I always plan a portrait session when the girls visit. They are usually game to give things a try, and sometimes they walk away with an Insta pic to post. This time I was inspired by a YouTube video by Gavin Hooey. He used a plastic dust cover bought at the dollar store. As with most videos, it was a lot harder to execute than it seemed.
If you decide to give it a go, here are some tips.
Photography Capture
- Have one or two extra people around to “floof” the plastic around the person. Movement is the key.
- Make sure your plastic is thin and transparent. Mine was a high-quality dust cover (purchased for $5 at the hardware store). It was harder to photograph, and you couldn’t photograph through it like some of the images in the video. In this case, better isn’t really…..better.
- Use a step stool to help float the plastic down from above.
- Tell your subject not to smile, or just barely smile. These are moody images, and a bit gritty. Big smiles don’t really work.
- I used one light. It was a strobe with a 48″ octabox. I would recommend a strobe or flash to freeze the movement of the plastic.
Photography Processing
- These images are processed in Nik Analog Effects. It is now free software from Google (some of us unfortunately paid a fortune for it years ago).
- Do not choose the presets. Choose the Camera Kit, which allows you to build the effect.
- Try playing with three basic effects before layering more on:
- Bokeh
- Film Style
- Vignette
To me it still looks like plastic – the images don’t transcend the base materials. I feel there is potential here, but more work is needed to tap into it. Maybe red Saran wrap?
pamphotography 
Love the idea of these… Gav Hoey is a great photographer to follow I have seen him talk everal times….