Kurv Magazine

How My Gothic Chapel Idea Came to Life

I have had this idea swimming around in my head for years, but I could never find the right place to shoot it. First of all, Gothic chapels aren’t exactly on every other street corner in Los Angeles. And flying to Europe with my team was not an option due to budgetary limitations. Ha. That’s a joke……this was just an idea I had that I wanted to shoot so there was no budget, or in other words, I was taking care of the budget out of my own pocket. But as luck would have it, I ran into Naomi Burrows and I told her my idea and she was very excited about collaborating on it with me! So my little Gothic chapel was constructed out of side walls and props in the Out of Frame Studio just behind Calumet on Highland Boulevard, smack in the middle of Hollywood, California!

Working with a set builder is wonderful for many different reasons but one of the things I love most about it is being able to pick and choose which props they pull. Naomi would be out at prop houses and text me photos of beat up wooden church altars and I got to choose which beat up wooden church altar I wanted in MY shoot. Fabulous! I love that kind of control!

Shiffy Kagan lent her genius again with the styling. We had a few short phone calls, a few emails with mood/inspiration ideas bounced back and forth between the two of us and again, she pulled what I wanted and what I asked for as well as contributing her own brilliance with a few pieces and ideas. That is the definition of a good stylist. And I worked with Camille Clark for make up and Robert Mefford for hair. I really love working with Robert but it seems the last six months he’s in been in NY more often than LA. However, since my own move to NY, I hope I get to work with Robert much more! The whole team is with AIM Artists.

But what I found most interesting about this shoot was the last minute change I had to make to the lighting. After spending the better part of the early morning doing lighting tests, I wasn’t 100% happy with the results we were getting. The strobe effect was too bright, too “brashy”, especially for a dim, candle lit, small Gothic Chapel. The lighting had to reflect the period, or stay roughly close to the era. So what did I do? I jacked up my ISO to 1600 and turned off the strobe on the profoto power packs and shot with the modeling lights only. From the first couple of light tests on this set up, I was pleased. A little tweaking here and there ( I had to move my key light a little closer in to the models to get more light on them ) but we had it nailed.

I wanted to shoot a twisted little story and I needed models that could EMOTE! And thankfully, I got it! Enel from Next Models in LA and Masha from Fenton Moon in NY were my girls for this shoot and I took a bit of a gamble because I hadn’t worked with either one of them before. One thing I look for when I’m casting a model who I know needs to emote is I look for it in her book and if she has it, it’s a safer bet than a girl who appears she doesn’t move or emote a lot in her portfolio. I also ask their agents about them as well. And honestly, the best thing you can do when you’re casting for a certain something is to actually meet the model and see for yourself. For this shoot, I was very happy with both Enel and Masha. Both girls played off one another and moved really well. It was a joy to work with both of them.

KURV Australia picked up the story in August and I patiently waited until it hit the newsstands this month so I could share it with you. KURV is awesome! If you ever get the chance, buy a copy. The paper and the content are exquisite. Since they only publish 3 times a year, the magazine is more like a collector’s item. It really is a great magazine and I’m proud to be in it this month.

If I don’t get a chance to say it, Happy Holidays to everyone! And thanks so much for all the Facebook LOVE on my Birthday! That was truly heartwarming to read all the birthday wishes from all over the world. My blog readers rule! I’m really blessed to have such loyal and lovely readers!! God Bless. See you next year! xoxo

85 COMMENTS

Carlo

December 18, 2010

You always churn out the nicest work.

Maria T

December 18, 2010

Funny I was just thinking, What Happened to those Beautiful Shots of the Chapel and the 2 ones I like Love that Red dress and the candle and cross in back ground……. and Of course the praying of the rosary… Although for me they all Fabulous!! More Great Work from !!! Ms Rodwell

Jan

December 18, 2010

Beautiful and inspiring. It was worth the wait for the right set.

John Waiblinger

December 18, 2010

TOTALLY amazing… LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these … this one will be shared with you know who! The photos are just stunning, hard to pick a favorite, but I’m sticking with the floor shot reflecting the ‘stained glass window’ … these are truly brilliant, Melissa! oh, and the lighting is just perfect in evoking the proper mood. Well, I could gush on, but you get it!

Allison

December 18, 2010

WOW!!!! This is just sooooooo wonderful and inspiring!!!!

*sigh* I want to shoot amazing work like this so badly and I seem to be looking at yet another TFP creative for tomorrow falling through (the model is missing in action). It’s happened so many times this year, I’m feeling so frustrated.

Jackie Puwalski

December 18, 2010

I am in love with this editorial Melissa! It is absolutely stunning delicate and powerful all at the same time!

André Delisle

December 18, 2010

Very nice portraits! I can’t help thinking about music by Enigma when I look at these scenes. Thank you. :¬)

Barry Page

December 18, 2010

Awesome concept, Awesome images, Awesome work!!!!
Thank you

Antoine

December 18, 2010

whats lenses did you use

Tyler

December 18, 2010

Definitely still a fav.

Jared D.

December 18, 2010

Melissa You Are Amazing! Great Work Gal!

