Posts Tagged: wig photographers

Last updated by Chris Giles at April 17, 2012.

General — Comments Off
17
Apr 12

The Hong Kong Shoot for Annabelles Wigs

The Hong Kong Shoot!

The Hong Kong Shoot

So, doing a shoot 6000 miles away in a country that doesn’t speak your language, doesn’t have any signage you can understand and has a completely different definition of what a Chicken is can be a daunting prospect for many. Yet off we went to shoot for Annabelles Wigs.

It was good to have a team with me for this shoot (lighting was an issue)

With such a deliberate shoot as this where time and money are restricted everything becomes very fast paced and the pressure is on. Time is money.

There were several targets to achieve. I wanted an urban location to say ‘We’re in Hong Kong’, then along to Victoria Harbour for the cityscape in the background and then along to Stanley beach for a tropical look.

There is some serious low light photography fun to be had here

Needless to say with an overseas shoot, not everything went according to plan (nothing does). We had three hours and all went smoothly apart from when we arrived at Victoria Harbour. Smog, everywhere. Literally you couldn’t see more than 30 metres in front of you. With the skyscrapers being a mile away on the other side of the harbour all we had was white in the background so we moved on. It was important to realise when something just isn’t going to work and be a waste of time.

Lots of spur of the moment stuff.....

For the urban side of our Hong Kong shoot it was literally a case of starting outside the hotel and walking along the road, trucks unloading (like the above) took just a moment to do, then 10 metres away there was a wall with posters all over it which allowed for this:

Hong Kong is full of places for urban photography

We then climbed five stories to a rooftop for several shots like this:

red short bob wig being shot on location in hong kong

I loved shooting on the rooftops

Whilst up on the roof tops I noticed that the builders in China use Bamboo scaffold poles. While these are completely safe (they must be right?) it did make me gasp in disbelief probably because I’m so used to seeing metal ones in the UK.

chinese scaffold poles are made from bamboo

Scaffold poles made from Bamboo....nuts.

Finally we stopped at Stanley Beach. By this time the mist had partially lifted and the sun became our biggest challenge. Fortunately I did have help from Claire (Annabelles Wigs) and our guide Kennis who assisted with styling and holding the external flashes. Without them the output wouldn’t of been anywhere near as good.

On Stanley Beach with Yan

Victoria Harbour

Buying Camera Equipment in Hong Kong

Now, this is going to serve as a heads up for anyone looking for discounted Camera Equipment in Hong Kong. Firstly new stuff. Generally your best bet is to buy anything you want from sellers on ebay that are based in Hong Kong. Even after shipping and duty it’s still going to be cheaper than buying whilst over there. For example I asked about the price of a Canon 5D3 in Hong Kong and it worked out at the same as the UK (£3000). There are importers in the UK who charge VAT and are still £400 cheaper than this. Lenses are pretty much the same. Even places like Fortress mark up things because people come over expecting to find a bargain when really there isn’t one to be had. I was there when the Ipad 3 was released and you could buy one as long as you spent £300 on screen covers and cheap plastic cases. Same dirty tricks as the UK – Be warned!

on location shoot in hong kong with the green short bob wig

Buying Used Camera Equipment in Hong Kong

In a word, no, just don’t do it. We stayed in a hotel on Kimberley road and literally opposite us was around 10 shops all with used equipment in. It was camera heaven. I was looking for Hasselblad lenses. There isn’t much H series stuff about but loads of the V type. I found two things that I liked but both didn’t work. One was a Canon 50mm 1.0 ‘The One’ which focused fine on the camera but was completely blurred when I viewed the image. They wanted £3400 for this! Then I found a Hasselblad 100mm 2.2 – The autofocus didn’t work. I asked how much it was (thinking I could get it repaired) and they looked on ebay and quoted me the price listed for a new one.

So, save your sanity and avoid buying cameras over in Hong Kong. Or bags or shoes or anything because it is totally expensive. Starbucks, McDonalds and Taxis are the only things cheaper!

After taking this shot down an alley I found I'd attracted a crowd of onlookers primarily wondering what I was doing

Awesome

Just a chandelier

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Commercial — Comments Off
19
Jul 11

Commercial Hair, Wig and Salon Photography

Hair photography....is not as easy at people think

Hair Photography

Hair Photography really isn’t very easy, lighting the stuff is one problem….then you have to remove the individual hairs from the main area or focus or it just looks a mess.

You need a makeup and hair stylist as well and an attractive model!

Then with good lighting, direction and ability this all comes together. Second to watch and jewellery photography this is one of the hardest things to do (properly).

The images above are results from the third shoot I’ve done with Annabelles Wigs. It’s been a journey but I’m pleased to say we’re finally getting results.

When we first started we didn’t have a direction, or a hair stylist but now the results are high end and ready for print.

Model: Alice Christian and Wigs by Annabelles Wigs

Because of this level of difficulty and exacting standards I shy away from commercial work. I’m always up for a challenge but only when it’s dealing with people on a personal level like above. Nothing is more soul destroying that taking multiple pictures of jeans!

It isn’t the taking of the photos themselves but generally for every hour behind the camera there is 6 in photoshop and that’s where it really grinds you down and I’m a people person!