Andriy Zolotoiy Photography Blog

Last summer we’ve had a fantastic photoshoot at Guildwood Inn in Scarborough. As it was closer to the fall I didn’t submit this editorial at the time but end of this winter was just the time to do so and I sent it to W25. Dresses were provided by Morph Clothing and hand made unique jewellery by Samantha Nemiroff.

Models: Candice Lillian Keast (cover), Alena Gapanovich, Ilinca Ignatenco
Makeup: Delia Lupan
Hair: Jourdan Deveroe

Check full editorial here.

I met with aspiring model Christina few days ago for a short photo session. As usual trying different lighting setups.

3 point lighting here:

2 lights here:

1 light in this series. I like funky style:

Wishing everybody all the best in the New Year, let all your dreams come true!

It’s cold and windy outside, so shooting some swimsuit action is always welcome during long Canadian winter. Very simple setup here with one light in octabox about 12 feet away from the model for more defined shadows.

Next image is lit from back-right, light is fairly low to scrape the surface of the body.

Model: Charmaine San Pedro
Makeup: Delia Lupan

… unless that’s the look you’re going for. Direct sunlight is mostly considered really bad thing in photography. It creates unflattering shadows, shows every single defect of the skin but if a model can work with it you can create some cool photos. All people squint in bright light but good model can work with it to give that amazing edgy fashion look. I had pleasure working with Mikayla recently and observe her really stunning modeling.

After bright sunlight we moved into shadows to create some softer looks.

Model: Mikayla
Styling: ZOS Designs
Make-up: Delia Lupan
Hair: Dat Salon

Fashion photography is mostly associated with large setups – lots of lighting gear, power packs, assistants running around, etc. While, if theme allows, it is possible to create good fashion photos with just a camera, nothing else. Your setup time will be close to zero and you’ll be shooting very fast. Important part of such shoot is to choose location properly. Soft light in the shade is probably the easiest to work with.

Camera settings. Set white balance to either Cloudy or Shade depending on the mood you want to achieve and ambient light temperature. Note that Shade setting will produce warmer images. Set camera into Aperture Priority mode, Spot metering and choose single focusing point. Setting camera this way will allow you to base your exposure on face skin tone of your model, though you might need to correct it with Exposure Compensation dial depending on the desired mood. Always put your focus point on model’s face, eye preferably. Set aperture for your liking, I prefer to have it open wide to blur the background.

Following images were shot with Nikon D700, 50/1.8 lens at f/2.8. Shutter speed was chosen by the camera depending on available light.

Was shooting a fashion story at Scarborough Bluffs other day. We were going for mix of retro and gothic looks and it was planned to be in b/w. Promised rain never happened that day which was good but sky was going from clear to overcast all day long. The images are the mix of natural light when clouds covered the sun for a softer look and some hard light with AB800 and 8.5” high efficiency reflector to get that edgier look. Full set is here.

I’ve managed to find one episode of Double Exposure on the Internet since these series not aired in Canada. I’ve read mixed reviews about this TV program but wanted to see it myself. I really like all behind the scenes stuff, preps, shooting info and creative discussions. Luckily, all talks are not overlaid by sound tracks so you can actually hear what’s going on the set. And Markus talks very funny when he is upset with Indrani. Highly recommended material for photographers.
Looking at these high-end shooters one might wonder what kind of business plan they had when they just started out.

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Great time shooting at Guildwood Inn with bunch of talented creative people. I used a mix of natural and small strobe light to get the feel I wanted to. This set was the first one I did almost completely in Lightroom, only skin retouching was done in Photoshop at the end.

See complete set here.

I don’t often shoot fashion or modeling portfolios with just natural light, I like to have some degree of control over the mood of my photographs. This session with Ebonie and Dayana was very spontaneous, we focused more on having fun rather than creating perfectly lit photographs. We were shooting downtown Toronto on a cloudy and fairly cold day but models were real troopers and we’ve got a set of nice images.

I’m not manual mode snob, I just put camera on Aperture priority, sometimes adjusting exposure compensation depending on the scene. This allows me to focus on the scene rather than verifying exposure every frame.