Model

Sandy Cecelia

Cecelia Rose at Westcott Beach. Photo by Michael Kleen

Model Cecelia Rose at Westcott Beach at sunset on Lake Ontario, Jefferson County, New York. I took these with a basic 70-300mm lens – this is becoming my new favorite lens for model photography! The higher the focal length, the more it throws the background out of focus, making a zoom lens perfect for separating a subject from the background. But, the trade off is that it’s difficult to steady the lens so motion blur is a problem.

Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/__thefatalbeauty__/
Follow me at www.instagram.com/ma_kleen/

Leah at The White Lady’s Castle

Leah Hotte at The White Lady's Castle. Photo by Michael Kleen

Model Leah Hotte poses at a stone wall, located in Durand-Eastman Park, which was once part of a hotel dining hall that served swimmers in nearby Lake Ontario. According to legend, a woman in white haunts the ruin, searching for her long-lost daughter. The park is located in Irondequoit, New York, north of Rochester.
Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/leahhottemodel/
Follow me at www.instagram.com/ma_kleen/

Cecelia in Twilight

Model Cecelia Rose in Waterworks Park on the Black River. Photo by Michael Kleen

Model Cecelia Rose at the Black River in Waterworks Park, Watertown, Jefferson County, New York. I love the dreamy, vintage feel of these photos. I wasn’t sure how well they’d turn out because we were rapidly losing light, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Leah on Lake Ontario

Leah Hotte on Durand Eastman Beach. Photo by Michael Kleen

Model Leah Hotte relaxes on Durand Eastman Beach, Rochester, Monroe County, New York, on the first nice day of the year. Despite the nice weather, it was freezing on the lake but Leah was a good sport about it.
Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/leahhottemodel/
Follow me at www.instagram.com/ma_kleen/

Luna at Conesus Lake

Luna at Vitale Park on Conesus Lake. Photo by Michael Kleen

In this series, I met Luna at Vitale Park on Conesus Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in central New York, on the first beautiful day of the year. She wore a lovely red floral ruffle wrap cami dress and striped cut-out midi dress from Express. It was a challenge to get the lighting right in the afternoon, but I think we got some great shots.

Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/luna_model_account/
Follow me at www.instagram.com/ma_kleen/

Victorian Ziv at the Paddock Club

Ziv shows off a steampunk-inspired Victorian outfit at the Paddock Club in Watertown, New York. Photo by Michael Kleen

Ziv shows off a steampunk-inspired Victorian outfit at the Paddock Club in Watertown, New York, one of my favorite settings. This photo shoot was particularly challenging because the lighting at the Paddock Club is so low, but it’s also why I wanted to do it. I love the atmosphere at this place, and Ziv is incredible at making (and wearing) her own costumes. I used a tripod, and kept the aperture wide but not too wide. But because it was so dark, we still got motion blur and that ruined a lot of otherwise great pictures. I didn’t want to use anything like a flash because that would destroy the natural lighting. Turns out I should have cranked up the ISO a bit more, but live and learn.

Sarah at Flower Memorial Library

Sarah Dingle at the library in Watertown, New York. Photo by Michael Kleen

Model Sarah Dingle enjoys the beautiful Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, New York, in this series celebrating the spirit of knowledge and literature. This was my first indoor photo shoot, and it’s clear I could have done some things differently. For one, I didn’t want to disturb anyone at the library, so I didn’t use a flash. I also didn’t have a diffuse box for my flash at the time, and I didn’t use a tripod. So we got plenty of great shots, but I was using a very large aperture so there’s a lot of unnecessary blurring. I also had to use a high ISO. The noise isn’t too bad, but it’s more than I’d like. Overall, I think these turned out really well.

M.A. Kleen

Writer & Traveler with a passion for history, photography & the unusual