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Hayley Wheeler Palm Springs Life Law of Love - by Peter Koval

This was our first shot of the morning in Palm Springs at the Edris House. A historic mid-century house known for it’s design and architecture reminiscent of the days when Palm Springs flourished with celebrities and politicians.

I wanted to capture the morning reflection on this window that provided a unique backdrop to the landscape of Palm Springs. With only a small window of time before the reflection changed, hair and makeup quickly created the opening look so we could shoot it quickly.

Knowing we wanted to create the narrative of the shoot around a woman trapped in a controlling relationship, suffering from apathy and frustration, we had Hayley looking out the window longingly for her escape. She daydreams of a better life outside the walls of her house.

Main Crew:

Model: Hayley Wheeler

Model: Nic La France

Hair: Andre Blaise

Makeup: Annie Ing

Wardrobe: Jules Moore

Assistant to Photography: Chad Nordman

Assistant to Wardrobe: Julissa Perez

post-61794-0-28039800-1358222058_thumb.j

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Part 2 - Peter Koval - Hayley Wheeler

http://www.peterkova...agazine-part-2/

This was our second shot in Palm Springs at the Edris House. A historic mid-century house known for it’s design and architecture reminiscent of the days when Palm Springs flourished with celebrities and politicians.

In this shot we wanted our main model Hayley and her opposite Chad, (actually my assistant for the shoot and not a real model) appearing to be in a dead-end relationship. A table is set for dinner but not all appears normal. She’s dress up like she’s going out but she’s not. She’s drinking a whiskey in a cocktail glass, and he’s drinking a glass of milk, and smoking cigarettes. In the editorial Chad’s portrayed as a unaware police officer, wrapped up in his job, masculinity, and trying to glue the facade of their relationship together.

We knew we wanted this shot as a double page, with each model on facing pages, so that the gutter in the magazine created even more of a tension of separation. Originally there was a painting on the wall which we initially thought to use but once we saw the initial lighting proof decide to remove it, which was a great move because the design of the wall really emphasizes the unique architecture of mid-century design.

Behind Chad to the right is one Profoto 2400 7A pack with one head and a 3 ft softbox. That is Hayley’s key light which is pointing at her behind the 180 degree rule. Immediately outside this room out on the back patio is another 7A pack with one head shot through a 8ft diffusion scrim. This light is Chad’s key light and is diffused about a stop darker than Hayley’s, which is set up more as a beauty light. In the back of the room is an HMI light which is lighting the overall ambiance of the room which is about 2 stops darker than the Hayley’s key light.

The trick was lighting Hayley beautifully, and having enough feathering so that the table was lit well and not overly staged.

Directing the models was the easy part , as looking apathetic and frustrated comes easily to most people. The most time consuming part was prop styling the table so that it had a nice balance of objects without looking too cluttered, but still looking natural enough so that it appeared realistic. Hayley is wearing a lot of very expensive jewelry so we needed all those pieces shown while also remaining natural.

Crew for this shot:

Model: Hayley Wheeler

Model: Chad Nordman

Hair: Andre Blaise

Makeup: Annie Ing

Wardrobe: Jules Moore

Assistant to Photography: Chad Nordman

Assistant to Wardrobe: Julissa Perez

Equipment Used in this image:

Canon 7D for scouting and initial light testing

Hasselblad H2 Camera w/ P30 Phase One back tethered

Apple MacBook Pro 17″ running Capture One Pro

2 Profoto 7A 2400 Packs with heads

3ft Softbox

Arri 1200 HMI light pointed towards the ceiling away from the set

8 ft x 8 ft Scrim with .5 stop white silk diffusion

Props including food and table setting

PalmSpringsLife02.jpg
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Part 3 - Peter Koval - Hayley Wheeler

http://www.peterkova...-life-magazine/

This was our third shot in Palm Springs at the Edris House. A historic mid-century house known for it’s design and architecture reminiscent of the days when Palm Springs flourished with celebrities and politicians.

When shooting a group of people, and you have a narrative or an outcome you’re trying to achieve, it’s important to be as clear with everyone involved so when the lighting is ready and it’s time to shoot, talent and crew know what’s happening and know what their role is. Less stress for everyone. The fashion editor and I discussed each shot a number of times before the actual shoot day, and on the shoot day we explained the concepts to everyone, and then again before each shot just to remind them.

It seems like overkill, and in a way it is, because you’re losing a bit of spontaneity, but when you have 10 images to shoot and only one day to shoot them, with no overtime, AND you’re lighting is changing between each shot, you’d be very thankful for those communications and pre-pro meetings.

In my book that I’m writing about fashion photography, I discuss the importance of communication with your crew, and how certain simple dialogues can defuse stress and energize everyone to give their best for the shoot. I hope to share excerpts of my book here in the near future.

Originally we thought it best to have this be a double page as well, however once we looked at the images as they were coming through Capture One, it was clear it had to be a single page. We really wanted the shot to feel crowded and we only had 3 extras. Chad, my assistant and the shots antagonist, is hosting a cocktail party for his friends (3 extras plus Nic). Hayley is looking for a way out of her relationship with Chad, and finds her escape in the temptation of our protagonist, Nic, who was invited to the party by Chad. Nic catches Hayley’s eye and the wheels of seduction are set in motion for the rest of the editorial.

That’s the story behind the concept. How to capture that in one image is the challenge.

Hayley’s eyes and expression have to be subtle. She has to be secretive. She a proper woman, well educated, and sophisticated. Nic is Chad’s friend but his attention towards Hayley can’t be hidden. Chad notices the contact between them while his other friends engage him in a conversation.

