South Atlanta Flickr Meet - Season's Bistro | davem photography

Wow, time has been going by quick. I went to the South Atlanta Flickr meet last month and there's another one tomorrow and I haven't posted images from the last meet. So here goes.

The meet took place around McDonough Square and wrapped up at Season's Bistro. Since there is still plenty of light at 6pm, we started outdoors using only existing natural light and a reflector to help out with light.


I usually use flash for my lighting and have gotten away from natural light, so this was a good way to get back to basics. Lots of great images from this shoot. First up was Renee.

I switched to my 50mm 1.8 lens and got a series of nice head shots of Renee.

These were shot in a back alley. I climbed onto a loading dock and shot down. Who knew asphalt would make a nice textured background? Hair light provided by the sun.

Next setup was in front of Season's Bistro with Robyn. She asked me if she should take out the nose ring and I said no. I think that if someone has a nose ring, or tattoos, it's part of their personality and they should be included in the photograph. If she was modeling for a client that required a conservative look, then that's a different situation.

On the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, there were small tables and chairs. A perfect location to enjoy drinks and relax. I wanted to portray a woman waiting on her date, someone she felt comfortable meeting and looking forward to seeing. At least that's the direction I was going for and conveyed to Robyn.

I did a couple more with Robyn looking out into the street as if she was looking for someone.

I think the image above is my favorite of the night. I love the soft light and the blurry lights from the restaurant  in the background.

We then moved into the restaurant, where the girls did a wardrobe change and we got to eat and order drinks. Food was good by the way and they had Jailhouse Brewery's Slammer Wheat on tap. Got to love local businesses helping each other out.

I shot with Krista next. I switched back to my 17-40 mm lens for this series of shots.

I didn't shoot enough with her to get a variety of shots and I didn't get to shoot with her outdoors. Lighting was done with 2 Wescott Strobelites with soft boxes on each side.

I did 2 more setups with Robyn. I didn't like the background at the moment. There was a projector screen that made a nice white backdrop, but I wanted some texture and I saw everyone shooting against the white and needed to do something different. I asked Robyn to sit on the floor and look up. I stood on a chair and shot down.

I really like this shot and then went in tighter.

Lighting was done with a Wescott 28" Apollo soft box with a flash.

Next setup was done up against a brick wall. Not the most original background, but it's what was available. I switched back to my 50mm 1.8 using the same light setup. Robyn definitely knows how to use her eyes to convey different looks.

This last shot is my second favorite of the night. I wanted to use these drapes that were hanging. I asked Robyn to kind of peek out from behind.

Had a great time. Big thanks to all the South Atlanta Flickr Admins in setting this up. Great models, location, food & drink. Looking forward to the next one tomorrow night.

If you're looking for a portrait photographer in the Atlanta area, visit my portfolio.