We had two models with car sessions for the last officially scheduled photography event in Cuba. I posted the first session a couple of days ago with Kami posing with the red Studebaker. That was a quick 10-minute shoot, and it was comparably easy.

Today, I talk about the second, even more memorable session with Diamela. I got to shoot Diamela sitting alone in the back seat of a pink convertible as we drove through the city and along the beach. It was something I’ve never done before, and this twenty-minute ride might be something I remember for the rest of my life.

Shooting this way was a bit more challenging than photographing a model with a stationary car. The constant wind and the vehicle’s movement required tons of frames, some patience, and a lot of luck. I was on my knees in the front seat, shooting backwards. The biggest factor was the wind-blown hair, which ruined some potentially good images. The instructor suggested using a wide zoom, so I changed lenses to the Tamron 17-28mm f2.8. I shot extensively between 17mm and 28mm, zooming in and out to create a variety of compositions.

I threw out a bunch of images, but I still have 277 pictures from this shoot. While there are a bunch more I would ultimately eliminate, there was a lot to choose from. I might have shot close to 500 pictures in 20 minutes. From this vast selection, I chose the seven in this blog post, factoring in the composition, Diamela’s expression and pose, and the background. The first photo is my favorite, though I can’t tell you why. It’s just the overall feeling it evokes. I did some extra fancy post-processing to add to the mood, including an enhancement of the sky, which created a different pastel-like color palette than the six images below.

This car ride combined many of the highlights of the Cuba trip, including a tour of the once-grand city in a classic, beautifully restored Chevy convertible with a lovely model posing. What’s not to like?

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