From a photographic perspective, this shot is technically very simple. The direction to the talent is given to them more like direction in a film. The hard part is getting everyone to have their ‘look’ synchronized. One trick I’ve found to help get a majority of good ‘looks’ from everyone, is to establish a shooting rhythm. Like music, once people expect a shot to come they predictively anticipate the ‘beat’ and prepare for it. Even if you know there is no good shot, triggering the shutter to remain in time can be helpful for future shots. Stopping the flow, waiting, talking too much, or fidgeting will lead to awkward shots, bad expressions, and it will drain everyones energy. I shoot fast because I don’t want people ‘thinking’ too much about themselves. I prefer to get a moment of them being natural, even if it’s directed.

Crew for this shot:

Model: Hayley Wheeler

Model: Nic La France

Background: Chad Norman, 3 Extras

Hair: Andre Blaise

Makeup: Annie Ing

Wardrobe: Jules Moore

Assistant to Wardrobe: Julissa Perez

Equipment Used in this image:

Canon 7D for initial light testing

Hasselblad H2 Camera w/ P30 Phase One back tethered

55-110mm HC Lens

Apple MacBook Pro 17″ running Capture One Pro

1 Profoto 7A 2400 Pack with 1 head pointed at ceiling

Arri 1200 HMI light outside pointed at window image left

8 ft x 8 ft Scrim with .5 stop white silk diffusion

Props including Coffee and cocktail service

PalmSpringsLife06.jpg
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Part 4 & 5 - Peter Koval - Hayley Wheeler

Part 4

This shot was pretty straight forward. We decided to establish this page as a turning point in the editorial, so the narrative overrides the fashion on the models.

We used a real police uniform for the shot, and for political reasons had to alter the branding in post, since we couldn’t have any relationship to the actual police department at that particular time. Again we used Chad, getting ready for work as a police officer. The previous cocktail party is over, and Nic and Hayley continue to get acquainted. Chad knows something is up, but his pride and duty to his job prevents him from showing any emotion or confronting any cracks in the facade he’s built.

We just utilized the same set up as the previous cocktail party shot shown here. The only difference was that the position of the camera was different. Just like in sunlight, if you can’t move your key light, you move the models. So to get a proper and flattering looking key light on Chad we had to position him to the light, rather than lose time by moving the light.

Part 5

The outdoor pool shot was next. Our couple starts to get acquainted and flirty.

This took about 30-45 minutes to set up and reposition out team.

We utilized the bright mid-day sunshine for the key light. To reduce contrast (3 – 4 stops differential) we used a 8 x 8 ft silk scrim attached to 2 hi-boy stands so we can get the height needed to diffuse the sun. I believe we used a 2 stop diffusion to bring the shadow / highlight ratio to 1 stop. The rest of the shot was positioning the models and making sure we get the Edris house in the background.

Crew for this shot:

Model: Hayley Wheeler

Model: Nic La France

Background: Chad Norman, 3 Extras

Hair: Andre Blaise

Makeup: Annie Ing

Wardrobe: Jules Moore

Assistant to Wardrobe: Julissa Perez

Equipment Used in this image:

Canon 7D for initial light testing

Hasselblad H2 Camera w/ P30 Phase One back tethered

55-110mm HC Lens

Apple MacBook Pro 17″ running Capture One Pro

1 Profoto 7A 2400 Pack with 1 head pointed at ceiling

Arri 1200 HMI light outside pointed at window image left

8 ft x 8 ft Scrim with 2 stop white silk diffusion

Police Uniform

PalmSpringsLife05.jpg PalmSpringsLife07.jpg
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Part 6 - Peter Koval - Hayley Wheeler

http://www.peterkova...-life-magazine/

In this shot our model Hayley is prepping for an escape with her new love.

We wanted to accomplish a few things in this shot. Set up a cinematic beauty still, show the design of the room, and give nods to a bunch of different brands we needed to include.

The challenge was lighting the room which was an odd shape, with no room to really set much up. The part of the room where this mirror exists was very small, but opened up to a larger bedroom towards the models back (seen in the mirror) . The mirror frame extends up about 7 ft, and on the other side of that is a space that continues to the shower room and toilet.

We used the HMI light with a CTO gel to warm it up a bit. That warm light is bounced off the white ceiling, behind the mirror from the area near the shower room so the model is illuminated from above without any shadow or obstruction and appears to be lit from the mirror lights. A few neutral density filters helped to bring the ratio down so we could capture the ambient light of the modern lighting design.

In the back bedroom behind the model, we used a Profoto pack on a short stand pointed at the ceiling and set to it’s lowest power.

I know I wanted to create depth, so I shot this with the Hasselblad 80mm at 2.8 at iso 200.

The props were adjusted between shots. A capture monitor was set up outside the room where the crew could see the tethered shots as they were being shot so minor placement adjustments could happen on-the-fly.

The final image was neutralized a little in Capture One before processing to give it an overall consistency.

Crew for this shot:

Model: Hayley Wheeler

Hair: Andre Blaise

Makeup: Annie Ing

Wardrobe: Jules Moore

Assistant to Wardrobe: Julissa Perez

Equipment Used in this image:

Canon 7D for initial light testing

Hasselblad H2 Camera w/ P30 Phase One back tethered

80mm HC Lens shot at 2.8

Apple MacBook Pro 17″ running Capture One Pro

1 Profoto 7A 2400 Pack with 1 head pointed at ceiling

Arri 1200 HMI light pointed at ceiling

PalmSpringsLife08.jpg
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Oh wow, I am sorry I was not trying to "self promote" myself in any way. I joined when I saw that people were guessing my background and other information. So I posted information about me. I continued to post work that I see publicly out there nothing more. If it makes you happy, I can stop posting all together. Again, my apologies! Haylely :)

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