Mish Michaels-WBZ TV Meteorologist

Mish Michaels, Meterologist for WBZ-TV
Channel 4 in Boston, in her ‘office’.

Shooting a lifestyle article for a magazine, I was to photograph Mish Michaels, a meteorologist for Bostons WBZ TV channel 4. After packing up my gear, I headed over to WBZ’s studios in Boston. I was greeted with a warm welcome and introductions, and the 4 of us headed to her office and studio area. Thinking of people in science, a vision of someone like Mish probably wouldn’t come immediately to mind. Very attractive, petite, and friendly, yet she is a serious scientist with a true love for her work.

While she was interviewed for the article, I took a series of candid images looking for some natural feeling shots. As you might expect, trying to catch a fleeting moment during a conversation without open mouths, closed eyes, or other bloopers isn’t an easy task. I keep at it, looking and trying, and managed to get a few keepers. The candid shots were all done using the modeling light of the strobe as a fill light, and available lighting from the studio area. Most images were shot around ISO 800 on a Canon 1DsMkII.

We then headed to her ‘toy box’. A roof top sky deck filled with all kinds of meteorology gadgets. We got a first hand tour of the goodies, and a nice view of the area. The sun by this time was almost directly overhead, making for a difficult shooting scenario. We didn’t have any time to grab a scrim or lighting equipment, since it was a last minute opportunity at the end of the interview. So I had to made due with using an 580ex off camera and take advantage of the high speed sync mode to use it as a fill flash. The results were acceptable, but not to the quality standards I shoot for.

I have a what if scenario post on how I might light this setup if I had more time (What if here) .

~ by sfaust on September 17, 2007.