{ Images by Marc Orbito }
{ Images by Marc Orbito }
I have to give myself a pat on the back. This is the first shoot I've ever styled and boy, was it a lot of work! I had gone to so many stores, trying to find the right things match that dress I had purchased off eBay. You know how hard it is to find gloves, locally? Yeesh. Anyway, I wanted a classical look on this. "Classical" meaning that there be a hint of vintage, yet, would pass for something more contemporary at the same time. Timeless, perhaps. That's probably why I went and color graded the photos in different ways. We've got your high-contrast Michael Bay shots with green sunlight, to faded, bright, high contrast almost platinum looking pics. A couple of them are processed after Deluxe Labs' color on "The Sound of Music."
This was a fun project. There were a ton of mosquitos and even more laughter on-site that day and I hope you enjoy the pics as much as we had making'em!
Model: Lauren
Hair/Makeup: Lauren
Lighting Assistant: @J_Scotty
Photographer/Wardrobe: Myself
I've been getting a lot inquiries about headshots and portraits lately, so I figured I'd put this post up so a few samples would be up front and center. Portraits and headshots differ from fashion shoots, because they are a straight shot towards an individual's personality. In these photos, people are defined by things like their enviroments, their characteristics, their style or choice of hair, clothing, or makeup...THEY define their personalities, and a quick glance should give as fairly good idea of who they are. Headshots are essentially the same, but focus is generally (but not always) focused on the entire face. Here's mix of them just so you get an idea of the service I provide. :)
To prep for our next shoot together, I opened up the photo catalog of Colleen from our shoot last year to study angles and what worked. I ended up taking a photo of one onscreen and instagraming it, to which I received a few requests to see more. So...here's a lil bit more. :)
Model: Colleen Leung
Styling: Colleen Leung, Krystal Parage and Marc Orbito
Hair/Makeup: Krystal Parages
I really liked the color of Lauren's bag. We decided to do a super quick photoshoot based on that. Simple, right? :)
The shoot style and processing here is inspired by Chiaroscuro, a painting technique which stormed Europe before the Renaissance. Channeling my inner Rembrandt, I chose to focus more on story and psychological intensity as opposed to technics. I used one source of overpowering light (mostly the sun, or when the clouds came, one hidden Speedlight flash) and contrasted it with the shadows and abrasions of the ruins. It's the contrast and shadows, I feel, that make this set more foreboding. Things that I would normally remove, like bags under the eyes, remain in to stay true to style. And without a real fill light, we achieve a flatness authentic to pre-Renaissance art.
DISCLAIMER: Now, the dark and light contrast doesn't work in ALL of the photos, and I'll be the first to admit the deviation. Or...evolution, as I should call it. (Google "chiaroscuro" for the real thing) If you want real Either way, I hope you like what's posted here. :)
Thanks goes out to my model, Kayla (with makeup by her) and my assistant Troi. Great job, folks!
Check out this cool montage, shot and edited by Mike Orbito. It gives you a tiny peek into into what our session with Tasha Johnson was like.
The Hungry Eye with Tasha Johnson from Mike Orbito on Vimeo.
We planned this shoot around the dress that Tasha had bought and used in the Miss Hawaii pageant a couple of years back. It's quite glamorous, and, as she explained to me during the shoot that it was quite expensive. It was expensive enough that we had to at least get her photographed in it. Very good reason indeed. Gotta get the most for her money, right?
I approached this shoot with a bit of a narrative in mind. Our story would be that, Tasha was trapped at this dinner party, a place she had no business being, so, in the middle of it all, she ups and flees. Yeah, it's sorta like what Kate Winslet's character did in "Titanic," only, instead of running out to the deck to jump off the ship, she (more wisely) grabs one of the bottles of wine instead and journeys her way out into the night to reflect on her place in life. Glass in hand, she is in good company.
I had lots of help on this one and it shows. The results are quite different than on the previous few portrait sessions I've done, where I went solo for the most part. Special thanks to Jonas Maon (for his car, gear, and lighting help), Troi Orias (lighting assistant, gear caddy), Jobelle Asto (hair, makeup) and model Tasha Johnson. My brother, Mike Orbito was also along for the fun. He shot some video and hopefully we'll see some cool behind the action stuff soon. Great work everyone!
Enjoy.
Howdy! My name is Marc Orbito. I'm a general photographer in the state of Hawaii who enjoys photographing people!
I'm also a father, husband, Apple geekboy, writer, Disney junkie, Miami Heat basketball fan and washed-out cinephile.
I invite you to look around. Hopefully you'll like what you see and and maybe even hire me!
Contact me for rates at marc @ orbito.net
