Portraits of Aoife

Portrait shots of a new friend Aoife. Very interesting name, it's pronounced ee-fa. I forgot to ask her if it means anything. She's originally from Ireland, but grew up in various countries in Europe, Germany and Switzerland are the only two I can remember.

Super cool girl, and like all Irish, very friendly. When I dropped her off at home after shooting, it turned out that she and her boyfriend live in a building that I've always wanted to get into, an apartment complex converted from an old warehouse. Large metal panelled windows, exposed brick and hardwood floors. I've been interested in finding an inside connection because it would make a great shoot location.

Since I have always wanted to look around one of the units, she invited me in and I ended up having tea with her and her boyfriend. Irish hospitality.

We took these shots at the Wellington Botanical Gardens in the late afternoon during the week. I left work an hour early in hopes of catching a bit of the magic hour light. A little earlier would've been better, but there was just enough left to snap off a few shots.

I wanted to get some twilight shots with Aoife, but it wasn't one of the warmer summer evenings in Wellington and she was getting cold, so we just packed it in. I'm still in the process of going through all her photos, so I'll add more as I go along. And you may notice a new slightly annoying watermark running through all these images....Roger Wong Roger Wong Roger Wong... just taking some extra precautions these days on uploaded images. In the end though, if someone wants to swipe something, they're going to take it regardless.

The botanical gardens were perfect because nobody else was around! A few people walking through on the footpaths off to the sides, but other than that, nobody on the lawn...the people on the footpath didn't even stop to check us out. Usually people will stop for a bit to see if the model is some famous actress/singer/celebrity.

Trying a sort of cross processed look.

A typical looking headshot, using a reflector (gold side) for some warm fill light on the side of her face.

Some fun on the lawn...lying down on my stomach getting the worm's eye view.

Cropped square cause I'm in love with the 6x6 format of the Mamiya. I did take a few pictures of Aoife with it, but I still have to get them developed! You remember developing film don't you? :)

I tried a few poses of her playing with her hair. It wasn't until we were all done that she told me she doesn't like the way she looks with her hair behind her ears...haha...oops. I like the way they came out though...haven't asked her what she thinks of them yet, we'll see...

Same series as the first image but slightly different framing 'in camera', and tweaking the post process. I think I like these tones more and it shows the highlights in her hair better.

Testing some other shots in black and white.