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A lovely new folio of Katja
Katja - A New Start in 2022 - Katja is about to embark on her journey as a model.
I have asked her permission and does not mind me mentioning that she has been on the planet for around five decades.
She is embarking on a career as a commercial model, and has already attracted the attention of a couple of agencies. They'll be more images, shot by us, as we further our collaboration in the spring, when the weather improves, here in the UK.
Meanwhile, I thought you'd enjoy these images of Katja and the BTS images of the shoot at The Studio Photo Gallery (Seamless Studios) in Bermondsey, Central London, UK
and I have also included some shots of the final digital art prints we had printed at Bayeux in London
You can see the Katja's folio by following this link
Katja Wears Peter's Shirt - ILCE 7RM3 - 85mm GM f1.4 - @f4.5 - 1/125s - ISO100 - Elinchrom Lights
Katja - Gazing - ILCE 7RM3 - 85mm GM f1.4 - @f4.5 - 1/125s - ISO100 - Elinchrom Lights
Katja - Triple Dancer - Spalsh - ILCE 7RM3 - 24-70mm GM f1.4 @65mm - f4.5 - 1/125s - ISO100 - Elinchrom Lights
Katja - Numinous Breeze - ILCE 7RM3 - 70-200GM f2.8 - 60mm - @f4.5 - 1/125s - ISO100 - Elinchrom Lights
Pixel Peepers' Notes & Newbie Hints & Tips:
ALL shot on Sony A7R Mk3
I have placed the Exif information on the individual images above. The lighting was pretty simple. There are 3 Elinchrom softboxes.
The Rotalux Octabox was used as the main light and the smaller square softbox as the fill. The shot is lit from the left. There is only 1/3 stop difference to give a flattering, flat, even light.
They are positioned by simply looking at the model and adjustng the lights, making sure there are no unsightly nose shadows etc.
The final light is pointing at the white Colorama background. The light from this is coming through the curtains, implying a room/boudoir/space that is over exposed.
I have a simple Neewer master sync on top of the camera and the neewer slave on the main light. The other two lights are using their internal slaves to fire. The modelling lights are up full and the auto focus was surprisingly good, as it was not overly bright. I did not use any fancy settings or HSS flash. I find it all unnecessary. The flash duration is really fast at full power on these, Elinchroms and they reliably freeze the subject.
I hope enjoy viewing the image and find the information useful - Colin
Colin and Louise setting up for the day.
I'd not used the studio before.
The studio manager could not have been more helpful. I am in between studios at the moment, so I had to hire for this shoot.
You can see it's a simple set up using three lights. In fact there was also a white polyboard using as a fill on the right hand side.
The curtain was suspended from the studio cross bar.
Colin and Louise chimping the Sony.
Making sure we have what we want before we begin.
Out of site, Viktoria is applying Katja's make up. It normally takes around two hours with the touch ups.
I like to work with Vik, as she knows exactly what we want from a simple brief.
FYI: The brief was to keep the make up clean and light, we don't want too much of an evening feel to it.
Bear in mind the age of the model and apply accordingly, not too young, but make it fresh and luminous.
Lips should be deep and full, but flat. We may apply gloss in post production (we did, but don't tell anyone 
)
Here the team are working hard.
Louise is recording the session and producing the BTS shots for this article, whilst Vikki prepares the make up for the next set up.
Colin and Katja are now getting warmed up.
Pro Tip: It's best to give the model a chance to warm up and get into the shoot.
"The first set up is never going to be the best." Let them relax in to it. Don't be too pushy. Allow them to find their own mojo.
If you find the model is not relaxing, I have always found it useful to strike the poses that you are asking them to do. Yep, I look riduculous doing it. That's the very point!
You are not asking them to do anything that you wouldn't do. This can help build up conficence and trust.
When you see a nice shot, chimp it and show the model. Enthuse. That way they will get what they want, and you will get what you need!
Don't forget the Team Shot
And, of course, when everything is wrapped make sure you take the ubiquitous team shot. (Unfortunately Vik had to go an hour before we wrapped 
)
Martin Halfhide at Bayeux, overseeing the printing.
As well as using the shots for her portfolio, Katja also ordered some very large prints.
These were printed and framed at Bayeux in central London, here in the UK.
I really recommend their service if you are based here in the UK.
It is owned and run by Terry Hack and Martin Halfhide. These guys have been in the business since forever, and their quality and commitment to service is exemplary. The guy in this shot is Martin. We go back a long way. I think I had hair when we met, and that was over 30 years ago.
Art Prints on woven Art paper by Bayeux
Here are some of the art prints that bayeux produced for us. They are printed on a woven art paper.
The reason I go to Bayeux is that they offer wonderful advice. Terry Hack meticulously guided us through the process to achieve a "right first time" result on what was a very specific size brief and framing brief.
This shot has been suitably censored to keep the advertisers happy, and to maintain Katja's modesty and of course... family values 
)
Katja - By Colin Anthony (after: Jerry Hall by Pierre Houles)
This shot is so beautiful. I thought I'd post the image of the print. The image quality from the Sony A7R3 is pin sharp critical at 1 metre square. The black and white image was post processed using Photoshop.
You can see a cropped version of it in the Katja's folio.
Pro Tip: Here a little bonus to all of you who read to the end of the article...
The black and white only uses the blue layer of the RGB image. A little post production beauty secret for you there.
If you only use the blue light, all of the red and yellow flaws on the skin disappear.
It gives the image a slightly surreal feel that's difficult to reproduce without using this technique.
You will need to adjust the contrast a little, but by doing this it will do all of the heavy lifting.
You are welcome - Colin
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