Page created August 24, 2004
Sitting was on August 2, 2004

Crazy Mixed Up Sitting

Brooke was the first model visiting me during my Model Marathon in late May.  She is a Seattle-based model who comes through this area every so often.  I had a great time photographing her during her first sitting, and I was happy to have the opportunity to make pictures with her again.

During her next visit to the Portland area, we had set up a second sitting, but at the last minute, she had car trouble & couldn't make it.  Such things happen, but it was no big deal to me.  She gave me a rain check, and we set up another sitting for a few weeks later.  

The problem was that she rang my door bell exactly one week earlier than I expected her!  We had mixed up our dates!

Man, am I glad that I was home that evening -- it would have been a terrific disaster had she rang the bell while no one was home!  I try to be an easy-going guy by taking such things in stride.  She agreed to stay a little longer, to give me time to set up my living room as a studio, and we decided to go ahead with a sitting.

Normally, I wouldn't bother sharing this story here, but it is slightly relevant.  Anticipating a sitting is a big deal for me -- it's still exciting, even after thousands of exposures with dozens of models.  Here's the key point -- for me, a sitting starts with some level of preparation.  Before the model arrives, I have typically completed this:

  • I have spent some time planning a few lighting setup & posing ideas.
  • I have taken all the furniture out of my living room & moved all the lighting equipment into it.
  • For returning models, I review the last sittings and have tried to come up with concepts that will raise the bar for both of us.
  • I communicate the relevant concepts to the model beforehand (although some concepts I keep to myself to surprise the model).

So, for me, a typical sitting is maybe 60%-70% planned and the rest improvised.  For this sitting, the ratio was somewhat reversed -- this sitting was more improvised than the typical sitting for me.  See if you can tell the difference, if there is any.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Processing Note

I've been using Jasc's Paint Shop Pro, Version 6 for the past several years.  When I first got it, it was a cheap alternative to the popular PhotoShop.  While there now are more affordable versions of PhotoShop available, I didn't see any reason to go to the expense of switching.

Recently, Jasc announced the free beta version of its Paint Shop Pro, Version 9, and I thought I'd give it a try (sorry, I couldn't find the link on the Jasc web page -- I think perhaps the free beta was offered only to registered owners of previous versions).  I used it to process the images for this sitting, and I liked it a lot -- there were a lot more tools for handling digital photos, including many automatic ones.  Can you tell if there is a difference? 

(Remember -- feedback is always appreciated) 

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