Help please.

[TARPONTIM]

I have been asked to shoot a bikini calander. : )
I am excited for the oppertunity but I am not one who has shot many people. I mainly shoot nature and landscapes.
Looking at my equiptment can you model shooters give me any pointers. I will be shooting these photos outside in the Fla keys.
Thank you Tim

[Mark_Cohran]

Your equipment is fine, so tehre aren't any pointers really to give there except don't use your 16-35 unless you want to emphasize long legs as perspective illusion.

[james_in_baltimore]

I would do a practice session with a friend first just so you have an idea of what you want to do. The more prepared you are for the shoot, the easier it will go, and this includes having the location picked out, time of day, lighting, poses, etc.

You may change you mind about certain things once you start the shoot, and it is always good to experiment with ideas, but I find it very helpful to have as much planned as I can. Then it becomes much easier to adjust and make changes on the fly.

[TARPONTIM]

Thank you for the imput. I will do a test shoot.

[jbrown7815]

Do you have a off-cam lighting setup?

[TARPONTIM]

No I dont have off camera lights and that is my worry. i was wondering if you could get away without it.

[Tumak]

You will probably at least need reflecters, silver and bronze and someone to hold them, I would think. They would cost peanuts compared to the rest of your equipment lineup. Also, study how and why models are posed. You can do some fast research on this.

[amonline]

There are obviously many ways you could go, but I'd buy an AB1600, Vagabond and a large softbox for starters. Even a beauty dish would work well. Then, spend some time looking at Jason Cole's threads and think about buying his DVD or Zack Arias' One Light DVD. Zack's is awesome. Also, start digging through the Strobist Flickr group. ;)

[harroz]

you'll be able to do it with a reflector or your 580's quite fine. get some cybersyncs, one receiver for each, then you'll get them working together every time you hit the shutter after charge time. pull the diffuser out so they're on 14mm and manual full power, shift them to the right distance to match your ambient setting, closer to subject stronger the flash, it should work out to be 1.5-2mtrs at 250/f11 keep each one just wide enough so you can shoot through. If you need more power flip it back up and set your zoom to 28mm. It'll give the image an awesome surreal look. if they're standing shoot from hip height, if sitting then get down there to their level, unless you want to go for down or up shots, be aware that if you do use wide angle to accentuate long legs it will also accentuate feet and make them real long so keep the subject or parts you need to look smaller near the centre of the image so there's less distortion.

definitely test before you go and have everything as organized as you can

umm, thats all i can think of for now... oh, have fun, you'll have fun

oh, once you're set up take a quick close up shot of her face and check your histogram. ofcourse you can do natural light images too

take a look at different years in this .... http://www.pirellical.com/thecal/home.html

[TARPONTIM]

Thanks Tumak,Amonline,harroz
I did order reflectors, and read the sports illustrated swimsuite edition. I am looking foward to the challenge.

harroz thanks for the Pirelli Calander link. although that is a little intimidating. There is some great stuff in them.
Tim