Pixel Addixx - image 1 - student project

This was my first meet with this model so I wanted to take this opportunity to do a casual shoot and walk while keeping the conversation going with her. Was working on my own on this one in the downtoan San Jose, CA area and I had to be mobile with no assistant in helping me with any lighting situations. For this one shot, I used a 85mm with a flash on a CB Mini-RC bracket gelled at 1/4 CTO. Thoughts? More of the walk around sessioni can be found at www.pixeladdixx.com/wmc .

In short, this will be the model I'll be working with on the final project. This model is a female DJ (DJ Reflecta) in the Bay Area and has been wanting to steer away from the stereotypical photos expected of a DJ (ex. with headphones on, while DJing, holding a vinyl record or DJ mixer, etc.) as well as an outdoor shoot as her last few were in-studio. Before our walk around day, she gave a few examples of what she was looking for, which to me was pretty much your casual outdoor portrait session. The following are the examples ..

Bad Boy Bill ..

Pixel Addixx - image 2 - student project

Pixel Addixx - image 3 - student project

Kascade ..

Pixel Addixx - image 4 - student project

Pixel Addixx - image 5 - student project

Pixel Addixx - image 6 - student project

Again, you can see the end results of the rest of the shoot at www.pixeladdixx.com/wmc .

I've asked her if she would like to do a few more shoots for this class project here and she was delighted. The mood I'd like to capture for this final project is a bit different for a DJ however. I've always wanted to bring a different look than what's currently known for hip hop and house DJs. Living in one of the mecca's of the DJ world with the likes of Qbert, Mix Master Mike, Mark Farina, and Miguel Migs just to name a few, all photos I've seen are either with their DJ equipment, the DJ at one of their gigs, or of them in your typical casual portrait shot.

So I had two ideas that I wanted to bring together in a final shoot. One to bring out her DJ name through imagery, and give that different look fit for a DJ. First idea is with her DJ name which can pretty obvious .. DJ Reflecta. So I'm thinking mirrors of some sort or some mirrored images from a puddle of water in the rain or pond/lake. Here's some classic examples and ideas with mirrors ..

Pixel Addixx - image 7 - student project

Pixel Addixx - image 8 - student project

Pixel Addixx - image 9 - student project

Now the second concept was and still is something that I've been pondering. Hopefully this class can help me with it. My first pass at a 2nd concept was a grunge or punk look with still keeping the taste of a female DJ somehow. But when thinking how we can incorporate that with the 1st idea, my thought process came to a stand still. If you read this, maybe you can help me out with some suggestion? :)

The other idea I had is some type of alter-ego along with the 1st concept. But I wanted to stay away from your typical replacement of the head scenario when having the model view her alter-ego through the mirror or reflective surface. This is where my brainstorming is hitting some road blocks as I'm starting to know what I want, but finding a hard time pin pointing it. Let's just hope It can come all together in the end. That's what this class or project is for, right?

Cliff Balz

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