So, it’s a bit of a stretch from conservation to the world of glamor. But hey, conservation work can be glamorous at times… right?

As most of you know, I don’t usually stumble into the world of bright strobe lights, make-up, outfits, and striking a pose – well at least not for work!  Headshots, photo-booths, portraiture all feels comfortable with me working to expose what exists. This felt a bit different. I had a captive audience trained to be photographed professionally. This made all the difference.

When I saw the SF Meet and Shoot group offer its inaugural meetup focused on models and glamor I decided, why not. I had never worked in such a fashion – no pun intended – and I was interested to see how different it would be from my shoots.  Well- it was different. Most notably, the ability to direct became critical. The range of emotion a model can pull out of a hat is amazing. Truly. Now, I understand Blue Steel in all its glory.

Although my expectations for the meetup were mostly met, I really would have enjoyed more control over lighting. The idea of stations was great, but it was rather simplistic. Put on a Pocketwiz ask for a few poses and move on. There wasn’t a ton of model-photog interaction given there were 40 of us with big lenses and crazy ideas.

The organizers have laid a great foundation and I’d love to see how the next iteration will emerge. I recommend the SFMAS experience. The volunteers and sponsors really made this a hit. Thank you!

And here’s the final photo with a little more brushed texture and color.

Thanks to the wonderful models, make-up artist and the organizers of the SFMAS: Thom and partner, Jimaye, Maria, Shelia, Emily, and Melissa. Professional models are amazing! Please let me know if you’d like to contact any of them and I can try and help.