Behind the Scenes: Cafe Photo Shoot

Model Andrew enjoying a fresh cup

Last Saturday I did a photo shoot in a small Cafe`. The purpose of the shoot was to create images to add to my stock portfolio. My friend Jeremy came along to shoot some behind the scenes shots, so I thought I'd share a few of them along with the resulting final images.

On the shot above of Andrew, I used three lights. The main light was a large softbox positioned to camera right with a second softbox behind the model. A third light was used to light the background area.


High angle shot of Andrew at the counter


Model Kattie with the menu board

On this image of Kattie, I wanted to communicate 'Cafe', so I shot from a low view to include the large menu board in the top of the frame.


Low angle shot of Kattie with the menu board


Models Julie, Jessica and Kattie on the couch

For the three ladies enjoying their beverages on the couch, I wanted a high vantage point with the girls looking up. I always carry a small stepladder on my shoots for this purpose. As can be seen in the shot below, the extremely slick floor necessitated the use of a ladder stabilizer - namely Josiah.


Josiah offering some stability to my stepladder


Models Kattie, Cerrick and Josiah at the counter

I used a couple of first-time models (at least for me) on this shoot. Both Josiah (right) and Kattie (left) in the above image did a great job. I look forward to working with them in the future.



And lastly, it just wouldn't be a shoot without Alyssa (below). I have photographed her more than any other model and we work well together. Here she is with another regular of mine, Andrew.


Frequent models Andrew and Alyssa

As you can see in the background, this cafe is located inside a climbing gym. Definitely an interesting location.



As always, I cannot do what I do without the help of others. Involved in this shoot were models Andrew, Alyssa, Cerrick, Jessica, Josiah, Julie and Kattie along with assistants Michelle and Erik. It is always great to get to shoot on location, and this shoot wouldn't have been possible without the great folks at Momentum Climbing Gym and Cafe opening their doors for us.

To see the full set on my iStockphoto portfolio, click here.

Special thanks to Jeremy Hall for taking the behind the scenes images.