Personal Information:

Name: Wayne Johns

Explanation: Beauty shoot based on ‘Marie Antoinette’ style entitled ‘Aristocracy’

Subtle but strong….

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: Subtle but strong indeed! I love this shot. The model is great, the make up is really nice! Give a shout out to your make up artist. The hair is great too. And the styling works. Wayne’s lighting is superb for beauty. And this shot caught my attention immediately. So great job, Wayne!

Personal Information:

Name: Mark Morgan

Explanation: I ran into a gentleman on the Supai Reservation in AZ with this ’73 Cadillac “art-car” that he was willing let me use.

The pretty girls are my Presa Canario studio dogs, Dolce’ & Bella…and, oh yeah.. I also brought in a model.

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: Mark Morgan wins the SOTW two times in a row. Guess there’s something about his work that I really like. Or maybe Mark knows I’m a dog lover because the two dogs in the photo  are what first caught my attention! However, the model and the styling are great otherwise the dogs alone wouldn’t have sold the picture, even though, yes, they’re adorable! But the model has smoking hot looks (Mark, you have a good eye for casting) and the styling is really nice. I would’ve liked to have seen more of the vintage car that you were lucky to have in the photograph, but maybe you chose not to show all of it. Any way, it’s an interesting photograph and I like the lighting and the pose. Good job, Mark! Big hugs to the dogs ; )

Personal Information:

Name: Mark Morgan

Explanation: I had discovered this model on her first shoot…fine bone-straight hair…perfect natural look with almost no makeup. My stylist, lisa forster, and I wanted to try an entirely different treatment on her. …with one simple light. I was probably listening to a lot of old Roxy Music at the time

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: There were so many good submissions for SOTW this past week that I was having a hard time choosing but when I came upon Mark’s shot it stood out for me instantly.  And sometimes art moves us but we can’t explain exactly why.  When I started really analyzing this shot I thought to myself: “hmm, I would’ve loved to see her eyes” but then I realized that not seeing them added to the mystery of the shot. I love the hair, actually I love the model. I think I respond more to submissions when the model is strong and that’s just from having years of experience in casting models for shoots and knowing that a good model is really necessary to tell our stories as photographers. Yeah, I love this girl. I like how the curly hair emulates the circles and round shapes in the necklace. I love the black and white. I love the mood. And of course I love the lighting. One light! Doesn’t really have to get more complicated than that, does it? Mark pulled out something very unique in this girl, she’s emoting and I feel it! I laughed out loud when I read the Roxy Music part. Roxy Music was a great band, one of my favorite all time bands. No wonder I responded so strongly! ; )

Personal Information:

Name: Chantal Storrs-Barbor

Explanation: I had driven past this litte airport in Surrey, UK many time on my way to the studio and slowly developed a story I wanted to shoot.

The day of the shoot was crazy, with the heaviest rain and wind, but in the end I worked with it and used the mood to create film-like images.

A few issues like no rain cover for the lights and camera, a creased skirt (memo: shoot stylist!) but I love the overall impact of the image, I learned a few lessons and now I’m on to my next crazy idea!!

Melissa Rodwell’s Critque: I had to read the explanation before I chose this shot because I wondered for a split second if the location was dropped in in post. It didn’t look terribly photoshopped, but the location is so dramatic with the clouds I thought that maybe it had be retouched. When I found out that this was a location that Chantal had wanted to shoot at for awhile, I chose it immediately. And Chantal handled the elements well with the heavy rain and wind! In fact, she made it work in her favor. The model choice seems fine, can’t really see the girl but she’s got attitude and the clothes look good on her. Yeah…the stylist……but Chantal has admitted that she learned some lessons on this shoot which is what it’s all about! I’d love to see more images from this shoot if you can send them to my email.Congratulations on a shoot well done!

Personal Information:

Name: Steve Bell

Explanation: I’ve had the idea for this shoot in my head for quite awhile and finally got the opportunity to make it happen. I built the set myself and really worked at getting all the elements of the shot to work together (styling, hair & make-up, lighting…). And the model was fabulous!

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: I think if Steve was shooting for a client, this shot would be a success. For one, the detail on the garment stands out, which is so important. I also like the background with the horizontal lines, to me it adds interest to the garment with the vertical lines without overshadowing it. I love the make up and hair. The make up works because her head is turned away so you see the splash of color but it’s not overtaking the image because the model’s head is turned. And the hair is well done, keeping it off the back and showing off the garment. I think this shot is well executed and lit. It’s understated yet it has many points of interest. And it’s a nice blend of editorial and advertising. Good job, Steve! ; )