Mark lowen

December 18, 2010

Awesome job and have posted it on my Facebook to spread the love.
Well done to all concerned, and have a great holiday season.xx

EZ

December 19, 2010

This is inspirational! Beautiful, breathtaking art.

Gerald

December 19, 2010

Regarding the flash overpowered solution. Didn’t you consider popping your SB-900′s in there? They are only +- 80 Wsec and go as low as 1/128. I know you are not a speedlight person but you do use them occasoonaly. So why not this time?

Melissa

December 19, 2010

How fortunate for you that it is symbols of Christianity you so greatly blasphemed in your set up. Why not do a duplicate shoot using the Koran and Muslim symbols and see what happens?
I am deeply hurt and shocked that in this day and age of supposed tolerance and respect for others’ beliefs, that you would do something so shamefully degrading to the beloved religion of millions. How very unprofessional and crass. I would have thought something like this would be beneath you. I was wrong. I have lost respect for you. Do people even care about that these days? Do you?

DJH

December 19, 2010

Lovely work, just glanced at the images but will be back to read the article…

Carlo

December 19, 2010

Question though. So when you turn these in to magazines, do you submit them to multiple publications at the same time or one by one? I mean what happens if you do the former and more than one publication decided to run it?

Micaella

December 19, 2010

The lighting is utterly incredible, it oddly makes me feel like it’s cold and warm at the same time. The light coming through where the stained glass window reflects on the floor is insane, nothing but perfection. The pieces used in the wardrobe were all phenomenal (minus the blue ruffle dress) Just when I thought the use of black tutu’s was overdone, you bring this lovely shoot in to remind me of it’s power….

Faron

December 19, 2010

gorgeous work, I think it is one of your best!!!

ALI

December 20, 2010

WoW! I mean this female ( @ Melissa who commented ) feels you’ve committed a “sin” by shooting Goth, and “in a way” disrespected Christianity. However, she is comfortable and encourages you to do the same with the Holy Quran and Muslim… just incredible!

A Pure Hypocrite! But like you said, and very well so, she will have hard time getting this off her mind and after a while.

Good job by the way Melissa (Rodwell), I loved the outcome

Audry

December 20, 2010

Wow! AMAZING pictures. The clothes, makeup, lighting…gorgeous work- breathtaking art! keep the good work, i will definetaly be back to look for more

Eivind Røhne

December 20, 2010

Another great one! Thanks for sharing; you’re always a great source for some cool inspiration Melissa.

I’m curious about one thing though: You shot at ISO 1600, and still the files seem very clean (at least in lowres). What Nikon cam this time? D3s?

Cheers,
Eivind Røhne

aw

December 21, 2010

The styling is amazing just amazing!!

Sylvia

December 23, 2010

Beautiful series! Gorgeous lighting and emotion all around. Same question as Carlos though – when submitting to magazines (after the shoot is done?), how do you go about it?

Gerald

December 23, 2010

@Eivind. Nikon FX bodies barely start showing noise at 1600 iso. Plus there are very neat pro noise filter plugins which I am sure her PS artist knows how to handle. At least that is how I do it, D700 in my bag and do not fear iso 3200 or even 6400 on weddings in unlit (flashwise) churches.

Eivind Røhne

December 23, 2010

@Gerald; Yes you’re absolutely right. FX Nikons are great. I have the D3x with a D700 as backup. The D3x I rarely push beyond iso 800 (even though the noise is very organic and filmlike). But maybe I should put the D700 into more high iso work than I usually do. Can’t help it, but I tend to get close to nervous breakdowns when going up into the higher iso values. But I blame Hasselblad for that. Been using digital medium format Hasselblad cameras since 2005 and up until last year when switching to Nikon, and with Hasselblad, even iso 200 was more jumping off – rather than living on the edge…. Guess I have to explore the land of high iso a little more than I do.

imoveis alegrete

December 23, 2010

I love ,Melissa You Are Amazing!

Karl Bratby

December 24, 2010

inspiring work, the small ideas we have are always worth trying.

Natasha

December 25, 2010

I love the effective with the colour of the stain glass windows, work beautifully with the models and church goth theme effect.

I love to try new things and found that I never have time, you have given me the indpiration to make the special effect to put my ideas through my camera again.

So thanks.

bijuterii argint

December 27, 2010

This is what I like to call haute-couture photography.. very inspirational and an amazing result!

admin

December 27, 2010

Thanks, @Gerald for jumping in and answering @Elvind’s question. I’ve been so swamped with packing that I haven’t had a chance to get on here and look at the comments. Yes, I shot this with a Nikon D3 and it has very good noise reduction. Most pro Nikon’s do. My retouch artist didn’t do use any noise reduction plug ins, (not a fan of plug-ins at all!!) but I did want the grain to show a bit, to have a bit of tooth and give it an “old-school” look. I’m never afraid to shoot up to 1600 ISO.

To everybody else, thanks for the kind comments. It’s one of my favorite shoots from this year. And the KURV magazine is luscious!! You should definitely try to pick one up!

Stephanie

December 28, 2010

Those are some amazing and interesting photographs.

