The model was enjoying a few minutes of relaxation in the intense heat and was standing in the shade of a palm tree.
As she lifted her drink, it was subject to the bright light coming in from the right hand side of the shot which meant that if the cocktail was exposed correctly, the rest of the shot would be significantly under exposed giving this lovely feel to the shot. Had I exposed for the skin tones, the drink and background would have been ‘blown out’, and if this was the style of shot you were looking for – fine.
My preference for this image was to go dark and let the bright colours in the drink become the focus of the image.
I am not a fan of shooting models while they are relaxing – it is their time – and with professional models, they gain an additional respect for the photographer if they understand that a break is a break and can switch off for a few minutes without being ‘papped’. When using an amateur model, this break period may well be the time they are at their most relaxed, but with professionals, it is their job to turn each look on and off at will, so in this instance we simply re-created the shot. – Cost me another bloody cocktail too!!!
Words: James Wright 2016
Images: © Double Red
Not for publication
