I love test shoots! Getting to experiment with new faces and style models and shoot in any location I can want is such a dream. New York is amazing in all the different streetscapes and backdrops it offers just blocks from one another. Because I work in West Village, I'm familiar with the neighborhood and know exactly where the cute streets are. My favorites are the sidewalks lined with brownstones and the piers over by the Hudson River (where the sun sets over the water, because that's the only way this West Coaster understands it to be). 

This week I was fortunate to test with a model from MC2 Model Management. Russian-born Yuliya is based in Miami and happened to be in town for a bit, and the agency arranged for a test shoot. 

The agency asked for "beauty shots and edgy shots." I love the challenge of creating a number of different styles and looks in the short hour we have to shoot, working with available clothing options, the public environment, and natural light. 

It's been difficult shooting in New York limited by my one prime 50mm lens, not having access to a studio, and being too poor to want to rent. But I'm being resourceful with what I have and making do with makeshift DIY things, like this black backdrop (bought from a discount fabric store the day before and taped up to an old brick wall in an alley).

This simple white shirt against black is one of my all time favorite looks: clean, portrait-esque, and easy breezy beautiful. 

And finally, back-lit portraits in against a pastel sky and lovely skyline, hailing a soft breeze from the water. It doesn't get much more me than this.