Page created January 23, 2006
Sitting date:  November 26, 2005

    

Normally, I like to "process" a sitting fully before undertaking the next one.  By "process", I mean...

  • Developing film & making prints,

  • Scanning prints,

  • Processing the digital & film images (resizing, touching up, adjusting contrast, toning, etc.),

  • Putting together web pages, reviewing these drafts with the model,

  • Publishing the web pages, "announcing" them to the world,

  • and most importantly, thinking about the sitting, asking myself...

    • What worked, and what didn't,

    • How could I have improved the images or the experience,

    • What would I want to do differently next time.

Typically, this process takes me a few weeks to complete.  However, due to circumstances & ambition on my part, I've had four sittings in the space of about four weeks:

  • Betcee, Sitting date:  October 24, 2005

  • Kira, Sitting date:  November 4, 2005

  • Natalia, Sitting date:  November 19, 2005

  • Ashton, Sitting date:  November 26, 2005 (this sitting)

For me, that's a big lot of photography, and this has had an impact on this sitting.

 

 

Okay, I got nothing!

I'm a bit of a cerebral photographer, meaning that I like to plan a few concepts for each sitting, but I get those ideas from my "processing" of the previous sittings.  Now, that's just me & my style -- I think about photography a lot, and by thinking about it, I can manage to challenge myself to try new things & to get better at what I'm doing.  I will admit that there are a lot of other photographers who are more "organic" than I am -- they just wait for the sitting & try what feels good at the moment.  Okay, to be honest, I do 70% planned stuff & 30% improvised stuff during a typical sitting, but this sitting was only one week after my previous sitting, and I had no pre-planned ideas.  So, we "winged" it. 

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The reason I like to plan setups is because by planning, I can avoid falling back onto old concepts.  But some of those old concepts are pretty good, too.

So, I set up some nice generic lighting while Ashton gets ready.  She arrives wearing a towel, and I figure I'll play with it some.  I like having the model somewhat or mostly covered -- it's a bit more exciting.  So, to start, Ashton plays with the towel.

 

See?  There's nothing but a towel between you & a totally nude & beautiful model!  I love seeing that thin strip of uninterrupted skin that starts at her shoulder & runs down past her hips:  see, she really is nude under that towel.

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Between you & me, not having some plans for this sitting was a bit disturbing for me.  Fortunately, Ashton is so darn easy to be around.  She is totally comfortable with her body, she is confident, and she is fun loving.  (Oh, yes, she is damn sexy, too!)  

I like this towel play concept.  There is an important artistic premise:  "Less Is More".  Somehow, a partially covered model is more exciting than a fully nude one.

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One summer, when I was in my mid-teens, I went to a summer art school.  One assignment was to demonstrate the difference between a "hot" medium and a "cool" medium.  I took two Playboy centerfold pictures & put them on the bulletin board.  One showed a model is typical skimpy lingerie; the other showed a model wearing only bikini bottoms, taking a strong stance with hips jogged to the side.  (At that time, Playboy didn't show pubic hair.)  I cut out two strips of black construction paper, and using push pins, I covered the second model's breasts & bikini bottoms.  People walking by ignored the first image, where the model was actually showing more skin; instead, they walked up to the second picture, removed the push pins to reveal the model's breast, and they were surprised & disappointed to find that she had bikini bottoms on underneath the second black strip of paper.

Think about that!  This was a significant influence in the development of my artistic style.

 

It's important to keep things moving during a sitting.  I shift that one light that was pointed on the backdrop -- I move it to the floor & use it as a up light.  This worked well with Ashton's curvy & muscular figure.  

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Here's some alternative post-processing, making an abstract image.  Whatcha think? 

 

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Ashton moves well.  She wears light like most people wear clothes.  

If you work with figure photography for a while, you'll find that there are lots of lighting setups that work well for the figure but poorly for the face, and vice versa.  Here's an example:  I love how the light sculpts Ashton's figure & how each curve & shape is defined, but the light on her face is like a 1930s horror movie.  Still, it's a pleasing image overall.

 

 

Ashton is a joy to be around.  Despite having no preconceived ideas for this sitting, I feel that we are off to a good start.  Having no ideas, I fall back on some general thoughts that I keep floating around.  Specifically, I don't photograph models horizontally often enough.  In fact, I feel that I am better at lighting a standing/sitting model than I am in lighting a model lying down.  So, I ask Ashton to lie down so that I can practice.  I'm liking the texture of the towel against her skin, so the towel comes along.

This sitting continues with Towel Repellent

 

(Remember -- feedback is always appreciated) 

All images (c) 2006 Looknsee Photography

Ashton, Third Sitting Out Takes

Over 80 more images from this sitting are available in the Out Takes Galleries.  There also are over 20 images on a Secret Gallery page.  These galleries are available to those who have made a donation to the upkeep of this web site.  See this FAQ question for more details.

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