted a bit at first trying to figure out who she looked like. Her mom said people say she looks like Anne Hathaway, which is true especially in closeups.
Julie had a fun, somewhat goofy personality that I would have liked to of photographed, but I had little creative control over this shoot. The editors for the magazine were always there saying they wanted this shot, etc, which is another reason why there are only 5 shots here. Not many more than this passed my own culling. The lead shot was my idea mostly, hence it was my favorite. The shot of Julie in front of the painting though was also mostly my idea, actually that was all my idea too.
There may be a part 2 to this shoot. Maybe a black & white series....
Phenomenal shots Jason. I have been in the modeling industry for a long time and I can honestly say that any model would be lucky to work with you to build their modeling portfolio.
I agree with Mike: Julie looks very mature for her age!
Keep up the great work.
Thanks a lot Juliet, I really appreciate the feedback.