Planning and brainstorming a idea for cover shot or special section has always been my favorite part of the process. Where you start is always a long way from where you finish. In this case, we were shooting for the new magazine “Connect” by the Wise County Messenger. Everything went very smooth, except I had one issue to deal with, I had a class to teach at the same time. Work around… take the class and include them in the shoot. While I was shooting the scene, the upperclassman would hang out with separate groups of students, sending me a couple at a time to assist and absorb my way of shooting. We finished the set and continued class in downtown Bridgeport after dark.  The whole class said that was thier favorite one of all.

The shoot… I had used this background on Bridgeport Lake several times and most recently on the blood moon eclipse, so I knew pretty much what to expect on the lighting. I just needed everybody to show up early enough to get them all in the water and comfortable in their roles before the light was gone. Everything went as planned with fifteen minutes to spare.  There were a few adjustments I had to make in camera as the sun went down. I set up a Profoto 600 barebulb, full power on the shore at camera left 60 feet, a nikon 8000 on full zoom to open up facial shadows and final camera settings …Nikon D5, ISO 200,F10@250 SS.