Publicity Photo Shoot

The 2009 publicity photo shoot for Rejected No More began in an eloquently lit studio and ended in a frigid windy field. The directors have various ideas to try, so there are lots of different shots. Along the way, new ideas emerge that lead to great shots. Special thanks to Tera Zarra (Naomi) and Rebecca Wright (Ruth) for being our delightful subjects.

While the gals got their costumes and make up ready, the lighting designer and photographer prepared the stage. Tera was the first to finish, so she became the subject for test shots to check the lighting levels and color to make sure they were right for good skin tones. The photographer also uses them to get the correct exposure levels.

This is the pose used for the postcard and web graphic. In this earlier shot, Naomi has her eyes up. In the production shot, they are more downcast.

Constant attention to every detail must be maintained during the photo shoot to avoid bad shots. Here the costume designer adjusts Ruth’s veil and beaded head band which continually shifted during the shoot. Keeping costume accessories in place is much more difficult during a photo shoot since visible bobby pins can ruin a shot.

An underexposed shot

During the shoot the photographer takes hundreds of shots using different settings and sometimes the photos are either under or over exposed. We loved this shot but it is a little too underexposed to correct. It was easier to make it into a high contrast image that we used for the tickets and black and white newspaper advertising.

This shot that became the poster shot was a team effort. It was never planned but came from an idea as the staff was watching the photographer shooting the last photo. We wanted Naomi to show the pain of rejection. She is deliberately out of focus to make the shot more eye-catching to the viewer. In this the best shot, note how Ruth’s profile fits perfectly beside Naomi’s face.

After the last shot, we went to a field in Gresham for an outdoor photo shoot. Our plan was to try our best shots outside with a desolate field in the background.

Unfortunately, it was below 30 degrees and with a strong East wind. Ruth and Naomi bundled up with winter coats over their costumes and walked about a quarter mile with the photographer and costume designer to get to the field. Once there, we set up the shot then had them take off their coats. After only a few shots, their skin quickly turned pink so we had to quit. This photo has been retouched to remove the pink sploches on their faces.

We hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at our publicity photo shoot.