The Camera vs The Burger...

Sometimes I get called to do a last-minute photo shoot. Well, I say sometimes, but it is actually a lot. Sometimes I get called the day before, sometimes I get called thirty minutes before. It's not like weddings, where you book the shoot months in advance. It's the life of a freelance editorial photographer in a major city like Dallas, I guess.

Usually, I get last-minute calls from major newswire services to photograph an important news conference at Southwest Airlines, Exxon Mobil, American Airlines or one of the other big corporations based in the DFW area. This time it wasn't a CEO that needed to be shot, it was a hamburger!

I'm very glad this cover photo shoot for Quick came through, because it was a lot of fun to do! The day before, I got a call with a request to shoot the cover for a story on the best food in the Lakewood area. We had the location set (The Lakewood Landing), but that was about it.

Luckily, I had recently worked with a very talented model who I thought would be perfect for the photo shoot. Her name is Melanie Archer and she signed with The Campbell Agency a while back. She has that perfect all-American look - exactly what was needed for the burger story. Thank goodness she wasn't already booked on another job, because it is hard to find good models at 5pm Thursday for a 2pm Friday shoot!

The shoot was a total blast, with lots of messy burger mishaps and lots of fries and onion rings being consumed. Regarding the technical aspects of the shoot: The cover was a simple two light set-up. A ring light was used for the main light source and the secondary light was set directly above and slightly behind her head in a stripbox (a thin, long softbox). The inside shot is even more simple... a single ring light!