Gerald

December 30, 2010

Melissa, you’re welcome.
What about the speedlites’ question.

stephane malingue

December 30, 2010

I love your work, that’s all !

Ren

December 31, 2010

Oh Melissa (of stupid Christian Iconography comment)… Look through history and you will see Christian/Catholic icons used in similar ways all through time. It really is time to crawl down off the moral highhorse.

MD – I adore the lighting and the warmth of the colours injected into the images. I can only dream of producing results like these.

Pelayo

January 1, 2011

Very inspiring. Nice colors & mood. Congratulations & Happy New Year

Stephanie

January 4, 2011

That is really great. I wish I could come up with something like that.

vintage boutique

January 6, 2011

these are truly brilliant, Melissa! oh, and the lighting is just perfect in evoking the proper mood. Well, I could gush on, but you get it!

Alex

January 12, 2011

Very beautiful photos. Love the lighting and the mood.

Really looking forward to an answer to this post:

http://fashionphotographyblog.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1981a

Jaimie Dee - Atlanta Wedding Photographer

January 12, 2011

BEAUTIFUL images!!! Thanks so much for posting!

PELANGI HOLIDAY

January 12, 2011

GOOD…!!

Adam Pinnell

January 13, 2011

Great Shots! Very unique and inspiring work! The styling, location, model, light, etc really work together!

Danie Fellowes

January 17, 2011

Your work is always incredibly inspiring, and this is definitely no different. Wonderful work, I’ll keep on trying until I can do that for myself!

Chastidyi Parrott

January 17, 2011

These are amazing! They’re so dark and brooding. Lots of wonderful atmosphere. Great job!

Amy Nelson-Blain

January 22, 2011

Absolutely gorgeous series Melissa!
What modifiers did you use on the lights.. soft box? Beauty dish?

Arnold M. Wilson

January 25, 2011

Striking images! There is something particular about them! Images are really fantastic!

Bill Stuckey

January 26, 2011

In all honesty (and I’m a fan of yours, Melissa) I think this could have been done with a little more sensitivity to Christians. I’m not going to get on my high-horse and launch a crusade, because my belief is that butting heads does not solve anything. Rather I think, as I can appreciate your interest in producing this work as an art form, I hope you would also take the time to at least consider the sensitivities of probably several of your fans who might be Christian. I suppose if I had to make a suggestion for where you could have made a slight compromise is to have had the crucifi left out. There are many ways the photos could still have given the feeling, mood, and illusion of a gothic cathaedral, without being so obvious and in-your-face with the crucifi.

Just a though, Melissa. I’m not trying to be confrontational, but just throwing my thoughts out there in the hope that in the future, we can all just be a little more considerate to each other (you to I and I to you).

All the best,

Bill

Ester

January 27, 2011

Your work is phenomenal! You are very talented.

JS

January 28, 2011

Stunning as usual

Aberdeen Photography

January 29, 2011

Really nice photos, like the colours in the pictures as well.

topsdave

January 31, 2011

Fantastic I love the lighting and the atmosphir I especially liked the shot with the stained glass windows behind the girl, what a contrast.

Michael

February 1, 2011

i love the eerie lighting, really makes the shoot.

Isabelle

February 1, 2011

This is great! Gothic is so sexy and mysterious!

Lilya Corneli

February 3, 2011

This is absolutely beautiful, also amazing detail on the accessories and styling!

Brad Bradshaw

February 8, 2011

This is good fashion photography

canvas prints

February 13, 2011

very good idea and very well thought out, glad you put it into motion as i think it turned out exceptional.

henriquepereira

February 13, 2011

Dear, this time you lost me. Today, being provacative towards christianity has the same charm and takes the some courage as to beat a dead horse. Good luck.

Greyeye Wedding Photography Yorkshire

February 17, 2011

What camera is the 3rd image taken with? A Nikon?

Harry Hilders

February 18, 2011

Her arm in the first picture looks, well, weird, kinda like a perfect 90 degree angle.

That aside, the entire serie is great though

missmozz

February 20, 2011

Amusing I was just imagining, What Happened to those Stunning Shots of the ChapelEven though for me they all Fabulous!!

Denver Pet Photographer

February 20, 2011

What a great set! I love all the lighting….

tk

February 21, 2011

i’m grateful you’re here so i can learn how it’s done. fab work (as usual)! best (belated) wishes for a happy, productive ’11.

Lucy Bateman - Kent Wedding Photographer

March 30, 2011

Awesome images.

john august

April 5, 2011

nice photo……….. I really like the lighting. amazing… : )

yuliang

April 6, 2011

lovely, i like the tone of the photo, it worked very much

ThePrivateSales

April 28, 2011

awesome collections!!!!!!!!!!!!
Photography is so nice & expression is too good!!!!!!!!

Lester G

May 12, 2011

Your works are insanely phenomenal!!! No matter what theme, you always nail it!!!
I was never into fashion photography until I discovered YOU!!! You helped me find my niche and you truly inspire me!!!
I’m not anywhere near your level. You’re a goddess!!! Any thoughts of coming to Malaysia soon? Would love to meet you and learn from you!!!
Huge admirer of your work… Les